The hire of longtime NFL executive Jim Nagy to serve as Oklahoma's general manager brought plenty of excitement and buzz to Norman. His connections throughout the league and ability as a scout promise to bring some new talent to the Sooners and lift Oklahoma back to their standards of competing for a national championship.

To do that, however, requires replacing current players with new and better talent. Coming off a 6-7 season, it's safe to say that the talent on the roster isn't up to the standards, which suggests that there could be a pretty stark shift at a few different positions in order to improve the roster to its best possible output ahead of the 2025 college football season. 

What could this mean for the Sooners over the next several weeks? While it's too early to say definitively what will happen, I would expect to see some pretty interesting movement both out and into Oklahoma's roster. 

Take the running back position, for example. That room feels both crowded yet unproven. Javontae Barnes took a step forward in 2024, but battled injuries throughout the season. Gavin Sawchuk never found his footing after a promising 2023 season. Taylor Tatum seems like a quality playmaker, but frequent fumbles and his own injuries limited his impact in both football and baseball. 

Xavier Robinson had a promising end to the season, but he is far from proven with carries in just five games and more than 50 yards in just two games. Tory Blaylock has drawn rave reviews so far, but is just a true freshman.  

It seems fairly reasonable to assume that Oklahoma could see some movement in and out of that room as they look to shore it up this season. 

This could also apply to their tight end room, with a lot of unproven names in a fairly crowded room. For an offense that majored in light personnel, Oklahoma having eight rather similar profiles there doesn't seem to make a ton of sense. The Sooners' wide receiver room feels fairly deep, but if the right option comes free, I'd expect them to be involved there as well. 

Could Oklahoma’s new general manager Jim Nagy bring a more aggressive approach to transfer portal on par with other blue bloods?

A few weeks after the hire of longtime NFL and Senior Bowl executive Jim Nagy as general manager of the Oklahoma Sooners was announced, Nagy has begun to settle down and begin his work in preparing to oversee all football duties. As part of his duties, Nagy will be overseeing the roster management of the […]

While I wouldn't expect a lot of movement out on the defensive side of the ball, I would expect some movement in, particularly throughout the secondary. Oklahoma's only proven cornerback is Eli Bowen. Behind him are several young talents and Gentry Williams, who has battled significant shoulder problems in his career. While the potential of the room feels high, the floor is worryingly low with these many unknowns. 

At safety, Robert Spears-Jennings returns to lead that group. Former five-star Peyton Bowen is the assumed replacement for Billy Bowman, but he had his own struggles this season after a promising freshman year. If an opportunity arises, I'd expect Oklahoma to add competition at safety, but it would have to be a clearly proven player to beat out these two. 

Additionally, Oklahoma's linebacker depth, particularly at WILL, is rather thin. Kip Lewis is an elite talent, but behind him, the Sooners would have to rotate players from MIKE or Cheetah in here. They don't have many options with multiple years of eligibility here either, something that I think should be more of a priority. This is the same case for the defensive tackle room. 

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Everyone in the building knows that Oklahoma has to be better in 2025. They know the standard, and it's something that Nagy has repeatedly emphasized since his arrival in Norman. 

With his first test coming up in just a few weeks, I wouldn't be surprised if Oklahoma's roster has another mini-reset to help the team reach that standard.