Former Sooner Latrell McCutchin returns to Norman with a transfer story to make you think differently about the portal
Houston cornerback explains why he changed schools three times in three years.
Latrell McCutchin knows what you think of him.
You look at the defensive back's bio and see that he went to three schools in three years — OU, Southern Cal, Houston — and you make assumptions. You suspect he's taking advantage of the transfer portal. You deduce guys like him are what's wrong with college football today.
He gets it.
"When people look at my journey and look at my resume and what I've been through, they'll probably say, like, 'Oh, he's always leaving schools' or 'He can find a home' or 'He's disloyal,'" McCutchin told me this summer. "But God has a different plan for everybody."
His plan wasn't to be someone who transferred even once.
But on Saturday, his journey will take him back to where he started. Back to Owen Field as a starter for the Houston Cougars in their 6:45 p.m. game against OU. Back at the place he never intended to leave.
He will also be with the program that changed his life.
All the transfer-portal hate? That isn’t this story.
It isn’t Latrell McCutchin’s story either.
'It didn't have anything to do with football'
Latrell McCutchin played in nine games in 2021 as a true freshman at OU, even started one of them.
Sure, he had his struggles, but cornerbacks get beat occasionally. And true freshman cornerbacks? Well, there was bound to be a learning curve, even for a highly sought-after recruit.
But McCutchin fell out of favor with many Sooners after his dad went on Twitter and wrote, "F*** OU defensive coaching staff." That tweet was quickly deleted, but the residual remained.
Many expected McCutchin to transfer as soon as he could.
But he didn't. Even when Lincoln Riley left for Southern Cal, McCutchin didn't jump in the portal immediately. He even went to San Antonio with the Sooners for the Alamo Bowl.
Eventually, though, he decided to transfer, landing at Southern Cal and opting to play for many of those same defensive coaches his dad had railed against.
"Leaving OU was more like I wanted to play for guys that I signed to out of high school," McCutchin said. "I was pretty loyal to Coach Riley and his staff and things like that."
The move seemed to go well. McCutchin played in every game for the Trojans in 2022, starting twice and recording 22 tackles.
And he had every intention of playing again for USC in 2023. He went through offseason training, spring football and summer workouts. He was a little over a month from starting fall camp when he decided to transfer. Because of the NCAA transfer rules at the time — McCutchin was a second-time transfer without an undergraduate degree — he would be ineligible wherever he went and have to sit out the season.
He didn't care.
This transfer wasn't about football.
"I had a son during that time," he told me. "It was pretty hard for me to be 20 hours away from him at all times."
The baby was in Austin, and the distance wore on McCutchin. How could he stay in Los Angeles? How could his heartstrings stretch so far for so long?
He told Riley he had to go.
Conversations with Riley and other USC coaches were difficult.
"But there was a lot of understanding from them as well because they understood that I was so far away from my son," McCutchin said. "I was so far gone mentally at that point that it was hard for me to withstand anything."
McCutchin said he parted on good terms with Riley and Co.
"I still love those guys to death," McCutchin said. "They're really good people. Coach Riley, he's very understanding. He really wanted the best for me. He kind of helped me while I was in the portal as well."
His decision to leave wasn't about USC, the coaches, the scheme.
It wasn't about football at all.
McCutchin began exploring options but quickly homed in on Houston.
His younger brother, Latreveon, was already on campus as an incoming freshman linebacker for the Cougars. They could be teammates again like they were at Austin LBJ High School.
And McCutchin could be less than a three-hour drive from his son.
He announced his transfer to Houston on June 27, 2023, even though it meant he wouldn't play that season.
If today's rules had been in place, McCutchin would have been immediately eligible for the Cougars.
"I was going regardless,” he said. “It didn't matter. I could have been playing for anybody. I could have been playing for Nick Saban at Alabama. I still would have left because it didn't have anything to do with football."
'It's taught me so much'
Even before Willie Fritz took over as Houston's head coach, he knew Latrell McCutchin's journey.
Fritz was the coach at Tulane when the Green Wave played in Norman three years ago and McCutchin was a Sooner. Then the next season when Tulane and USC met in the Cotton Bowl, McCutchin was a Trojan. And when Fritz moved to Houston, McCutchin was a Cougar.
"I knew his name before we got here," Fritz told me.
Keeping McCutchin, who'd committed to the previous coaching staff, was a big win for Fritz.
"He's tall. He's long. He's quick. He's got playing experience," Fritz said. "I really think he's got NFL potential.
"He's also one of our leaders."
So much so that Fritz opted to take McCutchin to Big 12 Media Days this summer before he played a down for the Cougars. But Fritz learned from talking to people around the program that McCutchin had been a model teammate during his season sitting out.
He played scout teams. He took on the grunt work. And he did it knowing nothing could get him on the field during game day.
That wasn't necessarily easy.
"I kid you not, every game, I would cry my eyes out," McCutchin said.
He chuckled.
"Just hurt at the fact that I couldn't go out there and showcase what I knew I could be doing."
But now, Latrell McCutchin has both football and family in his life, and while he knows plenty of people who see his name assume the worst about his journey — and maybe even him — he also knows he made the right decisions.
He doesn't regret anything.
"I have a very different perspective than a lot of people ... " he said. "I just feel like being in college football for three years already and going through everything that I've gone through, I know how to respond to certain situations.
"It's taught me so much."