Tag: Davis Beville

Sooners quarterback Davis Beville enters the transfer portal

Oklahoma Sooners quarterback Davis Beville entering the transfer portal.

As the Oklahoma Sooners usher in a new era at quarterback, they’ve lost two of their top three passers on the depth chart to the [autotag]transfer portal[/autotag].

According to Pete Nakos of On3, [autotag]Davis Beville[/autotag] is entering the transfer portal, joining former starting quarterback [autotag]Dillon Gabriel[/autotag] in the portal. Gabriel’s found a new home with the Oregon Ducks, and now Beville will look to ply his craft elsewhere in 2024.

Beville started one game with the Sooners, the infamous 49-0 loss in the Red River Rivalry game in 2022. During his tenure with the Oklahoma Sooners, he completed just 50% of his passes for 102 yards and an interception. Prior to his time with the Sooners, in two years at Pitt, Beville completed 59.7% of his throws for 339 yards, one touchdown, and two interceptions.

With [autotag]Jackson Arnold[/autotag] expected to take the reigns at quarterback in 2024 and an influx of talent at the position in [autotag]Michael Hawkins[/autotag] and [autotag]Brendan Zurbrugg[/autotag], the Sooners still have a talented quarterback room for new offensive coordinator Seth Littrell to work with.

Oklahoma could look to add a veteran quarterback to join a group that also includes [autotag]General Booty[/autotag]. [autotag]Casey Thompson[/autotag] is a name that has been suggested could be a fit in Norman.

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Jackson Arnold set to redshirt for the Oklahoma Sooners

Oklahoma’s 5-Star freshman quarterback is set to redshirt this season.

Late in last week’s blowout win over the [autotag]West Virginia Mountaineers[/autotag], the starters for the Oklahoma Sooners came out of the game. But it wasn’t former five-star [autotag]Jackson Arnold[/autotag] who replaced [autotag]Dillon Gabriel[/autotag]. Instead, it was [autotag]Davis Beville[/autotag].

This had many, including myself, scratching their heads. They were excited to see Arnold get a chance to sling the football around. After the game, [autotag]Brent Venables[/autotag] and [autotag]Jeff Lebby[/autotag] both spoke about redshirting the freshman.

Venables elaborated on that plan going forward in his press conference on Tuesday.

“You are always trying to be mindful of that,” Venables said. “Every player and sometimes you can potentially do it and sometimes that was the plan but there’s disaster that happens and then you got to make a hard right-hand turn. You always are looking at Plan A or Plan B, best-case scenario, worst-case scenario but he’s still been able to take all of the reps just in case something unforeseen happens. So he can stay ready. He’s had tremendous growth and maturity.”

I understand both sides to redshirting Arnold or not. On one hand, it makes sense to get him as many reps as possible before he takes the reins, possibly next season. In a blowout win, it would be great to let him play a whole quarter.

On the other hand, it’s not always a guarantee he’s gone in three seasons. Is it likely, sure. But what if something unforeseen happens and you wish you had that redshirt season? It makes sense not to blow it in a blowout win.

Also, if Gabriel decides not to play in the bowl game, assuming he doesn’t come back for 2024, Arnold can play that whole game and it doesn’t affect the four-game rule for redshirting. That would probably be the best-case scenario for Oklahoma: to have Arnold start and play in the bowl game.

Everyone is anxious to see the talented freshman play again, but just be patient, his time is coming.

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Dillon Gabriel looking forward to making up for last year’s Red River Rivalry

After missing the game last year, Dillon Gabriel is ready to make an impact in his first OU-Texas game.

It was 2022 and the Oklahoma Sooners were set to take on the Texas Longhorns in the 118th edition of the rivalry game. [autotag]Dillon Gabriel[/autotag] went out for his pregame routine in anticipation of the game.

Gabriel, who was concussed the week before, seemed like a long shot to play in that game. But he was still going through warmups, causing confusion on if he would play or not. Ultimately when the Sooners came back out of the locker room, Gabriel would not be dressed in uniform.

