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Oklahoma DL Transfer Flips to Texas

Jermayne Lole previously announced he was transferring from Louisville to the Sooners and was expected to be a big part of the OU rotation, but he changed his mind Thursday.

John E. Hoover

Jermayne Lole
Jermayne Lole / Jermayne Lole via Twitter/X

Oklahoma had big gains in the transfer portal following spring practice.

But one of those gains just became a massive loss.

Jermayne Lole, a defensive tackle from Louisville, committed to the Sooners on April 23, and his addition was expected to bolster a significant position of need for an OU defensive line both light on experience and girth.

Instead, the 310-pound Lole flipped his commitment to Texas on Thursday.

"I was on the wrong side of the Red River," Lole told On3 recruiting insider Hayes Fawcett.

In his career, Lole has appeared in at least 10 games three separate seasons. As a freshman in 2018, the Long Beach, CA, product played in 10 games before having a breakout season in 2019. As a sophomore, Lole racked up 10 tackles for loss and 6.5 sacks while playing for Arizona State. The former 4-star recruit received a 75.3 defensive grade from PFF in 2019, playing 737 snaps as an interior defensive lineman.

Lole was a huge addition forĀ Todd BatesĀ and company, who desperately needed to add size and experience on the interior as the Sooners head into the SEC. Prior to Lole's commitment, OU had just one defensive player listed above 300 pounds on its roster.

While Oklahoma has promising young players like juniorĀ Gracen Halton, true freshmanĀ David StoneĀ and fellow early enrolleeĀ Jayden JacksonĀ in the trenches, the team is lacking experience in the middle of its defensive line after veteranĀ Jacob LaceyĀ was forced to medically retire over the offseason.

OU added another big name from the portal on May 2, when TCU defensive tackle Damonic Williams chose to transfer to Norman. Williams and Da'Jon Terry are now the Sooners' most experienced interior defensive linemen.

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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.