Oklahoma Sooners will face 2 of the most explosive players in 2022 according to 247Sports

The Oklahoma Sooners defense will be tasked with figuring out how to slow down two of 247Sports’ most explosive players heading into 2022.

The Big 12 might have taken on a more defensive approach in recent seasons, but there are still a ton of incredible offensive talents that the Oklahoma Sooners will have to contend with in 2022.

Brad Crawford of 247Sports ranked the seven most explosive players in college football. The Oklahoma Sooners have experience with two of those players, but will have to worry about them again in 2022; Deuce Vaughn of Kansas State and Xavier Worthy of Texas.

Worthy came in at No. 2 on the list while Vaughn came in at No. 3. Both are worthy additions to a list headlined by Ohio State’s Jaxon Smith-Njigba.

Sooners fans became very familiar with Worthy on the opening play of the Red River Showdown in 2021 when the Texas wide receiver took a screen 75 yards for a touchdown to open the game. He’d kill Oklahoma that day with nine receptions for 261 yards and two touchdowns.

Here’s what Crawford had to say about Worthy:

Depending on who you ask, [autotag]Xavier Worthy[/autotag] might be the fastest wideout in college football. No one runs the fly better than the Longhorns’ top threat and Big 12 coaching staffs are well aware of his exploits down the field and believe he’s the most terrifying player in the conference from a he-can-score-from-anywhere standpoint. Worth averaged 15.8 yards per catch and scored 12 touchdowns as a freshman in 2021, highlighted by a mammoth 261-yard outing against Oklahoma. He is Steve Sarkisian’s new DeVonta Smith, and the Texas braintrust will work to get him as many touches as possible this season in space. – Crawford, 247Sports

Worthy announced his presence with authority in 2021. Deuce Vaughn, on the other hand, the Sooners have a couple of years of familiarity with.

In Kansas State’s win in 2020, Vaughn had eight carries for 35 yards and caught four passes for 129 yards, and a touchdown, including this big catch and run:

In 2021, Oklahoma still struggled to stop Vaughn in the passing game, this time catching 10 passes for 104 yards and a touchdown. He also ran the ball 15 times for 51 yards.

The Sooners under defensive coordinator Alex Grinch were able to slow Vaughn down in the running game, but couldn’t figure out how to contain him as a receiver. Maybe Brent Venables and Ted Roof will have more answers on how to slow down Vaughn in 2022.

Here’s what Crawford had to say about the electric running back:

It comes as no surprise that Kansas State’s [autotag]Deuce Vaughn[/autotag] was one of the nation’s leaders in broken tackles forced last season. He’s 5-foot-6, 170 pounds and shifty as any player in the Power Five ranks. Over his first two seasons with the Wildcats, Vaughn has averaged 5.7 yards per carry and doubled his total number of catches as a sophomore compared to 2020. Kansas State does a very good job of centering its game plan around his touches and with Nebraska transfer quarterback Adrain Martinez this season, that’s a speed-rich offense. Vaughan tallied 22 total touchdowns as a second-year starter and 1,872 yards from scrimmage. – Crawford, 247Sports

Though they didn’t make the list, Quentin Johnston of TCU and Xavier Hutchinson of Iowa State will be explosive playmakers the Sooners will have to deal with as well.

Oklahoma wide receiver [autotag]Marvin Mims[/autotag] is certainly an explosive player that the Sooners’ opponents will look to get the ball to. He’s averaged 19.1 yards per reception over his first two seasons at OU, including 22 yards per reception in 2022. He’s a dangerous player who can win deep at any moment.

Oklahoma’s defense may have lost a lot of talent from the 2021 squad, but there will be a different level of intensity coming with this defense. This unit has a lot of guys to be excited about, we simply haven’t seen them in full-time roles on the defense. They’ll have a lot to prove come September. Most notably, they have to prove they can slow down Xavier Worthy and Deuce Vaughn better than their former teammates.

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