*Marquise Brown – Noteworthy
Oklahoma receiver Marquise Brown will skip his senior season and declare himself eligible for the NFL Draft. Brown made the announcement Wednesday on social media. Brown, whose cousin is Pittsburgh Steelers star Antonio Brown, is nicknamed “Hollywood” for his flashy play and the name of his hometown, Hollywood, Florida. In two seasons, he caught 132 passes for 2,413 yards and 17 touchdowns. He leaves sixth in school history in career yards receiving. This season, he joined Ryan Broyles as the only Oklahoma receivers to gain more than 1,000 yards receiving in a season more than once. He’s only listed at 5-foot-10 and 168 pounds, but after a breakout sophomore season, he got stronger in the offseason and improved his route running. This season, he caught 75 passes for 1,318 yards and 10 scores and was named a first-team AP All-American. The yardage total was fourth in school history for a single season. – AP College Football
*Bobby Evans – Noteworthy
Oklahoma left tackle Bobby Evans says he will skip his senior year and declare for the NFL draft. Evans made the announcement in a social media post on Wednesday. Evans was a second-team All-Big 12 selection this season, helping the Sooners lead the nation in total offense. The 6-foot-5, 301-pound redshirt junior from Allen, Texas, started 40 games in three seasons. “I am incredibly grateful for the growth, wisdom and the invaluable experiences over the past four years,” Evans said in the post. – AP College Football
*Kyler Murray – Noteworthy
Representatives of the Oakland Athletics and Major League Baseball met Sunday with Heisman Trophy winner Kyler Murray, a day before the Oklahoma quarterback’s deadline to enter the NFL draft, a person with direct knowledge of the session said. The person spoke on condition of anonymity Sunday because the meeting was not made public. Oakland executives remained confident as recently as the baseball winter meetings last month in Las Vegas that Murray would report to spring training this year and pursue baseball. MLB joined the efforts to persuade the dual-sport star, sending someone from its marketing group to the meeting, the source said.
The 5-foot-10, 195-pound Murray’s Sooners lost in a college football playoff semifinal Dec. 29 to eventual runner-up Alabama. Drafted last June in the first round as the ninth overall pick, the outfielder signed with Oakland for $4.66 million. There was an agreement between the team and Murray that he would play football this year, then skip his senior season to begin his pro baseball career – and A’s manager Bob Melvin as well as executive Billy Beane and general manager David Forst closely followed Oklahoma football in 2018. “I can’t put it into words. Just thankful,” Murray said after the draft. “That’s a huge deal, the organization letting me do that.” – AP College Football
Austin Kendall – Noteworthy
Oklahoma backup quarterback Austin Kendall has entered the NCAA transfer database portal. A university spokesperson confirmed Kendall’s entry Friday. Other schools can now contact Kendall. He has already graduated, so he would be eligible to play immediately. Kendall was Baker Mayfield’s backup in 2016 and battled Kyler Murray for the starting job into fall camp this past season. Murray won the job and eventually won the Heisman Trophy. Kendall completed 28 of 39 passes for 265 yards and three touchdowns without an interception at Oklahoma. Oklahoma still is strong at quarterback. Spencer Rattler, the consensus No. 1 quarterback in the class of 2019, signed with the Sooners last month. Tanner Mordecai, a freshman this past season, was rated a four-star recruit by ESPN and a three-star prospect by 247Sports and Rivals. – AP College Football