Tag: 2023 Oklahoma Sooners Football

Oklahoma welcomes 14 mid-year enrollees to campus as the spring semester starts

14 members of Oklahoma’s 2023 recruiting class set to join the Oklahoma Sooners as early enrollees.

Oklahoma has seen a number of players leave this offseason via the transfer portal, graduation or to pursue professional careers in the NFL. In response, Brent Venables and his coaching staff signed the program’s highest-rated class in quite some time. While we will not see any live action from Team 129 until the spring game, it will be encouraging to know that more than half of the 2023 recruiting class will enroll early to acclimate to the collegiate athlete lifestyle.

With classes starting Jan. 17, Oklahoma’s 2023 signees will move in this weekend. Which members of the Class of 2023 can we look out for in winter workouts and spring practices? Take a look below.

QB Jackson Arnold

Edge PJ Adebawore

S Peyton Bowen

C Joshua Bates

OL Cayden Green

RB Kalib Hicks

DL Derrick LeBlanc

ATH Erik McCarty 

LB Phil Picciotti

RB Daylan Smothers

WR Keyon Brown

DB Makari Vickers

DB Jasiah Wagoner

DL Ashton Sanders

Fourteen of the 25 members of the class of 2023 will join the Sooners football program for the offseason program. For multiple freshmen, this early leg up can be invaluable.

For example, five-star quarterback Jackson Arnold can begin to learn the playbook, have actual live reps and build chemistry with the receivers. For players in the trenches such as Cayden Green, PJ Adebawore, Derrick LeBlanc, Ashton Sanders and Joshua Bates, the early time with Jerry Schmidt getting stronger can help their pursuit of early playing opportunities.

Brent Venables and his staff will be thrilled to welcome their newest players to the program for good as they prepare Team 129 for the 2023 season.

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Jackson Arnold wins Gatorade National Player of the Year Award

Putting the finishing touches on an incredible senior season, Denton Guyer quarterback and Oklahoma Sooners signee, Jackson Arnold was named the Gatorade National Player of the Year. Arnold, in his second season, starting at Guyer, combined for …

Putting the finishing touches on an incredible senior season, Denton Guyer quarterback and Oklahoma Sooners signee, Jackson Arnold was named the Gatorade National Player of the Year.

Arnold, in his second season, starting at Guyer, combined for 4,400 total yards and 57 total touchdowns, helping his team get to the semifinals of the Class 6A Texas state playoffs. One of the best quarterbacks in the country, Jackson Arnold earned five-star status with a tremendous performance at the Elite 11 camp, winning MVP for the week’s performance.

Jackson Arnold was joined as a finalist by former OU commit and USC signee Malachi Nelson and Texas signee Arch Manning.

Former winners of the award include Kyler Murray, Peyton Manning, and Emmitt Smith. During Denton Guyer’s signing ceremony, Arnold was awarded the trophy by former Dallas Cowboys great Jason Witten

Credit: Lauren Coffman

The Gatorade Player of the Year award recognizes athletes not just for their excellence on the playing surface, but for their commitment in the classroom and impact in their community. Being a Gatorade Player of the Year means paying it forward for the next generation. As part of Gatorade’s Play it Forward initiative, every Player of the Year receives a grant to give to one of Gatorade’s social impact partners, supporting Gatorade’s ambition to fuel the future of the sport. 

Arnold has served as a classroom aide to a math teacher as a senior, and for the past three and a half years, he has been a member and officer in the Texas Young Men’s Service League, Lantana Chapter, which offers opportunities for mothers and sons to perform community service and philanthropic work. He maintained a weighted 4.5 GPA during his time at Guyer.

Jackson Arnold was a key 2023 commitment early in Brent Venables tenure. Though Joshua Bates was the committed before Venables arrived in Norman, Arnold was the first commitment for the Sooners’ new head coach.

That early commitment set the stage for what became a top-five class in the 2023 cycle.

This week, Jackson Arnold and several other 2023 signees will make a move to Norman as early enrollees to begin their collegiate careers and prepare for the 2023 season.

After earning five-star status, Jackson Arnold is one of the more highly-anticipated arrivals to Norman. Though he’ll likely be behind Dillon Gabriel in 2023, the future is bright for the future starting quarterback of the Oklahoma Sooners.

