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Former Oklahoma RB Lands at Oklahoma State

Kalib Hicks left Norman when he entered the transfer portal last week, but he didn't have to go very far.

John E. Hoover

Oklahoma running back Kalib Hicks
Oklahoma running back Kalib Hicks / BRYAN TERRY/THE OKLAHOMAN / USA TODAY NETWORK
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Former Oklahoma running back Kalib Hicks didn’t have to stay very long — or go very far — during his time in the transfer portal.

Hicks has chosen to continue his college football career up the road in Stillwater, he announced Sunday on Twitter.

Hicks, a 5-foot-11, 209-pound redshirt freshman from Denton, TX, played in three games in 2023 — the opener against Arkansas State, the win at Tulsa, and the bowl game against Arizona — and carried the football just three times for 14 yards and a touchdown. 

This season, Hicks played in five games, mostly on special teams, and carried just twice for 11 yards.

Hicks played just 29 snaps for the Sooners in 2024 (11 on special teams). His high point was 16 snaps (all at running back) against Maine. He got 12 total snaps in an OU uniform in 2023, with just two games on offense.

Hicks enrolled at OU in January 2023 as a 4-star recruit by On3 from Ryan High School, where coach Brent Venables lauded him with high praise on National Signing Day.

“As good of football as you'll see in high school,” Venables said in 2022, “week in and week out, he was the best player on the field. Just tremendous power and strength.” 

Hicks was a 3-star running back by 247 Sports, Rivals and ESPN who ran for more than 3,000 yards and 31 touchdowns in his high school career.

Hicks chose Oklahoma over offers from Alabama, TCU and others.

Hicks' news comes one year and one day after the portal departure of his fellow 2023 backfield mate, Daylan Smothers, who transferred to North Carolina State.

Although he played behind 2024 freshmen Taylor Tatum and Xavier Robinson, Hicks’ departure opens up more reps for the Sooners’ young running backs, including 2025 addition Tory Blaylock.

Also, the intentions of previous returning starters Gavin Sawchuk and Jovantae Barnes aren’t known yet, but if they both decide to come back next fall behind an improving offensive line, the Oklahoma backfield would seem to be extremely competitive in 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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