The Sooners would go on to lose 49-0 with backup [autotag]Davis Beville[/autotag] in at quarterback and the offense mostly running the wildcat. Gabriel now gets his first shot in the game.

He told reporters he’s not putting any extra emphasis on this game.

“I think naturally they’ll try to make this one a big one, rightfully so. Two great teams going at it. But for me, I’m just continuing to take it day by day, prepare my butt off and make sure I’m ready to go come Saturday at 11:00 a.m.,” Gabriel said.

Gabriel has been stellar through the first five games of the season. He’s completing 75% of his passes for nearly 1,600 yards and has thrown 15 touchdowns. He’s also started to use his legs more, rushing for 95 yards and four scores.

But one critique on Gabriel even back to his [autotag]UCF Knights[/autotag] days was his play in big games. There’s no bigger game he’s played up to this point than the one on Saturday. If he plays well in that one, he can put all of the other criticism to bed.

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Oklahoma flips three-star Northwestern QB commit Brendan Zurbrugg

Oklahoma flips Northwestern quarterback commit Brendan Zurbrugg as he joins Oklahoma’s 2024 class.

Oklahoma had one of the worst offensive displays in a long time in their rivalry game against Texas last season.

In the offseason, Oklahoma brought in five-star signee QB Jackson Arnold. He’s the program’s future at the position. He’ll likely be QB2 on the depth chart come game one against Arkansas State.

Beyond Arnold, the depth chart could use a bit more freshening up. Enter three-star Brendan Zurbrugg, who flipped his commitment from Northwestern to Oklahoma today.

Zurbrugg had been committed to Northwestern Since June 26. Over that time frame, Northwestern fired head coach Pat Fitzgerald amid hazing allegations.

Oklahoma swooped in and offered Zurbrugg an opportunity to join four-star quarterback Michael Hawkins in the 2024 class. Oklahoma’s been diligently searching for a second QB to add to this group to add depth to a position group that options should injuries arise.

 

Zurbrugg has excellent size at 6-foot-4. He visited Oklahoma for “Party at the Palace” over the weekend. Last season for his Alliance High School team, he went 154/202 with 2,184 yards passing and 23 touchdown passes.

Last year’s debacle at the Cotton Bowl between Oklahoma and Texas has left a permanent mark in Oklahoma’s mind. The Sooners aren’t going to allow themselves to be without a capable quarterback option again should the starter get hurt.

Landing not one but two quarterbacks in 2024 who can be developed into starting options down the road is intelligent team building.

It shows a willingness to correct mistakes.

With Zurbrugg in now, Oklahoma remains at No. 15 in team recruiting rankings but has closed the gap between itself and Alabama. A mere five points separate the two right now.

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Sooners predicted to flip 2024 3-Star QB Brendan Zurbrugg

After hosting Northwestern commit Brendan Zurbrugg this week, SoonerScoop’s Josh McCuistion issued an On3 prediction favoring the Sooners.

We are in the midst of two massive recruiting events for the Oklahoma Sooners.

2025 and 2026 prospects are in town for “Sooners under the Stars.” Then comes the final bash of the summer, the “Party at the Palace” for 2024 recruits.”

One player in attendance this week is Northwestern Wildcats commit Brendan Zurbrugg, a three-star quarterback.

It’s been clear for a while the Sooners would like to add a second quarterback in the 2024 class. They’re hoping to enter the SEC and the 2024 season with three scholarship quarterbacks on the roster.

The recent controversy at Northwestern that led to the dismissal of long-time head coach Pat Fitzgerald opened the door for Oklahoma to flip the Ohio native.

Josh McCuistion from SoonerScoop and On3 is predicting the Oklahoma Sooners to land Zurbrugg.

Last season, Zurbrugg threw for 2,184 yards and 23 touchdowns while completing 76% of his passes. He ran for 804 yards and 11 more scores.

He’s a talented track athlete who runs the 110-meter and 300 hurdles. He won the regional title in the 300 hurdles. Zubrugg was an All-Eastern Buckeye Conference selection in both.

