Tag: Bob Stoops

Oklahoma Sooners to honor Bob Stoops Saturday night

Oklahoma Football set to honor Bob Stoops during Saturday’s home finale against the Alabama Crimson Tide.

The Oklahoma Sooners will be honoring one of the greatest coaches in program history on Saturday. [autotag]Bob Stoops[/autotag], the winningest coach in OU Football history, will be celebrated on Owen Field as Oklahoma hosts the Alabama Crimson Tide.

He’s the final coach to be honored during home games this season, as [autotag]Bud Wilkinson[/autotag] and [autotag]Barry Switzer[/autotag] were also celebrated earlier this year.

Stoops took the reins of the program at a tumultuous time in Norman. Following Switzer’s resignation a decade earlier, the Oklahoma football program experienced a decade of darkness, looking nothing like the Sooners of old. For ten years from 1989 to 1998, OU cycled through three head coaches and failed to get close to winning at the level that the program was accustomed to.

But that all changed when Stoops was hired. Beginning in 1999, he brought the program back to its former glory, going undefeated and winning the national championship in 2000 in just his second year on the job. For his 18-year career as OU’s head coach, the Sooners were typically in the title hunt, as Stoops coached in three more national title games.

Oklahoma won 10 Big 12 championships, dominating the conference with Stoops at the helm. He produced two Heisman Trophy winners ([autotag]Jason White[/autotag] and [autotag]Sam Bradford[/autotag]) and coached two more who won later in their careers ([autotag]Baker Mayfield[/autotag] and [autotag]Kyler Murray[/autotag]).

From 1999 to 2016, Stoops amassed more wins than any other coach in the history of the program. His time in Norman was marked by a number of big wins and the rebirth of one of college football’s blue blood programs.

The legendary head coach decided to retire in the summer of 2017, passing the baton to [autotag]Lincoln Riley[/autotag], his offensive coordinator for the previous two seasons. He would dabble in tequila sales, college football studio analysis and coaching in the XFL over the next few years.

But when Riley decided to head west for Southern California in 2021, athletic director [autotag]Joe Castiglione[/autotag], who had hired Stoops way back in the winter of 1998, turned to Stoops again as the Sooners suddenly needed an interim head coach for the 2021 Alamo Bowl.

In addition to taking over as the interim head coach and leading OU to a bowl game victory over Oregon, Stoops was a calming force at a time of great uncertainty. Riley’s move was a shot across the college football landscape and Stoops was once again a steadying force for Oklahoma.

He passed the torch to Oklahoma’s current coach, [autotag]Brent Venables[/autotag], after the win over Oregon and has returned to coaching in the XFL and UFL over the past couple of seasons with the Arlington Renegades, winning a championship in 2023. He’s stayed very involved with OU over the years since he retired, and his son [autotag]Drake Stoops[/autotag] enjoyed a long, productive career as a Sooner.

Now, Stoops will be honored for his accomplishments as Oklahoma’s winningest head coach.

It’s been a rocky season for the Sooners, and the best way to honor Coach Stoops would be with an upset win at home on Saturday. After all, he went 3-0 against the Tide, and would love to see OU earn bowl eligibility on national TV on the same night he’ll be celebrated on Owen Field.

Eli Drinkwitz trolls Bob Stoops after Missouri’s win over Oklahoma

Missouri head coach Eli Drinkwitz had some pointed words for Bob Stoops in his postgame press conference.

This season has gone about as bad as it could go for the Oklahoma Sooners. Their bowl hopes became minuscule after their loss to Missouri on Saturday night.

Oklahoma’s down so bad that Missouri head coach Eli Drinkwitz had the opportunity to take a shot at the Sooners and former OU head coach Bob Stoops.

“This will be real disappointing to Bob Stoops,” Drinkwitz said at the beginning of his postgame press conference, “but OU doesn’t always whip Missouri’s (expletive).”

Drinkwitz was responding to a comment from Stoops back in the spring related to the Sooners’ move to the SEC. Stoops told ESPN, “We beat the (expletive) out of Missouri, all of a sudden now we’re supposed to be afraid of them?”

