With each week, it feels like we’re learning new things about the transfer portal that is now going to make the unthinkable in the past to norm nowadays.

Could you ever imagine someone playing for Oklahoma or Oklahoma State transferring to the other side of the Bedlam rivalry? That’s where we are in 2022.

And that’s where Trace Ford is. The former standout defensive end for the Cowboys is trading in the orange and black for the crimson and cream, announcing he is going to transfer to the Sooners on Wednesday afternoon.

There are some OU fans who are going to say it’s about time. A lot of people thought Ford deserved an offer from the Sooners the first time around for the 2019 class. He camped in Norman, put on good performances, but it just never came.

Ford ended up with the Cowboys. When healthy, Ford has been incredibly productive. But that’s the major qualifier now. Ford has been unable to stay healthy the last two seasons.

He missed the entire 2021 season because of a second torn ACL. And he missed the second half of the 2022 season with an apparent knee injury.

If he can recapture his 2019 and 2020 form, this is a massive win for head coach Brent Venables and defensive ends coach Miguel Chavis.

When Ford hit the portal, OU became a very easy school to circle. But there were others, like Auburn and SMU and USC. Ford didn’t need to take an official visit to Norman, but he did spend a day with the Sooners players and staff less than two weeks ago.

Ford announced earlier this week he was done. No more visits were necessary, ready to wrap up his second recruitment.

Despite all the injuries, Ford had 8.5 sacks with 11.5 tackles for loss and 14 passes defended during his time in Stillwater.

Ford becomes the fifth portal addition for the Sooners, joining former Notre Dame defensive lineman Jacob Lacey, former South Carolina tight end Austin Stogner, former Indiana linebacker Dasan McCullough and former Texas Tech defensive back Reggie Pearson.

Stogner taught us you can now leave one team and return to it just a year later, as he played the first three seasons of his career in Norman.

Now Ford is letting us know that even though the Bedlam rivalry still obviously runs deep, it’s a new age in college football.

You can be a Cowboy one year and a Sooner the next. And OU fans are excited to see what Ford is going to be able to do in Norman.