dillon Gabriel – Page 78 – Syndication Server

Former Arizona State QB Jayden Daniels to enter the transfer portal; Should Oklahoma pursue?

Former Arizona State QB Jayden Daniels is entering the transfer portal. The Sooners should pursue the talented dual-threat QB.

While most rosters have been set at least for the remainder of winter and into spring practices, there is still so much that can change at the drop of a hat. College sports was flipped on its head by the inclusion of the NCAA Transfer portal, and every year across all sports, athletes find new homes in the middle of the semester with relative ease.

Today’s highlight transfer looks to be Arizona State quarterback Jayden Daniels who plans to enter the portal after multiple seasons at the helm for the Sun Devils. According to Sun Devil Source, part of the 247Sports network, Daniels is expected to enter the portal officially on Thursday.

Carson Breber of SunDevil Source wrote, “People close to Daniels have been in contact with other Power 5 schools in recent weeks, including other Pac-12 teams, in an effort to gauge his options prior to his entrance into the transfer portal.”

Daniels has been the starter for Arizona State. He announced in December that he planned to come back in 2022. While he hoped to return, the Sun Devils have been the subject of a significant NCAA review, resulting in both coordinators and multiple assistants leaving the program.

It’s a big deal for numerous college programs, but in the case of the Oklahoma Sooners, it marks an opportunity for them to add a veteran QB. With plenty of college experience, Daniels could come in and compete to provide an experienced back behind starting quarterback Dillon Gabriel.

With no seasoned depth on their quarterback depth chart, the Sooners should throw their name in the hat for the talented signal-caller that was once the number two dual-threat quarterback prospect in his recruiting class.

Oklahoma is playing with house money here if they decide to pursue him. They have no real ties to Daniels, but they can offer stability, a chance to compete to be the backup, and a football experience, unlike anything Arizona State provides. He’d be able to compete for a conference title and possibly College Football Playoff inclusion as well.

He is a true dual-threat on a playing level in that he can make plays with his arm and legs, but it’s still clear his passing has some work to do.

Daniels was dynamite his freshman year with 17 passing touchdowns to just two interceptions. He earned Pac-12 Freshman of the Year honors and followed up the COVID abbreviated season with another solid season, only throwing one pick.

This past season, something wasn’t right as he threw just 10 touchdowns and 10 interceptions. His feet helped him pick up 710 yards and six touchdowns, though. With that type of dual capability, Jeff Lebby could work with Daniels to help him consistently make plays with his arm. His transformation of Matt Corral to a potential first round pick is pretty solid evidence of this.

With no other options on the table, it would be in the Sooners’ best interest to reach out to Daniels to insert themselves into the race.

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ESPN includes Oklahoma as one of 10 teams that lost the most in the portal

ESPN’s Tom VanHaaren included Oklahoma among his 10 college football teams that lost the most in the transfer portal.

In an ESPN+ story, Tom VanHaaren explored which college football teams lost the most in the transfer portal. Oklahoma was one of his 10 schools that lost the most in the portal and he explored how the Sooners replaced that talent with the portal.

Despite losing a handful of really talented football players to other programs, OU head football coach Brent Venables actually managed it well by adding players from the portal to offset those departures. In fact, just a few short weeks ago VanHaaren had Oklahoma at No. 5 on his list of college football teams that were most helped by the transfer portal.

Van Haaren wrote this about the players that OU saw depart through the transfer portal in his “who’s leaving” section of his breakdown.

The Sooners didn’t see the quantity of players leave as some of the others on the list, but there were plenty of contributors who left the program.

The biggest name was freshman quarterback Caleb Williams, who’d supplanted Spencer Rattler as starting quarterback. Williams joined Lincoln Riley at USC, as did receiver Mario Williams, who was also a freshman at Oklahoma this past season.

Rattler and tight end Austin Stogner both transferred to South Carolina, and receiver Jadon Haselwood left for Arkansas. Haselwood is a former five-star who led the Sooners in receiving touchdowns this past season with six. The staff also saw defensive back Latrell McCutchin follow Riley to USC. – VanHaaren, ESPN.