And they had.

Prior to Saturday’s loss, the Sooners were 8-2 since 1999 against the Tigers and held a 67-24-5 record. Now that moves to 67-25-5 in their 97 matchup history.

But with this win, Drinkwitz gets the upperhand on Brent Venables and the Oklahoma Sooners, especially as they work the midwest on the recruiting trail.

The Sooners have a lot of soul-searching to do with a bye week and then games against Alabama and LSU to close the season. Venables and OU are staring a losing season in the face for the second time in the last three seasons.

What happened last time Oklahoma Sooners played Missouri?

OU and Mizzou last squared off 13 years ago in Norman. The rematch comes on Saturday in Columbia.

The Oklahoma Sooners jump back into [autotag]SEC[/autotag] play this Saturday when they face the Missouri Tigers on the road. [autotag]Brent Venables[/autotag]’ team looks to become bowl eligible with a victory. The Sooners go on the road as slight underdogs in the conference tilt.

The Sooners and the Tigers were once conference foes in both the Big Eight and the Big 12. Oklahoma owns a 67-24-5 lead in the all-time series. Mizzou has gone 2-10 in the last 30 years against OU, and just one of those wins came since [autotag]Bob Stoops[/autotag] took over in Norman in 1999.

Oklahoma and Missouri have played in some big clashes among some of their most recent matchups. They faced off twice in 2007. On both occasions, the Tigers were the No. 1 team in the country. The Sooners handed them their only loss of the regular season, 41-31, before meeting again in that season’s Big 12 championship game. OU once again knocked off the top-ranked team in the nation, denying Mizzou a berth in the national title game with a 38-17 rout.

The schools met again in the Big 12 title game in 2008. The Sooners once again rolled, 62-21. OU made the BCS national championship game that season behind Heisman trophy winner Sam Bradford.

The most recent matchup came in 2011. Oklahoma was ranked atop the AP Poll when Missouri came to town. The Tigers jumped to a 14-3 lead in the first quarter, before OU scored the game’s next 28 points. The Sooners were led by the offensive trio of [autotag]Ryan Broyles[/autotag], [autotag]Landry Jones[/autotag] and Dominique Whaley.

Broyles was magnificent in the game, catching 13 passes for 154 yards and three touchdowns, while Jones threw for those three scores and 448 yards. Whaley had 150 all-purpose yards while touching the ball 21 times. Venables was serving as Stoops’ defensive coordinator at the time, and his defense snuffed out the Missouri attack after surrendering the two early scores.

The Sooners built a 31-14 lead and held off a rally by the Tigers to win 38-28. Oklahoma avenged the prior year’s loss against Missouri in the final meeting of the teams until this year. Mizzou joined the SEC in 2012, and with OU’s entry into the conference this season, they’ll pick up where they left off in 2024.

Kickoff in Columbia, Missouri, is scheduled for 6:45 p.m. and the game will carried on the SEC Network.

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When was the last time the Oklahoma Sooners lost four straight games in one season?

The Sooners are looking to avoid a four-game losing streak on Saturday.

The Oklahoma Sooners have lost their last three games, all coming since the bye week. Losses to Texas, South Carolina and Ole Miss have OU sitting at 4-4 after a 4-1 start to the season.

[autotag]Brent Venables[/autotag]’ team will look to avoid a fourth-straight loss on Saturday when the Sooners host the Maine Black Bears in Norman. The Black Bears are an FCS team.

To find the last time Oklahoma lost four straight games in one season, we have to go back to the 1990s. Specifically, that ill-fated 1998 season that is getting brought up far too often in regards to the 2024 team.

The 1998 Sooners started the season 2-0 with wins over North Texas and TCU, but lost five straight games after that, falling to California, Colorado, Texas, Missouri and Oklahoma State, before finally getting back in the win column against Iowa State. A shutout loss to Texas A&M followed, and the Sooners finished 5-6 with wins over Baylor and Texas Tech to close the season.

