Brent Venables Suffers Major 1107-YD RB Transfer Portal Blow as John Mateer Receives Strong Verdict on Oklahoma Future

The Oklahoma Sooners head coach, Brent Venables, must be murmuring, ‘enough is enough.’ The 2024 season had not ended like he might have envisioned. The Sooners came up with a 6-7 record. Plus, Venables got called out for trying his hand in the new role. While the 2025 season is yet to pull up the curtains, they have already tapped into panic mode. Thanks to their schedule, it will demand their blood, sweat, and tears. Just when Venables might have thought that it couldn’t go any worse, the spring season came with some new woes. Thanks to the portal. The Sooners are now battling the loss of their 1,107-yard running back. Amidst all this, their only reason for hope has been their quarterback, John Mateer. But there too, the clock seems to be ticking off.     

Well, Venables must be yet to get over what the cold, wintry months ushered in Oklahoma. The Sooners lost 26 players to the winter window of the portal.  The notable ones that had cost them hard were quarterback Jackson Arnold, wide receiver Jaquaize Pettaway, linebacker Dasan McCullough, wide receiver Brenen Thompson, among a bunch of others. Was Venables upset? Definitely. But he did not let the losses break his morale. Instead, he said, “Yeah, this is modern college football. I don’t think any team’s going to be immune to that.” Maybe now he realizes that their luck only gets worse. 

April 25 marks the closing of the spring window of the transfer portal. And the ending could not be any more bitter for Venables’ squad. Oklahoma running back Gavin Sawchuk has reportedly decided to enter the transfer portal. Well, this was the second blow in the Sooners’ running back room. Sawchuk is joining former FCS transfer Sam Franklin, who entered the portal a week ago.

On April 23, On3’s Pete Nakos declared the news. “Oklahoma running back Gavin Sawchuk is expected to enter the transfer portal, sources tell @GeorgeStoia and I.” Sawchuk, a senior from Littleton, CO, came to Oklahoma as a consensus 4-star prospect and the No. 1 prospect from Colorado. He broke out as a redshirt freshman, running for a team-high 744 yards on 120 carries in 2023, a big improvement from 2022, when he came up with 105 yards. Adding 128 yards in his final season with Venables’ squad, Sawchuk moves ahead with a strong resume of 977 yards in rushing and 130 yards in receiving, making him a strong prospect with 1107 yards. But what made the running back cut ties with Oklahoma?

Sooners insider George Stoia III has the answer. On April 25, he tweeted, “With the addition of Jaydn Ott, the expectation was at least one of Oklahoma’s running backs might enter the portal. Appears to be Gavin Sawchuk. #Sooners.” The commitment of a tailback of Jaydyn Ott’s caliber is a notable gain for the Sooners at the position. After all, Venables needs someone who can boost their offense after they ranked 76th nationally last season. 

So, it’s obvious that the head coach would not count on Sawchuck. That’s because he struggled with injuries and a lot of offensive inconsistency. Venables does not have to worry much about the RB room with Ott around. However, his good times in the QB room turned out to be short-lived.   

It’s not the right time for Brent Venables to sit back and relax 

Just when Venables might have thought of focusing on their strengths, given the dreadful schedule ahead, here comes another blow. The Sooners have nine opponents next season that have odds currently to win the national championship among the top 25 in the country. The list includes Michigan, Auburn, Texas, South Carolina, Ole Miss, Tennessee, Alabama, Missouri, and LSU. While Venables might have thought of counting on their quarterback, they don’t have much time on hand.

On April 24, ESPN analyst and former NFL quarterback Dan Orlovsky curated a list of college quarterbacks who are expected to make up a loaded draft class in 2026. Fortunately, or unfortunately, Venables’ quarterback made it to the list. While Orlovsky himself failed to leave a mark as a notable QB in the NFL, his evaluations of quarterbacks are mostly apt. The list featured stars like Arch Manning, LaNorris Sellers, Garrett Nussmeier, Sam Leavitt, and John Mateer, along with a bunch of others. 

If we further dive deep into the list, we might notice something more. Out of the 11 quarterbacks Orlovsky listed, John Mateer is one of six who haven’t been an everyday starter for their current team yet. But so what? He is likely to do wonders in Brent Venables’ squad. After all, the quarterback followed his offensive coordinator, Ben Arbuckle, to Norman, so he will at least be familiar with the offense despite playing for a new team. With Mateer yet to take flight, is it time for OU’s head coach to start prepping the runway for another QB?