Tag: Daylan Smothers

Sooners continue to add via the transfer portal with commitment from RB Sam Franklin

Oklahoma continues to add productive pieces via the portal as UT-Martin transfer Sam Franklin commits to the Sooners.

Oklahoma has lost three running backs to the [autotag]transfer portal[/autotag] in the last few weeks. In many ways, it was beneficial, given it is nearly impossible to keep six scholarship running backs happy.

[autotag]Marcus Major[/autotag], [autotag]Daylan Smothers[/autotag] and [autotag]Tawee Walker[/autotag] entered the transfer portal. Walker is still practicing with the team, so there’s a chance he remains in Norman. [autotag]DeMarco Murray[/autotag] and the rest of the offensive staff decided losing three running backs was too much and offered multiple players in the transfer portal. One of those offers went to Sam Franklin, a talented and productive running back from UT-Martin.

After a visit with Oklahoma this week, Franklin cashed in that offer and announced his commitment to the Sooners. Franklin was a Walter Payton award finalist for the Skyhawks. The award is given annually to the national offensive player of the year in the Football Championship Subdivision of Division I.

For the 5-foot-10, 190-pound redshirt sophomore, 2023 was a massive year. With 223 carries, he amassed 1,378 yards (6.2 yards per carry) and 11 touchdowns. He caught 14 passes for 127 yards and one touchdown in 11 games. He’s decisive and quick enough to break away at the second level. Adding him to [autotag]Gavin Sawchuk[/autotag] and [autotag]Jovontae Barnes[/autotag] gives Oklahoma three game-ready backs who have produced significantly. It also allows Oklahoma to ease incoming freshmen [autotag]Taylor Tatum[/autotag], [autotag]Xavier Robinson[/autotag] and [autotag]Andy Bass[/autotag] into the collegiate football world.

Franklin has two years of eligibility remaining, and his commitment brings Oklahoma’s transfer portal commitment tally to four.

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Oklahoma Sooners make final 4 for coveted transfer running back

The Sooners could soon get more good news in the transfer portal. This time a running back with SEC experience.

The Oklahoma Sooners lost three running backs to the transfer portal this offseason: [autotag]Tawee Walker[/autotag], [autotag]Daylan Smothers[/autotag], and [autotag]Marcus Major[/autotag].

While they are expected to sign the No. 1 running back in the country, [autotag]Taylor Tatum[/autotag], they would like to add someone in the [autotag]transfer porta[/autotag]l.

One of the running backs they are looking at is someone with [autotag]SEC[/autotag] experience, [autotag]Mario Anderson[/autotag].

Anderson played for the [autotag]South Carolina Gamecocks[/autotag]. He led the Gamecocks in rushing with 707 yards and three scores. If you watched the Gamecocks this year, you would know how impressive that is, given how poor their offensive line was.

Nonetheless, the Sooners will have to battle against three other teams for Anderson’s services. One of the teams they are competing against is a team all too familiar to Sooner fans. Anderson included Oklahoma alongside USC, Memphis and Cal.

If the Sooners are able to earn his commitment, Anderson would provide leadership to a really young room next season.

[autotag]Gavin Sawchuk[/autotag] seems to have solidified his spot as the starting running back, but he’s a third-year guy next year with only one season of experience. The losses of Walker and Major were big in the sense that you lost your two veterans in the room. Anderson would come in and fill that void.

For now, the Sooners are in wait-and-see mode with a lot of their portal targets. Anderson is no different.

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Oklahoma Sooners 2023-2024 transfer portal tracker

Know who’s coming and going with our 2023-2024 Oklahoma Sooners Football transfer portal tracker.

The 2023-2024 transfer portal season is off and running, and we’ll help you keep track of all the movement here at Sooners Wire with our handy [autotag]transfer portal[/autotag] tracker.

The Sooners have made a living off the transfer portal over the years. And while they will not be quarterback hunting in this year’s transfer portal season, the Sooners will have some areas they need to address.

Bryant Crews looked at five positions the Sooners should target in the transfer portal this offseason to supplement their ranks.

We’ll keep you updated with the transfer portal movement as it happens.

Updated: Dec. 18, 2023 at 11:00 a.m.

Sooners freshman running back Daylan Smothers entering the transfer portal

Oklahoma’s running back room got a bit thinner as Daylan Smothers enters the transfer portal.

