Tag: DaShaun White

5 observations from the Oklahoma Sooners first official depth chart

Observations from the first official depth chart released by Oklahoma as the Sooners prepare for their week one matchup with UTEP.

Folks, we have arrived at the first game week of the season for the Oklahoma Sooners. The wait is nearly over and we are merely days away from meaningful football being played in Norman, Oklahoma.

The Oklahoma Sooners have been at it since the winter months getting in shape, lifting in the weight room before transitioning to spring ball, which culminated in one of the best spring game atmospheres the sport has ever seen.

All of that has led us to this week, which is the first game week for Brent Venables as head coach of the Oklahoma Sooners.

Venables will don the headset and will see his first team as the head coach take the field against a UTEP team that lost its first game against North Texas 31-13 during week zero.

While UTEP has game tape already out there for the Sooners to watch, the Miners will only be able to piece together information from watching last year and game plan based on the Sooners’ depth chart, which was released Monday morning.

We took a look at the depth chart and offered five observations below.

Oklahoma Sooners release first depth chart of 2022 ahead of season opener vs. UTEP

Days away from the 2022 season opener vs. UTEP, the Oklahoma Sooners released their first depth chart of the season.

Wee one of the 2022 college football season has arrived, and the Oklahoma Sooners have released their first depth chart ahead of their opener against the UTEP Miners.

One of the goals of Brent Venables’ first offseasons with the Oklahoma Sooners was to create competition on the depth chart. Though several spots were solidified heading into fall camp, we still didn’t have an answer at right tackle, one of the wide receiver spots, defensive end, or at linebacker.

Now with the depth chart released, we get a glimpse at how the coaching staff sees the roster as they prepare for the first game of the Brent Venables era.

Several spots indicate an ongoing competition or those players will rotate at those positions with an “OR” designation. In Brent Venables’ defense, instead of deploying a “slot” or “nickel” cornerback, he utilizes the “Cheetah” position, a hybrid between a safety and a linebacker. Someone who can cover and provide support in the running game.

With that, let’s take a look at the first Oklahoma Sooners depth chart heading into week one vs. the UTEP Miners.

Oklahoma among overrated teams in CBS Sports’ 2022 Big 12 preview

With big turnover this offseason, the Sooners have a lot to prove and are among Big 12 teams considered overrated in CBS Sports 2022 preview.

Oklahoma is less than a week away from the start of its 2022 campaign. While there’s been heaps of optimism and positivity coming from the camp in Norman all summer, elsewhere, people aren’t as sold on Oklahoma’s potential this season.

Some of the writers at CBS Sports shared their thoughts on the Big 12  heading into 2022. The conference’s flagship programs, Oklahoma and Texas, were deemed two of its most overrated teams. Shehan Jeyarajah had this to say about the Sooners.

The Sooners have been the model of consistency over the past six years, but they’re entering a new era. More than 40% of the roster is new, according to Venables. Gone are the top two quarterbacks, leading two rushers, four of the top five receivers, and the top three sack leaders from last season. There’s plenty of new talent to replace the losses, but they haven’t played together. The coaching staff is new, and the scheme and philosophy are new. This isn’t a turnkey operation, and we won’t see the best of Oklahoma until November. – Shehan Jeyarajah (also Barrett Sallee), CBS Sports

There’s validity in the belief Oklahoma will not look like last year. The thing about that particular idea is Oklahoma, especially offensively, didn’t look good at all for multiple stretches last year.

Spencer Rattler struggled. The offensive line struggled. The switch to Caleb Williams in the middle of the season infused new life for a while. But the team still struggled with some of the same larger issues that plagued it when Rattler was under center.

The offensive talent that was lost, outside of running back Kennedy Brooks, isn’t that big of a deal, considering they now have an entirely new offensive system, and the offensive line has a new blocking scheme as well. The Sooners are bringing back three starters along the offensive line, their best wide receiver Marvin Mims, and Theo Wease is returning from missing most of 2021.

Adding to that is new starting quarterback Dillon Gabriel, who’s had success in Jeff Lebby’s offense, which resulted in freshman All-American honors in 2019.

Defensively, the losses the Sooners suffered may be more significant, at least right now. Nik Bonitto, Isaiah Thomas, Perrion Winfrey, Brian Asamoah and the safety duo of Pat Fields and Delarrin Turner-Yell, had the experience and production combination that can’t easily be replaced. Potentially more important, most of those guys were leaders in the program as well as leaders for the defense. They lost six starters on a defense that needs to be better in 2022 than last year.

