If Preston Stone’s December decision helped to ease Wildcat fans’ quarterback anxiety, they’ll sleep even better now with more depth at the position. 

In a surprising move, Oklahoma lost native quarterback Gavin Frakes Wednesday as the University of Virginia transfer decommitted in favor of Northwestern. 

The Sooners (6-7, 2-6 SEC) finished in the bottom four of the conference last season, but notably beat Alabama (24-3) Nov. 23. The Wildcats didn’t fare much better in the Big Ten, going 4-8 (2-7) and only beatingMaryland (37-10) Oct. 11 and Purdue (26-20 OT) Nov. 2.

Frakes is the fourth athlete to commit to the Wildcats since Sunday as David Braun looks to add strength to the roster ahead of a difficult season schedule. Northwestern is set for tough contests against Tulane, Penn State and Illinois on the road, plus defending Big Ten champion Oregon and Michigan at home.

The rising senior spent the first two years of his college career at New Mexico State after an initial commitment to Princeton. Frakes didn’t see playing time his sophomore season, or last year at Virginia, but he’s a strong selection to back up Stone. As a true freshman at New Mexico State, Frakes made five starts under center and played in 11 games.

A 2022 top-100 prospect in the state of Oklahoma, Frakes originally committed to Oklahoma May 22 after entering the transfer portal April 21. In high school, he was a dual-threat player, running for 785 yards and eight scores as a senior starter, with 2,992 all-purpose yards and 32 touchdowns. 

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Based on his experience, Stone is the likely starter come fall. Regardless, the addition of Frakes strengthens an offensive line in desperate need of reinforcements: Northwestern’s offense ranked worst in the conference last season. Plus, their quarterbacks are largely young and untested, save Stone and dual-sport athlete Jack Lausch.