Marcus Stripling, Rush Backer
Marcus Stripling walked into the stadium, knowing he had an All-American-sized hole to fill. Instead of trying to do too much, he simply did what was asked of him and it resulted inย a career-high two tackles for loss, a sack, and two QB hurries.
It was by far his best performance since coming to Oklahoma and gives him the type of momentum that an offseason in the weight room and with skill development could turn him into a bonafide player for Brent Venables and Ted Roof’s defense next year.
Stripling is not Nik Bonitto, and that’s okay. He has to find his lane. But his activity levels against Oregon showed the nation and the Sooner faithful there is something worth exploring there.
Big sack by Marcus Stripling on 2nd down.
Ethan Downs also in on the play. pic.twitter.com/CazEdt3Fiz
โ ๐๐๐๐ธโ๐๐๐ธ-๐๐-๐โ๐ผ ๐๐โ๐๐ป (@soonergridiron) December 30, 2021
The Sooners had several other names deserving of an honorable mention like Pat Fields, Justin Broiles, and Eric Gray. It just highlights the fact that the Sooners came into this game ready to play. A lot of credit should be given to Bob Stoops and the Sooners coaches that had to come back from other jobs and fulfilled their duties to the best of their abilities. The Oklahoma coaching staff had the Sooners ready to play in a game that looked like their most complete performance of 2021.
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