Oklahoma Quarterback Enters Transfer Portal

Steele Wasel was a walk-on from nearby Choctaw who transferred last summer from Akron.

Steele Wasel at Choctaw / Nathan J. Fish/The Oklahoman / USA TODAY NETWORK

Another Oklahoma quarterback has entered the transfer portal.

Redshirt freshman Steele Wasel, a preferred walk-on from Choctaw, has decided to leave OU after one season in Norman. Sooners On SI has confirmed 247 Sports' earlier report.

The 6-foot-3, 228-pound Wasel began his college career at Akron and redshirted for the Zips before transferring to OU last summer.

Following the portal departures of Jackson Arnold and Brendan Zurbrugg, Wasel was one of just three quarterbacks on the OU roster for the Armed Forces Bowl on Friday against Navy. It’s unclear if Wasel will be available for the Sooners or if he’s already decided to leave.

Wasel sas a 3-star high school prospect by Rivals after a prolific and successful career at Choctaw. 

As a senior for the Yellowjackets in 2022, he completed 71 percent of his passes (191-of-269) for 3,325 yards with 38 touchdowns and just seven interceptions. He also rushed for 543 yards (10.6 yards per carry) and scored five touchdowns on the ground.

Wasel was a three-year starter for coach Jake Corbin and was named Oklahoma All-State. As a sophomore in 2020, he Wasel racked up 3,324 total yards and 33 touchdowns and powered his team the state championship game.

He chose Akron over scholarship offers from Arkansas State, Memphis, Rice, Tulsa and Virginia Tech, and had several Power 5 offers as a preferred walk-on.

With Wasel also opting out of the bowl game, the Sooners now go into Friday’s Armed Forces Bowl against the Midshipmen with just two quarterbacks on the roster: true freshman Michael Hawkins and seventh-year senior Casey Thompson. Thompson took just one snap this year (the final kneel-down against Nebraska), while Hawkins started three games in the middle of the season as Arnold's backup.

With freshman Andy Bass healthy and back in the two-deep as a reserve running back, he could conceivably play the position for the Sooners in an emergency. Bass, a preferred walk-on from Heritage Hall in Oklahoma City, suffered a knee injury in his final game of the high school playoffs in December 2023 but has since rehabbed the injury.

The Oklahoma Gatorade Player of the Year passed for 3,144 yards and 34 touchdowns and rushed for 1,480 yards and 31 TDs during his senior year as he led Heritage Hall to the Class 3A state championship game. Bass’s 34 TD passes came against just three interceptions, and he completed 66.3 percent of his throws while averaging 13.1 yards per attempt. As a junior running high school track, Bass won the 3A state championship gold medal in the 100 meters, running a time of 10.5 seconds.

Wasel told Sooners On SI in June that he grew up an OU fan and recruit going to games when Baker Mayfield was winning the Heisman Trophy.

“It was my freshman year,” he said. “They started inviting me to come out to some of the games, and just watching Baker Mayfield play as a young kid, getting into football, it was pretty damn cool."