Head coach [autotag]John Blake[/autotag] was fired after the season, and a young athletic director named [autotag]Joe Castiglione[/autotag] hired Florida defensive coordinator [autotag]Bob Stoops[/autotag] to be the next head coach at Oklahoma. The duo ended a ten-year period of darkness for the proud program.

The Sooners haven’t lost four straight games since that 1998 season. Under Stoops, it was very rare to see Oklahoma lose two games in a row, and nearly impossible to see them drop three straight. In fact, the current losing streak is only the second three-game skid since 1998. The other came in Venables’ first season back in 2022. OU lost to Kansas State, TCU, and Texas in succession on their way to a 6-7 season.

Oklahoma will try to find a way back into the win column on Saturday, as the game against Maine will kick off at 1:30 p.m. on ESPN+.

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Remembering the last time Oklahoma faced Ole Miss

Oklahoma and Ole Miss face off on Saturday for just the second time ever.

The Oklahoma Sooners and the Ole Miss Rebels will face off on Saturday for just the second time ever. OU will head to Oxford, Mississippi trying to stop their recent skid.

To remember the other matchup between these two programs, we have to go all the way back to 1999. On December 31, the final football game of the 20th century took place at the Independence Bowl in Shreveport, Louisiana.

A young rookie head coach named [autotag]Bob Stoops[/autotag] was in the final game of his first year at the helm in Norman, wrapping up a promising 1999 season where he’d taken the Sooners back to a bowl game and gotten them back to a winning record. Oklahoma entered the game at 7-4, playing in their first bowl game since 1994.

The former Florida defensive coordinator was matched up against David Cutcliffe, who had the Rebs back in the Independence Bowl for the second straight year.

Ole Miss bolted out to a 21-3 lead at halftime, but the Sooners charged back into the game, making it 21-18 at the end of the third quarter. OU took a 25-24 lead with over two minutes left, but an Ole Miss field goal as time expired gave the Rebels a 27-25 victory. Still, a 7-5 debut season for Stoops set the table for what was to come over the next quarter-century in Norman. He was bringing the program back to its former glory.

That game was the last one the Sooners would lose until October 27, 2001, when Nebraska finally ended OU’s fantastic 17-game winning streak. Of course, that includes the 2000 national title season, when Oklahoma went 13-0 and won it all in Stoops’ second year.

That game also marked the start of 25 straight seasons where the Sooners have made a bowl game, a streak that is still active today. Saturday’s game will be an important one if OU wants to extend that streak, as the Sooners are in danger of missing a bowl game for the first time since John Blake’s final season in 1998.

Paul Finebaum concerned about the direction of Oklahoma Football

ESPN SEC expert Paul Finebaum thinks Oklahoma may be trending in the wrong direction.

The Oklahoma Sooners have seen the general college football public dunk on them multiple times in the last month, and it certainly isn’t a good feeling.

First, it was a sloppy loss against Tennessee in front of a national television audience where head coach [autotag]Brent Venables[/autotag] was forced to make a change at quarterback.

Then, it was last Saturday, again in a loss, again in front of the entire nation on ABC. With ESPN’s top play-by-play duo once again calling the Sooners, OU suffered an ugly loss in the Red River Rivalry against Texas.

The college football world seems to think that Oklahoma isn’t “[autotag]SEC[/autotag]-ready,” at this point in time, they’re probably right. OU looks way behind the elite teams in the Southeastern Conference because of their offense. They look plenty of steps behind Steve Sarkisian and the Longhorns and the schedule isn’t getting any easier in the new league.

The latest voice to pile on was ESPN SEC analyst Paul Finebaum, who had been very complimentary of Venables and the Sooners coming into the season. He seems to have changed his tune after seeing Oklahoma stumble to a 4-2 start and a 1-2 mark in the conference.

On “The Paul Finebaum Show” earlier this week, the SEC Network analyst discussed where the Sooners are at right now. He expressed his concern for where things could be headed and said a decision made all the way back in the winter of 2021 could be partially the reason for the struggles that are occurring right now.

