College football’s yearly game of musical chairs is officially underway. 

For the schools that did not have a head coaching change, Monday marks the official opening of the winter transfer portal window. 

From Dec. 9-28, players can enter their name into the portal and transfer to try and find greener pastures. 

In Norman, it will officially kick off an offseason of change. 

To say the Sooners struggled in 2024 would be an understatement. 

Brent Venables’ program fell flat on their face in the first season in the SEC, finishing 6-6 overall, 2-6 in league play and earning a bid to the Armed Forces Bowl to play Navy.

Offensive coordinator Seth Littrell lost his job after just seven games in charge, prompting a coaching search that led to Washington State play caller Ben Arbuckle. 

Now, after OU set the wrong kind of records offensively, Oklahoma will raid the portal to find proven production in an attempt to turn things around in 2025. 

A few notable Sooners have already announced their intentions to enter the portal, or it has been reported that they will be entering the portal this week. 

Quarterback Jackson Arnold and receiver Nic Anderson are the biggest names who will be departing OU, though the Sooners are also technically losing a starter in tight end Bauer Sharp, who will transfer again after an up-and-down season in Norman.

With more names likely to follow over the coming days, Venables and Arbuckle have their work cut out for them.

The first thing the Sooners will need is a portal quarterback. 

Michael Hawkins Jr. will return a bit of starting experience, but OU will need another quarterback if for nothing else than numbers, but Oklahoma is expected to pursue a starter quality quarterback who can battle Hawkins for the job. 

Eyes quickly turn to Washington State quarterback John Mateer, who worked well with Arbuckle, but as of Sunday night he’s yet to announce his intentions to transfer. An option who will be in the portal is Tulane quarterback Darian Mensah, who played in Norman this year during his freshman campaign. 

Regardless of who starts at QB in 2025, the Sooners will need options to catch the football. 

Anderson’s departure is expected to be the beginning of a room that has already lost Jaquaize Pettaway to the portal after failing to make a real impact in two years. 

Jalil Farooq can come back after injuries cost him essentially the entire 2024 season, but Oklahoma will likely need to land three or four receivers who have shown they can be relied on at the collegiate level. 

Similarly, there is no proven production at tight end. Sharp is transferring and Jake Roberts graduated, leaving virtually no options for Joe Jon Finley with any real experience. 

DeMarco Murray’s running back room could use at least one body as well to rebuild numbers after Kalib Hicks, Emeka Megwa and Chapman McKown are all hitting the portal having not been a factor whatsoever in 2024.

After battling injuries, Oklahoma’s offensive line actually looks okay on the numbers front. 

Redshirt freshmen Logan Howland and Heath Ozaeta, who closed the season by holding down the left side of the line of scrimmage, can all return along with center Troy Everett and right guards Febechi Nwaiwu and Eddy Pierre-Louis. Tackles Jacob Sexton and Jake Taylor can also return after recovering from their injuries, and Bill Bedenbaugh has a number of young faces waiting in the wings to fill out the two-deep. 

Oklahoma could opt to try and land a top-end tackle to add to the group, or a depth piece to bring more experience should somebody go down, but for the most part Bedenbaugh can be selective in the portal. 

On the other side of the line of scrimmage, the Sooners may need to be more active. 

Even if R Mason Thomas returns at defensive end, OU is losing Ethan Downs, Trace Ford and Caiden Woullard to graduation. A body or two will be necessary on the edge, and OU could use a defensive tackle as well after Da’Jon Terry graduated out. 

Despite losing Danny Stutsman, the Sooners could be set at linebacker with Kip Lewis, Kobie McKinzie, Dasan McCullough, Jaren Kanak, Lewis Carter and Sammy Omosigho all set to return. Losing another one of those numbers to the portal could change the math, but Zac Alley and Venables have that position group primed to be difference makers yet again. 

Similarly, Brandon Hall’s safety room looks loaded as well. 

Peyton Bowen and Robert Spears-Jennings are set to start despite losing Billy Bowman, and the freshman trio of Jaydan Hardy, Reggie Powers and Michael Boganowski were all handed snaps here and there to spur their development along in 2024. 

Jay Valai’s cornerbacks could use some help, however. 

Woodi Washington and Dez Malone are both moving on, and Gentry Williams was never able to get going this past season before an injury cost him. 

Eli Bowen and Jacobe Johnson are a young pair that can be built around, but a couple of experienced bodies could help round out a group that has been bitten by the injury bug in two of Venables’ three seasons back in Norman. 

Punter Luke Elzinga, who was one of the Sooners’ most consistent players in 2024, is also out of eligibility, and the succession plan there is unclear. 

Players have to have their name in the portal by Dec. 28 to be immediately eligible next year, but the decision on their next school does not have to be made by then. 

The next few weeks for OU’s coaching staff will be spent simultaneously getting the current players ready for the bowl game and making the most of those extra practices while hosting players in the transfer portal on visits to try and lure them to Norman. 

Oklahoma can’t afford to miss on their portal additions this offseason, as the results of the 2025 season could have far reaching implications on the future of the program.