Tag: billy bowman

Trio of Oklahoma Sooners earn All-SEC preseason honors

Trio of Oklahoma Sooners named to the All-SEC presason teams. Two defenders garner first-team selections.

It’s been a banner week for the Oklahoma Sooners as they took part in their first media day festivities as official members of the SEC.

SEC media days were held in Dallas, Texas, where the Sooners are quite familiar. They recruit the Dallas-Fort Worth area well but also play their biggest rival in the city.

Brent Venables was accompanied by his two defensive leaders and the former five-star quarterback they recruited specifically to lead them into this new era of football.

While the media days were a fun experience, the Sooners now eagerly looking forward to fall camp, which is less than two weeks away. That’s the final step in their journey toward what promises to be an incredibly entertaining 2024 season.

On Friday, the SEC released its preseason All-SEC teams, and three players represented the Sooners.

Danny Stutsman, Oklahoma’s fearless leader and starting linebacker, was named to the first team alongside fellow playmaking senior Billy Bowman. Deion Burks, one of the new Sooners, made it onto the third team at wide receiver.

Stutsman is the lifeblood of the team on and off the field. He’s a vocal leader but also one of the best players on the team. The native of Florida passed up the opportunity to get drafted in the NFL draft this past April. He returned and was a first-team selection to the preseason Walter Camp All-American squad. Last year, he recorded 104 tackles, 16 tackles for loss, three sacks, two forced fumbles and an interception return for a touchdown in 2023. 

Billy Bowman faced a similar question with the NFL draft but elected to return and is set to anchor the Sooners’ secondary. Last season, Bowman totaled six interceptions, three of which he returned for touchdowns. One of Bowman’s most significant plays of the year was a game-changing 100-yard pick six against BYU that helped OU take down the Cougars for the first time in program history. The Sooners had to play the entire second half without starting quarterback Dillon Gabriel.

Burks transferred from Purdue in the offseason, and from the moment he touched campus, it was evident he is poised to be a big-time player for the Sooners offense. He’ll occupy the slot wide receiver spot, which Drake Stoops has handled for the last few years. Burks is a blur and a much more explosive vertical threat.

Last year for Purdue, he led the Boilermakers with 47 receptions for 629 yards and seven touchdowns. In the April Red/White Spring Game, Burks caught five passes for 174 yards and two long touchdowns, as no one in the Sooners secondary could slow him down.

Oklahoma may not have received a high number of accolades, but the SEC has already taken notice of Sooners on both sides of the ball. 

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Oklahoma’s defensive leaders confident heading into the SEC

Danny Stutsman, Billy Bowman spoke confidently at SEC media days about the direction of the Oklahoma Sooners defense.

The Oklahoma Sooners defense took a huge step in 2023. They improved from 99th in the nation in scoring defense to No. 49, cutting their points per game allowed by nearly a touchdown in the process. It’s a group that is expected to take another step as the Sooners head into the SEC.

The challenges are different, but there is elite offense being played in the Southeastern Conference by teams like Tennessee, Texas, Ole Miss, Alabama, and LSU. The defensive unit knows they have to continue to grind, but to hear defensive leaders [autotag]Billy Bowman[/autotag] and [autotag]Danny Stutsman[/autotag] speak at SEC media days, they’re a confident group.

“When you look at our team, we know what we’re capable of,” Stutsman said. “Like he said before, we’ve got to prove ourselves right. That comes from every single day, every single workout, we have to prove ourselves right. And then eventually you just have seen so much growth, so much progress that it comes to fruition.”

It’s a group that trusts the developmental process. From winter workouts to spring ball to summer workouts and fall camp, which will begin in a couple of weeks, the defense believes in what they’ve done this offseason.

“We’re very confident,” Bowman said. The preparation we have put in, the work we have put in, it allows us to be confident.

“Ever since the game ended in San Antonio versus Arizona, we’ve been hitting the road hard, working, grinding extra, doing everything we can to obviously come out here and perform better than we did last year.”