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Oklahoma Sooners inside the USA TODAY Sports way too early top 25 for 2023

Oklahoma looks to be a bounce-back candidate for the 2023 season, making USA TODAY Sports way too early top 25 for next year.

Coming off of a 6-7 season in which the defense struggled for most of the Big 12 schedule, it’s a bit surprising that the Oklahoma Sooners find themselves inside the top 25 of these way too early 2023 power rankings.

Whether it was CBS Sports or 247Sports, it appears the Sooners will be a popular bounce-back candidate this offseason. To that end, Oklahoma was included in the top 25 of USA TODAY Sports’ way too early power rankings for 2023 by Paul Myerburg.

It has to get better. There’s plenty of talent on offense to team with established starting quarterback Dillon Gabriel. Based on his track record, it feels very safe to expect the defense to take a huge leap in Brent Venables’ second season. The Sooners will also be a deeper and more experienced team after almost completely redoing the roster last winter and making significant headway in the transfer portal this offseason. Don’t forget that five of OU’s seven losses came by a touchdown or less, so simply returning to the mean in these close games would bring OU back into the eight-or-nine win range. – Myerburg, USA TODAY Sports

Myerburg makes a great point, that if Oklahoma split the five games in which they lost by a touchdown or less, the Sooners would have been at least an eight-win team. Four of those five losses came by a field goal. Improved depth on defense could help the Sooners better withstand late surges by their opponents. P

Getting [autotag]Dillon Gabriel[/autotag] back is a great start to rebounding after the Sooners’ first losing season since 1998. Having quarterback continuity amid some key losses on the offensive side of the ball will help calm the waters. But more important than that is the work Brent Venables and his staff have done to add immediate difference-makers to the defense in the [autotag]2022-2023 transfer portal[/autotag].

Guys like [autotag]Rondell Bothroyd[/autotag], [autotag]Jacob Lacey[/autotag], [autotag]Trace Ford[/autotag], [autotag]Reggie Pearson[/autotag], and [autotag]Dasan McCullough[/autotag] are ready-made players that will step in and either start or be a part of the two-deep on the Sooners’ initial depth chart when they break camp next fall. Bothroyd, Ford, and McCullough, in particular, bring pass rush productivity to Norman to help a defensive front that struggled with pass rush consistency in 2022. Add that group to Reggie Grimes, who started 2022 hot and Ethan Downs, who finished strong down the stretch, and the Sooners are building quite the arsenal at defensive end.

Improving the defense is the key to the Sooners returning to contention in the Big 12 in 2023. Moving the needle from 30 points per game to closer to 20 will make the biggest difference for the Sooners. It’s too early to tell how all the pieces will come together, but based on what they’ve done in the transfer portal thus far, the Oklahoma Sooners are trending in the right direction.

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4 Oklahoma signees featured in SI99 final rankings for 2023

Four Oklahoma Sooners signees inside Sports Illustrated’s final SI99 for the 2023 recruiting cycle.

With all-star games done, the early signing period closed and the calendar flipped to a new year, the class of 2023 closes its high school chapter. A host of prospects prepare to enroll midyear while others will wait to join their college programs during the summer.

With games completed, final evaluations are coming in. Recruiting services have begun to unveil their final rankings for the class of 2023. Sports Illustrated got the ball rolling with its postseason SI99 prospect rankings, which included four Oklahoma Sooners signees.

Oklahoma signed its most complete class in years. While it leans more to the defensive side of the ball, the Sooners have some high-quality offensive prospects. That’s reflected in their four signees named in the SI99 rankings.

Dillon Gabriel among 247Sports top returning quarterbacks for 2023

Oklahoma Sooners QB Dillon Gabriel is among 247Sports’ top ten returning quarterbacks for 2023.

Dillon Gabriel’s return for the 2023 season is sure to pay immediate dividends for the Oklahoma Sooners. They need a little bit of continuity on the offense with so many moving pieces around the quarterback position. OU’s current starting QB is just one of many talented signal-callers returning next season. Brad Crawford of 247Sports ranked the top 25 returning quarterbacks for 2023.

Crawford put Gabriel at No. 10 on his list, ahead of the likes of Jaxson Dart, Spencer Sanders, Devin Leary, Quinn Ewers, Cam Rising, and Spencer Rattler. Here’s what Crawford had to say about Gabriel.

