Oklahoma RB transfer Sam Franklin signs with USF

Former Oklahoma running back Sam Franklin has signed with USF out of the NCAA transfer portal, On3 has learned. Franklin entered the NCAA transfer portal on April 16.

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 the Bulls.

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.

He’s joining a USF squad that is coming off consecutive 7-6 seasons under head coach Alex Golesh. Notably, the Bulls are 2-0 in bowl games under Golesh’s guidance, winning the Boca Raton Bowl and Hawaii Bowl in 2023 and 2024, respectively.

That follows a three-year strech where USF was one bottom teams in FCS, winning four games in that span. Their record was 4-29 under head coach Jeff Scott before Golesh’s group took over. They will look to improve on their consecutive seven-win seasons in 2025. Perhaps with Franklin leading the charge in the running backs room. Based on his production in previous seasons, it wouldn’t be surprising to see a breakout season from the former Oklahoma and UT Martin running back.

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.