Austin Stogner explains why he transferred back to Oklahoma after one season

It is rare in college sports when a player transfer from a program only to return after one year. But that is precisely what happened with tight end Austin Stogner and the Oklahoma Sooners.

After one year away from the program, Stogner transferred back to Oklahoma. And following the Sooners’ spring practice, the six-foot-five senior from Plano, TX, explained why he transferred back after one season at South Carolina.

“I missed the whole, like, the culture of this place and how great this place is,” said Stogner. “And what people think of Oklahoma and what it stands for. And I just want to get back and represent this university.”

Things are a little bit different from when Stogner first left the program. Arguably the most significant difference is at the head coaching position. At one point in time, Stogner called current USC headman Lincoln Riley his head coach. Now it is former Clemson Tigers defensive coordinator Brent Venables who leads the program. And although the head coach may be different, for Stogner, the culture is similar.

“Yeah, I love coach Venables. He expects the best out of everybody, and the best is his standard. And he keeps everyone to that high standard.”

Stogner spent one season with the Gamecocks and another former Sooner before returning to Oklahoma. At the time, he transferred with former Sooners quarterback Spencer Rattler who decided to leave the program after losing his starting quarterback position to Caleb Williams.

However, last offseason was the season for turnover for Oklahoma because they would eventually lose Williams as he decided to follow Riley to USC.

Stogner at South Carolina

In his lone season at South Carolina, Stogner put up decent numbers, but nothing compared to his best season at Oklahoma. With the Gamecocks losing your time and recorded 20 catches for 210 yards and one touchdown. In his best season at Oklahoma, in 2020, Stogner had 26 catches for 422 yards and three touchdowns. he was also percentage points behind receiver Marvin Mims Jr. in average yards per reception at 16.2 compared to Mims’ 16.5.

Needless to say, all the movement from last season scrambled things for the Sooners. But now that dust has settled and the vision for the program going forward has been made more transparent, Oklahoma will be glad to have the services of Stogner next season: a big-body tight end who has the skill set to make plays in the passing game and get down and dirty in the trenches when needed.