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Oklahoma Earns Commitment From Productive Transfer RB

The Sooners bolstered their running back room for the 2024 season on Wednesday, earning a pledge from one of the top FCS tailbacks.

Randall Sweet

Oklahoma Earns Commitment From Productive Transfer RB
Oklahoma Earns Commitment From Productive Transfer RB /
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On Wednesday evening, Oklahoma earned a commitment from Tennessee-Martin running back Samuel Franklin out of the transfer portal.

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This season for the Skyhawks, Martin tallied 1,386 rushing yards and 11 touchdowns, averaging 6.2 yards per carry.

Listed at 5-foot-10 and 200 pounds, the Little Rock, AR, native had a season-high 256 rushing yards and three scores against Missouri State this season.

Franklin is the third offensive player to commit to OU out of the transfer portal, joining former Michigan State offensive lineman Spencer Brown and former Purdue wide receiver Deion Burks. 

With Tawee Walker, Marcus Major and Daylan Smothers all in the transfer portal, the Sooners were in need of a veteran running back to share the load with returning starter Gavin Sawchuk in the SEC next season. 

In addition to Sawchuk and Franklin, Jovantae Barnes, Kalib Hicks and incoming freshman Taylor Tatum could factor into DeMarco Murray's running back rotation in 2024.

After spending three seasons at Tennessee-Martin, Franklin is believed to have two years of eligibility remaining. 

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Randall Sweet
RANDALL SWEET

Randall is a recruiting analyst and staff writer at AllSooners focusing primarily on OU Football and the recruiting trail. Working as a journalist, Randall has covered the Oklahoma Sooners, the Oklahoma City Thunder, and high school sports across the state. A 2022 University of Oklahoma graduate, Randall hails from Lubbock, TX. While in college, Sweet wrote for the OU Daily in addition to working with Sooner Sports Pad and OU Nightly. Following his time at OU, Sweet served as the Communications Coordinator at Visit Oklahoma City before leaving to join the team at AllSooners. The West Texas native has bylines in the Norman Transcript and is a Staff Writer for Inside the Thunder. Randall holds a bachelor’s degree in Journalism from the University of Oklahoma in Norman, OK. 

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