Now, to the part that should excite Oklahoma fans. VanHaaren was pretty positive about what the Sooners have added in his “who’s coming in” breakdown.

When the number of players transferring out was first reported, it looked almost insurmountable for the new staff to replace all the departures. But Brent Venables and the coaches have done an excellent job replacing key players.

Replacing Williams at quarterback would be difficult no matter whom the coaches brought in, but Venables and new offensive coordinator Jeff Lebby added UCF transfer Dillon Gabriel. Lebby and Gabriel were together at UCF and have a level of comfortability, which is a big piece of the puzzle under center.

In addition to Gabriel, the staff also brought in offensive linemen Tyler Guyton and McKade Mettauer, as well as tight end Daniel Parker Jr. On defense, the staff added defensive backs C.J. Coldon, Trey Morrison and Kani Walker, as well as linebacker T.D. Roof. Hawaii defensive lineman Jonah Laulu and Jeffery Johnson were also added in what ended up being a big haul for the Sooners. – VanHaaren, ESPN.

In addition to Oklahoma’s 2022 signing class which ranks No. 8 in the team rankings on 247Sports, On3 and Rivals, the Sooners brought in players to help them out in a lot of different areas both offensively and defensively through the transfer portal.

“Well, I mean, we wouldn’t have brought them in—I’ll be honest, all nine of them—we wouldn’t have brought them in had we not felt the need for immediate help at those positions. Offensive line the depth there. Tight end, Parker being a really a devastating blocker. Looking at defensively, starting on the defensive line. Both inside and outside, having the chance with Jonah and Jeffery both being able to contribute right away. Being physical guys, guys with some tremendous experience. McKade on his side was a three-year starter, Jeffery I believe was a four-year starter. Just tremendous experience with all of them. Tyler Guyton, just a freshman last year, but played as a freshman for TCU. Really showed his athletic ability, what he was able to do as both an H-back and an offensive lineman. Looking at defensively, second and the third level. T.D. Roof, he’s been a tremendous player at the couple of the schools he was at. Just a great leader, coach’s kid that really the game comes easy to him. Just looking at again the secondary, Kani, Trey Morrison, both those guys give you a lot of versatility, some immediate depth with both some guys that left and guys that graduated both at safety and at corner,” Oklahoma head football coach Brent Venables said of his transfer additions on national signing day.

Venables also made it clear that all of the transfers were players he and his staff felt could contribute.

“I would be surprised if all nine of them don’t contribute right away. So, that’s the thinking really is, you know, you’re not bringing them in from an emergency standpoint. You’re really bringing them in to help you where you’re just a little light in your numbers. And again, these are guys that we also believe that can fit. Philosophically who they are as people, as leaders, just have maturity, experience. To me, really important that these are guys that were good players where they were at and bright futures where they were at. Maybe the right stop, but they looked at the Oklahoma opportunity as a very unique opportunity to be able to play at a place like Oklahoma where again there might be a position of need,” Venables said.

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247Sports ranks Oklahoma’s Marvin Mims as the No. 6 returning wide receiver

247Sports’ Nick Kosko ranked Oklahoma’s Marvin Mims as the nation’s No. 6 returning wide receiver.

247Sports’ Nick Kosko ranked his top-10 returning wide receivers and Oklahoma’s Marvin Mims checked in at No. 6 on Kosko’s list for the 2022 college football season.

The Top 10 returning wide receivers for the 2022 season 👀

Who should be higher? 🤔

📰 https://t.co/EebkmUNmVs pic.twitter.com/HAp6K1QvjK

— 247Sports (@247Sports) February 17, 2022

Here’s what Kosko wrote about Mims.

Mims did more with less last season, upping his yards-per-catch numbers by nearly six yards from his freshman year in 2020. He has a different quarterback in 2022 with Dillon Gabriel or freshman Nick Evers. Either way, Mims is one of the best wide receivers in the Big 12 and could develop into a top-tier NFL Draft prospect this season.

As a member of the Class of 2020, Mims was a four-star prospect according to the 247Sports Composite. He was the No. 26 overall prospect in Texas, the No. 29 wide receiver prospect in the class and the No. 168 overall prospect in the class. – Kosko, 247Sports.