DaShaun White, David Ugwoegbu, Woodi Washington, Key Lawrence and Jalen Redmond will have to take big steps forward in production and leadership to help maximize Oklahoma defensively.

All in all, the belief that Oklahoma may be overrated may be a slight exaggeration. Its games with Baylor, Texas and Oklahoma State will tell us a lot about who the Sooners are. If they go 0-3 or 1-2, it’s safe to say they were overrated, but winning two of those or sweeping that trio of teams would likely be enough to get back to the Big 12 championship game. An appearance and win there would pull them from the overrated category in a heartbeat.

[listicle id=69732]

[mm-video type=playlist id=01eqbz7cqqgxy50qwt player_id=none image=https://soonerswire.usatoday.com/wp-content/plugins/mm-video/images/playlist-icon.png]

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, comment on this story below. Join the conversation today.

Jaren Kanak included on ESPN’s true freshman All-American team

Ahead of his first season with the Oklahoma Sooners, Linebacker Jaren Kanak was named to ESPN’s true freshmen All-American team.

The arrival of [autotag]Brent Venables[/autotag] brought a new culture and defensive identity to the Oklahoma Sooners. The other thing it brought was the arrival of four-star athlete [autotag]Jaren Kanak[/autotag].

Kanak, who was committed to the Clemson Tigers, was encouraged to stay committed to Venables’ former team, but the Hays, Kansas, native wanted to play for Venables. He even went the [autotag]Baker Mayfield[/autotag] route of enrolling at the University of Oklahoma without the promise of a scholarship.

Kanak was a priority target for Venables when he was still at Clemson, creating significant excitement for what he might bring to the Oklahoma Sooners.

The Sooners have solid depth at the top of the chart in [autotag]DaShaun White[/autotag], [autotag]David Ugwoegbu[/autotag] and [autotag]Danny Stutsman[/autotag]. However, the linebacker room took a hit with the season-ending injury to transfer [autotag]T.D. Roof[/autotag]. That creates a situation where Kanak could work his way onto the field sooner rather than later.

The Sooners already have a strong linebacking corps, but Kanak is going to be a great player. Whether it’s special teams or in a hybrid safety/linebacker role (like Isaiah Simmons at Clemson under Venables), Kanak is too good a football player to keep out of the lineup. – Luginbill, ESPN

Kanak has the athleticism to be a difference-maker early in his Oklahoma career. Kanak has track speed that will allow him to contribute on special teams early, but he could also be a player the Sooners’ defensive staff deploy in certain matchups.

According to reports, Kanak was one of the guys that stood out during the strength and conditioning program.

We’ll more than likely see a lot of Kanak in the first couple of games against UTEP and Kent State. If he can get on the field early in those contests or find meaningful snaps against Nebraska in Week 3, we’ll get a better indication of what his role might be with the Oklahoma Sooners defense in Year 1.

[listicle id=68460]

[mm-video type=playlist id=01eqbz7cqqgxy50qwt player_id=none image=https://soonerswire.usatoday.com/wp-content/plugins/mm-video/images/playlist-icon.png]

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, comment on this story below. Join the conversation today.

Fall camp position battles to watch for the Oklahoma Sooners

With fall camp underway, what are some key position battles to watch for the Oklahoma Sooners?

Fall camp is underway, and the Oklahoma Sooners are now about the task of figuring out how their depth chart will lay out when they head into the season opener against the UTEP Miners on September 3.

What it looks like week one doesn’t mean that’s how the depth chart will stay for week two, but it will give us a good indication as to how the coaches feel about certain positions going into the season.

Recently, I attempted to project what the offensive depth chart could look like for Oklahoma to start the season. However, several position battles will help the depth chart take shape.

Let’s take a look at some key position battles for the Oklahoma Sooners in fall camp.

10 Oklahoma Sooners who could end up as All-Big 12 first-team selections after 2022

After being shut out of the Big 12’s preseason first team, here are 10 players that could land on the conference’s first team after 2022.

It was noticeable that the only member of the Oklahoma Sooners to make the preseason All-Big 12 first team was punter Michael Turk. Nobody on offense or defense received consideration.

With all of the turnover the Oklahoma Sooners experienced on both sides of the ball this offseason, there is uncertainty regarding who will step up and take the place of those who left for the NFL draft or via the transfer portal.