The opening day of the [autotag]transfer portal[/autotag] has been an active one for the Oklahoma Sooners. Dillon Gabriel surprised everyone with his entrance into the portal.

Oklahoma also lost a pair of offensive linemen in Nate Anderson and Savion Byrd. Now they’ve lost a highly-regarded running back in Daylan Smothers. According to Hayes Fawcett of On3, Smothers will be looking to ply his craft elsewhere.

Smothers joined the Sooners as part of the 2023 recruiting class. The four-star prospect was the No. 21 player in the state of North Carolina and was named High School Player of the Year.

In limited opportunities, Smothers showed off a physical running style and the ability to get downhill in a hurry. In four games this season, he carried the ball 11 times for 42 yards and had one catch for one yard. [anyclip-media thumbnail=”undefined” playlistId=”undefined” content=”dW5kZWZpbmVk”][/anyclip-media]

Out of Charlotte, N.C., Smothers had notable offers from Alabama, N.C. State, and Florida State.

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

The running back position was a disappointment for most of the season but how they closed the year provided reason to be excited about 2024.

The Oklahoma Sooners’ running back room had an up-and-down season in 2023. It was supposed to be one of their stronger groups led by [autotag]Jovantae Barnes[/autotag] and [autotag]Gavin Sawchuk[/autotag].

But both players battled injuries earlier in the season, so instead, it was the [autotag]Marcus Major[/autotag] and [autotag]Tawee Walker[/autotag] show for the first half of the year. Walker and Major did a solid job in that role, but both have their limitations. Oklahoma needed Barnes or Sawchuk to get healthy and take the reins.

Barnes was never really able to get healthy or contribute, but after the bye week, Sawchuk took off. He finished the year with four straight 100-yard games and gave the Sooners a look at what they hoped to have all season.

Let’s take a look at their overall grade based on preseason expectations, who stepped up, their best performances, and what the future holds for the position.

More: 2023 Review: Sooners Quarterbacks exceed expectations.

‘A lot of it is preparation’: Gavin Sawchuk, Sooners running game finding a rhythm

The Oklahoma Sooners may have found their running game and most importantly their running back.

Last week against the [autotag]Oklahoma State Cowboys[/autotag], [autotag]Gavin Sawchuk[/autotag] started the game with a long 64-yard touchdown run. He finished the game with his first 100-yard game of the season.

This week on the first drive against the [autotag]West Virginia Mountaineers[/autotag], Sawchuk busted a 30-yard run to set up 1st and goal from the two-yard line. He finished with another 100-yard game, going for 135 yards on 6.1 yards per carry.

This is the second straight game the team rushed for more than five yards per carry. Earlier in the season, McKade Mettauer shared averaging five yards per carry was an offensive line goal. Over the past few weeks, Oklahoma appears to have found a running game and, most importantly, found their running back.

Sawchuk spoke to the media after the game about getting into a rhythm. “I think a lot of it is preparation throughout the week,” Sawchuk said. “Working hard at practice, trusting the guys at practice. Getting those reps. Just confidence comes with being prepared for when the game time comes. It’s not the first time you’ve seen it. It’s not the first time you’ve done it either.  So, a lot of preparation within the week as well.”

Sawchuk was the workhorse this week with 22 carries. [autotag]Daylan Smothers[/autotag] and [autotag]Tawee Walker[/autotag] were the only other running backs to get a touch and they combined for three carries and just four yards rushing.

It’s safe to say Oklahoma may have found the guy they can lean on the rest of the way at running back. Now, we’ll see how far they can go with a revitalized rushing attack.

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Report Card: Sooners breeze through Arkansas State with big-time performances

The Oklahoma Sooners were fantastic in their win over Arkansas State, but how did they grade in this week’s Report Card?

Saturday allowed us to see team 129 in Oklahoma’s illustrious football history for the first time this season. This team entered the day with cautious optimism, but a cloud of last season’s disappointment still hungover over the program. Year two of Brent Venables’s tenure needed to start off with a bang, and his team did just that as they dismantled the Arkansas State Red Wolves 73-0.

The Sooners are on another level regarding raw talent than the Arkansas State Red Wolves. That is abundantly clear, but Oklahoma had to show it could dominate an inferior opponent. They also needed to showcase the improvements in recruiting and among their returning players.

