STILLWATER — Gavin Freeman had been in the transfer portal for about two hours when Oklahoma State football coach Mike Gundy called.

Seeing the chance to pursue Freeman after his second successful season as a receiver at OU, Gundy didn’t waste time in making his recruiting pitch, kickstarting a process that ended with Freeman committing to the Cowboys three days later.

The transfer portal era has opened the door for more frequent player movement between Bedlam rivals, though Freeman is now the most prominent player in any sport to leave OU for OSU.

And while Freeman might be well known as the son of former Sooner tight end Jason Freeman, the family has quite a few OSU connections, too.

“I think I have more connections to OSU than OU,” Gavin told The Oklahoman.

And those ties go way back.

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Gavin’s grandfather — Oklahoma Coaches Association Hall of Famer Ron Freeman — played football at OSU in the late 1960s. Gavin’s mother, Dawn, is a Stillwater native and OSU graduate. Her father briefly wrestled at OSU and her mother worked for the university for roughly four decades.

And the Freemans have some unique connections to the Gundy family, as well, beginning with the Class 5A state championship game of 1985.

That’s when Gundy quarterbacked Midwest City to the title, defeating a Muskogee squad coached by Ron Freeman.

Gundy’s brother, Cale, was a graduate assistant at OU in 1994 when the Sooners were recruiting Jason out of Muskogee. And Cale was one of Gavin’s biggest advocates when OU recruited him as a walk-on out of Heritage Hall.

“Cale really believed in Gavin’s abilities,” Jason said. “He fought for him.”

Gavin became a recruiting steal for the Sooners, scoring a touchdown the first time he touched the ball and earning a scholarship after his freshman season. The 5-foot-8, 189-pound slot receiver was used as a passing target, rusher and punt returner, totaling 354 all-purpose yards.

The Freeman family has remained quiet about what led to Gavin’s decision to leave OU, but his choice to join the Cowboys was an easy one.

“As soon as I left my visit, I was really set on where I wanted to go,” Gavin said. “It would’ve taken a lot for somebody to come in and change my mind.”

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Aside from the comfort he felt while on campus for his recruiting visit, Gavin and his family were also drawn to OSU because of their understanding of how Mike Gundy and offensive coordinator Kasey Dunn have used slot receivers.

“Brennan Presley caught 101 balls last year,” Jason said. “Obviously, that offense goes through Ollie Gordon first, but a lot of it goes through Brennan as well. And really, if you go back and look at it, you can go back to guys like David Glidden to see the way they’ve used that position.

“With Mike there, things have been so consistent offensively. Yeah, they’ve tweaked some things, but a lot of it has looked the same for a long time.”

Jason, who is now on staff at Heritage Hall, was a few years into his high school coaching career when Gundy became the Cowboys’ head coach in 2005, so Jason has observed from afar how Gundy operates.

“In my opinion, Oklahoma State’s a top-10 program,” Jason said. “The amount of consistency and the amount of success that Mike has had there for such a long time is amazing to me. I appreciate the loyalty Coach Gundy has had for his current players.

“There’s one constant there, and it’s been Mike Gundy.”

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WIth Presley entering his final season of eligibility, Gundy has already discussed the possibility of redshirting Gavin in the fall, preserving his two years of eligibility for 2025-26 when he would have a chance to step into Presley’s role.

Under current redshirt rules, a player can participate in four regular season games and any postseason games while retaining redshirt status. So that could equal five or six games, or possibly more with the new 12-team playoff.

“Gundy was very transparent from the get-go about ‘Listen, there’s no reason for you to burn a year if you don’t have to,’” Jason said. “The NCAA doesn’t do a whole lot of things right in my opinion, but with the redshirt rule is one they do.

“Gavin could play six or seven games, which would be great, because he could learn the offense, learn from Brennan. As a player, you’re not really comfortable offensively until your second year to where you feel you can really play fast. That first year, you’re thinking so much and trying to figure out what to do that your ability doesn’t show like it should.”

Gavin reports to campus the first week of June with the goal of diving into strength coach Rob Glass’ offseason program.

“This is the best time to get bigger, faster, stronger,” Gavin said. “And you have a chance to make a connection with the guys. So I’m excited to get to know everybody there, and get to know the ropes.”

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Former OU football WR Gavin Freeman has deep Oklahoma State ties