Tag: C.J. Coldon

Which Sooners could have been on the cover of EA Sports NCAA football during its absence?

With EA Sports NCAA Football returning, which Oklahoma Sooners could have graced the cover during their hiatus since 2015.

EA Sports did what many thought was impossible by announcing it would bring back its college football video game series. After a hiatus that will have spanned at least 10 years come July, the newest version of the beloved game series will return sometime in the summer of 2024.

The last one to drop before the series ended came out in July 2013. NCAA 14 is one of the most iconic sports video games of all time because of the attachment many have to it. Its resale value has never been higher.

The reason for the original cancellation of the series? Name, image and likeness — a hot-button topic that eventually led to NIL being accepted into collegiate sports.

EA Sports couldn’t figure out how to compensate players because it wasn’t legal in that era of collegiate athletics. That hurdle has been cleared and the game looks headed for a summer release date.

Who gets the distinction of being the game’s cover athlete in its resurrection? It’s always a fun and exciting debate when new sports games come out. Former Michigan quarterback Denard Robinson graced NCAA 14’s cover. Since the last game, college football has had iconic athletes that would’ve been perfect fits to be cover athletes.

Our friends at College Wire went through and named which players they thought would have been great fits as cover athletes for the years we didn’t have a game. We decided to do the same, but only with Oklahoma players for those years. Take a look below.

Vikings 90-man roster player profile: CB C.J. Coldon Jr.

A Wyoming transfer, the Oklahoma product is ready to earn his way onto the Vikings roster.

Welcome to the beginning of our 2023 season preview content!

Over the next few weeks, we will be looking at each player on the roster in-depth with backgrounds and how they currently project forward on the Minnesota Vikings roster.

What is the best-case scenario? What is the worst-case scenario? What should we expect from them during the preseason and beyond? We will break all of that down here.

As a staff, all of us at Vikings Wire ranked the entire 90-man roster 1-90 and will be releasing player profiles in reverse order.

Breaking down the Vikings UDFA signings

The Minnesota Vikings brought in 15 UDFA signings. @TheKevinFielder provides an introduction with a brief synopsis of all 15.

While hearing their name called during the NFL Draft is the dream of every college prospect, some don’t get that luxury.

With just 259 draft picks, more players find themselves waiting after Saturday’s conclusion to find their chance. Often forgotten, these undrafted free agents come into the NFL with limited expectations but high hopes.

Over the years, a laundry list of undrafted free agents have carved out long careers, including former Minnesota Vikings Hall of Fame defensive tackle, John Randle.

This season, the Vikings signed 15 players to an undrafted free-agent deal. These players will go through the off-season program, hoping to make the team’s 53-man roster before the regular season begins.

Here are each of those signings.

Oklahoma cornerback Jaden Davis enters the transfer portal

Oklahoma Sooners cornerback Jaden Davis enters the transfer portal.

The second transfer window is underway, and Oklahoma has lost another player to the portal. Senior cornerback [autotag]Jaden Davis[/autotag] announced via social media that he’s entering the transfer portal.

In his announcement, Davis said, “Thank you Sooner Nation for everything. I’ll be entering the transfer portal as a graduate transfer with one year of eligibility remaining.”

Davis started 21 games in his Oklahoma career, according to Pro Football Focus, including nine games in 2022. He fell out of favor late in the season with the emergence of [autotag]C.J. Coldon[/autotag].

The Oklahoma Sooners have added a lot of cornerback talent in an attempt to rebuild their secondary in [autotag]Brent Venables[/autotag]’ second year in Norman. With the additions of [autotag]Jayden Rowe[/autotag] and [autotag]Gentry Williams[/autotag] in 2022 and [autotag]Makari Vickers[/autotag], [autotag]Kendel Dolby[/autotag] and Jasiah Wagoner in 2023, the Sooners brought in a number of players that were signed by this coaching staff.

This transfer portal season has been one of attrition to the Grinch defense. A number of players have departed that weren’t really factoring into the defensive rotation.

Though Davis had become a veteran member of the secondary, practice reports were high on Wagoner, Dolby and Vickers in their first offseason with the Sooners.

