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When the NCAA introduced its new "five-for-five" rule this summer on player eligibility, it changed several aspects of player management in college football. The rule eliminated redshirts and eliminated almost all waivers for extra seasons of eligibility. Going forward, each player gets five years to play five seasons. Once your five years are up, your college career has concluded, even if you missed multiple years due to injury.
The rule change certainly affected the Oklahoma Sooners. Head coach Brent Venables and his coaching staff now have a clearer picture of how to manage the roster going forward, as do general manager Jim Nagy and his front office staff. Without redshirts, and with stricter guidelines, teams know exactly how many years a given player has left to play college football. Of course, players regularly leave early for the NFL draft, forgoing their right to compete at the college level before their eligibility is up, but coaches and the front office typically know that's at least a possibility coming into the season.
However, not all Sooners fans may know how much longer their favorite players can play at OU, especially as the new rules have only recently begun to be implemented nationwide. Of course, in college football's NIL-transfer portal era, no one can guarantee any player will stay at any school for more than one season. However, Oklahoma has shown a pattern of doing what it takes to retain what it believes are its best players, and they don't typically hunt in the transfer portal the way other teams have in recent years.
With more certainties added into the picture when it comes to player eligibility, but all of the uncertainties still swirling around when it comes to what players will actually stay at which schools, let's take a look at each of the 113 players on Oklahoma's roster to track how many seasons of eligibility each player has left.
TE Rocky Beers
LB Owen Heinecke
QB John Mateer
RB Ben McCreary
WR Trell Harris
WR Isaiah Sategna III
TE Hayden Hansen
TE John Locke Jr.
OL Gunnar Allen
OL E’Marion Harris
OL Jake Maikkula
DL Braxton Fely
DL Danny Saili
DL Bishop Thomas
LB Kip Lewis
LB Jaydon Southard
DB D’Yoni Hill
K Tate Sandell
K/P Grayson Miller
LS Ben Anderson
WR Trey Brown
WR Jer’Michael Carter
WR Eli Merck
TE Kade McIntyre
OL Caleb Nitta
OL Heath Ozaeta
OL Kenneth Wermy
DL Adepoju Adebawore
DL Taylor Wein
LB Taylor Heim
DB Peyton Bowen
DB Casen Calmus
DB Reed DeQuasie
DB Jacobe Johnson
P Jacob Ulrich
QB Whitt Newbauer
RB Lloyd Avant
RB Andy Bass
RB Xavier Robinson
RB Gabe Sawchuk
WR Mackenzie Alleyne
WR Ivan Carreon
WR Jacob Jordan
WR Parker Livingstone
OL Daniel Akinkunmi
OL Fred Hinton
OL Ace Hodges
OL Eddy Pierre-Louis
DL Wyatt Gilmore
DL Jacob Henry
DL Jayden Jackson
DL Bergin Kysar
DL Danny Okoye
DL Kenny Ozowalu
DL Nigel Smith II
DL David Stone
LB James Nesta
LB Cole Sullivan
DB Michael Boganowski
DB Eli Bowen
DB Dakota Fields
DB Prince Ijioma
DB Preston Mickens
DB Jeremiah Newcombe
DB Reggie Powers III
K Liam Evans
QB Jett Niu
RB Tory Blaylock
WR Manny Choice
WR Elijah Thomas
TE CJ Nickson
TE Jack Van Dorselaer
TE Trynae Washington
OL Darius Afalava
OL Michael Fasusi
OL Ryan Fodje
OL Owen Hollenbeck
OL Sean Hutton
OL Peyton Joseph
DL Alex Shieldnight
DL Trent Wilson
LB Marcus James
LB Barrett Travis
LB Elgee Webster
DB Courtland Guillory
DB Trystan Haynes
DB Omarion Robinson
K Preston Tarpley
LS Seth Freeman
QB Bowe Bentley
RB Jonathan Hatton Jr.
RB DeZephen Walker
WR Daniel Odom
WR Xavier Okwufulueze
WR Jayden Petit
TE Ryder Mix
TE Tyler Ruxer
OL Noah Best
OL Deacon Schmitt
DL James Carrington
DL Brian Harris
DL Jake Kreul
DL Matthew Nelson
DL Daniel Norman
LB Dane Bathurst
LB Jacob Curry
LB Beau Jandreau
LB Kristan Moore
DB Lebron Bauer
DB Markel Ford
DB Niko Jandreau
DB Derrick Johnson II
K Trace Rudd