They’ve put the work in, but it’s also a talented group full of blue-chip players and a ton of experience. [autotag]Woodi Washington[/autotag], [autotag]Ethan Downs[/autotag], Stutsman, Bowman, [autotag]Da’Jon Terry[/autotag], [autotag]Damonic Williams[/autotag], [autotag]Caiden Woullard[/autotag], [autotag]Jaren Kanak[/autotag], [autotag]Kip Lewis[/autotag], [autotag]Kobie McKinzie[/autotag], [autotag]Robert Spears-Jennings[/autotag], and [autotag]Kani Walker[/autotag] have each had at least two years of collegiate experience. A number of those players have played three or more seasons of college ball.

That experience and the success they had in 2023 helped to fuel their offseason work, giving them confidence for 2024.

“It brings a lot of confidence, Bowman said. “Especially bringing back experienced guys all over the defense, from the (defensive line), to the linebacker core to the defensive backs. Going into this year three will be another big jump. We’re in control of our own destiny. I feel like we’re doing a great job of continuing to keep the foot on the pedal, and we know we’re nowhere close to where we need to be.”

It’s a hungry group. As good as they were in 2023, there’s another level they can go to. And for the Sooners to be successful in year one in the SEC, [autotag]Zac Alley[/autotag]’s defense will have to go to that level.

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ESPN drops new “SEC on ABC” graphics package

The SEC on CBS may be gone, but say hello to the SEC on ABC graphics package.

[autotag]SEC media days[/autotag] in Dallas have wrapped, with all sixteen teams taking the podium one by one to talk about their programs. The Oklahoma Sooners spoke on Tuesday, as head coach [autotag]Brent Venables[/autotag], quarterback [autotag]Jackson Arnold[/autotag], linebacker [autotag]Danny Stutsman[/autotag] and safety [autotag]Billy Bowman[/autotag] represented the team well in Big D.

With the close of SEC media days, ESPN unveiled their brand-new graphics package for the “SEC on ABC” that will debut this fall.

The days of the “SEC on CBS” and its iconic theme music are over, but the “SEC on ABC” looks promising from a viewing standpoint. OU will surely have more than a few games on ABC, as their new conference looks to highlight its new members.

The [autotag]SEC[/autotag] will now have their games exclusively shown on ESPN networks, after previously playing on CBS. The [autotag]Big Ten[/autotag] will be shown on every major network but ESPN/ABC (FOX, CBS, NBC), while the [autotag]ACC[/autotag] is on shakier ground as a whole as a conference. Their TV deal is also with ESPN/ABC, as well as the CW Network. Oklahoma’s old conference, the [autotag]Big 12[/autotag], will still be shown on ESPN and FOX.

The “SEC on ABC” and the new graphics will debut on Saturday, August 31, one day after the Oklahoma Sooners take on the Temple Owls to open their season.

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A bulked up Adepoju Adebawore could be a nightmare for SEC offenses

The former five-star prospect is much heavier than he was when he walked on campus and ready to terrorize QBs in the SEC.

Day 2 of [autotag]SEC media days[/autotag] featured [autotag]Brent Venables[/autotag] and the Oklahoma Sooners.

Venables, quarterback [autotag]Jackson Arnold[/autotag], linebacker [autotag]Danny Stutsman [/autotag], and safety [autotag]Billy Bowman[/autotag] had plenty to say about this year’s team while on the mic. However, one note from the head coach before OU’s time at the podium was eye-opening.

Venables shared with the media in attendance that true sophomore defensive end [autotag]Adepoju Adebawore[/autotag] is over 260 pounds entering fall camp. The former five-star prospect in the [autotag]2023 recruiting class[/autotag] weighed 240 pounds exiting high school, according to Rivals. That means that the speedy pass-rusher has gained over twenty pounds since arriving in Norman. He was one of three five-star prospects in that historic class, along with Arnold and safety [autotag]Peyton Bowen[/autotag].

Adebawore played in all 13 games last season after enrolling at OU in January 2023. He was a consensus five-star and top-25 national recruit, ranked as the No. 4 player in the country by On3, No. 9 by 247Sports, No. 20 by ESPN, and No. 21 by Rivals. He was regarded as the nation’s second-best edge prospect by 247Sports, On3 and ESPN, and No. 3 by Rivals. Adebawore ranked as the No. 1 recruit in the state of Missouri by all four services and was a 2022 Under Armour All-American. He chose Oklahoma over Arkansas, Missouri, and Northwestern, among others.

Adebawore had a limited role in his true freshman season, but still made his presence felt at times during the year. He could be in line for more playing time at defensive end in 2024, and his upside is nearly limitless.

