The choices that may shape Oklahoma’s 2024 roster
With the transfer portal opening on December 4 and NFL Draft decisions looming for several key Sooners, these questions will play a role in Oklahoma’s roster management and outlook for 2024.
NORMAN — Oklahoma’s regular season has ended, but silly season has just begun.
Since the regular season ended last Friday with a 69-45 win over TCU, Jeff Lebby has left for the head coaching job at Mississippi State, and Brent Venables has replaced him by promoting Seth Littrell from analyst to offensive coordinator and adding tight ends coach Joe Jon Finley as a co-offensive coordinator. However, coaching staff changes are only one piece of Oklahoma’s offseason puzzle, as roster management is becoming an increasingly important piece in today’s college football landscape.
It’s a year-round project that’s grown in complexity since the introduction of the transfer portal and NIL. With the portal set to open on Monday for the first 30-day window of the cycle and NFL decisions for draft-eligible players across the country looming, the first steps toward determining Oklahoma’s 2024 roster will be taken in the coming days.
Oklahoma’s roster transformation, to whatever extent it occurs this offseason, has not yet begun; the Sooners have only had two players enter the portal since the start of the season: offensive lineman Marcus Hicks and defensive back-turned-receiver D.J. Graham. No players have declared for the NFL Draft as of yet.
Nonetheless, some degree of change is expected. That is the nature of the game in this day and age, and Oklahoma is no exception, especially as Venables continues to shape the program not only in his image but also in preparation for the Sooners’ move to the SEC next season.
The Sooners’ roster outlook for Year 3 under Venables is becoming clearer by the day, but there are still several unknowns in terms of positional needs for 2024 ahead of the transfer portal window and underclassmen NFL Draft deadline. To lay the groundwork for Oklahoma’s roster movement, let’s look at some key decisions that will be made for current Sooners who may pursue professional opportunities, as well as how those decisions will impact Oklahoma’s portal efforts.
