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Report: Oklahoma's Bookie Radley-Hiles enters transfer portal

The Sooners lose a three-year defensive starter as Brendan Radley-Hiles enters the transfer portal

John E. Hoover

Brendan "Bookie" Radley-Hiles :: Pool photo / Ty Russell

Oklahoma defensive back Brendan Radley-Hiles has entered the transfer portal.

The news was reported Tuesday by Rivals via its Transfer Portal Twitter feed.

Later, 247 Sports reported the same news.

In his three seasons at Oklahoma, Radley-Hiles recorded 115 tackles and picked opposing quarterbacks off three times, taking one interception back for a touchdown. 

The former 5-star recruit from IMG Academy in Bradenton, FL, was a three-year starter for the Sooners defense since arriving in the 2018 class. 

The 5-foot-10, 187-pound Radley-Hiles was the No. 2 cornerback in the  nation, according to Rivals, the No. 6 player in the state of Florida and the 17th-best prospect in the nation. 247 Sports ranked him the No. 5 corner nationally, the No. 7 prospect in Florida, and the 38th-best player in the nation overall.  

“He’s very gifted," former defensive coordinator Mike Stoops said when Radley-Hiles signed. "The game comes easy to him. He’s easy to coach. He’s not one of those guys that you have to coach every foot on the field.”

Brendan Radley-Hiles  / OU Athletics
Brendan Radley-Hiles
Brendan Radley-Hiles / OU Athletics

He played cornerback in high school but began his college career as a safety before coaches eventually moved Radley-Hiles to nickel back. 

While he was inconsistent at times on the field, teammates and coaches alike lauded Radley-Hiles' work ethic behind the scenes. 

"I don't know if we've got a bigger team player on this team than that guy," Lincoln Riley said in a video press conference in November. 

"That guy is the most for his teammates, staying late with young guys, most energetic, helping coach up young guys. He brings more to this than what the people on the outside realize. While there’s absolutely things he’s got to correct and do better, I love having that kid here. He makes us better all the time, and we will be a worse program the day he’s not here."

One of Radley-Hiles' best friends growing up in California's San Fernando Valley was running back T.J. Pledger. Radley-Hiles played two years at Bishop Gorman in Las Vegas, then returned to California for his junior year. Then they both attended IMG Academy together as seniors, both played at OU together, and now both have left via the NCAA Transfer Portal together. Pledger is headed to Utah; Radley-Hiles has not announced his destination.

“The game means so much to him, and he has his promises he wants to fulfill,” outgoing senior cornerback Tre Brown said of Radley-Hiles during the season. “The way he plays the game, he plays it with heart and he’s our brother. For him to be a leader and be vocal, we feed off that.

“I love that guy. He’s a great defensive back, does everything great.”

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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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