Oklahoma wrapped up its 2025 recruitment class after the national signing day in February. Although the 18 commits ranked them 17th nationally, they were unable to secure the prospects they had hoped for. Mind you, competing in the SEC without adequate and quality depth would be a herculean task. So, what could Brent Venables do to make his team a contender and at least finish with a 10-win season along with playoff qualification?

The answer is the transfer portal. Truth be told, many coaches complain about the portal, as this has given incentives to players after the NIL to jump ship without any consideration for the team. Much of this is indeed true. But one coach’s loss is another one’s benefit. Something Brent Venables will be looking to execute this spring window. Incidentally, in no time, the head coach has announced two of the best portal additions, too.

Jaydn Ott had decided to enter the transfer portal from the California Golden Bears just yesterday. But the player wasted no time and landed in Oklahoma, successfully completing his transfer to Venables’ camp. The ace running back will be a solid addition to an RB room that struggled massively last season (ranked 78th nationally) and will look to provide the added edge with his experience. Parker Thines, speaking on the ‘OU Insider,’ talked about the difference that Ott will create in the RB room.

“Jaydn Ott is a complete running back. Dangerous as a rusher, dangerous as a receiver, even dangerous as a returner. If we look back at his career at Cal (California Golden Bears) and some of the stuff that he’s done in the return game, he can contribute in every facet of the game that you expect a running back to be able to contribute to. And it’s been a while since Oklahoma had a true three-pronged running back.”

Indeed, Jaydn Ott dominates every aspect of the game. Take, for example, the first season the former California running back had. In that, he produced almost 900 rushing yards along with 321 receiving yards, contributing 11 touchdowns in total. The RB won himself a spot on the Pac-12 All-Freshman team and backed his performance with another 1,000+ rushing yards season, along with 196 receiving yards.

Brent Venables has added another gifted prospect to his roster in addition to Ott.

Brent Venables’ transfer plan not sustainable?

The 6’5″ and 300 lb. IOL Jake Maikkula has also decided to join Oklahoma after entering the transfer portal at Stanford. The junior, who still has two years of eligibility left, played in all 12 games last season and made 11 starts. This versatility makes him the most important IOL in the portal. Moreover, Maikkula’s ability to play different roles like left guard, center, and right guard adds a layer of intrigue to his signing, too. With the signing, Brent Venables has started to tap deep into the portal and fetch some of the most talented prospects. The head coach gave his reasoning in a recent statement.

“Again, you’re looking at, you know, probably every position on your team,” Venables said. “You say, ‘Well, we could use another guy there,’ you really could. And so we have our priorities and really don’t want to talk through those right now.” While the portal business might come out of necessity this season, the head coach wants a healthy balance between recruitment and portal signings in the long term. “In a perfect world, you want a roster that has somewhere in that 75 to 25, 80 to 20 (percent), high school to portal range. I think that’s a philosophy that we all believe in from a continuity standpoint.”

The signing of Jake Maikkula will surely bolster the OT room now. He will be joining players like the 5-star OT Michael Fausi and 11th-ranked OT Ryan Fodje. Other players like Logan Howland, Heath Ozaeta, and Troy Everett will be the crucial players in Oklahoma’s set up in the OT room. They will provide added depth for Brent Venables to choose from throughout the season.