“Here’s the problem with Oklahoma: they chose an unusual route when they hired Brent Venables,” Finebaum said. “Some of it had to do with him being a beloved figure out there for having coached under [autotag]Bob Stoops[/autotag]. So, he came in terrible first year, he bounced back, and this year is trending toward a mess.”

Finebaum went on to say that if Venables isn’t careful and Oklahoma suffers a few more losses, the fans of Sooner Nation will begin “chirping again.” He also said that’s just the nature of coaching at a school like Oklahoma. So, if he’s not able to turn it around, the questions about whether he’s the right head coach for the program will only grow louder. This is something Venables needs to address, and address quickly by winning football games. The best way to do that is to take care of the laundry list of problems his Sooners have had offensively in 2024.

Brent Venables is by no means a bad coach. But a 6-7 mark in Year 1 was painful to watch. Bouncing back in Year 2 with a 10-3 record was promising, but OU still lost a couple of games they should have won and missed the Big 12 Championship game. Now halfway through Year 3, Venables sits at 4-2. With a brutal schedule coming up, an exhausted defense, and a terrible offense, OU could be staring down the barrel of another .500-level season.

That isn’t nearly good enough in Norman, and like it or not, head coaches are judged on wins. Venables should (and will) be given time by the administration, but six-win seasons are not what this program is about.

Venables has fixed the defense for the most part. A unit that plagued the Sooners for years is pretty good this season. What Venables does to fix his offense will determine how much OU can improve in 2025 and how the rest of the country views him as the head coach of the Oklahoma Sooners.

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How Brent Venables, Steve Sarkisian last coordinator stops brought them to OU-Texas

Mirror Reflections: Steve Sarkisian and Brent Venables are very different, but also quite similar.

The 120th edition of the iconic [autotag]Red River Rivalry[/autotag] is days away from coming to fruition. The Texas Longhorns and the Oklahoma Sooners will face off yet again in Dallas at a neutral site in the Cotton Bowl at the State Fair of Texas in one of the greatest rivalry games sports has to offer. There’s simply nothing like it. The atmosphere and the stakes are simply unbeatable in college football.

On the surface, the two head coaches in this game couldn’t be more different.

Texas’ [autotag]Steve Sarkisian[/autotag] enters his fourth Red River with a 1-2 record in the game. He’s one of the best offensive minded coaches in all of college football, renowned for directing some of the greatest units in recent memory. He’s a quarterback whisperer who played the position at BYU in the mid-1990s for LaVell Edwards. His teams put points on the scoreboard in an entertaining fashion.

Oklahoma’s [autotag]Brent Venables[/autotag], on the other hand, enters his third Red River at 1-1. He’s regarded as one of college football’s greatest defensive minds, and has also been in charge of some of the best units of the 21st century. His specialty is linebackers, as he played the position at Kansas State in 1991 and 1992. His teams suffocate opposing offenses and create chaos defensively.

But as different as these two men are, we can look at their most recent gigs before becoming the head coaches at Texas and Oklahoma to see how they’re building things very similarly.

Sarkisian had multiple stints coaching quarterbacks for Pete Carroll at USC from 2001 to 2008, though he spent the 2004 season doing the same in the NFL for the then Oakland Raiders. In 2007 and 2008, he was the offensive coordinator for the Trojans, in addition to his role as the quarterbacks coach.

From 2009 to 2013, Sarkisian served as the head coach at Washington before returning to USC after Lane Kiffin’s firing. For two seasons, he coached Southern California, but was fired midway through the 2015 season due to personal issues.

But it’s what happened next that got him where he is today. Sarkisian was hired as an offensive analyst by Nick Saban at Alabama for the 2016 season. He then spent two years as the Atlanta Falcons’ OC before returning to Tuscaloosa to be the offensive coordinator for the Crimson Tide.

In 2019 and 2020, Alabama and Sarkisian had some of the best offenses college football had ever seen. The Tide were particularly dominant in 2020, winning the national championship with an undefeated record and an incredible offense. All of that happened with Sarkisian calling plays on offense for a defensive-minded head coach in Saban.

