Austin Stogner, the Sooners greatest nightmare mismatch, underwent several obstacles in 2020 on top of a global pandemic.
He missed the last two contests of the season along with the Big 12 Championship vs. Iowa State due to a knee injury that turned into much worse. The injury led to a staph infection that required surgery and produced a 35-pound lighter Stogner. The former four-star recruit went through a health scare that kept him away from the gridiron and resulted in a much more grueling recovery process. Not many athletes experience the adversity Stogner endured a year ago but No. 18 is back on the field preparing for his comeback.
Head coach Lincoln Riley spoke to media on Friday and updated Stogner’s progression during spring camp.
” Stog’s [Austin Stogner] doing well. He’s been a little limited for us throughout the spring. It’s been kind of a slow return. I really wouldn’t say a slow return off of his injury but there’s just some natural ups and downs that you are going to have with that thing that we are just, that he is going through right now. We don’t have him full-go for every practice. There are some days where he feels really good and does the full deal and then there are some days where it’s just not right and we got to back it off and even shut him down for a period of time. So that has been a little bit back and forth. [Jeremiah] Hall and [Brayden] Willis have certainly taken the majority of reps and done a great job with them up to this point.”
He is still being worked back into the mix at a precautionary pace. For Oklahoma, the tight end/h-back position is utilized in a heavy snap count as opposed to other conference’s occasional use of the hybrid role. OU’s incorporates a lot of multiple tight end sets and Stogner sets the tone with his pass-catching ability. His production as a threat over the middle of the field is obvious but new tight end coach, Joe Jon Finley wants to focus in on his blocking. The protection up front may not get as recognized, but it provides for opportunities to open up in the running game.
” Stog’s [Austin Stogner] done a great job. You know he’s made a bunch of plays in big games as well. We are trying to work on his total game. We are still working on routes, releases, stems, all that good good stuff that he loves but he knows he has also got to be able to put his hand in the dirt and be a complete tight end in the run game and pass game protection; all parts of it and he embraces that. He takes notes when we are talking about passes. He is taking even better notes when we are taking about the run game because that is all about technique. He has got the body and the ‘want to’ to do it. Now it’s all about the tools that you have and the tools that you can use to block these guys that are coming off the edge.” (Joe Jon Finley on Austin Stogner via zoom)
Stogner excels at boxing out defenders and freeing himself up for Spencer Rattler and now he is working with Finley to perfect his craft as a complete tight end. He wants to elevate his skillset/refine his ability as a run blocker to become more of a dual-threat to Big 12 defenses. Becoming more effective as an in-line blocker, sealing the edge and creating lanes for running backs, will raise his ceiling this upcoming season. Not to mention, his draft stock as a Junior.
Tight end receiving threats are more plentiful with the evolution of the passing game in recent years but being able to block at a high-level will differentiate him from the rest. The mental preparation begins now during camp and Stogner is positioning himself for another stellar year in 2021.