Oklahoma

Sooners land commitment from SMU transfer center Branson Hickman

Published

2 years ago

April 21, 2024

Sooners land commitment from SMU transfer center Branson Hickman

With spring ball wrapping up, Oklahoma enters the break with a clear understanding of what their roster needs are before they return to campus for summer workouts.

One of those needs was filled on Sunday as the Oklahoma Sooners landed a commitment from former SMU center Branson Hickman.

Hickman entered the transfer portal in January and already holds his degree from SMU. Oklahoma reached out to him after Troy Everett’s injury, and he visited for the spring game. The visit went well enough this weekend that he committed. With more than 2,400 snaps to his ledger, he’s all but assured a leg up on starting at center this season.

Depth at the center was a significant issue when Everett went down. Joshua Bates was good in the spring game, but the addition of Hickman allows the Sooners to continue to be patient with Bates as he develops.

BREAKING: Former SMU OL Branson Hickman has Committed to Oklahoma, he tells @on3sports
The 6’3 300 OL was the Top Available IOL in the Portal (per On3)
Has 33 career starts and was an All-AAC selection in 2023
“Let’s work. Boomer!”https://t.co/FuRCKhXliX pic.twitter.com/UclHQ8upVR
— Hayes Fawcett (@Hayesfawcett3) April 21, 2024

Hickman spent four seasons with the Mustangs. He started the final 33 games, including 12 in 2022 and all 14 this past season. This past season, he was named to the Rimington Trophy Preseason Watch List, which honors the best centers in the NCAA. He was also a Second-Team All-American Athletic Conference selection this year.

Hickman may be on the smaller side, playing just under 300 pounds this past year. However, his football IQ and technique have been lauded. He should add a lot of stability to the Sooners’ offensive line as they try to stabilize it in front of new starting quarterback Jackson Arnold.

Oklahoma’s commitment to improving their line play before entering the SEC continues with this commitment.

Contact/Follow us @SoonersWire on X, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Oklahoma news, notes, and opinions. You can also follow Bryant on X @thatmanbryant.

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Oklahoma

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10 hours ago

November 4, 2025

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Oklahoma

Kickoff Time, TV Information Announced for Alabama’s Home Game Against Oklahoma

Published

1 day ago

November 3, 2025

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Kickoff Time, TV Information Announced for Alabama’s Home Game Against Oklahoma

Last season, Alabama football was effectively eliminated from College Football Playoff contention by way of a 24-3 loss at Oklahoma that was entirely uncharacteristic of the team that had just trounced LSU 42-13 two weekends prior.

The wait for the rematch spans less than a year, 357 days in total. On Nov. 15, the No. 4 Crimson Tide (7-1, 5-0 SEC) will meet the No. 11 Sooners at home at 2:30 p.m. CT. The game will be nationally televised on ABC.

Oklahoma (7-2, 3-2 SEC) is 2-0 in true SEC road games this fall. Those wins came at South Carolina and at Tennessee, respectively. The Sooners had a 6-7 season last year, its first in the conference, with the upset over Alabama paving the way for Brent Venables’ team to get into a bowl game.

Alabama began year two of the Kalen DeBoer era with a theme that continued from 2024 and was perhaps most exemplified by that Oklahoma game: losing on the road to an unranked team. However, since then, the Crimson Tide has not lost a game (though it came close in its 29-22 triumph at South Carolina on Oct. 25).

This Saturday, the Crimson Tide plays host to LSU in a game that kicks off at 6:30 p.m. CT, also on ABC. The Tigers (5-3, 2-3 SEC) revamped their coaching staff after a 49-25 home loss against undefeated Texas A&M Oct. 25, relieving head coach Brian Kelly of his duties the next day and dismissing offensive coordinator Joe Sloan the day after that.

The Sooners would do well to avoid another loss for their own hopes to get into the 12-team College Football Playoff. Texas and Ole Miss have defeated Oklahoma so far in 2025 (the Sooners and Longhorns play one another at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas), and a third loss with an SEC featuring so many contenders for a berth would be catastrophic. Oklahoma is on a bye this weekend, meaning it will be rested for the game at Alabama.

Alabama has not lost a conference home game since November of 2019 against LSU. All four of the Crimson Tide’s 2024 losses under DeBoer occurred away from Tuscaloosa. Its last home loss overall was in September 2023 against the Longhorns. That year, the team went on to make the last iteration of the four-team Playoff in what turned out to be Nick Saban’s final season as head coach.

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