Sarkisian was hired to be Texas’s head coach following his success in Tuscaloosa in 2020, replacing Tom Herman. It took a couple of years, but he has brought Texas “back” after nearly 15 years of dormancy. He learned from his time at Washington and USC, but his most crucial steps were the three years he spent learning how to build a program under Saban. He’s taken those lessons to Austin, building the team the way it has to be done in college football, something his two predecessors failed to do.

His philosophy is a combination of Edwards, Carroll, and Saban, but he certainly draws from his time in Tuscoloosa on how the process needs to look in the modern era of college football.

Venables coached at Kansas State under Bill Snyder for six seasons, serving as the linebackers coach from 1996 to 1998. [autotag]Bob Stoops[/autotag] hired him to be the co-defensive coordinator and coach linebackers at Oklahoma, where the Sooners won the national championship in 2000. Venables eventually became OU’s solo defensive coordinator a few years later, coaching some of the best units in college football.

He decided to leave Norman to go to Clemson, serving as the defensive coordinator under Dabo Swinney from 2012 to 2021. The Tigers won the ACC and made the College Football Playoff six times in a row, winning the national championship in 2016 and 2018. Clemson was often led by stingy defenses in their run atop the sport. All of that happened with Venables calling the defense for an offensive-minded head coach in Swinney.

Venables was hired to replace Lincoln Riley after the 2021 season and has taken on the task of rebuilding the program and leading it into the [autotag]SEC[/autotag]. Though the job isn’t finished, there are certainly things to like about the way Venables is steering the ship.

His philosophy is a combination of Snyder, Stoops, and Swinney, but what he learned in Clemson mirrors how the Tigers were always the biggest foil to the Crimson Tide. Swinney’s squads were often the only team capable of matching up across the board with Saban’s teams. The two programs were often “shadowy reflections” of each other, as René Belloq once said to Indiana Jones.

Swinney built the Tigers from an also-ran to a powerhouse, and Venables was there for a lot of it, watching how it was done. He’s taken those lessons to Norman, building the program in a way his predecessor could not.

Alabama and Clemson were the titans of college football for over half a decade, dominating the four-team era of the CFP. Both teams are still very good and positioned nicely in the twelve-team era and beyond as well. Saban and Swinney will go down as the two greatest coaches of that era. Bama and Clemson faced off in the title game three times and once in the semis. The Tigers went 2-1 in the national championship, but the Crimson Tide had the edge in the 2017 semifinal.

As a change in leadership has taken place for the Tide, and the Tigers have seen their death grip on the ACC weaken, two former top assistants have made their way to the Red River Rivalry, applying what they’ve learned to their programs.

All of that said, both teams are on their way up entering the SEC. It may not take long for Texas under Sarkisian to look similar to Alabama under Saban. And it may not take long for Oklahoma under Venables to look a lot like Clemson at their best under Swinney. The chess match between the two every October will no doubt be intense.

Even though one head coach has a gifted mind for offense and the other has a brilliant mind for defense, and even though they come from completely different backgrounds, Steve Sarkisian and Brent Venables may be far more alike than you think.

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Bob Stoops praises Sooners QB Michael Hawkins Jr. after win

Bob Stoops was impressed with Michael Hawkins Jr. in his first career start.

Oklahoma Sooners true freshman quarterback [autotag]Michael Hawkins Jr[/autotag]. has earned plenty of praise for his performance in OU’s come-from-behind win over the Auburn Tigers. Making his first career start at the collegiate level, Hawkins looked calm and under control, making the big plays when necessary to guide Oklahoma to the 27-21 win. His head coach, [autotag]Brent Venables[/autotag], called him “fearless” after the game.

Another man who knows what it’s like to coach the Sooners weighed in with his opinion of Hawkins’ first-ever college start. That would be former OU head coach [autotag]Bob Stoops[/autotag], who spent 18 seasons running the show in Norman. He too was impressed with what he saw from Oklahoma’s new starting quarterback, giving the freshman high praise when he appeared on KREF Sports earlier this week.

