Oklahoma’s defense keeps getting another layer of transfer help, and this time the Sooners are dipping into the linebacker market.
Jaydon Southard, a former Stephen F. Austin linebacker, is set to transfer to Oklahoma, according to 247Sports’ Matt Zenitz. Southard was among eight plaintiffs who filed a petition in the Cleveland County District Court last week in an effort to secure one more year of eligibility.
Southard spent the last four seasons at Stephen F. Austin, an NCAA Division I FCS program.
His 2025 season was the best of his college career by a wide margin. As a senior, he piled up 124 total tackles, 55 solo tackles, 11.5 tackles for loss, five pass breakups, 2.5 sacks, an interception, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery.
He was on the field for nearly 800 defensive snaps and earned an 80 Pro Football Focus defensive grade. His 90 run-defense grade was the best on the team.
The 6-foot-1, 225-pound linebacker also made his presence felt in 2024, when he collected 38 tackles and a tackle for loss in 10 games as a junior. Before that, he totaled 21 tackles across his first two seasons in Nacogdoches.
For Oklahoma, Southard adds another body to a linebacker room that already features Kip Lewis, Owen Heinecke and Cole Sullivan. The Sooners still have room to deepen the group behind backups James Nesta and Marcus James.
Southard is the fourth transfer portal addition Oklahoma has landed in the last month. He joins defensive linemen Danny Saili and Braxton Fely, along with cornerback D’Yoni Hill. Saili and Hill were also plaintiffs in the Cleveland County District Court petition.
Saili came to OU after two seasons at Arkansas and appeared in the Sooners’ season opener against UTEP, where he recorded a tackle in the 51-0 win. Fely arrived from Boise State after four years with the Broncos and was a two-time All-Mountain West Second Team selection. Hill, who previously played at Wisconsin, Miami and Marshall, committed earlier Monday after logging 14 starts over the past two seasons at Wisconsin and Miami.
No. 10 Oklahoma is back in action this week with a trip to Ann Arbor to face No.
16 Michigan. The Sooners are aiming to move to 2-0, while the Wolverines enter at 1-0 after a controversial 13-12 win over Western Michigan.
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