The transfer portal hadn’t even officially opened for the spring window before Oklahoma made two splashy additions.
The Sooners continued to reshape their offense by landing Cal running back Jaydn Ott and Stanford offensive lineman Jake Maikkula, two key pieces that further signal a major overhaul on that side of the ball.
That now makes 13 of Oklahoma’s 17 transfer commitments—dating back to the winter window—offensive additions. And after last season, that makeover was necessary.
The Sooners finished 97th nationally in scoring in 2024, averaging just 24 points per game. That led to the midseason firing of offensive coordinator Seth Littrell. Former Washington State coordinator Ben Arbuckle now takes over the offense, and with him comes what might be the most important new face in Norman—quarterback John Mateer.
Despite flying under the radar last season as one of the final two starting quarterbacks in the fading Pac-12, Mateer was one of the most productive signal callers in the country. He ranked fourth nationally in total offense with 3,965 yards and averaged 330.4 yards per game.
Now with Ott—the No. 3 overall player in the portal—joining him, national analysts believe Oklahoma could be in for a dramatic offensive turnaround.
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“Bold prediction incoming: Oklahoma is gonna score more than 24 points per game this season,” ESPN’s Max Olson said. “Sooners land two high-priority portal targets tonight in RB Jaydn Ott and OL Jake Maikkula, and they’re definitely not done.”
On3’s Ari Wasserman also praised the move, calling Ott “another awesome offensive weapon” for the Sooners, adding, “Now if we can just stop their receivers from being injured and we may have a problem in the SEC in 2025.”
Receiver injuries plagued Oklahoma last year, particularly during the early stages of Jackson Arnold’s starting tenure. With Mateer now taking over, it’s likely the Sooners will turn their attention to adding more talent at wide receiver via the portal.