-
Eli Lederman, ESPN Staff Writer
Oklahoma wide receiver Nic Anderson is expected to enter the NCAA transfer portal, sources confirmed to ESPN on Thursday.
Anderson, the sophomore from Katy, Texas, will have three seasons of eligibility remaining with his new program. He set the Sooners’ freshman touchdown record and was one of Oklahoma’s most productive wide receivers in 2023, but Anderson missed nearly all of the 2024 regular season this fall due to injury. 247Sports was first to report Anderson’s move.
Despite an injury history that has sidelined Anderson for much of his three college seasons, the 6-foot-4, 219-pound pass catcher will be one of the most coveted wideouts in the upcoming portal cycle which officially opens Monday and goes through Dec. 28.
ESPN’s No. 101 overall prospect in the Class of 2022, Anderson was limited to just three games and redshirted in his debut season in 2023. But Anderson returned to appear in all 13 games last fall, emerging as a favored downfield target for then-Oklahoma quarterback Dillon Gabriel and recording 38 receptions for 798 yards with 10 touchdowns, highlighted by his game-winning score in 34-30, comeback victory over Texas on Oct. 7, 2023.
Expected to feature among the Sooners’ top pass catchers in 2024, Anderson missed the first three games of the season with a hip injury. He returned on Sept. 21 against Tennessee but played only five snaps before reaggravating the injury, ultimately sidelining Anderson for the remainder of the regular season as Oklahoma finished 6-6 in its first campaign in the SEC.
An injury-riddled wide receivers room was among the factors that dragged down a Sooners offense that closed the regular season ranked No. 121 nationally in total offense, posting 322.5 yards per game. Oklahoma lost each of its projected top five starters — Anderson, Deion Burks, Jalil Farooq, Andrel Anthony and Jayden Gibson — for significant time this fall due to injury as Oklahoma’s finished 104th nationally with 14 passing touchdowns during the regular season.
News of Anderson’s expected departure comes three days after Sooners coach Brent Venables hired Washington State offensive coordinator on Monday. Sources told ESPN on Wednesday that Oklahoma sophomore quarterback is entering the transfer portal after making 10 starts in two seasons with the program.