Tag: Brayden Willis

Sooners lead the way in Super Bowl participants

Oklahoma Sooners lead the way in number of participants in this year’s Super Bowl.

Oklahoma fans will have plenty of reason to watch this year’s Super Bowl regardless of their NFL fan affiliation. Even if you aren’t a fan of the Kansas City Chiefs or the San Francisco 49ers, multiple Sooners on both teams will battle for the right to be crowned Super Bowl LVIII champions.

The talented Chiefs are spearheaded by the league’s best quarterback, Patrick Mahomes, whom the Sooners know all too well. The former Texas Tech quarterback is the league’s best player, and despite his team not being the juggernaut it has been in the past, the team is one win away from its third title in four Super Bowl appearances.

Two former Sooners, All-Pro Creed Humphrey and Wanya Morris, anchor the offensive line that helps block for Mahomes. Morris has been a revelation this season for the Chiefs and looks to be a core part of the Kansas City’s future. Humphrey is considered one of the league’s best centers.

Joining them in the Super Bowl is Blake Bell, known to many in the OU fandom as the “Belldozer.” Blake Bell has carved out a reliable role as a backup tight end and special teams player for the Chiefs. He has ties to both teams in this game. It was the 49ers who drafted him in the fourth round of the 2015 NFL Draft.

He caught a pass in the last Super Bowl these teams played against one another in 2019. Lastly, James Winchester is making his fourth Super Bowl appearance. He’s the most tenured of all Sooners turned Chiefs and has spent nine years as the long snapper for Kansas City.

The list of Sooners for the NFC Champions isn’t quite as long, but San Francisco has its own Crimson and Cream flair. Trent Williams, one of the league’s best players and a sure-fire Hall of Famer, will make another trip to the Super Bowl as he looks to cement his career with a ring.

Williams has been a dominant force even as he entered his 30s. His play has yet to diminish, and he’s the driving force behind an elite 49ers offense. Brayden Willis, a fan favorite from his time in Norman, will have the chance to win a Super Bowl ring in his rookie year after he was drafted in the seventh round last April.

That’s six Sooners set to play for a Super Bowl title—the most of any school in the country for the second consecutive year. While rooting interests may be divided, no matter what happens, multiple Oklahoma Sooners will be crowned champions when the dust settles on Super Bowl LVIII.

Contact/Follow us @SoonersWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Oklahoma news, notes, and opinions. You can also follow Bryant on Twitter @thatmanbryant.

2023 Position Review: Sooners Tight Ends finish with disappointing season

The tight end position was an overall disappointing group but how did they grade out after offseason expectations?

As we continue to look at each position group, we move to the tight end position.

We knew going into the season the tight end position was thin.[autotag]Austin Stogner[/autotag] returned to Norman, but outside of Stogner, there wasn’t much experience.

In 2022, the tight end position was so valuable to the offense and a huge part of its success. There was a thought that Stogner could have a career year like [autotag]Brayden Willis[/autotag] did.

It just never materialized as the group as a whole became almost unplayable at times. But they did have some guys who showed some flashes here and there.

There’s just no doubt the tight end room needs a complete makeover in 2024.

2023 Position Review: Wide Receiver proves to be a strength for Oklahoma Sooners

There were a lot of questions going into the season at wide receiver but they proved to be a strength, not a weakness for the Sooners.

Going into the 2023 college football season, there were a ton of question marks surrounding the wide receiver room. The Sooners lost several of their top guys in receiving yards the year prior, like [autotag]Marvin Mims[/autotag] and [autotag]Brayden Willis[/autotag]. Theo Wease went to Missouri via the transfer portal. It was a young group aside from Drake Stoops.

But during the season, the wide receiver room proved to be a strength of the team. They didn’t have anyone really emerge as a No. 1 type of guy until [autotag]Drake Stoops[/autotag] was featured heavily at the end of the year, but they had a lot of No. 2 type of guys which you can win with.

It’s also a room that could return a lot of production in 2024, making that unit arguably the best on the team heading into the [autotag]SEC[/autotag]. Without further adieu, let’s take a look at how they did based on my preseason expectations.

More 2023 Reviews

2023 Position Review: Sooners quarterbacks exceed preseason expectations

2023 Position Review: Oklahoma Sooners running backs start the season slow, finish strong

49ers 2023 rookie report card is mostly useless at halfway point

The #49ers rookie report card is … bare.

The 49ers didn’t pick until late in the third round of the 2023 draft. It didn’t seem like a big deal considering they still walked away with a nine-player class that had a chance to fill a couple of key needs.