‘We’ll be an improved group’: Sooners defensive backfield improved from a year ago

Head Coach Brent Venables believes his defensive backs will be better than they were a year ago.

Brent Venables and his staff committed to ensuring the results of the 2022 season would not be replicated in 2023.

He and the Sooners’ staff were hyperactive in the transfer portal, and they closed their 2023 recruiting class on a significant high note by securing the services of five-star safety Peyton Bowen.

As the Sooners look ahead to spring practice, the time for evaluation and understanding just what type of roster the Sooners will have is here. When speaking with the media last week, Venables made it clear one specific group is primed for a better year.

The defensive backfield.

“So I think we’ll be an improved group,” Venables said about the defensive backfield. “And we lost a bunch of guys. I think we know that … I’m not sure we didn’t lose a lot of production in the secondary, but we, we lost a bunch of bodies.”

Brent Venables believes between the players returning and those that joined the team as midyear enrollees, the Oklahoma Sooners have a better group of defensive backs than they did a year ago.

[autotag]Kendall Dennis[/autotag] (USF), [autotag]Bryson Washington[/autotag] (New Mexico) and [autotag]Joshua Eaton[/autotag] (Texas State) transferred out after the 2022 season. It’s notable none landed with a Power Five squad.

[autotag]CJ Coldon[/autotag] is the biggest loss the Sooners suffered in the secondary after a strong second half of the season. [autotag]Justin Broiles[/autotag] hopes to continue his playing career at the NFL level.

Dennis, Washington and Eaton didn’t play enough for their departures to matter much. Their transfers allow Oklahoma to examine what they have in the players brought in over the past two cycles.

Gentry Williams snagged an interception in his first collegiate game. He didn’t see the field much as a true freshman, but the Sooners love his size, athletic ability, and his competitiveness.

Robert Spears-Jennings is another 2022 signee that could make an impact this season. His play speed and physicality were on display last season despite limited snaps.

Kani Walker was brought in before the season from Louisville. Like Williams, Walker has the physical tools the Sooners are looking for in their outside corners.

[autotag]Reggie Pearson[/autotag], a transfer from Texas Tech, is a heavy hitter with plenty of collegiate experience. That physicality and experience will help bring an edge to the Sooners defensive backfield.

Most notably, [autotag]Peyton Bowen[/autotag] also joins the defensive back room. The most highly coveted secondary recruit for Oklahoma in quite a while, Bowen is expected to be a great one.

[autotag]Billy Bowman[/autotag], [autotag]Woodi Washington[/autotag], [autotag]Damond Harmon[/autotag], [autotag]Jaden Davis[/autotag], [autotag]Justin Harrington[/autotag] and [autotag]Key Lawrence[/autotag] return after playing meaningful snaps for the Sooners last season. They’ll get another offseason in the Sooners’ defensive system, and should have a better understanding of the expectations in the defense.

The hope is because of the improved talent, there will be better production and depth on the secondary depth chart when it drops just before the season.

It remains to be seen how this will actually play out over the course of the season. However, it’s hard to argue with Venables’ assessment. The players who played the most last year are back and should understand the scheme better, which will lead to better performances on the field.

All that’s left is for those returning players to prove their head coach right.

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Sooners cornerback C.J. Coldon declares for the 2023 NFL draft

After leading the Oklahoma Sooners in interceptions in 2022, cornerback C.J. Coldon declares for the 2023 NFL draft.

The Oklahoma Sooners are awaiting decisions on several key draft-eligible players. One of those is cornerback C.J. Coldon, who has declared for the 2023 NFL draft.

Coldon, who arrived in Norman as a summer enrollee, got off to a slow start with the Sooners. The Wyoming transfer played in just six games in the first nine weeks of the season and played double-digit snaps just once. He came on strong down the stretch, averaging 80 snaps a game over the final five games.

He was a key member of the Sooners’ secondary, providing a playmaking aspect in coverage. Coldon led Oklahoma in interceptions with four and will take that playmaking ability to the NFL.

Coldon’s departure opens the door for younger players to earn an opportunity. Though Jaden Davis has played a lot on the outside, he seemed to lose favor throughout the season with Coldon’s emergence.