But that shouldn’t be misconstrued as a lack of talent on the Sooners’ 2022 roster. The talent is there, it just hasn’t revealed itself on the field yet. By the end of the season, several Sooners will find their way onto the Big 12 all-conference first team. Here are 10 Oklahoma Sooners who could earn first-team honors in 2022.

Oklahoma projected to have the best Linebacker unit in the Big 12 in 2022 by Bleacher Report

Led by DaShaun White, Oklahoma’s linebacker corp was picked to be the best in the Big 12 in 2022 by Bleacher Report.

Much is going to look different for an Oklahoma Sooners defense that was supposed to be the best unit they’d deploy under former defensive coordinator Alex Grinch.

A lot of the defensive front that helped produce sacks and tackles for loss is gone to the NFL, and so is [autotag]Brian Asamoah[/autotag], the linebacker that led the Sooners in tackles in 2021. While they’ve experienced a bunch of turnover, one spot where they have good experienced depth is at linebacker with the return of [autotag]DaShaun White[/autotag], [autotag]David Ugwoegbu[/autotag], [autotag]Danny Stutsman[/autotag], and [autotag]Shane Whitter[/autotag]. That was already a solid unit with the chance to be Oklahoma’s best defensive group, and then they added [autotag]T.D. Roof[/autotag] in the transfer portal and a good young trio of linebackers in the 2022 recruiting class with [autotag]Jaren Kanak[/autotag], [autotag]Kobie McKinzie[/autotag], and [autotag]Kip Lewis[/autotag].

But even with the talent and the depth that the Sooners have at linebacker, potentially the most important addition to the linebacker group was head coach [autotag]Brent Venables[/autotag].

Venables’ experience at the position, tenacity, and drive will bring out the best versions of the returning Oklahoma Sooners. With Venables and the experience returning at the position, the Oklahoma Sooners were picked by David Kenyon of Bleacher Report to be the best linebacker unit in the Big 12 for the 2022 season.

Most importantly, Oklahoma has the players. DaShaun White notched 61 tackles last season, while David Ugwoegbu made 48 stops. Danny Stutsman added 38 in his injury-shortened year, and Shane Whitter contributed 27 more as a rotational player. For good measure, Appalachian State transfer T.D. Roof brings four seasons of experience and recorded 68 tackles last year. Similar to Cincinnati, the head coach is another positive. Brent Venables played linebacker in college and has coached the position for nearly three decades, building a reputation for strong development that figures to continue in Norman. – Kenyon, Bleacher Report

Much of the optimism surrounding the Oklahoma Sooners on defense stems from the addition of Brent Venables and what he’s been able to accomplish as a defensive coordinator for more than two decades. Venables was a part of three national championship-winning teams and played for several more because of the defensive prowess he brought to the field.

[vertical-gallery id=60636]

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, comment on this story below. Join the conversation today.

6 Sooners make Athlon Sports’ All-Big 12 second team ahead of 2022 season

With an early look at the 2022 season, 6 Oklahoma Sooners were named to Athlon Sports All-Big 12 second team.

Brent Venables and the Oklahoma Sooners coaching staff did a great job at addressing immediate needs in the transfer portal. Finding starters and rotational players to replace the guys they lost will help the Sooners stay in contention in the Big 12 and potentially for a playoff spot.

The new coaching staff combined with the addition of Dillon Gabriel has the Sooners projected to be one of the top teams in the Big 12 three months ahead of the 2022 season. At the same time, a lot of the optimism is in projecting how the new additions and the guys rising up the depth chart will do with increased opportunities.

Looking ahead to the 2022 season, Athlon Sports named their 2022 All-Big 12 first and second teams. The Oklahoma Sooners had six players selected to the second team and no first-team selections. Zero.

Dillon Gabriel, Marvin Mims, Anton Harrison, Jalen Redmond, Danny Stutsman, and DaShaun White were named to Athlon’s All-Big 12 second team.

It’s understandable how the Sooners might not get [autotag]Marvin Mims[/autotag] in as a first-team wide receiver. Xavier Worthy, Quentin Johnston, and Xavier Hutchinson are really good players. Mims is in the mix and there’s certainly an argument to be made for his inclusion, but those three guys are just as talented and Worthy and Hutchinson have the production to go along with the talent.

