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Oklahoma RB Jovantae Barnes plans to enter transfer portal

IMG_0985by: Griffin McVeigh12/23/25griffin_mcveigh

According to On3’s Hayes Fawcett, Oklahoma Sooners running back Jovantae Barnes plans on entering the NCAA transfer portal. Barnes spent four seasons in Norman, being classified as a senior on his official roster profile. He will look to spend 2026 elsewhere after finding success with OU.

Barnes holds an extra year of eligibility due to only playing in four games this past year. He last took the field on Sept. 20 in the Auburn game. It’s the lone SEC showdown Barnes appeared in after playing in all three nonconference showdowns.

Only 19 carries were given to him, resulting in 45 yards and a touchdown. The score came on the road against Temple, part of a major blowout favoring Oklahoma.

Taking a redshirt was something head coach Brent Venables discussed as recently as the last week of November. Oklahoma was set to host LSU for the season finale, a game where Barnes would have burned the redshirt had he played. Venables addressed the situation leading into the game.

“I think every case is a case of its own based on who that person has been and the body of work,” he said. “So try to navigate that appropriately just like you would discipline in the moment or big discipline issues. We have a set of rules but again, how you treat everybody based on — maybe if it’s a young guy, you give them a little more grace. An older guy, ‘Hey, man, you should know better.’ Things like that. The way you’re dealing with it is based on, again, who they’ve been since they’ve been here.”

Venables went on to say there was no issue when it came to Barnes. He was considered to be in good standing with the program.

Jovantae Barnes looking for fresh start after productive first three years

Barnes was a player Oklahoma had a ton of hope for, especially after a productive freshman season. His junior year wound up being the most productive in 2024, setting a career-high in rushing yards with 577. Five touchdowns are included in there as well. In total, Barnes rushed for 1,469 yards and 13 touchdowns during his time with Oklahoma.

Las Vegas (NV) Desert Pines is where Barnes played high school football, where he was a four-star prospect. He was the No. 113 overall recruit in the 2024 cycle, according to the Rivals Industry Ranking, a weighted average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies.