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Report: Oklahoma Defensive Back to Withdraw From Transfer Portal

Report: Oklahoma Defensive Back to Withdraw From Transfer Portal

After spending a short time in the transfer portal, a young defensive back will return to Oklahoma in 2025.

 

Safety Mykel Patterson-McDonald withdrew his name from the portal, according to a report from On3’s Pete Nakos. Patterson-McDonald initially entered the portal on Jan. 3.

A native of Moore, OK, Patterson-McDonald was a freshman in 2024 but played zero snaps on defense or special teams.

 

He was rated as a 4-star prospect by Rivals and a 3-star recruit by 247 Sports and ESPN. Rivals rated Patterson-McDonald as the No. 36 safety in the Class of 2024.

 

Patterson-McDonald played both ways during high school, starring at defensive back, wideout and running back for Westmoore. As a senior, he compiled 62 solo tackles, 14 pass deflections and one interception.

McDonald came to OU as a legacy recruit, as his father Larry McDonald, once walked on at Oklahoma. The second-generation Sooner football player chose OU over offers from Iowa State, Houston, Missouri and others.

 

Patterson-McDonald is one of several defensive backs from the 2024 squad who initially entered the transfer portal, joining Jayden Rowe, Kani Walker, Erik McCarty and Makari Vickers. Rowe, Walker and Vickers have chosen their new schools, while McCarty hasn’t yet landed on his new home.

 

Four other OU defensive players have also entered the transfer portal during the winter window: linebacker Dasan McCullough, linebacker Phil Picciotti, linebacker Lewis Carter and defensive lineman Ashton Sanders.

 

Patterson-McDonald’s return is more good news for OU after the Sooners made a couple of defensive splashes in the transfer portal last week. Oklahoma picked up commitments from defensive end Marvin Jones Jr. (Florida State) and linebacker and defensive back Kendal Daniels (Oklahoma State).

The Sooners signed five defensive backs —Trystan Haynes, Courtland Guillory, Omarion Robinson, Marcus Wimberly and Maliek Hawkins — to the Class of 2025 on Early Signing Day in December. 247 Sports has Haynes and Guillory graded as 4-star prospects, with the other three rated as 3-stars.

 

In addition to the personnel changes in OU’s secondary, the Sooners are still on the hunt for a new defensive coordinator after former DC Zac Alley accepted the same job at West Virginia on Dec. 29.

 

Patterson-McDonald’s entry into the portal was part of Brent Venables’ restructuring of the OU roster as he’s begun to reallocate athletic scholarships. As NCAA (and SEC) rules mandate total roster reduction to 105, some players are giving up their designated athletic scholarship to be reclassified as a walk-on, and OU’s NIL collective is stepping up to compensate them outside the boundaries of a scholarship.

His entry into the portal was a technicality, necessitated by a rule that protects athletes from losing their scholarship at mid-term unless they transfer — or simply enter the portal. Patterson-McDonald enrolled at OU last summer.

 

 

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