Five Oklahoma Sooners Football Players Already on Transfer Watch Before the 2025 College Football Season Even Officially Begins

The Oklahoma Sooners enter the 2025 college football season with renewed optimism and a retooled roster under head coach Brent Venables. Coming off a solid 2024 campaign, expectations are high in Norman. Yet beneath the surface of preseason buzz and fall camp excitement, there’s already an undercurrent of potential roster movement. Multiple players find themselves on the transfer watch list—either due to depth chart slippage, coaching decisions, or a crowded position room that’s making meaningful reps hard to come by.

With college football now fully entrenched in the era of the transfer portal, movement is no longer confined to the offseason. Players are allowed four games before preserving redshirt eligibility, and many choose to test the waters early if they sense their opportunities slipping. For Oklahoma, this means keeping a close eye on five names who—barring a late surge or injury elsewhere—could be on the move before the season reaches its halfway point.

Let’s take a deeper dive into the five Sooners who could be packing their bags before October arrives.

1. General Booty — Quarterback
One of the most recognizable names in college football for reasons beyond the field, General Booty has become a fan favorite. But the reality of Oklahoma’s quarterback room has pushed him further down the pecking order. With Jackson Arnold locked in as the starter and true freshman Kevin Sperry already generating buzz with his arm talent and mobility, Booty could find himself stuck in no-man’s land once again.

Despite being a locker room leader and one of the most media-savvy players on the roster, Booty simply hasn’t had a clear path to significant snaps in two seasons. That’s unlikely to change in 2025. If he sees action in mop-up duty early but no meaningful role, the redshirt senior could enter the portal in hopes of finding a Group of Five program or lower-tier Power Five school needing an experienced signal-caller. His leadership, maturity, and strong work ethic would make him an attractive midseason pickup for QB-thin rosters.

2. Kelbie Collins — Defensive Line
A former blue-chip recruit from Alabama, Collins arrived in Norman with major expectations in the 2023 recruiting class. But two seasons later, his production hasn’t caught up with his potential. Oklahoma has seen a major surge in defensive line depth, including the emergence of freshmen and the addition of multiple SEC-ready transfers this offseason.

Reports from spring practices and early fall camp have suggested Collins is not getting many first- or even second-team reps. That’s a troubling sign for a player once viewed as a cornerstone piece for the future of the defensive front. With the portal offering a reset button, Collins may view a transfer as the best chance to reboot his college career—perhaps closer to home in the SEC.

If Oklahoma can’t find a consistent rotational role for him by Week 3 or 4, don’t be surprised if Collins is one of the first departures.

3. Jayden Rowe — Defensive Back
Rowe’s athleticism has never been questioned. At 6-foot-3 and nearly 220 pounds with blazing straight-line speed, he looks like a prototype NFL defensive back. But in his three years with the Sooners, Rowe has struggled to develop consistency in coverage and technique, which has kept him off the field more often than not.

With Oklahoma’s secondary adding depth and experience via the portal—and with younger corners like Makari Vickers and Jasiah Wagoner climbing the ranks—Rowe could get squeezed out entirely from the defensive back rotation. Coaches love his physical tools, but raw traits can only carry a player so far without consistent in-game development.

If Rowe doesn’t crack the two-deep early in the year, he becomes a prime candidate for a transfer to a program that believes it can unlock his upside. A change of scenery might be just what he needs to reboot a once-promising trajectory.

4. DeMarco Jones — Wide Receiver
Oklahoma’s wide receiver room has undergone a youth movement, and that’s come at the expense of some older players still waiting for their breakout. Among them is redshirt sophomore DeMarco Jones, who was once expected to be a slot dynamo but has failed to break through.

The Sooners added former Michigan State wideout Jaron Glover and Arkansas transfer Isaiah Sategna in the offseason, and both appear to be ahead of Jones in the pecking order heading into fall. That’s in addition to returning contributors like Jalil Farooq and Andrel Anthony, who are healthy and hungry for bigger roles in 2025.

Jones is facing the harsh truth of roster math. If he’s not getting on the field in non-conference games, and if his path is further blocked by younger talent, he could be one of the earliest wide receiver transfers in the Big 12. Programs looking for a shifty slot target with speed and two more years of eligibility could quickly come calling.

5. Gracen Halton — Defensive Tackle
Halton has had moments of promise in a Sooners uniform, particularly as a run-stuffer in limited snaps. But the defensive tackle room has added SEC-sized talent across the board, including the arrival of LSU transfer Jacobian Guillory and true freshman David Stone, one of the crown jewels of the 2024 class.

Halton now finds himself as perhaps the fourth or fifth option at the position. At 6-foot-3 and nearly 290 pounds, he still has the frame and functional strength to compete at a high level, but the path to playing time at Oklahoma may be closing fast.

Unless Halton can carve out a specialized role—perhaps as a situational player on run downs—he’ll be a redshirt junior with limited opportunities. The likelihood of entering the portal after four or five games to preserve eligibility and find a clearer starting path elsewhere seems high. A move to the Pac-12 or Big Ten could make sense depending on which defenses are struggling up front.

Transfer Portal Reality for Oklahoma
While the Sooners continue to build a more SEC-ready roster in anticipation of a full season under that banner, the portal remains both a blessing and a threat. Oklahoma has capitalized in the offseason by bringing in impact talent, but every addition creates a ripple effect down the depth chart. For players like Booty, Collins, Rowe, Jones, and Halton, that ripple may turn into an outbound current.

Coaches now must not only build a competitive two-deep but also manage egos, development timelines, and expectations. With the new NCAA rules allowing in-season movement and the December window looming, these next few weeks could serve as critical decision points for players trying to salvage their season—and career trajectory.

One or two of these five might stick around and fight for their place. But history suggests at least a couple will seek new homes before the 2025 season hits its midpoint. For Oklahoma, it’s a new normal: win big in the SEC, but do it while constantly reshuffling the deck. And for these players, it may soon be time to bet on themselves elsewhere.