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OU Football: Oklahoma LB Enters Transfer Portal

Sooners' senior linebacker Shane Whitter has been a steady contributor on special teams for four years after arriving as a 4-star prospect from North Carolina.

John E. Hoover

Shane Whitter
Shane Whitter / NATHAN J. FISH/THE OKLAHOMAN / USA TODAY

As Oklahoma’s annual spring game approaches on Saturday, it appears players are beginning to advantage of the latest opening of the NCAA Transfer Portal.

Shane Whitter, a fifth-year senior linebacker for the Sooners, announced Tuesday night that he is entering the portal “with gratitude.”

“First and foremost, thank you God for guiding me to where I am today,” Whitter wrote in a post on Twitter/X. “I would like to thank Sooner Nation for an unforgettable chapter at Oklahoma! It has been an honor to work alongside the exceptional coaches, teammates and staff here who have helped me grow as a person and athlete. I am honored to have been able to call myself a Sooner for four years and appreciate every step of my journey at OU.

“With gratitude, I’m entering the transfer portal for my final two years of eligibility. While I’m excited for the journey ahead, Oklahoma will always hold a special place in my heart."

Whitter is the second Sooner to enter the portal on Tuesday, the first day of the spring portal period. Earlier in the day, walk-on tight end Hayden Bray hit the portal.

Whitter came to OU in January 2020 a 4-star prospect out of Burlington, NC, and the No. 11 inside linebacker in the nation according to 247 Sports.

He played mostly special teams during his career, including nine games in 2020, 13 games in 2021, four games before a knee injury in 2022 and 13 games in 2023. 

In his career, the 6-foot-, 220-pound Whitter made 48 total tackles, including a career-high 27 in 2021. He finished with 3.5 tackles for loss and a fumble recovery while playing in 39 total games.

Whitter chose the Sooners over North Carolina, Navy and Wake Forest, among others.

The NCAA Transfer Portal is open after the conference championship games and for 15 days in the spring. It’s also open for specific programs who experience a head coaching change. 

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John E. Hoover
JOHN E. HOOVER

John is an award-winning journalist whose work spans five decades in Oklahoma, with multiple state, regional and national awards as a sportswriter at various newspapers. During his newspaper career, John covered the Dallas Cowboys, the Kansas City Chiefs, the Oklahoma Sooners, the Oklahoma State Cowboys, the Arkansas Razorbacks and much more. In 2016, John changed careers, migrating into radio and launching a YouTube channel, and has built a successful independent media company, DanCam Media. From there, John has written under the banners of Sporting News, Sports Illustrated, Fan Nation and a handful of local and national magazines while hosting daily sports talk radio shows in Oklahoma City, Tulsa and statewide. John has also spoken on Capitol Hill in Oklahoma City in a successful effort to put more certified athletic trainers in Oklahoma public high schools. Among the dozens of awards he has won, John most cherishes his national "Beat Writer of the Year" from the Associated Press Sports Editors, Oklahoma's "Best Sports Column" from the Society of Professional Journalists, and Two "Excellence in Sports Medicine Reporting" Awards from the National Athletic Trainers Association. John holds a bachelor's degree in Mass Communications from East Central University in Ada, OK. Born and raised in North Pole, Alaska, John played football and wrote for the school paper at Ada High School in Ada, OK. He enjoys books, movies and travel, and lives in Broken Arrow, OK, with his wife and two kids.

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