Mims has registered 1,315 receiving yards and 14 touchdown grabs in his two seasons with Oklahoma. The 5-foot-11, 177 pound receiver led the Sooners in receiving yardage each of the past two seasons with 610 and 705 yards during the 2020 and 2021 seasons, respectively.

With starting quarterback Dillon Gabriel at the trigger and offensive coordinator Jeff Lebby calling the shots, Mims is positioned for perhaps his biggest season. In Lebby’s offenses each of the past two seasons at Ole Miss, the Rebels’ leading receivers were featured prominently.

In 2020, Elijah Moore caught 86 passes for 1,193 receiving yards and eight touchdown catches. Then, in 2021, Dontario Drummond hauled in 76 grabs for 1,028 receiving yards and eight touchdown receptions.

“Again, to me, having Dillon, that’s a huge piece of it. What we’re trying to do is, we want to find ways to get them the install right in pre-spring, spring, summer and then fall camp. I feel like if they’re going to get it four times before we ever step on the field against UTEP mentally, then we’re going to be in a really good spot, so we’re going to be able to get that done and be in a good place once we get rolling,” Lebby said of the offensive install at Oklahoma on national signing day.

Kosko’s full top-10 receivers list looked like this: USC’s Mario Williams at No. 10, Maryland’s Dontay Demus Jr. at No. 9, Alabama’s Jermaine Burton at No. 8, Tennessee’s Cedric Tillman at No. 7, Mims at No. 6, LSU’s Kayshon Boutte at No. 5, North Carolina’s Josh Downs at No. 4, Texas’ Xavier Worthy at No. 3, Pittsburgh’s Jordan Addison at No. 2 and Ohio State’s Jaxon Smith-Njigba at No. 1.

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Oklahoma Sooners’ 2022 opponents ranked

The Oklahoma Sooners 2022 schedule offers several tough matchups, but how do their opponents rank when stacked up against one another?

The Oklahoma Sooners get the benefit of home-field advantage against the top teams of the Big 12 in 2022. After going on the road to face Baylor and Oklahoma State last season, they’ll get the 2021 Big 12 championship representatives in the friendly confines of Owen Field.

An early-season clash in Lincoln against the Nebraska Cornhuskers will provide a huge test to the new-look Sooners. Late season road trips to Iowa State, West Virginia, and Texas Tech loom large as well.

Every year in the Big 12 provides a tough slate of games, but the Sooners coaching staff is no stranger to preparing for and playing in tough environments and big-time matchups.

In an early look at the 2022 schedule, let’s see how the Oklahoma Sooners stack up as we rank their matchups from worst to first.

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Oklahoma picked to win the Big 12 in way-too-early prediction by SI’s Killer Frogs

In their way-too-early look at the 2022 football season, SI’s Killer Frogs believes the Sooners are the team to beat in the Big 12.

There seems to be a perception among national analysts that the Oklahoma Sooners are set to take a step back after the coaching change and transfer portal losses.

Like The Athletic’s Steward Mandel, some aren’t considering what Oklahoma gained through the transfer portal to replenish their roster. ESPN’s Bill Connely had the Oklahoma Sooners at No. 7 in his 2022 SP+ projection, but that takes a look at recent success and their No. 8 incoming recruiting class.

Generally, the perception is the Sooners may not be as good as their 2021 team that finished 12-2 and failed to make the Big 12 title game. However, over at SI’s Killer Frogs, they think the Sooners are the team to beat in the Big 12 and have them as their way-too-early prediction as Big 12 champion.

The Sooners dominated the transfer portal. It’s a dirty word to many, but the modern iteration of college football demands you either win the transfer portal or sign a top-tier quarterback in recruiting. Oklahoma signed the fourth-ranked transfer class in the nation per 247Sports. – Gibbons, Killer Frogs on SI

The Sooners attacked the transfer portal and added arguably the most productive and experienced quarterback available in Dillon Gabriel. They also added Jeffrey Johnson out of Tulane and Jonah Laulu out of Hawaii to help offset the losses of Perrion Winfrey, Nik Bonitto, and Isaiah Thomas to the NFL.

