All Sooners

Oklahoma LB Enters Transfer Portal

Sophomore linebacker Clayton Smith had played in four games last year and four games this year but decided he'll look to play college football elsewhere.

John E. Hoover

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The Sooners have lost another defender to the transfer portal.

Oklahoma linebacker Clayton Smith announced Monday that he’s entering the portal and intends to leave OU.

Smith had been removed from the team's official online roster prior to the season finale at Texas Tech for undisclosed reasons.

In his post, Smith first thanked his teammates.

"We've been through a lot and it was a blessing to be able to grind beside you guys these last couple of years," he wrote.

He also thanked ends coach Miguel Chavis for "helping me become a better football player as well as a better man off the field."

"Also," Smith wrote, "to the fans, thank you guys for the positive messages and constant reminders that I'm a hell of a player. I really appreciate everything this university has done for me and it will not be forgotten." 

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The 6-foot-4, 232-pound Smith came to OU as an edge rusher but also got time at inside linebacker. He played in four games in 2021 and four games in 2022, with his best game coming at Nebraska, when he played 35 snaps and made four tackles.

Smith was a 4-star prospect, according to 247 Sports, and was the No. 2 edge rusher in the nation, according to the 247 Sports Composite. He was ranked as the No. 38 overall player in the nation coming out of Texas High School in Texarkana, TX, as a member of the 2021 recruiting class.

Rivals and On3 both rated Smith as a 5-star prospect.

He has four years eligibility remaining.

Smith picked OU over offers from Arizona, Arizona State, Arkansas, Baylor, Colorado, Florida State, Kansas State, Kentucky, LSU, Michigan, Mississippi State, Nebraska, Ole Miss, Oregon, Penn State, TCU, Texas, Texas Tech, Washington and others.

Smith is the 10th OU player to announce his entrance into the NCAA transfer portal.

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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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