There was never a realistic possibility the 49ers’ rookie class had a wide swath of contributors. However, the early returns from that group can’t even be labeled as “not promising” because the reality is a vast majority of the players haven’t had any chance to make a real contribution.

We went through the rookie class and dished out “grades” for their first half performances. It won’t take long to notice a pattern:

Trio of Sooners we’ll be watching on offense vs. SMU

When Oklahoma takes on SMU, here are three offensive players that we’ll have our eye on come Saturday evening.

Entering the season, much of the news swirling around the program concerned changes the team needed to make on the defensive side of the ball. And while it was very much warranted, the offense needed to show improvement despite losing six starters from last season’s squad.

Saturday against Arkansas State quieted some doubters about their ability to reload, but bigger and better challenges await this unit.

They’ll take a step up in talent when they take on SMU Saturday evening in Norman.

SMU isn’t filled with guys that will be top 150 picks in the 2024 NFL draft, but they are a much more talented defense than the one Oklahoma saw against the Red Wolves.

If the quarterback play is as good as it was in the first game, it won’t matter who lines up across them, but it’s tough to expect your quarterback to complete 80 percent or more of his passes every game.

With that said, there are three players we’ll be watching on offense, and how they play could go a long way in giving Oklahoma a decided advantage come Saturday night.

Up Next: Three Sooners to watch vs. SMU

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Three Oklahoma Sooners to watch on offense against Arkansas State

Taking a look at three Oklahoma Sooners to watch on offense vs. Arkansas State.

Saturday will mark the start of year two for Jeff Lebby as Oklahoma’s offensive coordinator. While the Sooners posted some solid numbers last year, it always felt like they could’ve done more. That sentiment is something players and coaches alike have echoed throughout the offseason. Situational football was emphasized, along with consistency.

However, some significant pieces from last year’s team are no longer in Norman.

OU’s rushing attack ranked No. 10 in the country, averaging 219.4 yards per game. The offensive line responsible for that lost three starters in [autotag]Anton Harrison[/autotag], [autotag]Wanya Morris[/autotag], and [autotag]Chris Murray[/autotag]. Harrison was a first-rounder to the Jacksonville Jaguars, and Morris was a third-rounder to the Kansas City Chiefs. Starting running back [autotag]Eric Gray[/autotag] went off and posted the ninth-best season on the ground in program history last year. He’s with the New York Giants.

[autotag]Brayden Willis[/autotag] and explosive star receiver [autotag]Marvin Mims[/autotag] will be missed in the passing game. Willis is with the San Francisco 49ers, and Mims was a third-round pick by the Denver Broncos. The two combined for 1,597 receiving yards and 13 touchdowns. That’s an insane amount of production lost and presents a massive hole in the passing game.

The challenge in the offseason for Lebby was finding replacements for the names lost. Additionally, he and the offensive staff had to help develop the guys coming back this offseason. The time to prove it starts on Saturday.

With that in mind, here’s our look at three offensive players to watch for the season opener against Arkansas State.

Up Next: An Ascending Offensive Linemen

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‘Six or seven’ Sooners to see time at wide receiver in 2023

Oklahoma’s depth at wide receiver may allow Jeff Lebby and Emmett Jones to play six or seven Sooners in 2023.

The [autotag]Oklahoma Sooners[/autotag] and the [autotag]Arkansas State Red Wolves[/autotag] are set to battle it out on the gridiron on Saturday. This offseason has been one that has felt like a century, but game week is finally here.

The Sooners coming off a 6-7 season, have a lot of questions to answer. The offense was really good a year ago but lost three key players in [autotag]Marvin Mims[/autotag], [autotag]Eric Gray[/autotag] and [autotag]Brayden Willis[/autotag].

While they were really good offensively, they weren’t great. They struggled in key situations like third and fourth down, in the red zone, and late in games.

Offensive Coordinator [autotag]Jeff Lebby[/autotag] told reporters at Monday’s press conference, the Sooners feel they can play multiple players at each wide receiver position.

“The receiver spot, we talked a little bit about it last week, but I think we’ve got a chance of seeing six or seven guys,” Lebby said. “I think that’s something we are incredibly excited about is that we’ve really got a chance at playing multiple guys, which, again, was not the case as we stood here a year ago.”

The depth this season has been a common theme for coaches on both sides of the ball. It’s been mentioned almost intentionally that there wasn’t much depth a season ago, which will change this season.

But it doesn’t matter how much depth you have at the wide receiver position if your quarterback doesn’t play well. Lebby said even though he and [autotag]Dillon Gabriel[/autotag] had experience together going into last season, they both learned a lot about one another.

“I think he understands now more than ever maybe why I’m calling the play that I’m calling and the intent of it,” Lebby said. “I think that’s a huge deal as you go try to attack defense and situationally understand why I’m calling things.”

