Oklahoma RB Sam Franklin enters NCAA transfer portal

Oklahoma running back Sam Franklin has entered the NCAA transfer portal, per On3’s Pete Nakos. Franklin began his career at UT Martin before playing one season at OU.

During his lone season in Norman, Franklin totaled 18 carries for 132 yards. However, the previous season he provided career numbers with his previous school. In 2023, Franklin totaled 223 carries for 1,378 yards and 11 touchdowns.

He logged just over 2,000 rushing yards in three seasons with UT Martin. Before his breakout season, Franklin totaled 92 rushes for 743 yards and nine touchdowns. However, most of that came during his sophomore season in 2022.

Despite playing four seasons of college football, Franklin was able to receive a redshirt having played in just two games during his true freshman season. This means he’ll be a redshirt senior in the transfer portal, and will have one season of eligbility remaining to play for his next desitnation.

Oklahoma finished the 2024 season with a 2-6 record against SEC competition during its first season in the conference. That earned the Sooners a 12th-place finish out of 16 in the final conference standings. They finished with a 6-7 overall record after a 21-20 loss to Navy in the Armed Forced Bowl in December.

Before college, Franklin was unranked in the On3 Industry Rankings, which is a proprietary algorithm that compiles ratings and rankings from all four primary recruiting media services. Based on his breakout career at UT Martin, and subsequent commitment to the Sooners, he appears to be undervalued leaving the high school ranks.

The transfer portal wire provides a real-time feed of player activity, including basic player profile information, transfer portal ranking and original On3 Industry recruiting ranking, as well as NIL valuation (name, image and likeness).

To keep up with the latest players on the move, check out On3’s Transfer Portal wire. The On3 Transfer Portal Instagram account and Twitter account are excellent resources to stay up to date with the latest moves.

California transfer RB Jaydn Ott signs with Oklahoma

Shortly before Franklin’s transfer decision, coveted California transfer running back Jaydn Ott found his new home. He’s taking his talents to Oklahoma via the NCAA transfer portal, the school announced.

The ball-carrier spent the past three seasons with the Golden Bears. He’ll have one year of eligibility remaining as he moves to Norman, and Ott will be hoping he goes out with a bang.

Moreover, Ott has been Cal’s starting running back ever since his freshman season in 2022. He broke onto the scene that year with 897 yards and eight touchdowns to go with 46 catches for 345 yards and three more scores. He was named to the Pac-12 All-Freshman team and all-conference third team as well.

On3’s Steve Samra contributed to this report.