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Another Oklahoma OL Enters Transfer Portal

Evan McClure, a legacy recruit and a local talent, chose OU over other Division I offers but will be leaving the school where his dad played.

John E. Hoover

Oklahoma offensive lineman Evan McClure
Oklahoma offensive lineman Evan McClure / John E. Hoover / Sooners On SI
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Things don’t always go according to plan.

For Evan McClure, his time as an offensive lineman was shorter than he expected.

As Oklahoma continues to deal with roster limitations and the reduction of walk-on positions, McClure announced Monday he was entering the NCAA Transfer Portal.

“After a conversation with my family I have decided to enter the portal with 4 years of eligibility,” McClure wrote on Twitter/X. “I want to thank the University of Oklahoma, Coach (Bill) Bedenbaugh, Coach (Brent) Venables, and the Oklahoma staff for everything.”

The 6-foot-5, 275-pound McClure came to OU this year as a preferred walk-on for Bedenbaugh’s rebuilt o-line room. After receiving his PWO offer in December and committing to OU in February, he arrived on campus as a true freshman in June.

An all-star offensive tackle who won four straight state championships at 6A powerhouse Bixby, McClure is the son of former 4-year OU center Bruce McClure (1993-97). 

He chose to walk on at OU over offers from Arkansas (PWO), Air Force, Tulsa, Abilene Christian, Pittsburgh State, Missouri Western, Akron, Central Oklahoma, East Central and Merrimack.

“It was a slow process,” McClure told Sooners On SI in February. “I was looking to get some more offers maybe and figure out kind of where I was going. And then OU kind of hopped in with the PWO and I started liking it a lot. I went down there and visited last Friday. Just, Coach B is someone I’d really like to play for, and that’s why I chose there.”

“Going up there last Friday, I mean, the SOUL Mission was a big part of it,” McClure said. “My family and I liked the connection that has with the whole team. And then, you know how great (Jerry Schmidt’s) program is and the weight lifting room. I mean, a big thing for me is I’m ready to get in the weight room and get a lot stronger, and that’s what Schmitty can do.” 

McClure was a bonus to a 2024 recruiting class that featured scholarship recruits like Josh Aisosa, Daniel Akinkunmi, Isaiah Autry, Eugene Brooks and Eddy Pierre-Louis on the offensive line. 

McClure is the 11th Sooner on the 2024 roster to leave so far. That includes a total of three offensive linemen and a total of four walk-ons.

This year's NCAA Transfer Portal opened officially opened on Monday. To be eligible to play right away in 2025, players must enter their name into the transfer portal before Dec. 28. The spring portal window runs from April 16-25, 2025.

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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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