That growth will be key for this season. We’ll have our first chance to see it on display inside Gaylord Memorial Stadium on Saturday at 11:00 a.m.

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Contact/Follow us @SoonersWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Oklahoma news, notes, and opinions. You can also follow Jaron on Twitter @JaronSpor.

Oklahoma Sooners name captains for Week 1 vs. Arkansas State

The Sooners named their captains for the first game of the season against Arkansas State.

Being a captain for a blue-blood program such as the [autotag]Oklahoma Sooners[/autotag] is something special. Not many players get to say they were voted a captain by their peers.

Getting to walk out first and head to the middle of the field for the coin toss shows all of the hard work you put in on and off of the field. Last year first-year head coach, [autotag]Brent Venables[/autotag] had a rotation of captains for each game of the season before announcing who would be the captains for the whole season at the end of the year.

Those were [autotag]Justin Broiles[/autotag], [autotag]Dillon Gabriel[/autotag], [autotag]Chris Murray[/autotag], [autotag]Drake Stoops[/autotag], [autotag]Danny Stutsman[/autotag], [autotag]David Ugwoegbu[/autotag], [autotag]DaShaun White[/autotag] and [autotag]Brayden Willis[/autotag]. Gabriel, Stoops and Stutsman are the only captains returning from last season.

So, before the season opener against the [autotag]Arkansas State Red Wolves[/autotag], the Sooners announced the new captains for the start of the season. Those were Stoops, Stutsman, [autotag]Billy Bowman[/autotag], [autotag]McKade Mettauer[/autotag] and [autotag]Justin Harrington[/autotag].

What a great story it makes to see Harrington included. Harrington entered the transfer portal before deciding to return to Oklahoma. He’s a guy who was given a second chance by Venables and had to earn every bit of it.

He’s someone who has a great deal of potential but until now has only been an offseason talking point. Is this the year it finally all comes together? Many think it does. If it does, you could see the defense taken to another level.

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Contact/Follow us @SoonersWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Oklahoma news, notes, and opinions. You can also follow Jaron on Twitter @JaronSpor.

Oklahoma’s Austin Stogner returns to fill a void at tight end

The tight end room might be the weakest on the team but a familiar face has returned to make a huge impact.

The [autotag]Oklahoma Sooners[/autotag] have several position groups for fans to be excited for. But one position group that has the most question marks is the tight end room.

Last year [autotag]Brayden Willis[/autotag] might have been the most valuable player on the offense but he’s now off to the NFL. Young guys like [autotag]Jason Llewellyn[/autotag] and [autotag]Kaden Helms[/autotag] have shown promise but have been battling injuries all camp.

The Sooners did get some fortunate news this offseason as Austin Stogner announced he would be returning to Oklahoma after spending one season playing for the [autotag]South Carolina Gamecocks[/autotag]. Stogner is going to be expected to be a big part of the offense and take his game to another level.

Stogner told reporters he feels this room is coming along.

“In the spring most of these guys weren’t going the whole time in spring, it was kind of just me and Blake (Smith) for the most part,” Stogner said. “Everyone else has come along. Our blocking has gotten a lot better, and we’re playing a lot faster. So, we’ve done well.”

But Stogner will be the one looked at to make plays both in the passing game and the running game. Though he wasn’t here a year ago, he’s the one with the most experience and has to be the leader of the room.

If you’ve followed [autotag]Jeff Lebby[/autotag]’s career, you know how much his offense relies on the tight end position. We saw it a year ago with Willis’ career year. Now the hope is that the same kind of success will come Stogner’s way.

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Contact/Follow us @SoonersWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Oklahoma news, notes, and opinions. You can also follow Jaron on Twitter @JaronSpor.

7 players we’re excited to watch in 49ers preseason opener

Here’s a look at seven players that should be exciting to watch in the 49ers’ preseason opener against the Raiders on Sunday.

It’s not Christmas, but it’s close. On Sunday, The 49ers will open the preseason in Sin City against the Las Vegas Raiders.

It’s not a mirage in the desert, the 49ers will officially be on the field in uniform on Sunday for the first time since their loss in the NFC Championship to the Philadelphia Eagles.

It’s likely most of the starters and familiar faces for the 49ers will be on the sideline watching on Sunday. But, what’s exciting about the preseason is getting a look at some of the new faces for the first time in red and gold.

Players with chatter around their name — good and bad — will get the chance to make an impression on the fan base and coaching staff under the bright lights for the first time.

Heading into Sunday’s contest, here’s a look at seven players Niners Wire is excited to watch against the Raiders in the preseason.