He is a raw prospect, but he’s a talented player with plus athleticism. With a unique athletic background, Zurbrugg could be developed into a contributor.

It happens all of the time but with five-star Jackson Arnold presumed to take the reins from Dillon Gabriel, Michael Hawkins committed to the 2024 class, and Kevin Sperry on board for 2025, it’ll be an uphill battle.

However, one can never have enough talented quarterback prospects and Zurbrugg’s potential makes him an intriguing option for the Oklahoma Sooners.

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General Booty named to 247Sports’ CFB all-name team

There are a ton of unique names in college football that it sometimes feels like a sketch from “Key & Peele” and one of those is none other than General Booty.

There are numerous unique names in college football that it sometimes feels like a sketch from “Key & Peele.”

247Sports comes up with a team just about every year of the players with the unique names at each position.

This year, the starting quarterback is none other than Oklahoma’s backup General Booty.

Booty transferred to Oklahoma before last season after spending one year at Tyler Junior College in Tyler, Texas.

While there he threw for more than three thousand yards and 25 touchdowns.

Those numbers ranked second in the nation among NJCAA players. In one game, he threw for 528 yards and eight touchdowns.

Booty comes from an athletic family. His father, Abram Booty played wide receiver, and his uncle Josh played quarterback for the LSU Tigers.

Another uncle, John David Booty played quarterback for the USC Trojans and Pete Carroll.

So, he definitely has some talent and comes from a great football background. However,  he probably will never take a meaningful snap at Oklahoma unless there’s some kind of injury.

He comes into the season as Oklahoma’s fourth-string quarterback behind Dillon Gabriel, Jackson Arnold and Davis Beville.

But having that last name has also opened him to making some serious NIL money. According to On3, Booty has a NIL evaluation of $118K.

He has partnerships with “Crimson and Cream” and “More Than Just a Name” collectives.

He has merchandise you can purchase, and, yes, even “The General’s” Crimson and Cream in a hilarious video he posted on Instagram.

https://www.instagram.com/reel/CnP7sEsD4Jx/?igshid=NTc4MTIwNjQ2YQ==

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Oklahoma’s quarterback situation in much better shape than it was a year ago

The quarterback position is in a much better spot in year two under Offensive Coordinator/QB Coach Jeff Lebby, to say the least.

This summer, Sooners Wire breaks down each position group for the Oklahoma Sooners heading into the 2023 season.

We start with the most important position on the field: quarterback.

The quarterback position is in a much better spot in Year 2 under offensive coordinator/QB coach Jeff Lebby.

Last year the Sooners had [autotag]Dillon Gabriel[/autotag], who had significant collegiate experience. Additionally, he had substantial experience in Lebby’s system. But as we saw, once Gabriel went down, there wasn’t much after him.

[autotag]Davis Beville[/autotag] played much of the game against the TCU Horned Frogs and started versus the Texas Longhorns. The two games without Gabriel were the only two the Sooners lost by more than one score. It was obvious against the Horned Frogs and the Longhorns, Oklahoma didn’t feel comfortable letting Beville throw the ball.

Though the fall was a struggle for Beville, he looked much better in the spring game.

After Beville was true freshman Nick Evers and junior college transfer General Booty. Neither saw significant playing time, and Evers transferred to Wisconsin.

This year though, the Sooners return Gabriel and Beville and added five-star freshman [autotag]Jackson Arnold[/autotag].

They arguably have the best quarterback room in the Big 12. Having that depth should open the offense more with the quarterback run game. Better depth behind Gabriel means more security in the event the starting quarterback suffers an injury.

This is Gabriel’s job. And as we saw a year ago, when Gabriel plays a full game, he gives the Oklahoma Sooners a chance to win. While he’s been a target for why the season went south in 2022, Sooner fans should want Gabriel to play meaningful snaps all season. Because that means he’s playing well, the team is playing well and he didn’t get injured.

Arnold is talented. He has a fantastic skill set. However, Gabriel’s experience sets him apart.

