Lincoln Riley on transfers: 'We didn't take players from Oklahoma, we took players from the portal'

Lincoln Riley isn’t the most popular guy in Norman, Oklahoma, these days. Not after he left Oklahoma for the USC head coaching job.

And, he took a handful of players, including star QB Caleb Williams, with him.

But, on “The Herd with Colin Cowherd” on Tuesday, Riley said he only took players from the transfer portal, not from Oklahoma:

"We didn't take players from Oklahoma. We took players from the transfer portal."

— @LincolnRiley joins @ColinCowherd pic.twitter.com/ZP3rAeff91

— Herd w/Colin Cowherd (@TheHerd) February 8, 2022

#USC's Lincoln Riley on The Herd today: "We didn't take players from Oklahoma. We took players from the transfer portal. Those players and their families had to make a decision to stay at that university … or to enter the portal where they could be recruited by anybody …"

— Antonio Morales (@AntonioCMorales) February 8, 2022

While Riley’s comments might be technically true, it’s safe to say they won’t be received well by Sooner fans.

Williams will likely be one of the Heisman favorites heading into the 2022 season. Meanwhile, Oklahoma prepares for Year 1 under new coach Brent Venables. We’ll see which first-year coach has more success.