The Sooners lost plenty of depth and experience on the defensive line this offseason, but return [autotag]Ethan Downs[/autotag] to lead the way. However, Adebawore provides the talent in a pass-rushing role that Oklahoma needs in the [autotag]SEC[/autotag].

Oklahoma is entering a trenches conference, where the lines of scrimmage win and lose football games. An elite pass rusher like Adebawore, who has the potential to develop, would go a long way towards winning in 2024 and beyond.

He might not be on everyone in the SEC’s radar yet, but now that he’s spent some time under the tutelage of Jerry Schmidt and bulked up this offseason, he may be wreaking havoc in a backfield near you soon.

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Where does 247Sports have Sooners in updated SEC power rankings?

Oklahoma could be one of the best teams in the country in 2024, but the SEC is a different animal than the Big 12.

The Oklahoma Sooners have been official members of the [autotag]SEC[/autotag] for two weeks now, but the process of getting “SEC-ready” began when [autotag]Brent Venables[/autotag] was hired as the head coach in December 2021. Venables arrived in Norman less than six months after news of the SEC move leaked.

The program had two-and-a-half years to get ready for the toughest conference in college football. Now we’re a few short weeks from the beginning of the 2024 season, OU’s first in the SEC.

Brad Crawford of 247Sports updated his SEC power rankings ahead of [autotag]SEC media days[/autotag] this week. He also included where each team ranked in his eyes pre-spring.

Crawford made sure to note how strong the league is, pointing to updated league-wide power rankings and the chance that more than half of the SEC will be ranked inside various preseason polls next month, a record for a conference strengthened by the additions of the Sooners and the Texas Longhorns.

Crawford dropped the Sooners to ninth in his preseason SEC rankings, one spot below his pre-spring ranking. He flipped Oklahoma and the Texas A&M Aggies on his list. Here’s what he had to say about the Sooners with six weeks to go until kickoff:

“This is not a ranking indicative of how we’re projecting teams will finish in 2024, but is more of a look at rosters approaching fall camp and which programs would win head-to-head matchups with each other if games were played next week. These power rankings could look very different by the end of September,” Crawford said. “The first of the SEC’s newcomers this fall, Oklahoma hasn’t received the same heightened level of preseason love as their cohorts from Texas. Part of that is based on the Sooners’ loaded schedule with a first-year starting quarterback in [autotag]Jackson Arnold[/autotag] who will see his share of bullets early. A few portal acquisitions will be immediate starters and the back seven for the Sooners is one of the league’s best with linebacker [autotag]Danny Stutsman[/autotag] returning, cornerback [autotag]Gentry Williams[/autotag] and hard-hitting safety [autotag]Billy Bowman[/autotag].”

Crawford certainly isn’t the first to praise OU’s back seven or have doubts about the offensive line protecting the new starter in Arnold. Ultimately, the schedule could be one of the keys to the season. If Brent Venables’ and [autotag]Zac Alley[/autotag]’s defense can lead the way early on while [autotag]Bill Bedenbaugh[/autotag]’s offensive line gets settled, it could pay major dividends later in the year.

September and October games against Tennessee, Texas and Ole Miss loom large, interspersed with interesting contests against Auburn and South Carolina.

Arnold’s inexperience is real, but so is his ability and upside. He has the makeup and tools to be Oklahoma’s next great QB under center.

A good start by Stutsman, Bowman and the rest of the defense would take the pressure off Arnold and his new offensive coordinators [autotag]Seth Littrell[/autotag] and [autotag]Joe Jon Finley[/autotag].

The end of the schedule is brutal with games against Missouri in Columbia, Alabama in Norman and LSU in Baton Rouge. If the Sooners are in a solid place record-, team- and program-wise by then, they’ll afford themselves a little wiggle room with the expanded 12-team [autotag]College Football Playoff[/autotag].

Starting fast will be the key for Oklahoma, and playing complementary football will certainly pay off if the Sooners can finish strongly. If pieces fall into place and the inexperienced parts of the roster grow up quickly, the Sooners could finish a lot better than ninth in the SEC in 2024.

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Pair of Sooners crack EA Sports College Football 25 top 100 players

Danny Stutsman and Billy Bowman included in the top 100 players for EA Sports College Football 25.