Saturday was a fun, stress-free showcase of domination. Now that the first game is behind us, it’s time to dive deeper and hand out our first grades of the year in this week’s report card.

Oklahoma Sooners have the weapons to be great on offense

Though the Sooners lost a lot of talent to the NFL draft, there’s still the talent for the offense to be dynamic in 2023.

The Oklahoma Sooners are in the midst of a minor retooling on the offensive side of the football. They’re working to replace three starters along the offensive line, their top two pass catchers ([autotag]Marvin Mims[/autotag] and [autotag]Brayden Willis[/autotag]), and their leading rusher ([autotag]Eric Gray[/autotag]).

[autotag]Marvin Mims[/autotag] led the Oklahoma Sooners in receiving yards each of his three seasons in Norman.

Despite all of the turnover, the Oklahoma Sooners are still an incredibly talented offense.

Replacing [autotag]Anton Harrison[/autotag] at left tackle is [autotag]Walter Rouse[/autotag]. Rouse started 38 games at Stanford, a program known for producing good to great rushing attacks. That should play well in a [autotag]Jeff Lebby [/autotag]offense that wants to run the rock and run it a lot.

At right tackle [autotag]Tyler Guyton[/autotag] is replacing one-year starter Wanya Morris. There may not be a player in Oklahoma’s starting lineup that has as high a ceiling as Guyton. Jared Verse, a future top 10 pick in the 2024 NFL draft, called Guyton the best tackle he’d faced. Though he doesn’t have a ton of experience, the expectations are high for the incredibly athletic offensive tackle.

[autotag]McKade Mettauer[/autotag] slides over to right guard to replace Chris Murray, and at the moment, it looks like [autotag]Savion Byrd[/autotag] is the frontrunner at left guard. Byrd has just one collegiate start under his belt but was good in the Sooners matchup with Florida State. Byrd helped the Sooners have a fantastic day on the ground against the Seminoles.

Oklahoma is hoping for a similar breakout from [autotag]Austin Stogner[/autotag] that Willis experienced a year ago. In a thin tight end room, Stogner has to have a big season. He has the athletic prowess to be a game-changer in the passing game. His only question is his health. If Stogner can stay healthy for an entire season, there’s a chance he surpasses Willis’ receiving totals from a year ago.

Wide receiver still has some questions. Namely, who will start on the outside opposite [autotag]Jalil Farooq[/autotag]? [autotag]Drake Stoops[/autotag] will likely start in the slot in three or more wide receiver sets. Then it comes down to a host of wide receiver talents that are vying for that No. 2 spot. There are a lot of really good options, like [autotag]Brenen Thompso[/autotag]n, [autotag]Andrel Anthon[/autotag]y, [autotag]LV Bunkley-Shelton[/autotag], [autotag]Gavin Freeman[/autotag], [autotag]Jaquaize Pettaway[/autotag], [autotag]Jayden Gibson[/autotag], and [autotag]Nic Anderson[/autotag]. There’s a good chance the Sooners roll two deep at each wide receiver spot in games to keep everyone fresh in the Sooners’ uptempo offense.

But they have a good amount of depth to work with.

Speaking of depth, there’s no position on the offensive side of the ball as deep as the Sooners running back room. Led by [autotag]Jovantae Barnes[/autotag] and [autotag]Gavin Sawchuk[/autotag], the Sooners are loaded with talented runners. In addition to the sophomore running backs, the coaching staff is high on [autotag]Marcus Major[/autotag] and [autotag]Tawee Walker[/autotag] and the roles they’ll be able to play this year. Throw in true freshmen [autotag]Kalib Hicks[/autotag] and [autotag]Daylan Smothers[/autotag], and the Sooners have six guys they feel can help them run the football.

Featuring guys like Farooq and Barnes provide a physical dynamic that should allow Oklahoma to pick up dirty yards after contact and after the catch.

In addition to becoming a more physical team, the Sooners emphasized adding speed this offseason. Freeman and Sawchuk return and Oklahoma also added Smothers, Thompson, and Pettaway to their ranks. That’s a group of guys that are threats to score from any spot on the field any time they touch the ball because of speed.

