Tulsa Recruiting Overview: Transfer Portal Targets / Offers
The new Tulsa football coaching staff has offered over 50 players in the transfer portal, and TU has recently hosted several for official visits and signed a number of quality players.
Tulsa's most recent signee was a familiar name -- running back Sevion Morrison -- on Christmas Day. The Kansas transfer was a 4-star prospect out of Tulsa Edison High School in the 2020 class. He originally signed with Nebraska before transferring to KU.
As a Jayhawk, the 6-foot and 215-pounder rushed for 391 yards and 4 touchdowns on 60 carries, averaging a whopping 6.5 yards per rush. He also caught six passes for 61 yards. Morrison returns to his hometown with one year of eligibility remaining.
Tulsa added two players on Christmas Eve as well, signing North Carolina State offensive line transfer Sean Hill (6-3, 315) and Louisiana Tech defensive end transfer J'Dan Burnett (6-1, 254).
Hill redshirted at NC State in 2020 and was a member of the scout team in 2021, before contributing as a role player for the Wolf Pack the past three seasons. Burnett was an edge rusher for Louisiana Tech, seeing action in all 12 games this season with three starts. He finished with 21 tackles, three tackles for loss, 2.5 sacks, two quarterback hurries and one pass breakup.
TU has signed several other quality players as well, including Pitt defensive lineman Nahki Johnson, who has spent his entire football career in the Pittsburgh area and signed with TU on December 21. A 6-foot-2, 280-pound senior defensive tackle from West Mifflin (PA), he'll come to Tulsa as a graduate transfer with one year of eligibility remaining.
Johnson played in 11 games this past season, recording 14 tackles (two solo), a tackle for loss and a pass breakup. He made the switch from defensive end to defensive tackle during the offseason.
In 28 total games at Pitt, he finished with 23 tackles (six solo), 2.5 tackles for loss, a sack and a pass breakup.
On December 22, Tulsa picked up a pair of signatures from defensive back transfers. First was Charlotte cornerback Anthony Romphf, who played two seasons at Western Michigan and one season at Purdue. He chose TU over offers from UConn and UMass.
"I like the goals that Coach (Tre) Lamb and Coach (Dominique) Franks had for me," Romphf told Inside Tulsa Sports. "I thought it was a great opportunity for me to help contribute to the team and to change the program around. Also the conference being able to still compete at the top level."
At 6-foot and 200-pounds, Romphf's best season was in 2022 at Western Michigan, when he made 17 tackles in 11 games.
"I'm a big-body corner with experience that's been coached by a lot of successful college coaches and players," he said. "I bring speed and great press-man coverage who will attack the ball in the air. Also, a corner that isn’t scared to get in the run fit and make tackles."
The Hurricane's other DB addition came from another local product, Utah State transfer JD Drew. The 5-foot-11 and 170-pound corner played his high school ball at Booker T. Washington in Tulsa.
Drew played two seasons for the Aggies after redshirting in 2022. He played in 11 games with 6 starts as a redshirt freshman, finishing with with 27 tackles and six pass breakups. As a sophomore this season, Drew totaled 45 tackles, two pass breakups, one interception and one forced fumble.
Tulsa's first two signees from the transfer portal were Oklahoma OL transfer Evan McClure and Texas A&M receiver transfer Micah Tease, as the Hurricane began a trend of bringing home local talent. McClure walked-on at Oklahoma this season after a great high school career at Bixby, and Tease was a 4-star prospect at Booker T. Washington in the 2023 class.
Below is a quick overview of Tulsa's transfer portal activity.
TULSA'S INCOMING TRANSFERS (8)
J'Dan Burnett, DE, 6-1, 254, Louisiana Tech
JD Drew, DB, 5-11, 165, Utah State
Sean Hill, OL, 6-3, 315, North Carolina State
Evan McClure, OL, 6-4, 275, Oklahoma
Nahki Johnson, DL, 6-2, 280, Pittsburgh
Sevion Morrison, RB, 6-0, 215, Kansas
Anthony Romphf, DB, 6-0, 185, Charlotte
Micah Tease, WR, 6-0, 180, Texas A&M
TULSA PLAYERS THAT ENTERED THE TRANSFER PORTAL (33)
Ender Aguilar, 6-5, 300, Jr., OL
Lloyd Avant, 5-10, 196, Fr.-HS, RB -- transferring to Boise State
Jehlen Cannady, 5-11, 187, Sr. -- staying at TU
Kasen Carpenter, 6-3, 291, Fr.-RS, OL -- transferring to Oklahoma State
Viron Ellison Jr., 6-0, 195, Fr.-HS, RB -- staying at TU
Jackson Ford, 6-6, 238, Fr.-HS, TE -- transferring to San Diego State
Dayne Hodge, 5-10, 193, Jr., SAF
Bill Jackson, 5-9, 197, Jr., RB
R.J. Jackson Jr., 6-3, 282, Soph., DL -- transferring to UCF
Russ Johnston, 6-6, 300, Fr.-HS, OL
Justin Lohrenz, 6-3, 251, Jr., DE.
Vontroy Malone, 6-3, 240, Soph., DE -- transferring to Iowa State
Reed Malphurs, 6-6, 208, Fr.-TR, PK
Luke McGary, 6-3, 240, Soph., TE -- transferring to Houston
Jayce Morgan, 5-9, 198, Soph., RB -- staying at TU
Seth Morgan, 5-11, 173, Gr., PK
Tai Newhouse, 6-2, 303, Soph, DL
Matthew Ogunrin, 5-11, 180, Fr.-RS, WR
Troop O’Neal, 6-0, 192, Fr.-HS, K
Owen Ostroski, 6-2, 254, Jr., DL -- transferring to South Dakota State
Brody Reese, 6-2, 314, Jr., DL
Bennett Ringleb, 6-4, 278, Fr.-RS, OL -- staying at TU
Devin Robinson, 6-10, 190, Fr.-RS, DB -- staying at TU
Mari Smith, 5-11, 160, Fr.-RS, WR -- transferring to Central Arkansas
Will Smith, 6-4, 224, Fr.-HS, DL -- transferring to North Texas
Zion Steptoe, 5-11, 190, Soph., WR -- staying at TU
Parker Stone, 6-4, 210, Jr., LS
Jack Tanner, 6-6, 295, Fr.-HS, OL -- transferring to Kansas
Connor Vaughn, 6-4, 244, Soph., TE -- transferring to North Texas
Maruio White Jr., 6-3, 218, Fr.-HS, DE
Cardell Williams, 6-2, 193, Soph., QB -- transferring to Sacramento State
Joseph Williams, 6-2, 195, Fr.-HS, WR -- transferring to Colorado
Walter Young Bear, 6-3, 312, Jr., OL -- transferring to West Virginia