“I though he was outstanding,” Stoops said. “He played within himself, played smart. I love the fact that in certain situations when nothing was there, he ate the ball. Sometimes you gotta do that, live to play another series and don’t make a big mistake. I thought overall that’s what he did. I said it right after the game, I said he was smart. He never forced anything and that’s what you do on the road. Sometimes you just gotta suck it up, eat the ball, punt and live to play another series.

As Stoops alluded to, Hawkins avoided making the big mistake that plagued the Sooners in the first half the week prior against Tennessee. Hawkins hasn’t turned the ball over once in the game-and-a-half of meaningful college football that he’s played.

The freshman went 10-for-15 for 161 yards passing, no touchdowns and no interceptions. He added 69 rushing yards, a touchdown and a two-point conversion on 14 carries without a fumble.

Oklahoma got its first conference win as a member of the [autotag]SEC[/autotag] in wild fashion, defeating the Tigers after trailing by 11 points in the fourth quarter. The Sooners now turn their attention to the bye week, before they’ll get ready to face the Texas Longhorns on October 12.

Last time Oklahoma faced Auburn, it turned out to be the end of an era

Oklahoma and Auburn have met twice in their history, with both games taking place at the Sugar Bowl. When they last met, a legend was still at the helm.

The Oklahoma Sooners and the Auburn Tigers will meet for just the third time in their history on Saturday. Both teams are looking for a bounce-back performance. OU suffered its first loss last week while Auburn dropped to 2-2.

Interestingly, both prior matchups between these two programs have come in the postseason, and both were in the Sugar Bowl.

In 1971, Oklahoma lost in the historic “Game of the Century” against Nebraska, but it was still one of the best teams in college football. The third-ranked Sooners were just behind the top-ranked Cornhuskers and No. 2 Alabama in the polls, but the loss against Big Red meant OU would miss the Orange Bowl. Instead, the Sooners met the No. 5 Tigers in the Sugar Bowl instead. Auburn had lost to Alabama in its only loss of the regular season.

Heisman Trophy winner Pat Sullivan and the Auburn attack were shut down in the first half, and OU built a 31-0 lead going into the locker room. The Sooners rolled to a 40-22 win.

In 2016, Oklahoma won its second straight Big 12 title, but because of two early season losses, missed the College Football Playoff. The seventh-ranked Sooners met No. 14 Auburn once again in the Sugar Bowl.

The Tigers handled the game in the first quarter, jumping to 7-0 lead. However, it was all OU from that point on. The Sooners rode a red-hot offense and a defense with something to prove to a one-point lead at halftime before rolling in the second half.

They capped a remarkable year with a statement win over an [autotag]SEC[/autotag] program that some thought would manhandle OU at the line of scrimmage. Oklahoma won 35-19.

In a big game, the Sooners stars played their best.

Wide receiver [autotag]Dede Westbrook[/autotag] finished his stellar season with one final touchdown in the third quarter. Tight end [autotag]Mark Andrews[/autotag] caught a touchdown, and running back [autotag]Joe Mixon[/autotag] was sensational on the ground and in the air. Quarterback [autotag]Baker Mayfield[/autotag] threw for nearly 300 yards and had two touchdowns, showing off his efficiency, accuracy and pocket mobility.

The big story late in the game was the record-breaking career of running back [autotag]Samaje Perine[/autotag]. The junior was playing in his final college game and broke the OU all-time rushing record in the fourth quarter. The mark was previously held by the legendary [autotag]Billy Sims[/autotag]. Perine burst onto the scene in 2014 as a true freshman and didn’t slow down, running to the top of the Oklahoma record books.

This game also turned out to be the final game for head coach [autotag]Bob Stoops[/autotag]. Stoops retired from coaching college football that summer, handing the reins to [autotag]Lincoln Riley[/autotag].

