Oklahoma sophomore wide receiver Marvin Mims is strongly considering entering the transfer portal, multiple sources tell 247Sports.
Mims’ consideration comes on the heels of multiple Oklahoma offensive players, including fellow skill players Jadon Haselwood, Theo Wease and Austin Stogner, choosing to enter the portal in the wake of Lincoln Riley’s exit from the program.
Sources say Mims has been considering a transfer since midway through the 2021 campaign, largely due to frustration with his role in the offense; a freshman All-American in 2020, Mims didn’t catch a touchdown until Week 6 and was targeted only 39 times this year.
A transfer for Mims is not considered imminent, but sources indicate the plan for him is to leave following the fall semester. However, those sources cautioned that a coaching hire and staff shakeup in Norman could always alter Mims’ plans.
Despite those 39 targets, Mims paced Oklahoma with 648 yards receiving on an eye-popping 21.6 yards per catch. Entering the year, 247Sports ranked Mims among its top 50 overall players in college football.
Mims led the Sooners in 2020 with 37 catches, 610 yards and nine touchdowns as a true freshman. He posted his best game (7 catches, 101 yards, 1 TD) in the Big 12 championship. Mims was PFF College’s top-graded freshman receiver in 2020 with his 88.9 grade finishing 15.8 points ahead of the next qualifying Power Five receiver.
Mims was a state record-smashing receiver at Lone Star High School in Frisco, Texas. He ranked as a four-star recruit in the 2020 class, per the 247Sports Composite.
Here’s 247Sports’ high school scouting report of Mims, via national analyst Gabe Brooks:
“Adequate height and lean build on a limited frame. Will need to add bulk in college. High-production, big-play receiver who could move around the formation. Shows above average play speed. Testing backs that up with a verified 4.67 40. Well-rounded playmaker who produces splash plays in vertical game and screen game. Has shown he’s unafraid to go up in traffic for the ball. Verified 37.2-inch vertical helps high-pointing ability. Displays encouraging body control to adjust to the ball in flight. Big numbers vs. good competition in Texas 5A in DFW Metroplex. Testing suggests lateral fluidity can improve (4.50) shuttle. Needs to get more consistently explosive off the line. Long-striding speed-builder more so than speed-burster. Must gain as much mass as possible to maximize strength ceiling. Productive all-around receiver who should become reliable starter at the Power 5 level.”
The NCAA introduced the transfer portal on Oct. 15, 2018, providing athletes a path to explore their options. Players do not need to ask permission from their coaching staff in order to transfer. They merely need to request that compliance enter their name. Usually, it takes 24-48 hours for a player to appear following their request. Schools are free to contact a player without restriction once their name appears in the portal.
While a player entering their name in the transfer portal means they intend to explore their options, it does not necessarily mean they will leave. A player is free to withdraw his name at any time. However, schools are under no obligation to keep a player on scholarship once they enter the portal.
There were 2,646 FBS players to enter the transfer portal during the 2020-21 transfer cycle, per a source. That’s up from 1,692 in 2019-20 and 1,717 in 2018-19.
That increase can at least partially be credited to the NCAA’s new policy that student-athletes are allowed to transfer once in their careers without having to sit out a year-in-residence. That means all players who enter the transfer portal for the first time will be immediately eligible at their new school as long as they meet a NCAA mandated entry deadline.