If you consider the relative inexperience of the Sooners’ wide receiver group, having a player with Gabriel’s experience lead the way makes a significant difference.

The show will be Arnold’s in 2024. Let him learn from Gabriel and Lebby, so he’s ready for the SEC next year. There will be opportunities to get Arnold playing time in the 2023 regular season, and the Sooners’ coaching staff should take every opportunity to let him throw in a game.

Playing true freshmen at quarterback is generally not a great plan when you have a talented, experienced option. True freshmen don’t often get the opportunity to start for the Oklahoma Sooners. [autotag]Caleb Williams[/autotag] was an exception, and even he didn’t begin the season as a starter. He was incredible as a true freshman but not many have near the success he had. Even Williams struggled against Baylor, Iowa State and Oklahoma State.

We’ve seen too many times when a talented true freshman gets in over his head, loses his confidence and never reaches his full potential. You don’t want that to happen to Arnold.

With Gabriel starting and Arnold the presumed heir apparent, the Oklahoma Sooners have a strong group of signal callers heading into 2023.

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Red River Showdown among College Sports Wire’s ‘must see’ of 2023

College Sports Wire’s Patrick Conn chose OU-Texas as the “must-see” game for week 6 of the 2023 season.

The 2022 Red River Showdown was a surreal experience. Sometimes it’s hard to believe it actually happened.

It was a performance [autotag]Brent Venables[/autotag], the Oklahoma Sooners, and their fan base are eager to forget. Texas fans try their darndest to remind their Red River Rivals to the north of the historically bad loss for the Sooners at every turn.

This year’s edition of the greatest college football rivalry game will be even more highly anticipated. But this year’s game should go much differently.

Brent Venables and his staff want to show that what happened in the Cotton Bowl last season was nothing more than an aberration. The Sooners will have a better defense and a much better offensive plan than what they rolled into Dallas with last October.

Every year, the game is must-see television, but because of what happened last year, it’s going to carry more weight. Taking a look at each week of the college football season, Patrick Conn of College Sports Wire chose one game from each week that is “must-see” television. For Week 6, he chose Oklahoma-Texas in the Cotton Bowl.

The Sooners have had to deal with the sour taste of that loss for a year, and by the time the game kicks off they will be champing at the bit to return the favor. Last year [autotag]Dillon Gabriel[/autotag] was sidelined after a vicious hit by Jamoi Hodge of TCU the week prior. The offense gets a boost with Austin Stogner returning after one year at South Carolina.

The Texas offense will be absolutely loaded this season despite losing Bijan Robinson to the NFL draft. Quinn Ewers will have Xavier Worthy and Jordan Whittington catching passes, along with a pair of newcomers. Isaiah Neyor who missed last season with a torn ACL returns and the team added former UGA WR A.D. Mitchell. Ja’Tavion Sanders might be the biggest weapon from the tight end position. – Conn, College Sports Wire

Texas is still an incredibly talented team and will go into the game as the favorites. However, the Sooners are a much-improved team. They have an improved quarterback situation with the signing of [autotag]Jackson Arnold[/autotag] and the development of [autotag]Davis Beville[/autotag]. The Sooners will not look anything like the team that walked out of the Cotton Bowl a year ago.

As it does every year, this game will be a big key to Oklahoma’s season. The two teams could very well be undefeated heading into the matchup, putting even more importance on the second Saturday in October.

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Oklahoma Sooners QB situation ranked top 5 by On3 Sports

On3 Sports ranked the Oklahoma Sooners among the top quarterback rooms in the country ahead of the 2023 college football season.

For years, the Oklahoma Sooners had one of the stronger quarterback situations in the country. Since [autotag]Bob Stoops[/autotag] brought the air-raid offense to Norman with him through the [autotag]Lincoln Riley[/autotag] era, the Sooners have had great quarterback play for much of the last 25 years.