One of the greatest coaches in Sooners’ history, Stoops revitalized the program when he took over before in 1999. He won a national championship in 2000, and kept Oklahoma among the best in the sport for during 18 seasons at the helm. Stoops coached one more game for OU, serving as the interim head coach for the Alamo Bowl in 2021 after Riley had taken the job at USC.

As Oklahoma looks to get its first conference win as a member of the SEC, an offensive performance like the ones we saw in 1972 and 2017 would certainly help.

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Brent Venables shared more of what led to Dillon Gabriel’s departure

At Tuesday’s press conference, Brent Venables discussed what led to Dillon Gabriel’s departure.

In late November of 2021, the unexpected departure of then-head coach [autotag]Lincoln Riley[/autotag] sent shockwaves through the Oklahoma Sooners football program. Riley had been in charge for five seasons, inheriting the job from the legendary [autotag]Bob Stoops[/autotag] in the summer of 2017 when Stoops retired.

Riley’s decision to become the next head coach at USC is one of the biggest and most surprising decisions in recent college football history. But, the Sooners bounced back, hiring [autotag]Brent Venables[/autotag] one week later. Venables, a defensive savant, hired [autotag]Jeff Lebby[/autotag] to be his first offensive coordinator, but the duo needed a quarterback to run the offense.

The cupboard was pretty empty in that regard. [autotag]Spencer Rattler[/autotag], who had been OU’s starter entering the 2021 season, was benched halfway through the year. He entered the transfer portal the day after the regular season ended, the same day Riley’s defection to Southern Cal took place. [autotag]Caleb Williams[/autotag], who replaced Rattler under center, would enter the transfer portal later that winter and decided to follow Riley and become a Trojan. Suddenly, OU, the home of some of the best quarterbacks in the sport’s history, needed one desperately.

They found one in UCF transfer [autotag]Dillon Gabriel[/autotag], who was convinced by Lebby to forgo transferring to UCLA and instead come to Norman. The pair had worked together at UCF back in 2019 when Gabriel was a true freshman, and still had a very good relationship.

Gabriel arrived at OU and was immediately handed the starting gig as the only QB on the roster who had substantial college experience. Oklahoma struggled in 2022, going 6-7 in Venables’ first season at the helm. Gabriel and the offense showed some bright spots, but not enough to win more than six games.

In January of 2022, Lebby earned a commitment from [autotag]Jackson Arnold[/autotag], a quarterback out of Denton, Texas. Lebby had offered him in December, and locked in the five-star phenom to be the quarterback of the future in Norman. A plan began to form, one that would be locked in when Arnold signed with the Sooners in December of 2022, and Gabriel elected to come back to Norman for the 2023 season.

The plan was simple and has been done plenty of times all over the country. Gabriel would start one more season in 2023, with Arnold sitting behind him and learning from the veteran mentor. Gabriel would go pro after the season, and Arnold would step into the role and lead the Sooners into the [autotag]SEC[/autotag] in 2024 and beyond. His talent, upside, and potential seemed limitless, and Oklahoma looked to have their next guy.

But despite an excellent year where he improved as a player and OU improved as a team, Gabriel didn’t earn the kind of NFL grade he expected. He decided to use his final year of eligibility and stay at the college level. It’s a decision that happens a lot in college football, and Gabriel shouldn’t be blamed in any way. He made the best choice for his career. In addition, his offensive coordinator wouldn’t be returning to OU in 2024, as Lebby took the head coaching position at Mississippi State in November of 2023.

That’s where an article by ESPN staff writer Eil Lederman comes into play, featuring quotes from Venables’ media availability earlier this week about the circumstances surrounding Gabriel’s transfer to Oregon this offseason.

According to the article, “Gabriel asked for a meeting in the days following Oklahoma’s 2023 regular-season finale against TCU. During the meeting, Venables said, Gabriel outlined his plans to enter the [autotag]transfer portal[/autotag] and to opt out of the Sooners’ Alamo Bowl matchup with Arizona, citing the departure of offensive coordinator Jeff Lebby and a desire to play closer to home among his reasons.”