Where an argument can be made is with Spencer Sanders as the first-team quarterback. Sure, I wrote about how Sanders could be a problem for Oklahoma in 2022 and he’s coming off of an incredible game against Notre Dame and was the first-team quarterback selection in 2021. But are we sure he can maintain the consistency needed to be the top quarterback in the conference again in 2022?

Of course, [autotag]Dillon Gabriel[/autotag], who was the second-team quarterback hasn’t played a snap in the Big 12, but he’s had a ton of success in his career and his work against the Power Five is pretty solid. In games against Stanford, Pittsburgh, and Georgia Tech, UCF was 2-1 and Gabriel averaged 367 yards passing, threw 10 touchdowns, just two interceptions, and completed 65% of his passes.

[autotag]Anton Harrison[/autotag] also made the second team and has received a lot of first-round buzz in early mock drafts for 2023. He’ll be relied upon to anchor the Oklahoma Sooners’ offensive line as it looks for a bounceback season in 2022.

The Sooners also had three defensive players selected to the second-team. [autotag]Jalen Redmond[/autotag], [autotag]DaShaun White[/autotag], and [autotag]Danny Stutsman[/autotag] lead the way for a Sooners defense that is looking to replace five NFL draft picks and a starter in [autotag]Patrick Fields[/autotag] who went to Stanford as a grad transfer. The talent is there, but it’s largely unproven.

White and Stutsman will be expected to take on bigger roles at linebacker along with [autotag]David Ugwoegbu[/autotag] while Redmond will look to put together a big 2022 with [autotag]Perrion Winfrey[/autotag] gone.

[autotag]Brayden Willis[/autotag], [autotag]Woodi Washington[/autotag], and [autotag]Key Lawrence[/autotag] were named to the third team while [autotag]Eric Gray[/autotag], [autotag]Chris Murray[/autotag], and [autotag]Reggie Grimes[/autotag] were selected to the fourth team.

With 13 selections, the Sooners were behind Texas, Oklahoma State and Baylor, who each had 14 players named to the four All-Big 12 teams.

There’s a buzz surrounding the Oklahoma Sooners, who have been considered the favorite in the conference despite all of the turnover on both sides of the ball. A testament to the addition of Gabriel and the new coaching staff, the Sooners might have questions to answer when the 2022 season gets underway, but there’s a lot of optimism about this roster.

[mm-video type=playlist id=01eqbz7cqqgxy50qwt player_id=none image=https://soonerswire.usatoday.com/wp-content/plugins/mm-video/images/playlist-icon.png]

[listicle id=62661]

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, comment on this story below. Join the conversation today.

Brent Venables, Dillon Gabriel steal the show in front of record-breaking crowd for Oklahoma’s Spring Game

In front of more than 75,000 fans, the Oklahoma Sooners put on a strong performance in the first Spring Game of the Brent Venables era.

After a mountain of hype, the Oklahoma Spring Game delivered on many fronts for the Oklahoma Sooners. The loyal fans of the Crimson & Cream packed out The Palace on the Prairie with just over 75,000 fans for the start of the Brent Venables era.

The game showcased what the new regime in Norman has been cooking up as they prepare the Sooners for the 2022 season. While there were many familiar faces from the past few years, the Sooners had new faces donning Oklahoma jerseys for the first time. The roster was split into two teams led by defensive ends coach [autotag]Miguel Chavis[/autotag] for the white squad while running backs coach [autotag]DeMarco Murray[/autotag] led the red team.

New quarterback [autotag]Dillon Gabriel[/autotag] did exactly what you want your veteran quarterback to do. He looked calm and poised under duress and stepped up and made some nice throws to a plethora of receivers. The tempo of the offense was indeed as fast as advertised and gave Sooners fans a glimpse of what the offense can look like under offensive coordinator Jeff Lebby.

Gabriel was 19 of 28 for 250 yards with a touchdown and an interception. He looked sharp in his first appearance for the Sooners.

The anticipation of seeing running back [autotag]Jovantae Barnes[/autotag] did not disappoint. Barnes carried the ball 17 times for 60 yards and two touchdowns. He looked explosive, physical and decisive.

Presumptive starter [autotag]Eric Gray[/autotag]’s biggest highlight came when he broke out for a huge run for the white team that is certain to have people salivating about his upcoming season. Gray carried the ball four times for 53 yards, including the 50-yard run.