The most anticipated video game of the last decade is just over a week away from its official release as EA Sports [autotag]College Football 25[/autotag] is set to drop on July 19. Over the last month, the people behind the game have been providing teaser content to further build that anticipation.

On Wednesday, College Football 25 dropped their top 100 players in the game and a pair of Sooners made the list.

Linebacker [autotag]Danny Stutsman[/autotag] comes tied for No. 54 with an overall rating of 91, while safety [autotag]Billy Bowman[/autotag] is No. 94 with an overall rating of 90.

Stutsman represents the second highest-rated player given a middle linebacker designation in the game. A Walter Camp preseason All-American, Stutsman has the opportunity to stake his claim as the best off-ball linebacker in college football with a strong 2024 season.

Bowman comes in as the No. 10 safety in the game. After a season in which he had six interceptions and returned three for touchdowns, his athleticism and playmaking ability will make him one of the more impact players in college football this season.

Both Stutsman and Bowman opted to return for their senior seasons despite the likelihood of being selected in the top 100 of the 2024 NFL draft. They’ll anchor an Oklahoma defense hoping to make its return to elite status in year three of the [autotag]Brent Venables[/autotag] era.

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Where does Danny Stutsman rank among the best players in the SEC?

Roll Tide Wire considers Danny Stutsman one of the best players in the SEC ahead of the 2024 season.

The Oklahoma Sooners have put together a defense that could be one of the best in the country in 2024. [autotag]Brent Venables[/autotag] and his staff have recruited well over the last three cycles and made timely additions in the transfer portal. But one of the bigger stories this offseason was the return of [autotag]Danny Stutsman[/autotag] and [autotag]Billy Bowman[/autotag] who looked like they were heading to the [autotag]NFL draft[/autotag] after strong 2023 seasons.

Getting Stutsman back to lead the defense was huge for the Sooners. He’s improved each year he’s been in Norman and has become one of the best inside linebackers in the nation. Stutsman was a Walter Camp preseason All-American selection and has a good chance to be named to the SEC’s first team when preseason selections are made.

Heading into Oklahoma’s inaugural season in the SEC, they’ll need Stutsman to be that guy.

Over at Roll Tide Wire, Brody Smoot ranked the top 24 players in the SEC heading into 2024 and Stutsman came in at No. 11.

Speaking of tackling machines, another one is Oklahoma senior linebacker Danny Stutsman. In the past two seasons, Stutsman has recorded 229 tackles, six sacks, and three interceptions. Following the conlusion of the 2023-2024 season, Stutsman was named an All-Big-12 First-Team selection. There will be some that are speculative of how Oklahoma fairs in the SEC. One thing is for certain. Stutsman will continue to be a tackling machine for Boomer Sooner. – Smoot, Roll Tide Wire

Only five defenders ranked in front of Stutsman. Tennessee’s James Pearce, Jr., LSU’s Harold Perkins, Jr., Georgia’s Mykell Williams and Malaki Starks, and Ole Miss‘ Walter Nolen were the only defenders ahead of Stutsman.

Stutsman’s impact on the Oklahoma Sooners defense can’t be overstated. Without the Sooners linebacker for a game and a half against Kansas and Oklahoma State, the Sooners’ defense didn’t look quite the same and it led to Oklahoma’s two Big 12 losses. The depth is better heading into 2024 as [autotag]Kobie McKinzie[/autotag], [autotag]Kip Lewis[/autotag], and [autotag]Jaren Kanak[/autotag] have more experience, but Oklahoma needs Stutsman to have a clean bill of health throughout 2024 for the Sooners to contend.

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Who will represent the Sooners at next week’s SEC Media Days?

Oklahoma announces their attendees for 2024 SEC Media Days.

SEC Media Days are less than a week away, and there is a palpable energy, to say the least. This is the first media days session that will include Oklahoma and Texas.

This media event marks the first time Nick Saban will not attend SEC Media Days since he took the Alabama job in 2007.

Coaches, players, and media luminaries make this multi-day event compelling for all involved with SEC football.

For Oklahoma, they enter this media day with quiet confidence. The Sooners know who they are, and [autotag]Brent Venables[/autotag] has done an admirable job preparing his program for the SEC on and off the field. We are less than two months away from seeing them put it on the field. As they adapt to their new conference home, the Sooners seem to be in the right state of mind.

