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Oklahoma Adds Another TE in Transfer Portal

The Sooners needed big-time help at tight end, and now have brought in their third transfer of the offseason in John Locke.

John E. Hoover

John Locke
John Locke / John Locke via Twitter/X
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Oklahoma needed some big-time help at tight end for 2025.

So the Sooners just added their third player at the position this transfer cycle.

John Locke, a 6-foot-4, 241-pound redshirt sophomore from Helotes, TX, announced on Wednesday night that he has committed to play next year at OU.

During the 2024 season, Locke had one reception for 2 yards after catching two passes for 4 yards and a touchdown in 2023. Locke played in three games before redshirting in 2022, and has played in 23 games over the previous two seasons.

Locke’s deal with OU is believed to be as a preferred walk-on.

The Sooners previously added Carson Kent from Kennesaw State and Will Huggins from Pittsburg State from the portal.

Joe Jon Finley’s tight end room has struggled to be consistent the last two seasons as OU’s offense shifted from Jeff Lebby to Seth Littrell to Finley on an interim basis.

First-year offensive coordinator Ben Arbuckle utilized opportunities for a number of tight ends at Washington State this season.

OU is now up to 15 additions through the transfer portal after losing 26 players.

Locke entered the portal on Dec. 9.

He reported offers from Southern Utah, Rhode Island, Tennessee Tech, San Diego, Montana, Houston Christian, Sacramento State, New Mexico, Kent State and Richmond.

As a recruit out of Sandra Day O’Connor High School, Locke was rated a 3-star recruit by 247 Sports and Rivals. Rivals ranked him as the No. 113 tight end prospect in the country, while 247 Sports ranked him No. 129. 

He earned All-District and All-City honors as a wide receiver, where he hauled in 180 catches for 2,358 yards and 27 touchdowns in his career while also competing in basketball, track and golf. 

Locke reported a walk-on offer from OU in 2022 and chose Louisiana Tech over scholarship offers from Colorado State, Yale, Dartmouth and Harvard, according to his La Tech bio.

Locke’s brother Chase plays wide receiver at Wyoming, and his dad played offensive line at Texas Tech.

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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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