On Gabriel, here’s what Killer Frogs writer Brett Gibbons had to say:

That class is headlined by UCF superstar Dillon Gabriel. In 26 games at UCF, Gabriel amassed a ridiculous 8,067 yards, threw for 70 touchdowns, and only 14 interceptions. Per game, that’s over 310 yards and 2.7 touchdowns. This kid is downright special. – Gibbons, Killer Frogs on SI

In addition to Gabriel’s arrival, the Sooners have an experienced duo in Marvin Mims and Theo Wease at wide receiver and are bringing back three starters along the offensive line. Brayden Willis has played a ton for the Sooners and should be primed for a breakout season.

The secondary is experienced with Woodi Washington, D.J. Graham, Justin Broiles, and Key Lawrence, while the linebacker position is the deepest group on the field.

Much has been made of Brent Venables’ inexperience as a head coach. However, Gibbons speaks to the championship pedigree of Venables and several of his assistants, including Ted Roof, who was the defensive coordinator for Auburn’s 2010 title run.

The Sooners still have a lot of work to do to install Venables and Roof’s defense and adopt Jeff Lebby’s offense. Despite the losses, they’ve got experienced players on both sides of the ball that should help minimize the impact of the Sooners coaching change.

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Oklahoma’s Dillon Gabriel ranked No. 1 Big 12 quarterback by Athlon Sports

Oklahoma quarterback Dillon Gabriel earned the top spot in Steven Lassan’s pre-spring, way-too-early Big 12 quarterback rankings.

Dillon Gabriel’s decision to transfer to Oklahoma has the Sooners in a great spot entering 2022. It means OU has a quarterback in place with 25 collegiate starts, over 8,000 passing yards and 70 touchdown passes to his name.

“It was a chance to play with a really good team. This school’s got a lot of history with quarterbacks, but also just with great players,” Gabriel said in his recent podcast appearance.

Athlon Sports’ Steven Lassan projected who each Big 12 team’s starting quarterback would be and ranked the 10 quarterbacks. Oklahoma offensive coordinator Jeff Lebby already named Gabriel the starter on national signing day, so there’s no mystery in Norman.

Lassan ranked Gabriel as the Big 12’s No. 1 quarterback in his “pre-spring, way-too-early” Big 12 quarterback rankings for 2022.

After Gabriel, Lassan ranks Oklahoma State’s Spencer Sanders No. 2, Texas’ Quinn Ewers No. 3, Baylor’s Gerry Bohanon No. 4 and Kansas State’s Adrian Martinez No. 5.

In the bottom half of his Big 12 quarterback rankings, Lassan ranks TCU’s Max Duggan No. 6, Texas Tech’s Donovan Smith No. 7, Kansas’ Jalen Daniels No. 8, Iowa State’s Hunter Dekkers No. 9 and West Virginia’s Nicco Marchiol No. 10.

Here’s what Lassan wrote about Gabriel.

The transfers of Spencer Rattler (South Carolina) and Caleb Williams (USC) depleted Oklahoma’s quarterback room. However, the news isn’t all bad here for the Sooners. Although Williams will be missed, Gabriel arriving as a transfer from UCF softens concerns about this position. Also, Gabriel worked under offensive coordinator Jeff Lebby at UCF in ‘19, so the transition in scheme should be minimal. There’s a lot of new around Gabriel this offseason, so spring practice is all about acclimation and getting everyone comfortable in the new scheme. Developing depth behind Gabriel is a must. – Lassan, Athlon Sports.

OU signed four-star quarterback Nick Evers back in December. Evers is already on campus, so that should help Oklahoma in building that depth behind Gabriel.

In the meantime, Lebby and OU feel great that Evers is leading the Sooners in this transition year.

“The guy’s averaging over 300 yards a game, three touchdowns a game in 26 starts, so you can’t argue that piece of it, but I think probably the thing that I’m most excited about is this guy knows how to operate. He knows how to walk in the building every single day have great ownership in how he’s going to operate, how he’s going to take command of the offense and what it means to be a quarterback. To me, that is huge and that is critical as we set the tone and the standard of how we’re going to do things,” Lebby said.