Brent Venables has chosen who he will send to SEC Media Days as his student-athlete representatives.

Unsurprisingly, [autotag]Billy Bowman[/autotag], [autotag]Danny Stutsman[/autotag], and [autotag]Jackson Arnold[/autotag] are Venables’ choices. Bowman and Stutsman are both seniors and leaders on this team. Jackson Arnold gets the nod because he is the starting quarterback and has taken on a major leadership role in the offense in his first full year as a starter.

Arnold will have to balance the newfound responsibility as the Oklahoma starting quarterback on and off the field. There is a level of leadership that comes with it. He didn’t have nearly as much responsibility sitting behind [autotag]Dillon Gabriel[/autotag]. Now that Arnold is the guy, he’ll be tasked with being much more of a leader and producing like the Sooners believe he’s capable of.

Stutsman and Bowman passed up the NFL a year early to return and play Oklahoma’s inaugural season in the SEC. They are playing for their present and future. They will be pillars on the team trying to make their way back to the College Football Playoff and improve their draft stocks as both are set to be taken in the 2025 NFL Draft.

Last year at Big 12 Media Days, Danny Stutsman was joined by [autotag]Drake Stoops[/autotag], [autotag]Dillon Gabriel[/autotag], and [autotag]Jonah Laulu[/autotag].

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Sooners have the best back seven in the SEC per Phil Steele

College football expert Phil Steele thinks OU’s back seven can match up with anybody in the SEC.

Defense was long a strength for the Oklahoma Sooners. The [autotag]Bennie Owen[/autotag], [autotag]Bud Wilkinson[/autotag], [autotag]Chuck Fairbanks[/autotag] and [autotag]Barry Switzer[/autotag] days produced hard-nosed, hard-hitting defensive units that, along with explosive offenses, helped the Sooners win six national championships. Wilkinson and Switzer each took home three titles in the 20th century.

After the dreadful 1990s, [autotag]Bob Stoops[/autotag]’ arrival meant OU was back to being a contender on the national stage. “Big Game Bob” added Oklahoma’s seventh national title in 2000 and kept the Sooners in the title picture quite often in his time as the head coach.

Defense was Stoops’ calling card. He was the defensive coordinator for coaching legends Bill Snyder and Steve Spurrier. Oklahoma enjoyed stifling defenses for most of Stoops’ tenure as the head coach.

But, in the mid-to-late 2010’s, OU’s defense slipped below the standard in Norman. Stoops’ final season and the [autotag]Lincoln Riley[/autotag] era at Oklahoma saw the offense being required to carry too much of the load to keep the Sooners in the title hunt. [autotag]Baker Mayfield[/autotag], [autotag]Kyler Murray[/autotag] and [autotag]Jalen Hurts[/autotag] were able to do so, but as the decade changed, the Sooners had fallen out of the [autotag]College Football Playoff[/autotag].

After Riley’s departure to Southern California, [autotag]Brent Venables[/autotag] was hired to bring back the defensive standard. It has taken a couple of years, but Venables may finally have the pieces in the right place to do the things he wants to do on defense.

In 2022, Venables’ first season, the Sooners were horrid defensively, leading to a 6-7 season. They allowed 30 points per game, finishing 99th in the nation in scoring defense. Last season, however, Oklahoma went 10-3 and the defense took a major step forward, improving its scoring defense 50 spots to 23.5 points per game.

Now, going into Year 3 under Venables, one college football analyst thinks OU has two of the best position units in the [autotag]SEC[/autotag].

Phil Steele released his position rankings for every SEC team heading into the 2024 season. Oklahoma had two units ranked No. 1 in the conference.

OU’s linebackers are the SEC’s best, according to Steele. [autotag]Danny Stutsman[/autotag] leads the way on the inside, but [autotag]Kip Lewis[/autotag], [autotag]Kobie McKinzie[/autotag] and [autotag]Jaren Kanak[/autotag] join him to make the Sooners at least two deep at both spots. [autotag]Lewis Carter[/autotag] will also see more snaps in 2024 as well.

At the cheetah position, [autotag]Kendel Dolby[/autotag] and [autotag]Dasan McCullough[/autotag] will see the majority of the snaps, but [autotag]Samuel Omosigho[/autotag] and [autotag]Michael Boganowski[/autotag] are younger options who will be on the field quite a bit as well.