2022 freshmen [autotag]Jayden Rowe[/autotag], [autotag]Gentry Williams[/autotag], or Jamarrien Burt could have a shot to take on a starting role opposite [autotag]Woodi Washington[/autotag], who will be returning for the Sooners.

2023 signees Jacobe Johnson, Makari Vickers, or Jasiah Wagoner could compete for snaps in the cornerback rotation as well with Coldon’s departure.

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5 positions the Oklahoma Sooners should target in the transfer portal

The Oklahoma Sooners have some roster reconfiguration to accomplish and will look at the transfer portal to complete it. From @thatmanbryant

Oklahoma’s season is down to one last game against the Florida State Seminoles in the Cheez-It Bowl in Orlando, Florida. However, their preparation for Team 129 has already begun.

Numerous players have already entered the transfer portal or declared for the 2023 NFL draft.

Players like left tackle [autotag]Anton Harrison[/autotag], running back [autotag]Eric Gray[/autotag], defensive tackle [autotag]Jalen Redmond[/autotag], and right tackle [autotag]Wanya Morris[/autotag] were starters on this year’s squad and have already declared their intention to go to the NFL. Oklahoma will have to fill those voids for next season. Their replacements may be on the team already, but there’s a real possibility they aren’t.

The losses have left a hefty amount of bodies missing from the program right now, and while the recruiting class will fill some of them, the Sooners would love to have immediate answers via the transfer portal by guys with collegiate experience.

As Oklahoma looks to retool its roster for 2023, here are a few positions they should look to add talent to via the transfer portal. 

3 Oklahoma Sooners earn first-team and second-team All-Big 12 honors

The Oklahoma Sooners had three first-team and three second-team selections, as well as the Offensive Newcomer of the year in 2022.

After having zero preseason first-team selections, the Oklahoma Sooners earned three first-team honors on the All-Big 12 teams at the conclusion of the regular season. The Sooners also had three second-team selections and a host of honorable mentions.

Though it was a down year by Oklahoma standards, there were several notable performances in 2022 that were worthy of all-conference selection.

Here’s a look at every Sooner honored by the Big 12 with postseason awards.

Cornerback Joshua Eaton enters the transfer portal

Oklahoma Sooners cornerback Joshua Eaton will enters the transfer portal.

The number of Oklahoma transfers has grown to three. Following Theo Wease and Jordan Mukes, cornerback Joshua Eaton will enter the transfer portal, according to Hayes Fawcett of On3 Sports.

Eaton, a member of the 2020 recruiting class, played in 10 games over three seasons with the Oklahoma Sooners, recording six total tackles. In 2022, he played just 20 defensive snaps, all in the UTEP game, before being relegated to special teams work in his other three appearances against Kent State, Iowa State, and Baylor.

The former four-star player ended up buried on the depth chart and was eighth among cornerbacks in snaps played this season. Eaton finished behind Woodi Washington, C.J. Coldon, Jaden Davis, D.J. Graham, Gentry Williams, Kani Walker, and Kendall Dennis in snaps played at the position.

Even with D.J. Graham switching positions and the possibility that Woodi Washington could go to the NFL, it’s unlikely there was a clear path to playing time for the Houston native. Eaton was the No. 27 cornerback in the 2020 recruiting class.

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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. Let us know your thoughts, and comment on this story below. Join the conversation today. You can also follow John on Twitter @john9williams.

What’s next for Oklahoma? 5 offseason storylines follow

Oklahoma may not play for almost a month but there are still plenty of things to monitor in the coming weeks. From @thatmanbryant

It’s been just over a year since Lincoln Riley’s defection to Southern California. The Oklahoma Sooners have just completed their first regular season under first-year head coach Brent Venables. It wasn’t pretty but the Sooners find themselves bowl-eligible after a 6-6 season.

The only thing consistent about this team was their inconsistency.

Week to week we never knew what we would get from them. With only the bowl game remaining, Oklahoma has the ability to showcase itself one more time and get over .500 with a win.

With that said, there are notable storylines to follow as we get closer to the offseason even while the Sooners prepare for the eventual bowl game to come. Take a look at the five storylines we’ll be looking at with the regular season behind us.