Breaking: SOONER’S Complete Blockbuster Trade for Gavin Freeman Replacement….
Oklahoma junior wide receiver Gavin Freeman announced his entry to the transfer portal on Tuesday.
I will be entering the transfer portal with 2 years of eligibility remaining. I wanna thank the University Of Oklahoma and the fans for all the support and love.
— gavin freeman (@TheGavinFreeman) May 1, 2024
Freeman started his journey with the Sooners as a walk-on in 2022 and quickly made headlines after scoring a 46-yard rushing touchdown in the first game of his college career. He earned a scholarship after tallying 117 scrimmage yards and appearing in all 13 games in 2022.
The 5-foot-8, 189-pounder took on an expanded special teams role in 2023 and began the season with an 82-yard punt return touchdown. Freeman struggled the rest of the season, recording just 40 yards on his 17 other returns and fumbling multiple times.
After OU brought in Purdue transfer Deion Burks this offseason, who will seemingly fill the slot role Drake Stoops held for years, its wide receiver room became even more crowded. Burks’ five receptions, 174 yards and two touchdowns in OU’s spring game showed his potential as a leading contributor in the Sooners’ offense.
Redshirt sophomore Nic Anderson and senior Jalil Farooq, the Sooners’ second and third leading receivers in 2023, will return alongside senior Andrel Anthony, who had the team lead in receiving yards until his season-ending injury against Texas.
OU’s deep receiver room also includes junior Jayden Gibson, who recorded 375 yards and five touchdowns a season ago, speedy junior Brenen Thompson and former consensus four-star and top 100 prospect Jaquaize Pettaway. With the depth, Freeman, L.V. Bunkley-Shelton and D.J. Graham have all entered the transfer portal this offseason.
The storybook career at Oklahoma is coming to a close for Gavin Freeman. The former walk-on turned scholarship player announced via X that he’s entering the transfer portal.
Freeman appeared in all 26 games over his true freshman and sophomore seasons for the Sooners. Though he primarily worked as a punt returner and on special teams, he did rack up 22 catches for 141 yards and a touchdown over two seasons. He also added 12 carries for 91 yards and a score.
He created big plays in both seasons for the Sooners. On the first touch of his collegiate career, he took a reverse 46 yards for a touchdown in the 2022 season opener against UTEP. Later that year, he caught a 41-yard bomb from Dillon Gabriel in the win over Kansas.
In 2023, he opened the season with a punt return for a touchdown against Arkansas State. Freeman created big plays in his short tenure with the Sooners, however he had a hard time in the return game over the second half of the 2023 season.
Still, he’s an athletically gifted player that ran into a bit of a roster crunch for 2024. The Sooners are over the scholarship limit and are still looking to add a significant name in the transfer portal. With the depth they have at wide receiver, it’s hard to imagine Freeman ever breaking through to be a significant part of the receiver rotation.
But just because it didn’t happen at OU doesn’t mean it can’t happen somewhere else. With his speed and athleticism, he’ll help someone create explosive plays in their offense.
