All Sooners

Texas Transfer Brenen Thompson Commits to Oklahoma

The world class sprinter dominated high school football and track in the Texas Panhandle., but played in nine games for the Longhorns last year and only caught one pass.

John E. Hoover

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Oklahoma’s wide receiver group just got faster.

A lot faster.

Brenen Thompson committed to the Sooners on Monday as a transfer from the University of Texas.

Brenen Thompson
Brenen Thompson :: Mikala Compton/American-Statesman-USA TODAY NETWORK

Thompson is believed to the be the second player in modern history to transfer across the Red River. The late Paul Moriarty, who passed away in 2018, was the first, according to OU Insider’s Parker Thune. Moriarty began his career at UT in 1988 and played for OU in 1992-93 and, according to his obituary, was “the only football player to play for both universities.”

The 5-foot-10, 163-pound Thompson, played in nine games for the Longhorns last season but only caught one pass — a 32-yard reception against Oklahoma State.

Thompson originally hails from Spearman, TX — in the far north of the Texas Panhandle — where he was a dual-threat quarterback and now brings world-class speed to the OU receiver room.

Brenen Thompson (center)
Brenen Thompson (center) :: Stephen Garcia/Reporter-News-Imagn Content Services, LLC

According to his Texas bio, the 2022 Under Armour All-American set the 3A UIL State Track Meet record in both the 100 and 200 when he ran 10.24 and 20.73, respectively, and won state in both events. His 200 meter gold medal in 2022 followed the one he won in 2021, and he was the 100 meter silver medalist as a junior. His PR in the 100 was sub-10.2.

As a senior, Thompson only played in five games due to injury. But he compiled 2,280 yards rushing and 34 touchdowns to go with 1,196 yards receiving and 15 touchdowns during his career. He also threw for 1,182 yards and 15 touchdowns and had more than 1,500 yards and five touchdowns on returns.

Brenen Thompson
Brenen Thompson :: Stephen Garcia/Reporter-News-Imagn Content Services, LLC

The 2020 football campaign was his best year statistically, as Thompson caught 42 passes for 861 yards and 10 touchdowns and ran 40 times for 682 yards and 11 touchdowns.

For More Brenen Thompson

AllSooners: Meet the Small-Town Texas Kid With Speed to Burn

Out of high school, Thompson was offered by Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Oregon, Texas A&M, Alabama, Auburn, Baylor, Clemson., Florida, Florida State, Georgia, LSU, Michigan, Nebraska, Notre Dame, Penn State, Stanford, TCU, Tennessee, Texas Tech, USC, Wisconsin and dozens of others.

He’s rated as the fourth-best overall prospect in the transfer portal this offseason.

Thompson officially entered the portal when the spring transfer period opened on April 15, but his arrival in Norman was widely expected even before that. He visited the OU campus for last weekend’s spring game and even did a segment with Norman radio station KREF.

Before committing to Texas, Thompson told AllSooners as a high school junior in 2020 he was considering Oklahoma under Lincoln Riley because his versatility worked well at a place like OU.

"They sound pretty open, as far as what I want to play, defense or offense," Thompson said then. "So that was something that definitely stuck out to me, being an athlete, that I could play one or the other depending on what I want."

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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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