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Offensive keys vs Tulane for the Oklahoma Sooners

Offensive keys to the game for the Oklahoma Sooners in their week one matchup with the Tulane Green Wave.

It’s time.

No more speculation, no more reports about training camp battles and who could conceivably win this spot or that spot. We can all shift our attention on a week to week basis about the opponents in front of Oklahoma.

Another journey to try and scale the proverbial college football mountain begins in less than 24 hours.

Offensively, Oklahoma is lead by one of the presumptive Heisman favorites in QB Spencer Rattler. His development is a significant part of Oklahoma realizing the lofty expectations headed into this season.

Rattler’s great and he’ll elevate the Sooners, but he can’t do it all on his own. Here are the offensive keys as they start the game against what is likely to be a very spirited Tulane team.

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Oklahoma named among the top schools for recruiting two key positions

ESPN ranked the top schools in terms of 2021 signees on the offensive side of the ball. The Oklahoma Sooners near the top at two spots.

Whether or not there is a football season going on, there is always the year-round machine that is recruiting. The Oklahoma Sooners are coming off a top 12 class where they ranked No. 11 according to 247Sports composite team rankings. They take into account each of the three major recruiting outlets. Despite only 16 signings, the Sooners brought in a good amount of talent that will be on display for years to come.

ESPN highlights two key positions in recruiting

According to a column by ESPN*, they ranked which schools brought in the best talent on the offensive side of the ball. The focus here being the quarterback and the wide receivers.

*Editor’s note: Link to story requires a paid subscription

The Quarterback (Caleb Williams)

Gonzaga TD Club photo via USA TODAY Sports

For the 2021 class, the Sooners were mentioned among three teams in signing quarterbacks. The USC Trojans signed two passers in the ESPN 300 which put them at the top ahead of Washington and Oklahoma.

Lincoln Riley’s success at quarterback is well documented, and Williams fits in perfectly with this offense. Outside of Williams’ ability and talent, the most promising aspect of this signing is that in the past Riley had been relying on transfer quarterbacks. Now, with current starter Spencer Rattler, who Oklahoma recruited out of high school, the coaches will be able to develop Williams and keep consistency at the position within the program.

Following the Rattler era, Lincoln Riley will have another No. 1 quarterback in Caleb Williams waiting in the wing. With his recent run of making quarterbacks into Heisman Trophy finalists, Riley likely won’t see a shortage of top tier quarterbacks any time soon.

The Wide Receivers

(Smiley N. Pool/The Dallas Morning News via AP)

The Sooners signed a total of four wide receivers among the ESPN 300, which put them at the top of the list of wide receivers.

Mario Williams (247Sports composite No. 4 WR)
Billy Bowman (No. 2 Athlete)
Cody Jackson (No. 17 WR)
Jalil Farooq (No. 21 WR)

It’s no surprise Oklahoma is on the list of top receivers — the staff has had a lot of success at the position over the past few recruiting classes. Williams is the No. 1 receiver in the class, and it’s the second time Oklahoma has signed the top receiver in the past three classes after signing Jadon Haselwood in 2019.

All four of the receivers in this class are inside the top 150 and two are in the top 100 with Williams being the highest ranked at No. 17 overall.

The Sooner faithful have watched top receivers over the years with CeeDee Lamb, Dede Westbrook, Marquise Brown, and others. These four could make their mark sooner than later. Case in point, Marvin Mims was the leading receiver as a freshman.

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How Oklahoma class of 2021 commitments performed last week

Sooner commits across the country continued their senior campaigns and we’ve compiled all the results and stat-lines right here.

Oklahoma was sidelined this week after their matchup with West Virginia was cancelled due to an active COVID-19 outbreak within the Mountaineers’ football program, but the Sooners waged a war on the recruiting trail instead.

Oklahoma fought tooth-and-nail but ultimately missed out on five-star wide receiver Emeka Egbuka as the Washington native committed to Ohio State. While Egbuka won’t be joining Oklahoma’s 2021 class, there are still a number of targets out there, not to mention a handful of commits currently trudging through high school playoffs. As always, we’ve compiled all the results and available stat-lines right here for your viewing pleasure.

Just three Oklahoma commits remain in the hunt for a state title heading into this week: Billy Bowman (Denton Ryan) and Cody Jackson (Foster) in the Texas 5A-1 championship and Clayton Smith (Texas High) in 5A-2. The biggest blowout of the week goes to Denton Ryan, with a 69-6 win over Adams.

May recruiting update: Trio of four-star receivers still on the board for Oklahoma

Oklahoma has sent four receivers to the NFL in the last four NFL Drafts. OU still has a trio of 4-star wide recievers on the board for 2021.

Oklahoma has become one of four teams since 2000 to have a wide receiver taken in the first round of the NFL Draft in back-to-back years.

Under Lincoln Riley, the Sooners have put four receivers into the NFL in five seasons with Sterling Shepard, Dede Westbrook, Marquise Brown and CeeDee Lamb. The Sooners have a trio of five-star wide receivers on campus for the 2019 class, and have plenty of talent left on the board for them in 2021.

Here is where Oklahoma’s wide receiver board stands in May for the 2021 recruiting class.

*The star and position rating is according to Rivals.com.

MARIO WILLIAMS—FOUR-STAR—NO. 3 WR

One of the country’s most electrifying recruits has shown a fond interest of Oklahoma. Mario Williams is routinely mentioned alongside five-star quarterback Caleb Williams’ name as the two and the Oklahoma coaching staff continues to hint at something coming.

CODY JACKSON—FOUR-STAR—NO. 31 WR

Cody Jackson is Oklahoma’s longest tenured commitment in the 2021 recruiting class. Jackson hails from the same high school in Texas as star receiver CeeDee Lamb, and that connection paid off early for the Sooners.

JALIL FAROOQ—FOUR-STAR—NO. 33 WR

With Caleb Williams, the range of his brand and following is big back in the Delaware, Maryland, Virginia area. Jalil Farooq is name from the same region of the country that started to get more steam in the recent months.

J. MICHAEL STURDIVANT—THREE-STAR—NO. 56 WR

The most intriguing recruit on either side of the ball for Oklahoma in 2021. J. Michael Sturdivant was an early evaluation by the Sooners and his junior tape speaks volumes into the player he could become. He is probably one of the few bigger bodied receivers that could play a wide receiver role at Oklahoma.

CHRISTIAN LEARY—THREE-STAR—NO. 33 ATH

Christian Leary has been mentioned in the same breath as Caleb Williams and Mario Williams. Leary is a burner from the state of Florida that Oklahoma and a host of other top schools in the country like Ohio State, Alabama and in-state Florida.

KEON COLEMAN—THREE-STAR—UNRANKED WR

Oklahoma is in pursuit of a big bodied receiver in 2021. Keon Coleman is another example of that. The Louisiana native has been talking up Oklahoma quite a bit on Twitter as of late and has been one of the few virtual visitors for Lincoln Riley during the coronavirus pandemic.

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