In his first season with Oklahoma after transferring from UCF, Gabriel threw for 3,168 yards and 25 touchdowns to only six interceptions. That included a 14-of-24, 243-yard, one-touchdown performance in the Sooners’ 35-32 Cheez-It Bowl loss to Florida State. During that matchup, he scored on a rushing touchdown as well. Prior to the bowl game, however, Gabriel had been non-committal about his looming decision. Gabriel has thrown 95 touchdown passes during his collegiate career, much of that total coming with the Knights in the AAC. – Crawford, 247Sports

The name of the game with Gabriel for 2023 will be staying healthy. OU’s massive skid in 2022 all started when Gabriel left the game against TCU due to a concussion. That followed a loss to Kansas State at home. While the Sooners still do not have a schedule, having Gabriel healthy for every game would be a boost, particularly against Texas.

The top four on Crawford’s list includes several players that will be finalists for the 2023 Heisman. Caleb Williams, Drake Maye, Michael Penix Jr., and Bo Nix could all end up in New York the award ceremony this December.

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Oklahoma Sooners add Michigan transfer wide receiver Andrel Anthony Jr.

Looking to fortify their wide receiver corp, the Oklahoma Sooners received a commitment from Michigan transfer WR Andrel Anthony.

After making splashes on the defensive side of the ball in the transfer portal, the Oklahoma Sooners added Michigan transfer wide receiver Andrel Anthony.

Anthony comes to the Sooners with two years of eligibility and will join the wide receiver competition to replace [autotag]Marvin Mims[/autotag] on the outside.

The former Michigan wide receiver played more than 500 snaps for the Wolverines over two seasons and recorded 19 receptions for 328 yards and four touchdowns. He averaged 17.3 yards per reception, 6.4 yards after the catch per reception, a 17.9 depth of target and a 44.4% contested catch win rate.

The former three-star player was the No. 69 wide receiver in the class of 2021. He had a strong freshman campaign that included three touchdowns but saw limited opportunities in Michigan’s passing game.

Coming to Norman, Anthony’s size will provide another target in the middle of the field for Dillon Gabriel. Twelve of Anthony’s 19 receptions went for first downs, and if he can bring that same level of first down efficiency to the Sooners, it would help them improve on third down as well.

Anthony was originally from East Lansing, and though Michigan State made a big push for him as a recruit, he ultimately spurned the Spartans for the Wolverines. Then, in his first game against MSU, he scored two touchdowns, including a 90-plus yard catch-and-run, elevating his prospects in short order. – Isaiah Hole, Wolverines Wire

Anthony joins [autotag]LV Bunkley-Shelton[/autotag], [autotag]J.J. Hester[/autotag], [autotag]Jayden Gibson[/autotag], and [autotag]Nic Anderson[/autotag] as wide receivers vying for snaps opposite [autotag]Jalil Farooq[/autotag]. [autotag]Drake Stoops[/autotag] likely remains your slot wide receiver, leaving a spot on the outside for an intriguing group of players.

While the Sooners will have a hard time replacing Marvin Mims’ downfield ability, they have options for new wide receivers coach and passing game coordinator Emmett Jones to work with to see who will step up and take the reigns on the outside.

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Where did the Oklahoma Sooners land in R.J. Young’s way-too-early 2023 power rankings?

Where did the Oklahoma Sooners land in RJ Young’s way too early 2023 power rankings?

Now that the Georgia Bulldogs have finished their 15-0 season with a second straight national championship, the offseason is upon us.

With the offseason comes the completion of the 2023 recruiting cycle. National signing day is Feb. 2, and the transfer portal is getting even busier. The other thing it brings is way-too-early looks ahead to the 2023 season.

National publications and analysts are taking the opportunity to provide a first look at next season and how teams stack up heading into the offseason.

As we saw in 2022, it isn’t about how you start, it’s how you finish. The Oklahoma Sooners opened the 2022 season as a top-10 team. After a 3-0 start and a blowout of Nebraska, that felt reasonable. Then Big 12 play began and the Sooners struggled to stop anyone.

On the flip side, after a 5-7 season in 2021, TCU opened the season unranked. Despite getting blown out in the College Football Playoff national championship game, the Horned Frogs had a tremendous season. The way they lost will sting, but it shouldn’t erase the incredible run they went on to get to the title game.

