Fresh Faces: Oklahoma WR Josiah Martin Calls Transfer Decision ‘No-Brainer’

Josiah Martin has already played at the Power Four level, but even so, he knows he’s climbing to a higher rank at Oklahoma.

Martin, a transfer wide receiver who played at Cal in 2024, is one of several new wideouts for the Sooners.

Originally from the Dallas-Fort Worth area, Martin is much closer to home in Norman than he was in Berkeley. More importantly to him, though, is his new program’s track record.

“I entered the portal just looking for a bigger opportunity,” Martin said. “I wanted to show my skills on a higher level. Oklahoma, it’s the winningest program in college football history. It’s a no-brainer. I know the kind of things they can help me with.”

Martin was a consensus 3-star prospect in high school, compiling 920 receiving yards and 10 touchdowns as a senior at Guyer High School in Denton. He chose to begin his college career at Cal, despite holding offers from major programs like Alabama, Oregon, Ole Miss and Penn State.

As a true freshman in 2024, Martin played in seven games for the Golden Bears, catching 12 passes for 112 yards. Martin scored his first college touchdown — a 29-yard rushing touchdown — in Cal’s 24-13 LA Bowl loss to UNLV on Dec. 18.

Martin played high school football with Sooners defensive back Peyton Bowen, who graduated from Guyer in 2023. With two years of experience at OU under his belt, Bowen has mentored Martin during his first few months.

“(He’s) making sure that I know the ropes and what not to do,” Martin said.

Martin joins an aerial attack that looks to be much better than it was in 2024.

The Sooners placed 119th out of 134 teams that compete at the NCAA Division I level in passing offense, averaging 175.8 passing yards per game. Oklahoma didn’t have a player with more than 350 receiving yards, as tight end Bauer Sharp — now at LSU — led the Sooners with 324.

Martin is just a piece in the Sooners’ efforts to fix their inconsistencies in the air.

Oklahoma hired former Washington State offensive coordinator Ben Arbuckle to the same role in December and also picked up Cougars quarterback John Mateer from the transfer portal.

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Martin is one of five wide receivers that OU signed from the portal, along with Isaiah Sategna (Arkansas), Keontez Lewis (Southern Illinois) and Javonnie Gibson (Arkansas-Pine Bluff). The Sooners’ only returning wideouts who logged more than 100 yards in 2024 are Deion Burks, Jacob Jordan and Zion Kearney.

In addition to Bowen’s guidance, all of Martin’s offensive coaches and teammates have been beneficial to his growth in OU’s system.

“All of (the receivers) came together and brought me in, embraced me,” Martin said. “It’s been really smooth. I’ve had everybody kind of help me and try to make me better than who I was coming in.

“Coach Arbuckle’s the easiest person to get along with. He believes in having fun with it, as long as you’re getting it done. (Mateer) walks in with the confidence, not the cockiness, that makes you want to be around that guy.”

With so many new faces, it’s hard to predict exactly what Oklahoma’s offense will look like in 2025 — but Martin knows that he can be a major contributor in it. 

He looked at spring ball as an opportunity to prove that.

“I want to get better every day,” Martin said. “I want to be able to noticeably see a difference at the start of the spring vs the end of the spring. Do everything on a high level.”