At quarterback, the Sooners have an experienced veteran who threw for more than 3,100 yards and 25 touchdowns in Dillon Gabriel last season. 2022 was his first at the Power Five level and he was good. Now, he needs to take a step to improve the Sooners fortunes on third and fourth down and in the red zone.

The Sooners lost a lot of talent to the draft this offseason, but that doesn’t mean their devoid of talent. It’s a deep offensive roster that can help the Sooners be even better than they were in 2022.

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‘We’ve got a lot more talent’: DeMarco Murray on this year’s running back room

Eric Gray had a great year last season but running back’s coach Demarco Murray thinks this room is even better than it was a year ago.

One of the strongest position groups at the [autotag]University of Oklahoma[/autotag] is the running back room. It’s a young group but one filled with talent.

[autotag]Jovantae Barnes[/autotag] and [autotag]Marcus Major[/autotag] played quite a bit last season. [autotag]Gavin Sawchuck[/autotag] played really well in the Cheez-It Bowl, which has a great many people excited about what he could do in an expanded role.

Freshman [autotag]Kalib Hicks[/autotag] had one of the best offseason of any freshman [autotag]DeMarco Murray [/autotag]has seen. [autotag]Tawee Walker[/autotag] is consistently being mentioned as the hardest person to tackle for the defense. [autotag]Daylan Smothers[/autotag] was brought up as the best pass-catching back when Murray’s discussed his running back group.

This room has many different players that complement each other well. That should also help take a lot of the pressure off an unproven receiving room. Jeff Lebby wants to run the football. Having a deep stable of backs will give the offensive coordinator even more incentive to pound the rock.

While it will be a running back by committee, Murray said the Sooners hope to have one guy take over and be that “bell cow” back.

“You want to have a guy you can count on day in and day out just like I did with Eric,” Murray said at OU football media day. “Then obviously have some guys to spell him. I think at this point in our room, we’ve got a lot more talent than we did a year ago just overall.”

If you’ve followed Jeff Lebby’s career, you know how much he wants to run the football. For a team that finished 10th nationally in rushing a year ago, to know this room is deeper and more talented should be a scary sight for other teams.

It also should help them finish games better than they did in 2022. Something that should bring a smile to Sooner fans’ faces.

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Oklahoma Sooners running backs are the team’s strength heading into 2023

This might be an overreaction to the bowl game, but the Sooners’ run game could be even better this year.

While the offense for the Sooners was inconsistent in 2022, the run game was really good. Led by a breakout season from Eric Gray, the Sooners finished 10th in the nation with 219.4 rushing yards per game.

Gray ran for 1,366 yards and finished 18th in the nation in rushing yards, while averaging 6.4 yards per carry on 214 attempts. Gray is no longer with the Sooners. He was taken in the fifth round of the NFL draft by the New York Giants.

This might be an overreaction to the bowl game, but the Sooners’ run game could be even better this year.

The Sooners return Jovantae Barnes, who ran for 519 yards and five touchdowns as a true freshman. They also return Gavin Sawchuk, who had 15 carries for 100 yards in their bowl game against a very good Florida State team.

Those two complement each other well. Barnes is more of a physical runner, whereas Sawchuk brings plenty of speed. They are similar to a Trey Sermon and Rodney Anderson backfield. The key for them is going to be the passing game.

After the flashes we saw from Barnes and the Cheez-It bowl performance from Sawchuk, the running back position could very well could be the strength of the team.

When Jeff Lebby’s offense is rolling, it runs on everyone. While Eric Gray had a great season last year, the running back depth wasn’t great after Marcus Major was injured. Barnes stepped up and performed well when thrust into a significant role in his first season at the collegiate level.

This year you have Major back, but the running back depth is much better: Barnes, Sawchuk, Tawee Walker, Oregon transfer Emeka Megwa and true freshmen Kalib Hicks and Daylan Smothers.

While Eric Gray had a great season that he turned into a job with the Giants, Barnes and Sawchuk have higher ceilings. Gray had a hard time breaking away from the defense. That doesn’t seem to be the case with Oklahoma’s lead runners heading into 2023.

With question marks in the wide receiver room and competition still taking place along the offensive line, this running back room has to be the best part of the team, especially early in the season.

In Year 2 in Jeff Lebby’s system for Barnes and Sawchuk, there’s a chance the Sooners’ running game could be even better.

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