Tag: 2022 Spring Game

Best photos of Brent Venables since joining the Oklahoma Sooners

With the start of the 2022 season right around the corner, let’s take a look at the best photos of Brent Venables since joining the Sooners.

It’s been nine months since Brent Venables stepped off the plane at Max Westheimer Airport in Norman to a crowd of thousands of Oklahoma fans. During his flight, it was made official that Brent Venables would be the next head coach of the Oklahoma Sooners.

It was a whirlwind of a week from the time that Lincoln Riley stepped down to the rumors began in earnest that Venables would be the coach. But that moment that he stepped off the plane, a sigh of relief was met with enthusiasm and excitement about the future.

And after signing the No. 8 recruiting class back in February, spring ball, a record-setting spring game, a fantastic summer in the 2023 recruiting cycle, and fall camp, the debut season for Brent Venables as a head coach is about to get underway.

All of the talk is about to subside, and everything that’s been discussed about the culture and the vision for the program is about to be laid out for the world to witness. And there’s little doubt that what we’re about to witness in the Brent Venables era will be special.

With less than two weeks to go until Oklahoma welcomes the UTEP Miners to Gaylord Family Oklahoma Memorial Stadium, let’s take a look at some of the best photos from Venables first offseason with the Oklahoma Sooners.

5 questions we still have about the Oklahoma Sooners after spring practice

The Oklahoma Sooners spring game provided optimism about their outlook in 2022, but several questions remain heading into the summer.

With the spring game putting a bow on Brent Venables first spring ball session, the next time the Sooners reconvene as a whole will be for fall camp. That marks the start of a months long journey to win the Big 12, make the College Football Playoffs and play for a national championship.

There were a lot of positive takeaways from the Sooners performance in the spring game, but no team will be perfect or without some questions marks as they break for the summer.

With that in mind, it ‘s time to ponder where the Sooners are as a program following their first spring session with Brent Venables at the helm? What questions do we still have about the team as they take some much needed time off?

Defensive end trio proves they’re ready to take over for the Oklahoma Sooners

With Oklahoma Sooners Nik Bonitto and Isaiah Thomas set to be selected in the 2022 NFL draft, a trio of edge rushers is ready to take over.

In back-to-back draft classes, the Oklahoma Sooners lost their arguably their best pass rushers in [autotag]Ronnie Perkins[/autotag] and [autotag]Nik Bonitto[/autotag]. Although, in 2020, one could make the argument that Bonitto was the Oklahoma Sooners’ best pass rusher that season too. Throw in [autotag]Isaiah Thomas[/autotag] and the Sooners have lost a ton of production over the last couple of seasons.

The loss of Oklahoma’s standout edge duo in Bonitto and Thomas created arguably the biggest question mark heading into the 2022 offseason for the Sooners. Who was going to step up to replace the 14 sacks and 25.5 tackles for loss that Bonitto and Thomas were taking to the NFL?

In December, we got the short answer to that question. Ethan Downs, Reggie Grimes, and Marcus Stripling harrassed Oregon quarterback Anthony Brown into a combined three sacks. Not bad for their first extended run of the season. After playing rotational rolls in 2021, they got the opportunity to show what they could do. Their performance provided optimism that the Sooners’ pass rush would be in good hands without Bonitto and Thomas.

On Saturday, in Oklahoma’s spring game, that trio showed that they’re more than ready to bring the heat, getting to Oklahoma quarterbacks often, creating pressure, and were credited with five sacks and 10 total tackles. [autotag]Marcus Stripling[/autotag] led the way with five tackles, two sacks, and four tackles for loss. [autotag]Ethan Downs[/autotag] had four tackles, two sacks, and three tackles for loss. [autotag]Reggie Grimes[/autotag] only had one tackle but registered a sack as well.

While they weren’t able to tackle the quarterbacks, the pressure was evident. Even if some of the “sacks” wouldn’t have been in a real game, their pressure hurried throws, made players bail from the pocket, and kept the offenses struggling to get any momentum going.