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‘Very clear what the goals were’: QB Dillon Gabriel on joining Oklahoma

Oklahoma starting quarterback Dillon Gabriel made his first public comments since joining the Sooners on “The Podcast on the Prairie.”

Admittedly, it was a whirlwind for quarterback Dillon Gabriel once he entered his name into the transfer portal on Nov. 27.

After taking several visits, Gabriel announced on Dec. 16 he would be transferring to UCLA. Part of the rationale for Gabriel’s decision was then-Ole Miss offensive coordinator Jeff Lebby’s move to join Oklahoma’s staff.

Of course, things changed quickly with the Sooners’ quarterback situation when true freshman Caleb Williams entered his name into the transfer portal on Jan. 3. It was later on that same day that Gabriel announced his commitment and transfer to OU.

What many didn’t know was that it was also the same day that Gabriel was set to start class at UCLA. Gabriel detailed as much in his first public comments since joining Oklahoma with hosts Jeremiah Hall and Brayden Willis on Wednesday’s edition of “The Podcast on the Prairie.”

“Definitely on the day of me committing, just on my side—I think a lot of people know on Caleb’s side—but on my side, a lot was just going on. I was starting school at UCLA at the time. Didn’t end up going to class, because in the NCAA there’s also a rule that, you know, there’s a couple of things you have to pass to officially be enrolled in that school. So, didn’t end up going to class on that Jan. 3 and then once obviously Caleb announced, you know, called coach Leb and there was just an open opportunity. It was a chance to play with a really good team. This school’s got a lot of history with quarterbacks, but also just with great players,” Gabriel said.

It didn’t take long for Gabriel to get acquainted with the expectations at Oklahoma either. In fact, the 6-foot, 186 pound signal-caller said those standards were clear straight away.

“I think the biggest thing is obviously, you know, not looking past there’s a conference championship, taking care of business on that side of things and then, you know, obviously, being at this caliber school, that national championship is something we always chase. That was not no unknown when I first walked in. Right when I walked in, it was very clear what the goals were. Being around guys like that, shoot, we all make each other better and we all push each other. Even in the workouts, the type of leadership we’ve got in the building, man, it’s crazy to see. I’m just blessed to be here, grateful and, shoot, we’re going to get to work,” Gabriel said.

Something else that has been made evident is that Gabriel is Oklahoma’s guy entering 2022. Lebby wasted no time on national signing day announcing that Oklahoma would proceed with Gabriel as its starter.

“Yeah, Dillon’s our guy right now as we move forward. Again, we’ve got one guy on our roster that’s thrown a college football pass. Obviously, he’s thrown a bunch of them and he’s thrown them really, really well, so we’re going to move forward that way and go get ready,” Lebby said.

Gabriel has made 25 collegiate starts and thrown for 8,037 yards and 70 touchdowns in his career, so he’s accustomed to being the guy.

“I think for me that doesn’t really change anything in terms of like continue to compete, continue to work, be who I am. That’s who I am, too, so it’s a bit easier for me, because I ain’t got to fake it. I continue to work and grind every day because that’s what a quarterback does. They set the standard, but also bring the guys around them to do the same thing. With that, it’s just continue to be cohesive, because it’s a new staff but also because it’s a new team, it’s a new squad. Just getting it all together. You know how it is every single year. That’s really the big thing. The faster we click, the more growth that can be made,” Gabriel said.

Now, it’s about the opportunity that has been presented and continuing to build the relationships with his teammates in the months leading up to the start of the 2022 college football season.

“I think just the whole opportunity in general. It’s just…a lot comes with it, but I’m also the man for the job and excited for it. I know there’s a lot of guys around me too. Just being able to be at a different program and then coming to this one, there’s a lot of great things that come with this program too that a lot of people don’t get to see. There’s a bunch of great dudes. There’s a bunch of smart dudes, too. Just great men and just being around those kind of guys just uplifts the whole program and all the guys in that building. For the most part, just a bunch of great dudes that have opened up, or let me come in with open arms and I’m grateful for it,” Gabriel said.