Steele also thinks OU’s secondary is the best in the conference. [autotag]Billy Bowman[/autotag] headlines the safety position, with [autotag]Peyton Bowen[/autotag] and [autotag]Robert Spears-Jennings[/autotag] in line for more playing time after graduation, NFL and portal losses.

At cornerback, veteran [autotag]Woodi Washington[/autotag] returns for his fifth season, but he will be playing a little bit of everything this year. [autotag]Gentry Williams[/autotag], [autotag]Kani Walker[/autotag] and [autotag]Dez Malone[/autotag] will all be experienced options on the outside, but there’s youth at corner as well. [autotag]Jacobe Johnson[/autotag] and [autotag]Makari Vickers[/autotag] both saw time last year due to injuries.

More: 5 Sooners who could see an increased workload in 2024

Of course, Oklahoma needs to keep improving to get back to the way things are supposed to be for the Sooners.

Competing for and winning championships are the expectations. Quarterback, offensive line and defensive line all ranked outside of the SEC’s top five in Steele’s estimation. While the QB ranking is due to [autotag]Jackson Arnold[/autotag]’s inexperience, the Sooners have to get better in the trenches to be where they want to be.

However, it’s been a long time since the defense has been as loaded in Norman as it is right now. Combine that with an offense that certainly isn’t lacking in talent, and the Brent Venables vision is starting to become clearer for the Sooners. Venables has the makings of a complementary, holistic program from top to bottom.

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Arnold says Danny Stutsman, Billy Bowman returning huge for Sooners

Speaking at the Manning Passing Academy, Jackson Arnold shared with Chris Gordy of Locked On SEC about how important it was for OU to get Danny Stutsman and Billy Bowman back.

For the first time in a while, most of the questions about the Oklahoma Sooners center on the offensive side of the ball.

Entering Year 1 in the [autotag]SEC[/autotag] with a new starting quarterback and a completely new offensive line will do that. However, it’s not just any quarterback leading the way for the Sooners. It’s a former five-star prospect, Jackson Arnold.

In limited time last season, Arnold showed many of the tools that helped him win Gatorade National Player of the Year and Elite 11 MVP coming out of high school. He had numerous really good moments in extended runs against BYU and in his lone start against Arizona. There were also moments that revealed further development needed to happen. But many, including Arnold’s head coach, are confident he’ll take the steps necessary to help the Sooners be a contender in 2024.

But the best news, is that the success of the team doesn’t fall completely on his and the offense’s shoulders. Entering Year 3 of the Brent Venables era, the Sooners have a defense that should be able to hold up their end of the bargain and help Oklahoma win a number of games this season. Is it a perfect unit? No. But it is far better situated than a few years ago, and it should be good enough to afford Arnold and the offensive line some growing pains, if there are any this year.

It’s a blue-chip, star-studded defense from front to back as Venables has made splashes on the high school recruiting scene and in the [autotag]transfer portal[/autotag]. But with all the talent for [autotag]Zac Alley[/autotag] to work with on defense, two guys lead the way for the Sooners: [autotag]Danny Stutsman[/autotag] and [autotag]Billy Bowman[/autotag].

“I mean, it was huge having guys like Billy and Danny come back,” Arnold told Chris Gordy of Locked On SEC at the Manning Passing Academy. “You know, those are two leaders on our team, and you know those are the guys that are gonna get our guys into battle man. To have your starting Mike linebacker, and your starting strong safety just come back. I mean, it’s really impressive. I think Billy had six picks last year. It’s just incredible. You know, having those guys back it’s gonna be huge for our defense for their confidence and for the performance on the field.”

The experience and the talent Oklahoma boasts on defense is a big reason there’s so much optimism. Stutsman and Bowman, along with [autotag]Woodi Washington[/autotag], [autotag]Ethan Downs[/autotag] and [autotag]Da’Jon Terry[/autotag] provide important leadership and experience as Oklahoma makes its way into the SEC.

Venables has done significant work over the last three offseasons to retool a defensive depth chart that was lacking just that, depth. Oklahoma improved defensively from 99th in scoring defense to 49th between the first and second seasons. By improving nearly a touchdown a game, Oklahoma’s defense made life much easier for the offense.

The hope is further defensive improvement will take place and take the pressure off of an incredibly talented, if inexperienced, offense.

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