2023 provides a blank slate. What happened last year doesn’t matter. Everyone gets to reset. Georgia and Alabama will more than likely be the teams to beat again in 2023, but USC, Oregon, Clemson, Michigan and Florida State could be teams that make a run for the title as well.

RJ Young of Fox Sports, released his way-too-early top 25 for 2023, and surprisingly, after a 6-7 season, the Oklahoma Sooners made the cut. Let’s take a look.

Oklahoma Sooners going all-in to improve defense for 2023

The Oklahoma Sooners are going all-in via the transfer portal to fix a defense that was one of the worst in the country in 2022.

The transfer portal has created a bit of a chaotic element in the world of college football. Players that coaches expect to be around for three to five years may depart after just one season with the immediate eligibility transfer rule.

At the same time, there’s beauty in the transfer portal as well. A team like the Oklahoma Sooners, coming off its worst season since 1998, isn’t forced to stand pat and wait on its players to develop.

After the 2022 season, in which the defense ranked in the bottom 30 of college football and allowed 30 points per game, the Sooners are aggressively improving the talent on the defensive roster for 2023.

[autotag]Brent Venables[/autotag] and the Oklahoma Sooners have added six players on the defensive side through the transfer portal. And that doesn’t include [autotag]Kendel Dolby[/autotag], who they brought in as a junior college addition through the 2023 recruiting class. So far, they’ve earned transfer commitments from:

  • [autotag]Jacob Lacey[/autotag], DT from Notre Dame
  • [autotag]Dasan McCullough[/autotag], Edge/LB from Indiana
  • [autotag]Reggie Pearson[/autotag], S from Texas Tech
  • [autotag]Trace Ford[/autotag], DE from Oklahoma State
  • [autotag]Rondell Bothroyd[/autotag], DL from Wake Forest
  • [autotag]Davon Sears[/autotag], DT from Texas State

That’s a lot of experience and a lot of production at the collegiate level to add to the defensive depth chart for 2023.

Rondell Bothroyd brings 14 sacks and 26.5 tackles for loss over the last two seasons to Norman. Dasan McCullough had a standout season as a true freshman for the Hoosiers and was an ESPN true freshman All-American. We were witnesses to the thunderous tackling ability that Reggie Pearson brings to the Sooners’ secondary in Oklahoma’s loss to Texas Tech in 2022. Jacob Lacey didn’t play much for Notre Dame in 2022, but he was effective in the three games played.

Trace Ford has battled injuries in Stillwater but has been productive when he played. In his first two seasons at Oklahoma State, Ford procured 7.5 sacks and 8.5 tackles for loss as a true freshman and sophomore. Davon Sears has taken the winding road to the Power Five after spending time at Ellsworth Community College and Texas State. He was an effective interior defensive line presence for the Bobcats, even if the numbers aren’t eye-popping.

The Sooners have some defensive building blocks to work with, including [autotag]Ethan Downs,[/autotag] [autotag]Danny Stutsman[/autotag], [autotag]R Mason Thomas[/autotag], [autotag]Billy Bowman[/autotag], [autotag]Isaiah Coe[/autotag] and [autotag]Jordan Kelley[/autotag].

They have some young guys from the 2022 recruiting class that will have a chance to be impact players in 2023, such as [autotag]Jaren Kanak[/autotag], [autotag]Kobie McKinzie[/autotag], [autotag]Kip Lewis[/autotag], [autotag]Gracen Halton[/autotag], [autotag]Gentry Williams[/autotag], [autotag]Robert Spears-Jennings[/autotag] and [autotag]Jayden Rowe[/autotag]. The Sooners have signed arguably the best defensive recruiting class they’ve had in years.

However, Venables and his coaching staff aren’t waiting around. After a 6-7 season, they felt the mandate to make significant additions to the roster to improve the talent, and they’ve done that. It doesn’t mean Oklahoma will contend for the Big 12 title and the College Football Playoff, but they’re not sitting back to see if the young talent will take the steps this offseason to be the difference makers the Sooners’ defense needs to make significant strides in 2023.