Gabriel reunites with Lebby in Norman. During his freshman season at UCF in 2019 with Lebby as his offensive coordinator, Gabriel passed for 3,653 yards and 29 touchdowns.

“It’s funny because I think that I’ve got the memory of the UCF Leb, but, man, dude’s grown. I can even see in the offense a lot of things that we were talking about and trying to find answers to. Now, it’s on a whole other level in a really good way. Shoot, I’m just excited. I’m glad to be back with Leb. Obviously, love being coached by him, pushed me to be a lot better than I play and gets me to play at a higher level, so that’s all I can ask for,” Gabriel said.

The Sooners open the season and the Gabriel era on Sept. 3 when they play host to UTEP.

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Breaking down the QB situation at each Big 12 school

A deep dive into each Big 12 quarterback battle.

It was an eventful offseason across all of college football.

The coaching carousel and transfer portal have had a ripple effect across the sport. Many of the biggest changes took place within the Big 12 conference.

The majority of the teams in the Big 12 will have different quarterbacks running their offense next season. Only Baylor and Oklahoma State return bona fide starters from a year ago.

The conference added highly sought-after transfers in Quinn Ewers (Texas), Dillon Gabriel (Oklahoma) and Adrian Martinez (Kansas State). Each of which will have a good chance at the starting job.

The Texas Tech and TCU quarterbacks will get a fresh start under new coaching staffs and offensive styles after rotating in a bunch of guys a year ago.

Now that everything has seemingly settled down with coaches and transfers finding their future homes, we can take take a deeper dive into each Big 12 teams quarterback situation heading into spring ball.

Sooners Nick Evers named a ‘True freshman QB to watch’ in 2022 by Athlon Sports

Athlon Sports names Oklahoma Sooners Nick Evers a “true freshman quarterback to watch” in 222.

While it’s hard to imagine what Sooners true freshman Nick Evers was thinking about four months ago, his life has changed pretty dramatically since.

Four months ago, he was a Florida commit and looked pretty locked into the Gators, who were finishing up a rocky season, which led to head coach Dan Mullen being fired.

Not long after, he was recruited heavily by Jeff Lebby to come to the University of Oklahoma. Evers would flip from Florida to the Sooners and sign during the early signing period.

Another month passed and he’s now a full-time student-athlete at the University of Oklahoma, enrolled, and working out with his new team.

Now, he finds himself on Athlon Sports’ list of true freshmen quarterbacks to watch for 2022.

It’s been a wild ride but one Evers’ has handled well. However, Dillon Gabriel is firmly entrenched as the starter according to Oklahoma offensive coordinator Jeff Lebby. That makes a lot of sense considering Gabriel has spent his freshman year in Lebby’s system and has three years of collegiate football experience. No other quarterback on the roster has thrown a meaningful pass in college football. This is where Athlon Sports thinks Evers has a shot to play this year.

Oklahoma’s quarterback room was hit hard by transfers this offseason. Spencer Rattler departed for South Carolina, and Caleb Williams joined former Oklahoma coach Lincoln Riley at USC. The new Sooner staff used the portal to land a starter (Dillon Gabriel from UCF), but depth behind him is thin. If Gabriel has to miss major time this year, Evers could get the call as the starter. – Steve Lassan, Athlon Sports

They would be correct. There’s no reason to doubt that Evers is likely QB2 after the Sooners break for summer after spring ball. What’s most important is that Evers will need to be coached as if he is going to be the starter simply due to the fact the Sooners do not have the requisite bodies or experience behind him. What Evers does have is raw talent.

The Sooners would be wise to hit the post-spring practice transfer portal for another seasoned quarterback. Even with that as a possible solution that’s not a given because selling someone on coming in to be the backup would be hard.

Assuming that they can’t, Evers development looms large and it’ll be on Jeff Lebby, Matt Holecek (offensive support analyst that helped with QBs at Ole Miss under Lebby), and Brent Venables to prepare the former four-star from Flower Mound, Texas.

