Oklahoma
Barry Switzer questions if Oklahoma's NIL can compete with Texas, criticizes offensive struggles
Following another rough performance against South Carolina, there are plenty of questions about where Oklahoma’s offense goes next. Brent Venables made an offensive coordinator change, but legendary OU coach Barry Switzer said the Sooners are “short in a lot of areas” – and it might take some time to fix it.
Switzer pointed out the shortcomings for the Oklahoma offense, which will now see Joe Jon Finley take on play-calling duties after Seth Littrell’s departure. But he also questioned the Sooners’ ability to succeed in NIL dollars, particularly with rival Texas.
During an appearance on The Paul Finebaum Show on Tuesday, Switzer noted the difference between Texas’ population and Oklahoma’s. That, he said, impacts fundraising ability in the current state of college football. That’s why he wondered if the Sooners can keep pace with the Longhorns if recruiting battles turn into bidding wars.
“We’re short in a lot of areas, Paul,” Switzer said. “Defensively, we’re probably a lot better than we are offensively. We’re short, offensive line, with running backs, receivers, quarterback – every area of the offense needs help. And it’s gonna take a while to get there. But I think that they can. I don’t know. I question, sometimes, with NIL whether we can or not, whether we can compete against Texas every year. They can raise more money than we can. We’re a small state. We’ve only got 3.5 million people, and it’s gonna be more difficult than it is for the University of Texas, where they’ve got 35 million people. A wealthier state and people to be able to support the programs. We’ll have to wait and see.
“NIL is still a mystery for everybody because we don’t know where we’re gonna end up. Hopefully, someday, we’ll get something that has some stability to it that we all will have a chance to be successful with.”
A closer look at Oklahoma, Texas NIL initiatives
Barry Switzer was one of the founders of 1Oklahoma in 2022, and the NIL collective later came together with the Crimson and Cream and The Sooner Nation Collective. Upon the move, 1Oklahoma became OU’s official NIL collective.
As for Texas, the Texas One Fund emerged as one of the top NIL collectives in the country, and On3’s Pete Nakos ranked it at No. 3 in his top collectives in college sports in August. Sources told On3 it has roughly 60 football players under contract, and the organization has a working partnership with WME Sports.
The two collectives also came together ahead of this year’s Red River Rivalry matchup between Oklahoma and Texas. They teamed up for the “Golden Hat Classic” golf tournament with NIL money on the line. The winning side saw 55% of the pot go to its NIL collective while the loser received 45 percent.
Barry Switzer: Getting education is ‘not the goal anymore’
When looking at the changing NIL landscape, Barry Switzer pointed out a comment Nick Saban made after his retirement to sum things up. The former Alabama coach recalled an incident in which a player asked about NIL money before entering the transfer portal, which signaled it was time to walk away.
Switzer noted the differences in recruiting today compared to when he coached from 1961-97. In doing so, he sees education becoming less of a priority.
“I knew – I think when I saw Nick Saban leave and he said I think something about a 19-year-old kid coming into his office wanting to know how much he was gonna pay him to keep him from going into the portal, Nick knew it was time to get the hell out. I think I can understand that and appreciate that,” Switzer said. “When I recruited in the back in the ’70s, ’60s – I was recruiting in the ’60s at Arkansas. I started coaching in 1960 at Arkansas. I was with a lot of Coach Bryant’s people. … They were my mentors. I coached with those guys.
“I look back at this and say, back then, we were recruiting, we would have kids four or five years. Mothers and fathers, if they had a father, they wanted them to get an education. These kids today, that’s not the goal anymore, to get an education, to go to college. They all think they can play pro football, and that’s not true, that’s not gonna happen. If they’re not gonna be out there playing within a year or two, they’re in the portal or going somewhere else. I don’t know how in the hell they expect to get an education.”
Switzer also spoke about his approach in recruiting. He wasn’t just trying to get players to Oklahoma for four years and move on. He saw a lifelong bond, and he said that was part of his success during his career.
“I said this early on – and I ought to have to trademark on it, Paul – you know what NIL means? Now, it’s legal,” Switzer said. “What goes around, comes around. Back 50, 60 years ago, you did anything for a player, helped a player, it was illegal. Today, it’s not. I obviously coached in an area I helped kids when they needed help. I didn’t induce a player to come to Oklahoma, but once they [became] a part of my family, there were gonna be things that come up that you had to help a kid and I always told them, if you come be a part of my family, my program, I’m gonna treat you like you’re one of my own and I still do. … That’s been my approach and always has been.
“I think that’s one of the reasons I was successful is kids believed in me, they knew I’d help them if they needed help when they were here. And I’m not talking about buying a damn car. I’m talking about if they needed to get home – there was an emergency or a funeral, whatever, they’ve got to fly somewhere – I’m gonna get them there. I’m gonna treat them like they’re one of my own kids.”
Oklahoma
Three Big 12 Transfers Oklahoma State Is Reportedly Interested In
PORTAL TRACKER
Oklahoma State’s newly constructed staff got on the board Saturday, picking up portal commitments on offense and special special teams, so how about some defense?
Three Big 12 defenders have been linked with Oklahoma State via the transfer portal over the past few days, including a pair of former OK Preps standouts. Here’s a look.
Kanijal Thomas, CB, Kansas State
Thomas is an Oklahoman, playing his high school ball at Del City. He visited Stillwater on Saturday, according to On3.
