Lincoln Riley reveals story on Trevon West returning from transfer portal

In early August, Lincoln Riley’s Oklahoma offense welcomed back a familiar face in wide receiver Trevon West.

West, a sophomore, entered his name in the NCAA transfer portal in February, and all signs pointed to the former three-star recruit leaving Norman for another university. However, months after he concluded his freshman season with appearances in eight games, logging just four catches for 59 yards, West had a change of heart. In a strange scene of events, the Arlington, Texas native ultimately decided to return to Oklahoma for his sophomore year, and Riley on Tuesday shed light on West’s decision.

“It’s a great story. He went through some things personally last year, kind of throughout the season, as did a lot of people with what was going on. He obviously made the decision to leave the program and get a chance to catch his breath and figure out what he needed to do,” Riley said. “We got a phone call in the late spring, early summer that he was interested in coming back, and we were happy to get the phone call. We were sick when he left, just because we knew he had the chance to be a really good player. Obviously, getting a college education, and we felt like he fit in here. We really loved having him around, so it was kind of a shock to us when he left.”

West’s comeback story at Oklahoma was largely buried for the first few weeks of the year, as Riley admitted that Oklahoma put him “at the bottom of the depth chart, bottom of the barrel” when he returned to the program. West has had to “work his way back,” as Riley put it, which meant having just four receptions for 45 yards through the first five games of the season. Last week, in a second-half comeback win over Kansas, West may not have logged a catch — but a tremendous 66-yard rush off a reverse play, which led Oklahoma to Kansas’ nine-yard line, helped the Sooners claw their way back.

“He’s a great kid, his teammates love him, so seeing him make the big play [against Kansas], our sideline erupted,” Riley said. “Even when we showed it in our team meeting on Monday — the guys have respect for him because it’s not easy to come back. A lot of guys, when they leave, they would never do that.

“But yeah, he’s come back, I think he’s grown up a lot, I think he’s just really more settled in all areas of his life.”