Evers is a true dual-threat with a very live arm. He still needs some seasoning and rounding out of his game. A winter and spring with Jerry Schmidt will help him physically mature but getting reps against an actual defense is where we will really see the maturation of the signal caller truly happen.

The Sooners season could hinge on the readiness of their backup quarterback as you’re always just one play from the starter going down for an extended period of time. The Sooners brain trust will have to put a concerted effort into making sure Evers is at least ready to not just play but also succeed in case of an emergency.

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.

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Athlon Sports ranks the Sooners roster 2nd in the Big 12 going into 2022

Looking ahead to the 2022 season, Athlon Sports ranks the Oklahoma Sooners roster the second best in the Big 12

There’s no denying the amount of talent the Oklahoma Sooners lost from their 2021 squad. It’s significant even when you takeaway the transfer portal defenctions to USC. The Sooners have 12 players alone declared for the 2022 NFL draft. And while they’ve tried to mitigate those losses through the transfer portal, the reality is it will take in-house options to replace a guy like Nik Bonitto.

The Sooners are hoping Marcus Stripling, Clayton Smith, Reggie Grimes, or Ethan Downs are able to take a step forward to lead the Sooners pass rush off the edge. But as we sit here in February, it’s still a question mark.

There isn’t a question mark at quarterback, however, as Dillon Gabriel’s been named the starter. No more faux-quarterback competitions.

The Sooners have a solid tandem in Eric Gray and Marcus Major and talented incoming freshman Jovantae Barnes and Gavin Sawchuk to replace Kennedy Brooks.

Even though they lost Mario Williams and Jadon Haselwood, the Sooners have Marvin Mims, Theo Wease returned and they have talented players like Jalil Farooq and Cody Jackson ready to burst onto the scene.

Despite the losses, they still have a talented roster with guys like Jeffrey Johnson, Jonah Laulu, Trey Morrison, and McKade Mettauer adding veteran depth through the transfer portal.

Taking a look at the Big 12 rosters for 2022, Kevin McGuire of Athlon Sports used 247Sports Composite Team Rankings over the last five seasons to determine which team has the most talented roster heading into 2022.

The Texas Longhorns come up number one according to McGuire and the Oklahoma Sooners come in second.

The Sooners are about to undergo its biggest transition in quite some time. With Lincoln Riley leaving for USC and the transfer portal leading quarterback Caleb Williams to the Trojans with him, new head coach Brent Venables is in a tough spot in year one. Of course, he still has a solid roster, all things considered, against his new Big 12 peers, but there will be a bunch of work to do right away in 2022 and moving forward into the SEC. – McGuire, Athlon Sports

McGuire admits “as last year demonstrated, it takes more than talent to win the Big 12 crown.” The Longhorns have finished No. 1 in the Big 12 in 247Sports team composite rankings nine times since 2010. Unfortunately for the Horns, that recruiting success hasn’t led to any championships. Their last Big 12 title came in 2009.

Recruiting rankings matter, but what matters most is what a player does once they get on campus. A guy like Orlando Brown can be a three-star recruit and end up in the NFL playing for one of the best offenses in the league. While Texas has done a good job at recruiting the lack of development and coaching hasn’t allowed that talent to reveal itself on the field.

Oklahoma’s assistants did a fantastic job developing Oklahoma’s recruiting class. It’s more evident today as 11 players were invited to the NFL Draft combine. Only one of those players, Michael Woods, was a transfer player. The rest were high school recruits that Oklahoma targeted, signed, and developed. Texas, on the other hand, has just two players attending the combine.

McGuire admits that his rankings don’t account for roster attrition. And at the same time, every team deals with roster turnover to some extent. The Sooners have done an excellent job retooling for 2022 via the transfer portal and with their recruiting class in just two months on the job.

The Oklahoma Sooners are in a good spot to take their title back in 2022 after the Baylor Bears turned around a 2-win team from 202 into a Big 12 champion in just Dave Aranda’s second season.

Led by Dillon Gabriel, Marvin Mims, and a mostly new and reinvigorated coaching, the Sooners have more than enough talent to be big winners in 2022.

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