They’ll have a lot to prove when they get into the Big 12 part of their schedule next season. Nonconference play will not give us much of an indication of where this defense is next season. However, with what they’ve done in the transfer portal, the defense should be on an upward trajectory.

[autotag]Brent Venables[/autotag] and his staff are doing everything they can to fix the defense, and their work in the transfer portal is indicative of those efforts.

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Dillon Gabriel’s return a ‘boost’ for Oklahoma Sooners

Dillon Gabriel’s return provides a “boost” to the Oklahoma Sooners and their QB room.

Dillon Gabriel’s return for the 2023 season guarantees that the Oklahoma Sooners will have a better quarterback room next season than they did in 2023. Dillon Gabriel and Jackson Arnold give the Sooners two really good quarterback options for next season.

Arnold’s promise is apparent, but Gabriel is the more stable and safer option for OU in 2023. 2024 will be the year of Arnold.

Gabriel’s return brings stability to a QB room desperately needing it. When Gabriel missed time, Jeff Lebby’s offense simply couldn’t function. David Cobb of CBS Sports shared his thoughts on Dillon Gabriel’s final ride with the crimson and cream.

Ultimately, the offense could only do so much when juxtaposed with a defense that gave up 30 points per game and ranked No. 123 nationally in yards allowed. Gabriel also faced the unenviable task of following in a legacy of heralded quarterbacks at OU that included 2022 Heisman Trophy winner Caleb Williams, who starred as a true freshman at Oklahoma in 2021 before following coach Lincoln Riley to Oklahoma. – Cobb, CBS Sports

Scoring every time is the goal, but having to score every time out puts way too much pressure on an offense. It’s unreasonable to expect a team to score touchdowns on 100% of their drives. The offense was far from the Sooners’ biggest issue in 2022, but it has some work to do. Figuring out how to be more efficient on third downs and in the red zone is a start.

Oklahoma was 50th in the nation in third down conversion percentage at 40.9%. In the red zone, the Sooners scored touchdowns on just 84% of their trips inside the 20-yard line. That was 66th at the FBS level.

That said, retaining Gabriel was the best way forward for the Oklahoma Sooners in 2023. Continuity on the offense between the offensive coordinator, the quarterback, and the remaining players on that side of the ball is huge. It’s enough to withstand departures at wide receiver and on the offensive line. Though there will be question marks that follow the Sooners from spring ball to the start of the regular season, knowing what you have at quarterback helps alleviate any of the stress those other questions might create.

Though Jackson Arnold’s arrival to Norman is one that’s highly anticipated, QB1 is Gabriel’s job, as it should be. Another season in Jeff Lebby’s system and with extensive experience at the Power Five level, Gabriel has a chance to have a much better season for the Sooners in 2023.

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New Sooner Dasan McCullough one of College Wire’s 10 best true freshmen of 2022

After being named to the ESPN True Freshmen All-American team, Dasan McCullough was one of College Wire’s ten best true freshmen of 2022.

There’s a lot at stake for the Oklahoma Sooners in year two of the [autotag]Brent Venables[/autotag] era. After a 6-7 season in which the defense struggled for much of the year, allowing 30 points per game, the Sooners much show improvement in 2023.

In an effort to improve a defense that allowed 35 points or more in seven games this season, Venables and his staff have been aggressive in the transfer portal. They brought in the top EDGE portal option, [autotag]Dasan McCullough[/autotag]. McCullough was named to ESPN’s true freshmen All-American team after posting 6.5 tackles for loss and four sacks in his only season with the Indiana Hoosiers.

A versatile and athletic player, McCullough could step in and play defensive end but also may be an option at Cheetah for Venables. After a strong true freshman season, McCullough was ranked the No. 10 true freshman in 2022 by Regional Editor of the College Wires at USA TODAY Sports Patrick Conn.

McCullough had offers to play at Ohio State, Alabama, and Georgia among others but opted to stay home with Indiana. The No. 9 edge player of the 2022 class finished out his freshman campaign with 6.5 TFLs (third on the team), and 4.0 sacks (first on the team). McCullough will join his brother on the Oklahoma Sooners in 2023. – Conn, Regional Editor – College Wires at USA TODAY Sports

McCullough figures to be an impact player for the Sooners in 2023. With his athleticism, length, and versatility, the Sooners could line him up at a variety of spots and make him a mismatch nightmare.

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