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Report: Oklahoma Lands Former 5-Star DE Marvin Jones Jr. from Transfer Portal

The Sooners brought in the Florida State starter for a campus visit this week, and apparently Jones' visit went extremely well.

John E. Hoover

Florida State defensive end Marvin Jones Jr.
Florida State defensive end Marvin Jones Jr. / Melina Myers-Imagn Images
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Oklahoma might have finally landed the big one on defense.

Marvin Jones Jr., a former 5-star recruit who began his college football career at Georgia before transferring to Florida State this season, has reportedly signed with the Sooners out of the transfer portal.

That’s according to a post tweeted Sunday night by On3’s Pete Nakos.

Jones visited the Oklahoma campus on Thursday and Friday this week.

Jones played in 25 games for the Bulldogs in 2022 and 2023 and was on UGa’s National Championship squad two years ago. He was a reserve linebacker and played on kickoff coverage in ’22, and played in 12 games as a backup in 2023, when he totaled 12 tackles. During his time in Athens, he made 16 tackles, 5.5 tackles for loss and two quarterback sacks.

In 2024 with the Seminoles, the 6-foot-5, 255-pound Jones compiled 25 tackles, six tackles for loss and four quarterback sacks with one forced fumble and three quarterback hurries.

Jones also visited Texas last week, and chose to sign with the Sooners. He entered the transfer portal on Dec. 11 after FSU finished a 2-10 season and will have one year eligibility remaining, although he has not yet redshirted. He also considered Ohio State and Penn State.

Jones was a consensus 5-star prospect at American Heritage High School in Sunrise, FL, where he was coached by former All-American and NFL star Patrick Surtain. He was selected for the 2022 All-American Bowl and was the No. 2 edge prospect in the nation by 247 Sports, Rivals and PrepStar Magazine. 

Jones is also the son of two-time All-American linebacker Marvin Jones Sr., who won the 1992 Butkus Award as the best linebacker in the nation and the Lombardi Award as the best overall defensive player prior to an 11-year career with the New York Jets. Marvin Jones Sr. is also the head coach, defensive coordinator, and director of operations for the Tulsa Oilers of the Indoor Football League, just a two-hour drive from Norman.

He’s the 13th player to chose OU out of the NCAA Transfer Portal, but the first defensive player in this cycle. The first 12 were either offense or special teams.

The Sooners have lost 26 transfers this year, including three linebackers (two on the two-deep) and one reserve defensive lineman. 

OU will need to replace three seniors in Ethan Downs, a three-year starter, Trace Ford and Caiden Woullard, but the Sooners are expecting sacks leader and second-team All-SEC R Mason Thomas back in 2025, although he has not made it official yet. P.J. Adebawore, another former 5-star edge recruit who will be a junior next year, is also expected back. A talented class of edge rushers signed in 2024, and the Sooner coaches look for a big jump next season from the likes of Nigel Smith, Danny Okoye, Taylor Wein and Wyatt GIlmore, who all redshirted this season. Incoming freshman C.J. Nickson and Alex Shieldnight also hope to break into the rotation next year.

Jones not only brings tons of potential, but loads of experience. He played 421 snaps for the Seminoles this season, including 387 on defense, according to Pro Football Focus.

Jones also played 237 defensive snaps for Georgia in 2023, and 66 for the Bulldogs in 2022. For his career, Jones has played 690 defensive snaps, per PFF.

He posted his best overall PFF defensive grade this season with a 61.3 rating. That’s up from last year’s 59.1 at Georgia and the 56.0 he posted as a freshman. Jones totaled 16 pressures for the ‘Noles this season, including the four sacks and 10 hurries. 

His best single-game PFF grades this season came against Duke (74.2), Florida (73.2) and SMU (72.4). He also posted a 64.7 against Memphis and a 60.3 against Clemson. His lowest grade was 49.3 against Boston College. He also posted a 56.3 against Notre Dame and a 53.3 against Miami.

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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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