[autotag]Marcus Major[/autotag] didn’t participate but [autotag]Tawee Walker[/autotag] ran the ball well in his absence. Walker has turned heads in practice and capped off an eye-opening spring with a solid performance in the spring game.

The offensive line play was solid, considering the likely starters were split between the two sides. They opened up some lanes for the backs and gave time for the quarterbacks to throw the ball.

The only notable player missing was [autotag]Andrew Raym[/autotag] who didn’t participate. [autotag]McKade Mettauer[/autotag], one of the transfer offensive linemen the Sooners landed looked pretty comfortable at guard as he made a key block that sprung Gray loose for his big gain.

[autotag]Marvin Mims[/autotag] and true freshman [autotag]Jayden Gibson[/autotag] scored touchdowns out wide for the receiver group. [autotag]Theo Wease[/autotag], who returned from an injury-filled 2021 also made a nice grab for a 48-yard gain that led to a touchdown early in the game. [autotag]Jalil Farooq[/autotag] saw his number called quite a few times and has a chance to be a major contributor on the heels of his electric performance to end the season in 2021. Farooq would finish with two receptions for 17 yards.

Jayden Gibson’s 95-yard touchdown helped him lead the way at receiver on the afternoon. He finished with 113 yards on three receptions and a touchdown. Marvin Mims picked up right where he left off the 2021 season with two receptions for 41 yards and a touchdown.

Defensively, guys like defensive end [autotag]Ethan Downs[/autotag] and defensive back Kendall Dennis stood out as both forced turnovers during the game. Downs would punch out a fumble and Dennis intercepted a pass in the second half of the game. There wasn’t too much to be made of the Sooners’ new defensive system as [autotag]Ted Roof[/autotag] kept things largely vanilla for good reason.

However, guys like [autotag]Jeffery Johnson[/autotag] and Jordan Kelley made plays from the defensive interior while [autotag]DaShaun White[/autotag] roamed at the second level making their impact felt. On the back end, Woodi Washington, Joshua Eaton made some plays on the ball. Eaton recovered the Downs forced fumble and broke up a possible touchdown in the end zone too. In the end, the red team led by DeMarco Murray got the win as they won 21-17.

Though they weren’t taking quarterbacks to the ground, Ethan Downs and [autotag]Marcus Stripling[/autotag] were credited with two sacks apiece and [autotag]Jalen Redmond[/autotag] added a sack for the red team. Johnson, Kelley, White, Jonah La’ulu, and [autotag]Reggie Grimes[/autotag] combined for five sacks for the white team.

While the football was the main focus, it was incredible to see the alumni turnout as the Sooners did everything in their power to get every Sooner to Norman that they could. Big names like [autotag]Adrian Peterson[/autotag], [autotag]Kyler Murray[/autotag], [autotag]Mark Clayton[/autotag], and [autotag]Jamelle Holieway[/autotag] were all in the building. [autotag]Baker Mayfield[/autotag]’s Heisman statue ceremony took place at halftime with the unveiling in Heisman Park.

The pageantry, emotion and the excitement of the day delivered in spades and with no significant injuries to report, the first spring game of the [autotag]Brent Venables[/autotag] era can be considered a huge success.

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, comment on this story below. Join the conversation today. 

5 Sooners to watch on defense in the Oklahoma spring game

A look at five defensive players to watch as the Oklahoma Sooners gear up for their Spring game.

There’s something to be said about how exciting this particular spring game will be for Oklahoma Sooners’ fans far and wide. A new head coach ushers in a new era with a new defensive staff and a fresh, proven mind at offensive coordinator. A new vision will be on display while the Sooners have an abundance of position battles that need to be sorted out.

For now, we’ll focus on the defensive side of things where there’s been significantly more turnover and also the heaviest influx of new faces that will debut in Crimson and Cream for the first time this weekend.

Brent Venables’ wizardry as a defensive coordinator is widely known. It’s no stretch to say he’s probably been year in and year out the best defensive coordinator in college football for the last decade. He returns to the school that really catapulted his career in Oklahoma as the head coach but you can rest assured he brought his elite defensive coaching with him. He retooled the defensive staff entirely and led the charge into the transfer portal as the Sooners went shopping for defensive bodies to fit Venables’ scheme for the immediate future and the years to come.

With that said, here are five players to watch for as we see a glimpse at what Brent Venables and defensive coordinator Ted Roof have in store for Big 12 offenses this fall.