That’s a great sign for a Sooners defense that’s having to replace six starters heading into 2022. Whoever ends up “starting” at defensive end for the Sooners, the entire trio of Ethan Downs, Reggie Grimes, and Marcus Stripling are going to have a significant impact in 2022.

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From Baker to Brent, here are 8 takeaways from the Oklahoma Sooners spring game

From the return of Baker Mayfield to the beginning of the Brent Venables era, here are 8 takeaways from the Oklahoma Sooners’ spring game.

The 2022 Oklahoma Sooners wrapped up spring ball with a spring game that had a record crowd, a Heisman statue presentation, more than 200 former players, and more than 50 recruits on hand. Oh, and some football was played.

It wasn’t a clean spring performance with several turnovers and other miscues, but it was a fantastic way to end the spring in the Red’s 21-17 win over the White.

For the last four months, Brent Venables has been rebuilding a foundation of a program that while successful under the last coaching staff, had begun to lose its edge, missing the College Football Playoff in back-to-back seasons and failing to qualify for the Big 12 championship.

On a windy April day in the spring, the Sooners stood out and provided a lift for a program and a fan base eager to turn the page and begin the Brent Venables era of football.

As the Sooners begin pursuit of National Championship No. 8, here are 8 takeaways from Oklahoma’s spring game.

Ducks Wire Player of the Game: WR Dont’e Thorton steals the show

Dont’e Thornton’s 116 yards and two-touchdown performance earned him our MVP nod for the Spring Game.

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Oregon’s receiving corps is very talented and very deep. The only thing they are lacking is experience.

During this spring camp, new head coach Dan Lanning was looking for someone in that group to step up in a leadership role on and off the field. According to several people in the know, that player turned out to be sophomore Dont’e Thornton.

The 6-foot-5, 200-pounder was the logical choice to be that guy to step up after making a leap in the Alamo Bowl last season. Thornton proved that wasn’t some fluke and showed how much he has improved with a stellar Spring Game.

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Although he caught just three passes, Thornton led the team with 116 yards and two touchdowns, one for 39 yards, the other for 70 yards. He showed that he can be that deep threat Oregon has been lacking for quite some time.

There were a number of candidates for our Ducks Wire Player of the Game award on Saturday. Seven McGee also accumulated 116 yards receiving and a TD, while Chase Cota was able to finish up with an even 100 yards on some impressive catches. Over on the defensive side of the ball, DJ Johnson was an absolute monster, racking up 7 total tackles, 5 TFL, and 4 sacks, while Trikweze Bridges had a 42-yard pick-six to open the second half.

In the end, though, there was no player who quite impressed us as much as Thornton did. In a stacked WR room, it looks like he might have the ability to stand apart. Let’s hope this is the first of many DWPOG awards he sees.

Contact/Follow us @Ducks_Wire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Oregon Ducks news, notes, and opinion.

Let us know your thoughts, comment on this story below. Join the conversation today.

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Dan Lanning offers injury updates for Byron Cardwell, Jackson Powers-Johnson

Oregon was without Byron Cardwell on Saturday, and Jackson Powers-Johnson left with a knee injury. Lanning gave an update on both players.

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There a lot of things a team wants to accomplish in their spring game and one of the main ones is to get everyone out of there relatively healthy.

For the most part, the Oregon Ducks football team managed to not have any major injuries. While starting running back Byron Cardwell was dressed for the game, he didn’t end up taking any snaps for precautionary reasons.

The only other worrisome moment inside Autzen Stadium Saturday afternoon was when center Jackson Powers-Johnson was rolled up from behind and he left the game with an apparent knee injury.

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“Yeah, it was precautionary there with Byron. With JPJ, it looks like he’s gonna be okay,” Lanning said. “We’re gonna continue to get the medical professionals’ evaluation on it but it sounds like he’s okay. I got to see him right there in the locker room after.”

Although Power-Johnson was in a leg brace, he didn’t need crutches after the game. The extent of the knee ailment isn’t quite known as of yet, but head coach Dan Lanning said that his center seems to be okay.

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The training staff will continue to monitor him with doctors, but it seems Powers-Johnson has avoided a catastrophic injury and hopefully he’ll be fine when the Ducks take the field on Sept. 3 against Georgia.