Jeff Lebby’s first year in Norman kept the offensive prowess on the right track, as the Sooners averaged 32.8 points per game. Though not without issues in 2022, the Sooners had one of the better quarterbacks in the Big 12 last season with Dillon Gabriel. Throw five-star quarterback Jackson Arnold into the mix, and the Sooners have one of the best quarterbacks situations in the country heading into 2023.

Jesse Simonton of On3 ranked the top quarterback rooms in the country, and the depth chart headlined by [autotag]Dillon Gabriel[/autotag], [autotag]Jackson Arnold[/autotag] and [autotag]Davis Beville[/autotag] came in at No. 5.

While Brent Venables’ top offseason priority is to fix the Sooners’ leaky defense, Oklahoma should feel really good about its two QB options entering 2023.

Former UCF transfer Dillion Gabriel is back for a second season in Norman after throwing for over 3,100 yards and 25 touchdowns last season, but the veteran is being pushed by 5-star freshman Jackson Arnold, who some consider one of the most ready-made QBs in a loaded 2023 class. Either way, Venables has two nice options entering a pivotal fall for the Sooners. – Simonton, On3 Sports

The Sooners came in behind USC, LSU, Texas and North Carolina in Simonton’s rankings. One can understand the Trojans coming in at No. 1. They return Heisman Trophy winner [autotag]Caleb Williams[/autotag] and bring in [autotag]Malachi Nelson[/autotag], a highly-regarded five-star quarterback in the 2024 class.

However, USC is the only one that’s an obvious choice.

LSU has a good quarterback room headlined by [autotag]Jayden Daniels[/autotag], but much of the Tigers’ success stemmed from elite defensive play and Daniels’ ability to protect the football. At Texas, Quinn Ewers had a solid season, but much of his projection is based on the natural ability, which has not translated to elite performances on the football field. North Carolina gets a boost simply because of [autotag]Drake Maye[/autotag]. If the Tar Heels suffer an injury to Maye, who many are projecting as the No. 2 quarterback in the 2024 NFL draft class, as Simonton puts it, “UNC might be screwed.”

Regardless of where you rank them, the Sooners’ quarterback situation is in great hands with [autotag]Dillon Gabriel[/autotag] and [autotag]Jackson Arnold[/autotag].

Gabriel is one of the most experienced players at the position with 38 starts under his belt. Oklahoma has to be better on third down and in the red zone, but if they can do that, they’ll be one of the best offenses in the country. Gabriel is one of the highest-graded quarterbacks returning for 2023, according to Pro Football Focus, and came in at No. 2 in College Sports Wire’s Big 12 quarterback rankings.

Arnold had an incredible two-year run at Denton Guyer during his junior and senior seasons, parlaying that into five-star rating. He won the Elite 11 MVP and the Gatorade National Player of the Year award. Though he might not play much in 2023 if Gabriel stays healthy, he’s the future at the position for the Oklahoma Sooners. And that future looks bright with Arnold and 2024 four-star quarterback [autotag]Michael Hawkins[/autotag] and 2025 four-star quarterback [autotag]Kevin Sperry[/autotag] coming down the line.

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Social media reactions to Oklahoma Sooners’ spring game performance

It was an incredible atmosphere at the Oklahoma Sooners’ spring game and here are some of the best reactions from Social Media.

There’s a lot to take away from the Oklahoma Sooners spring game. The atmosphere, the Heisman moment and the play on the field.

In an unorthodox scoring system, the Oklahoma Sooners’ offense and defense took turns shining brightly in front of 54,409 fans.

The defense started strongly against a depleted offensive line, but in the second quarter, Dillon Gabriel, Jalil Farooq and the offense punched back with several touchdown drives to get the game close going into halftime.

At halftime, it was the Kyler Murray show. The university and fans showed love for their most recent Heisman winner. Murray captivated those in attendance, remarking he “should have been here the whole time.”

With an opportunity to play behind the first-team offensive line, Davis Beville and Jackson Arnold helped get the offense in position to win the game at the end. But ultimately, it was the defense that stood tall, picking up the win after a failed two-point conversion.

It was an incredible day from start to finish in Norman, and here are some of the best social media reactions from the spring game.

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