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Oklahoma Transfer Target Drew Sanders Signs With Arkansas

The former 5-star recruit originally committed to the Sooners way back in 2017 before flipping to Alabama, where he played in 23 games over the past two seasons.

John E. Hoover

Oklahoma almost landed Drew Sanders again.

But this time, Sanders chose Arkansas over OU.

The former 5-star recruit from Denton, TX, who committed to the Sooners as a high school sophomore but eventually signed with Alabama as a 2020 outside linebacker out of Ryan High School, has decided to transfer to the Razorbacks.

The 6-foot-5, 244-pound Sanders has been an edge rusher for two years for the Crimson Tide, where he played in two College Football Playoff victories and two national championship games, including the Tide’s 2020 title run.

Drew Sanders
Drew Sanders / Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

Sanders played 23 games for the Crimson Tide and contributed nine tackles as a true freshman and 24 tackles this season, including 2.5 tackles for loss, one quarterback sack and two passes defensed.

Sanders started three games as a sophomore after an injury to Christopher Allen. Alabama coaches named him special teams player of the week four times, including three as a freshman.

Sanders also played in high school at Lake Dallas as a freshman and Colleyville Heritage as a sophomore before landing at Denton Ryan for his final two years.

He originally committed to Oklahoma in November 2017, but then flipped his pledge to Alabama in April 2019.

Sanders ultimately chose Alabama over Oklahoma and also considered LSU, Georgia, Notre Dame, Oregon and Penn State.

In high school, Sanders was projected as an athlete and could have chosen outside linebacker or tight end. He was a 5-star prospect, the No. 1 athlete and the No. 1 player in Texas by 247 Sports. Rivals rated Sanders as the No. 5 outside linebacker prospect and the No. 5 overall player in Texas.

Drew Sanders
Drew Sanders / Gary Cosby-USA TODAY Sports

The Under Armour All-American filled up the stat sheet in 2018, when he was named the Dallas Morning News SportsDay Utility Player of the Year after completing 8-of-9 passes for four touchdowns, rushing for 280 yards and 13 touchdowns and also making 119 tackles, 10 tackles for loss, eight sacks and three interceptions (two for touchdowns. In 2019, he threw eight passes and had five TD throws, ran for 326 yards and 10 TDs and caught 34 passes for 717 yards and 12 TDs.

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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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