Veteran Oklahoma DB Kendel Dolby will seek a transfer

Oklahoma defensive back Kendel Dolby is expected to enter the transfer portal, putting an end to a bizarre individual saga throughout the 2025 campaign.

Dolby had appeared in four games during the season’s first half, which is the maximum number of regular-season appearances that NCAA rules permit in order for a student-athlete to redshirt. In those four games, he’d recorded a total of nine tackles. He didn’t travel with the team for the Sooners’ Oct. 18 road trip to South Carolina, and cryptically appeared on the Friday availability report as “out.” That set a new precedent for the remainder of the season, as Dolby never played another snap and continually appeared out of nowhere on the Friday report. At one point, when asked about Dolby’s status, Brent Venables commented that the senior was “figuring things out” and didn’t elaborate further on his availability.

A native of Ohio, Dolby signed with Oklahoma as a late addition to the 2023 recruiting class. He’d played two years of junior-college ball at Northeastern Oklahoma A&M, and Rivals regarded him as the nation’s No. 7 overall player from the juco ranks. The original plan was for Dolby to play corner, and potentially safety, at Oklahoma. But upon his arrival, it soon became apparent that he was an ideal fit for the Sooners’ cheetah position.

As a junior in 2023, Dolby earned honorable mention All-Big 12 honors, posting 49 tackles, a pair of sacks, four pass breakups and two interceptions. His senior year in 2024 came to an abrupt and premature end in the Sooners’ SEC opener, as he suffered a season-ending ankle injury.

Come 2025, he dealt with several small ailments throughout fall camp and missed the first two games of the season. However, he returned to action in the Sooners’ 42-3 victory over Temple, starting at cornerback for the first time in his Oklahoma career.

“It means the world, you know what I’m saying?” Dolby told reporters after the game. “It’s almost been a year since my injury, so being able to get back out there, move around a little bit, that means the world to me. I’m truly thankful to be back out there… I’ll do whatever the team wants me to. I trust Coach V, Coach Valai, all the coaches, and I’ll do what they want me to do for the team.”

However, Dolby’s role proved minimal over the next few games, as Oklahoma State transfer Kendal Daniels had long since emerged as the new starter at cheetah. Dolby’s opportunities at corner became similarly limited with Eli Bowen‘s return from injury, as well as the emergence of true freshman Courtland Guillory. Moreover, a busted coverage assignment from Dolby led to Texas’ only offensive touchdown of the Red River Shootout, a game that Oklahoma eventually lost 23-6.

All of that, it would appear, added up to Dolby’s decision to depart the program. Thus, he will preserve his final season of eligibility and look to make an impact elsewhere in 2026.

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