Like We've Been Saying, Transfer Portal Will Be Busy: Lofton Goes In First

STILLWATER – Pokes Report has been reporting with a steady flow of stories in a series projecting the remaking of the Oklahoma State Cowboys football roster that a large number of players would wind up in the portal and the football staff had scouted, and had a long list of prospects they hoped would go in the portal for them to attempt to retrieve. 

Now, the first outgoing drops in slot receiver Da’Wain Lofton. 

Lofton was easy to predict as after an injury hurt his playing chances early in the season, he shut his season down after four games to preserve his redshirt and another full season. Lofton’s agent Bryan Miller of Peterson Sports told On3 of the development that his client was going into the portal.

Bruce Waterfield/OSU Athletics

Lofton saw more action in practice than in games at Oklahoma State mainly due to injury.

Lofton shut his season this fall down after the Arizona State game, his fourth to appear. It was Lofton that made that decision. He had six receptions for Oklahoma State this season and 140-yards. He did average 23.3-yards a catch. He had missed the action in the first five games of the season after a broken finger kept him out in fall camp.

He came to Oklahoma State last year with a season to play and the option of a redshirt. The 5-11, 180-pound receiver has 41 career receptions for 550 yards and three touchdowns. he also returned some punts and kicks at Virginia Tech. He came out of Fort Worth (North Side), Texas in high school.

“We have a chance, we’ll have 35 players that are leaving, and you have to bring 30 in,” Oklahoma State head coach Mike Gundy told me and the Cowboys Sports Network audience on Friday after the loss to Colorado. “This will be the way it will be from now on because of the way the portal is set up. Even teams that have a good record this year, you have to fight and hope you can fare well in the portal. We didn’t put a lot of money into the portal the last two years and that is my fault, my fault. I was committed to the portal but not putting a lot of money into that at the expense of my current team. We’re going to have to get into the game now like everybody else.”

The transfer portal officially opens on Monday, Dec. 9, 2024. More than 2,800 FBS scholarship players entered their names into the NCAA’s transfer database during the 2023-24 school year. With all the ramifications like revenue sharing and the 105 NCAA roster limit coming out of the House vs. NCAA settlement projected to become final in April, the expectation is that number will triple or even quadruple in the portal for 2024-25. There will also be an extensive number of walk-on or non-scholarship players entering the portal.