As the dust from the first round of the playoffs has settled, one thing most people can agree on is that the Oklahoma Sooners looked like an “imposter” pick in the playoff bracket, obviously outside of JMU and Tulane. Brent Venables’ squad failed to make much of an impression in the second half of the playoff game, allowing Alabama to mount a comeback and score 28 points. As an early knockout result, the Sooners are already seeing movement in the portal. Despite all the negativity and critics surrounding the program, Brent Venables remains optimistic as usual.

On December 23rd, the college football Hayes Fawcett hopped onto X and spilled the news: “BREAKING: Oklahoma RB Jovantae Barnes is entering the @TransferPortal, he tells @On3Sports”

Jovantae Barnes had a promising start to his OU career after arriving as a highly-touted four-star recruit from Las Vegas. As a freshman, he looked like the next big thing, racking up over 500 yards and earning a bowl game start. But after that promising debut, injuries and a ton of competition in the running back room really limited his playing time.

The good news for him is he only played in four games this past regular season. That means he successfully used his redshirt year and still has one full year of eligibility left to play elsewhere.

This season, he only managed 19 to the ball for 45 rushing yards and a single touchdown due to injury and a reduced role. That’s a one big dip from his solid 2024 campaign where he put up 122 carries, 577 yards, and 5 TDs.

The second player: OL Jacob Sexton

The word on the street (On3), Jacob Sexton has already hit the transfer portal. This is a tough break for both him and the team, as his time in Norman was pretty rough due to a string of bad luck with injuries.

He was a big-time recruit coming in back in 2022, but he just couldn’t catch a break health-wise. His 2025 season pretty much ended right as it began after he got a knee injury on only his sixth snap of the opening game. Because of all these setbacks, he’s looking for a fresh start. He will have one more year of eligibility left to play somewhere he can hopefully stay healthy and get consistent playing time.

This departure adds to some changes on the offensive line for Oklahoma. Another young lineman, Isaiah Dent, just announced he was transferring too.

With new young talent emerging for the Sooners, like freshman Michael Fasusi taking over the left tackle spot, Sexton is likely seeking an opportunity to be a guaranteed starter somewhere else for his final collegiate season. If you think that Sooners’ SEC run is just one year and done, you couldn’t be any more wrong; the Sooners head coach Brent Venables believes the best is yet to come.

Brent Venables believes the Sooners are coming back for more

Oklahoma may not want to hear it right now, but the Sooners are still in the right place. The Sooners might have lost to Alabama at home in the playoffs opener, but if you zoom out, the progress is obvious. This time last year, Oklahoma was headed for the Armed Forces Bowl and bracing for a loss to Navy.

Folks in Norman were questioning everything, including whether Brent Venables should even deserve to keep his job. Just 11 months later, OU is playing in the CFP. Despite having one of the toughest schedules, not many people expected them to reach eight wins, let alone make the playoffs. Props to Venables.

Venables believes this season showed how far the team has come. “Our best days are sitting in front of us. I really believe that,” he said after the loss. “This is a group that got us to our fifth playoff and did, in many ways, to many people, the unthinkable.” His message was simple: this team easily has already beaten expectations, and it is not done yet.

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If it weren’t for the MIA running back corps and John Mateer’s injury, the Sooners could have done more than that. The good news for Oklahoma is that the defense and special teams were strong all year. Brent Venables could simply dive into the portal and land another John Mateer–esque, or even better, gunslinger and put some green on certified running backs, and they should be fine.

In fact, they could do far better than they did this season, especially with a strong recruiting class coming in. That’s why he’s confident and why Oklahoma thinks its best football is still ahead.