Contact/Follow us @Ducks_Wire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Oregon Ducks news, notes, and opinion.

Let us know your thoughts, comment on this story below. Join the conversation today.

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Social Buzz: What Sooner Nation is saying ahead of the Oklahoma Sooners Spring Game

Social media is buzzing about the return of Baker Mayfield and many other former players for the Oklahoma Sooners 2022 Spring Game.

“Pack the Palace.” You’ve probably heard that phrase over the last month as Oklahoma Sooners head coach Brent Venables has implored Sooner Nation to show up for the 2022 Spring Game. It’s become as common as “uncommon effort,” one of Venables’ key phrases.

Venables put the challenge out to Oklahoma fans to show up earlier in the week and the word is this will be the biggest Spring Game crowd in the history of the program.

The new era of Oklahoma Sooners football is about to start off with a bang in Brent Venables’ first appearance on the Oklahoma sidelines as head coach. To say the fan base is excited about the Spring Game is an understatement. And Venables is excited to put his team on display for the incredibly passionate fan base that is Sooner Nation.

5 freshmen we can’t wait to see in the Oklahoma Sooners Spring Game

5 freshman we’re looking forward to watching in the Oklahoma Sooners’ spring on Saturday.

When discussing Oklahoma’s spring game it’s very easy to focus on the more established players or those that have proven themselves in the collegiate ranks. However, the youngsters of the bunch, the freshmen, and the redshirt freshmen deserve some love as every team isn’t complete without its share of young studs that will eventually become the future stars and leaders of the team.

For Oklahoma, there are quite a few players that fit into this criteria especially considering how many players exited the Oklahoma program via the portal, headed to the NFL, or graduated from college.

For many freshmen, this may be the only time we get to see them on the field in 2022. For others, this might act as the springboard to a breakout freshman campaign.

We’ve amassed a list of five players with a freshman designation that we are looking forward to seeing participate in the Oklahoma spring game.

Jaren Kanak and Kani Walker were both featured when we looked at 5 Defensive players to watch in the Spring game, so we chose to highlight a couple other players we’re intrigued by.

5 Sooners to watch on defense in the Oklahoma spring game

A look at five defensive players to watch as the Oklahoma Sooners gear up for their Spring game.

There’s something to be said about how exciting this particular spring game will be for Oklahoma Sooners’ fans far and wide. A new head coach ushers in a new era with a new defensive staff and a fresh, proven mind at offensive coordinator. A new vision will be on display while the Sooners have an abundance of position battles that need to be sorted out.

For now, we’ll focus on the defensive side of things where there’s been significantly more turnover and also the heaviest influx of new faces that will debut in Crimson and Cream for the first time this weekend.

Brent Venables’ wizardry as a defensive coordinator is widely known. It’s no stretch to say he’s probably been year in and year out the best defensive coordinator in college football for the last decade. He returns to the school that really catapulted his career in Oklahoma as the head coach but you can rest assured he brought his elite defensive coaching with him. He retooled the defensive staff entirely and led the charge into the transfer portal as the Sooners went shopping for defensive bodies to fit Venables’ scheme for the immediate future and the years to come.

With that said, here are five players to watch for as we see a glimpse at what Brent Venables and defensive coordinator Ted Roof have in store for Big 12 offenses this fall.

In reflection: Five things we think we learned about Ohio State in the spring game

Five things we think we took away from last weekend’s spring game in the ‘Shoe.

Spring has come and gone, at least in a football sense. The annual LiFEsports spring game took place on a television and streaming device near you (not to mention a venerable stadium) and we get to finally digest what we saw.

It’s always a little careless to try and take too much out of a glorified scrimmage, but there were some noticeable things that jumped out that we can at least feel good about throwing out there. It was a wacky scoring system with the offense going against the defense, but we got to see a lot of guys with the lights on for the first time.

From freshmen, to some things on defense, to players we are used to seeing do some pretty special things, here are five things we think we took from what we saw from the literal scarlet and gray inside the ‘Shoe last Saturday.