He was a redshirt sophomore for the Wildcats in 2025, playing in seven games as a true freshman in 2023 before an injury saw his sophomore season end two games in.
Thomas played in eight games at K-State in 2025, finishing the year with five tackles, a PBU and a forced fumble. According to PFF, he gave up four catches for 21 yards this season on seven targets.
Now listed at 5-foot-11, 186 pounds, Thomas was a three-star prospect coming out of Del City in the 2023 class. He picked K-State over offers from OSU, Texas Tech, Iowa State and others.
Maurion Horn, CB, Texas Tech
Another Oklahoma kid, Maurion Horn has spent the past four seasons in Lubbock, where he has played in 30 games during that time. According to 247Sports, Horn will visit Stillwater on Monday.
He started all of Tech’s games in 2024, finishing that season with 56 tackles, three tackles for loss and five pass breakups. He played in seven games and dealt with some sort of injury, appearing on Tech’s availability report in Weeks 4, 14 and 15.
Horn has been targeted 88 times in his career, per PFF, where he has allowed just 47 catches.
He was a four-star prospect in the 2022 recruiting class out of Broken Arrow. He ended up picking Tech over offers from OSU, OU, Texas, Baylor, Arkansas and others.
Braylon Rigsby, Edge, Texas Tech
Listed at 6-foot-2, 275 pounds, Braylon Rigsby will join his Texas Tech teammate in Stillwater on Monday, according to 247Sports.
He’s played in 26 games across the past two seasons in Lubbock, accumulating 25 tackles and three tackles for loss during that time.
Per PFF, Rigsby has 21 QB pressures in his career to go with two QB hits.
He hails from Woodsville, Texas, which is near the Louisiana border. Rigsby was a three-star prospect in the 2023 recruiting class, coming in as the No. 861 player in the 247Sports Composite ranking.
Oklahoma
Capture of Nicolas Maduro: What it could mean for Oklahoma
Elite Delta Force captured Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife about 2 a.m. Saturday morning.
It happened in the Caracas, the capitol of Venezuela.
Social media posts how strikes ordered by President Trump into Venezuela and its military bases.
News 9 political analyst Scott Mitchell said the relationship between the U.S. and Latin America has not always been smooth and adds so many dominos will fall as a result.
“Venezuela is the beachhead for our adversaries that’s Cuba and Russia and China and Iran and it looks as if this latest situation where that they were assembling Iran swift attack boats that was sort of the last straw,” said Mitchell.
Retired war correspondent Mike Boettcher said the planning on capturing Maduro began in mid-December.
He adds Venezuela is a massive oil supplier whose oil has been taken off the market for years because of sanctions.
He has concerns about what comes next.
“That disrupts a lot of things.It even has an effect on the war in Ukraine, as Russia, you know, has used higher oil revenue because Venezuela’s oil was off the market.Oil prices went up.It helps fund the war in Ukraine,” said Boettcher.
The ramifications could even reach Oklahoma.
“China gets a 30 percent discount on the oil.If Venezuela goes for a more legitimate government and the sanctions are lifting, then they’re flooding the oil markets and that means bad news for the Oklahoma economy,” added Mitchell.
Following the capture of Maduro, President Trump said the U.S. will take control of the oil reserves in Venezuela.
Sources also say there are plans from the current administration to recruit American companies to invest billions of dollars in their oil industry.
A verified video shows the current state of Venezuela after the military operation.
Oklahoma
Oklahoma State expected to lose talented EDGE to transfer portal
Oklahoma State EDGE Kyran Duhon plans to enter the NCAA transfer portal, On3 has learned. Duhon was a member of the 2024 recruiting class.
Duhon spent one year at Oklahoma State, logged 16 total tackles (eight solo) across nine games. He began his career at UTEP, where he had a productive true freshman season, Duhon finished 2024 with 43 total tackles, including seven sacks and two PBUs.
At UTEP, his one season there resulted in second team All-Conference USA honors. He was also named to the On3 True Freshman All-America Team as well as the the Conference USA All-Freshman team.
However, Duhon’s stay in Stillwater didn’t go as expected. Oklahoma State finished the season with a 1-11 record, which included the Cowboys firing longtime head coach Mike Gundy after a 1-2 start. Doug Meacham was named interim head coach but ended the year 0-9.
Eric Morris has since been named as the program’s next head coach. He comes from North Texas, which finished with an 11-2 record and a trip to the American Conference championship game this past season. However, it doesn’t appear that Duhon will be sticking around during the changing of the guard at Oklahoma State this offseason.
Before college, Duhon was the No. 1,706 overall player in the class, and was recruited as the the No. 165 linebacker during the cycle, per the Rivals Industry Rankings, which is a proprietary algorithm that compiles ratings and rankings from all four primary recruiting media services. He was ranked as the No. 242 overall player out of Texas.
Once the NCAA transfer portal opens on Jan. 2, players can officially enter their names in the NCAA transfer portal and go on to initiate contact with their preferred schools. The portal will be open for 15 days and close on Jan. 16.
Notably, players who are on teams competing in the national championship game are allowed five extra days to make their portal decision. The College Football Playoff championship game will be played on Jan. 19, so the players on those teams will be allowed until Jan. 24 to enter the portal and choose their next school.
To keep up with the latest players on the move, check out On3’s Transfer Portal wire. The On3 Transfer Portal Instagram account and Twitter account are excellent resources to stay up to date with the latest moves.
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