Venables went on to say that it was Gabriel’s decision to transfer away from Oklahoma after not receiving the NFL grade he was looking for and that everyone was under the impression that Gabriel was going pro. The Hawaii native was also very far from home for two years in Oklahoma and is much closer now in Oregon. His close relationship with Lebby was instrumental in getting him to OU and their success together, and now Lebby had moved up in his career and wouldn’t be back.

“I did not know at that time that he wasn’t going to go to the NFL. … I didn’t even know I had to fight this fight,” Venables said. “I didn’t even realize that you were even considering coming back. And he says, ‘Yeah, but I just want to get closer to home.’ We hugged and shook hands. He was a little emotional and I was. It was all really good and positive … You can’t make a guy stay. The guy is trying to find the next thing; the next chapter for him. I’m sure there was probably some disappointment that (Gabriel) wasn’t more highly thought of in the NFL. He had an amazing year. He was a fantastic quarterback. But we didn’t run anybody off or things like that.”

Clearly, the two didn’t leave things on bad terms at all. Gabriel was asked about Venables’ comments this week and said, “Honestly, it’s so far gone; I just know God’s got me right where I need to be,” Gabriel said via OregonLive. “I got a smile on my face every day because I’m in Eugene, Oregon, around a bunch of great guys. Of course, those are guys (at Oklahoma) that are my brothers for life and guys I played with. It’s people I still talk to on the team — players-wise. You focus on what you can control and that’s right where I’m at. I’m happy. I know God put me right where I need to be, and I think that’s all that needs to be said.”

In an offseason story by The Athletic’s Christopher Kamrani (subscription required), Gabriel’s mom said that Arnold was another one of the motivating factors behind Gabriel’s departure. She said the former Sooners quarterback was concerned “Jackson might leave (if Gabriel stayed), and he didn’t want that for the program.”

So, saying that Gabriel was “cast off” by OU isn’t accurate. All parties involved (Gabriel and OU) felt they needed to do right by Arnold and own up to the promise that had been made and the plan that had been set up well in advance. Gabriel was actually helping the future of the program by not standing in the way of Arnold’s ascension to the starting role, which might have caused frustration in the younger player.

This discourse had reached a head this week because of OU’s poor start to the 2024 season, which culminated in Arnold being benched in the week four loss to Tennessee after three costly first-half turnovers. [autotag]Michael Hawkins Jr.[/autotag], who took Arnold’s place under center, has gotten the starting nod from Venables for week five against Auburn.

“Maybe this will give us a better chance moving forward,” Venables said. “I believe in Mike. I made that announcement for a lot of reasons. Certainly didn’t want a decision like that to hang over anyone’s head. We got to get better.”

Certainly, the Sooners have to get way better on offense. [autotag]Seth Littrell[/autotag] and [autotag]Joe Jon Finley[/autotag], who replaced Lebby, have got to do a much better job of putting the quarterbacks in a position to succeed. But from Venables’ comments this week, it’s clear that everyone was just following the plan and keeping their promises to Arnold. Gabriel made the call to leave for a number of reasons, all of which are perfectly valid.

There was no choice made between Gabriel and Arnold. There isn’t much of a world where Gabriel was going to be coming back to OU in 2024, especially without Lebby. Arnold was always going to be the starter this season, and the topic has only come up because he’s had an unexpectedly rough start to the year and has (at least for the time being) been replaced in the lineup.

“I expressed to Jackson that this is a moment,” Venables said Tuesday. “Jackson’s going to have an amazing future and career. He’s going to play this game (for) a long time. All of that will work itself out in due time.”

Arnold still has a very bright future. He’s got all of the tools you look for but has struggled in some areas through four games. The turnovers against the Vols are what made the decision for Venables, and maybe Hawkins can perform better in the role.

Whether it’s at Oklahoma or not, Arnold can turn things around and have a very strong career. For right now, the focus shifts to Hawkins, as the true freshman now has an incredible opportunity in front of him. If he can take hold of the starting role, he could be the guy under center for a long time in Norman.

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