Tag: dillon Gabriel

Where does Jackson Arnold rank among SEC quarterbacks?

Jackson Arnold has all the talent in the world to do big things for the Oklahoma Sooners, but where does he rank among SEC quarterbacks entering 2024?

It’s a new era of quarterback play at the University of Oklahoma. A program that has earned the right to be called QBU will unleash its third five-star quarterback prospect since 2021 when Jackson Arnold steps on the field in Week 1 against Temple.

Like the previous five-star quarterbacks, [autotag]Spencer Rattler[/autotag] and [autotag]Caleb Williams[/autotag], Arnold has tremendous talent and upside. But with limited experience entering the season, a great deal of growth has to take place on the fly for the Oklahoma Sooners to contend in the SEC.

Thomas Jones of the Austin American Statesman ranked every SEC quarterback situation heading into the 2024 season, and Arnold and the Oklahoma Sooners landed at No. 9.

Sophomore [autotag]Jackson Arnold[/autotag], a former blue-chip recruit from Denton, steps into the starting role after [autotag]Dillon Gabriel[/autotag] transferred to Oregon. If Arnold stumbles in his first season as a starter, the Sooners can turn to a familiar face for Texas fans in Casey Thompson, a former Longhorns’ starter and an Oklahoma native who’s completing a six-year career arc. But Oklahoma fans probably would rather not see Thompson even though his father, Charles, served as a legendary wishbone quarterback for the Sooners in the 1980s. The 6-1, 210-pound Arnold has a big arm with good mobility and can make every throw, and he’s flashed the star power that seems to characterize most signal callers for the Sooners. – Jones, Austin American Statesman

Georgia’s Carson Beck and Texas‘ Quinn Ewers take the top two spots, according to Jones. They’re followed by Jalen Milroe of Alabama, Jaxson Dart of Ole Miss and Brady Cook of Missouri.

Arnold comes in behind LSU and Tennessee, which are also breaking in new starting quarterbacks. Jones ranks Arnold behind Florida and either Graham Mertz or D.J. Lagway.

The Alamo Bowl performance has really clouded people’s views of Arnold entering the 2024 season. People forget he was one of the best quarterbacks in the country coming out of high school and was only a true freshman last year.

They forget that from September to that late December game, Arnold didn’t really get unleashed to fully run the offense. Sure, he played against BYU, but Jeff Lebby’s risk aversion kept the reins tightly on the former Elite 11 winner. Yes, Arnold turned the ball over four times. He still threw for 380 yards and a pair of touchdowns. He showed poise to stand in the pocket and deliver strikes down the field.

An offseason spent getting all of the first-team reps will have Arnold better prepared to take on the SEC. He’s as talented a quarterback in the country. He simply has to prove it.

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USA TODAY Sports argues defense leading the way for Oklahoma entering 2024

Though questions may linger about the Oklahoma Sooners offense, Brent Venables has a defense that can take the pressure off.

For much of the last decade-plus, questions about the Oklahoma Sooners focused on the defensive side of the ball. There was, no doubt, talent in the era following [autotag]Brent Venables[/autotag]’ departure to Clemson. However, it seldom matched the defensive units from the 2000-2010 seasons.

But that isn’t this Oklahoma Sooners team, which will head into 2024 led by its defense. There’s talent on the offensive side of the ball. A great deal of talent. At the same time, from a production and experience standpoint, the defense is the tip of the spear for the Sooners.

Ranked No. 16 in the preseason US LBM Coaches Poll, the Sooners are a squad that will have more believers if they can answer the questions about the offense, namely [autotag]Jackson Arnold[/autotag] and the offensive line. The college football writers over at USA TODAY Sports provided an outlook for each of the top 25 teams in the US LBM Coaches Poll released Monday. Here’s what they had to say about Oklahoma.

In an unanticipated twist, there are more questions about the Sooners on offense as they transition to the SEC. QB [autotag]Jackson Arnold[/autotag] brings tremendous potential after serving as [autotag]Dillon Gabriel[/autotag]’s understudy. He will be working behind an offensive line with uncertainty. On the plus side, Oklahoma has a deep receiving group with Nic Anderson, Jalil Farooq and Purdue transfer Deion Burks among the standouts. Brent Venables has rebuilt the team’s defense ahead of his third year and is blessed with the return of LB [autotag]Danny Stutsman[/autotag] and DB [autotag]Billy Bowman[/autotag] after both considered the NFL draft. It’s a deep and aggressive group at all three levels that forces turnovers. – USA TODAY Sports

The Sooners may have upgraded at quarterback, but there’s no replacement for experience. That stuff matters, especially with the slate of teams Oklahoma will play in 2024. But Brent Venables and his coaching staff have been building this team so success isn’t solely dependent on the guy who throws the football.

They have a defense that is capable of carrying the load for this team for stretches if Arnold or the offensive line falters.

The Sooners have blue-chip players capable of making splash plays in both the run and pass game at every level. That will take some of the pressure off the offense to score 40 a game for Oklahoma to win. But, if the offense takes off like it’s capable of, the Sooners could very well have an offense that puts up big numbers while the defense stifles opposing offenses.

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Jackson Arnold named to Maxwell Award watch list

Heading into his first year as a starter, Jackson Arnold was named to the Maxwell Award watch list.

Heading into 2024, all eyes are on the Oklahoma Sooners and first-year starting quarterback, [autotag]Jackson Arnold[/autotag]. Arnold, the former five-star prospect will be leading the Sooners into the deep waters of the SEC.

One of the best quarterbacks in the 2023 recruiting class and the first commit of the cycle under Brent Venables, Arnold has all the tools to be a success for the Sooners. Quarterbacking OU brings a ton of attention, and Arnold is already on national award radars. On Monday, he was named to the Maxwell Award watch list.

The Maxwell Award is given annually to the nation’s best all around player.

Three Sooners have won the award since its inception in 1937. [autotag]Tommy McDonald[/autotag] (1956), [autotag]Jason White[/autotag] (2004), and [autotag]Baker Mayfield[/autotag] (2017) won the Maxwell Award.

McDonald led the Sooners to an undefeated season and the top offense in the nation, scoring 45.1 points per game. He ran for 852 yards and 12 touchdowns, caught 12 passes for 282 yards and four touchdowns and threw for 183 yards and three touchdowns. Mayfield and the Sooners finished third in the nation in his Heisman winning season in 2017. White and the Sooners scored 34 points per game in 2004 en route to a 12-1 season, coming up short in the BCS Championship game against USC.

Arnold has some big shoes to fill, taking over for [autotag]Dillon Gabriel[/autotag], but the former Elite 11 MVP and Gatorade National Player of the Year has the talent and the intangibles to lead another high-octane Oklahoma Sooners offense.

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A pair of Ducks make their debut on the Maxwell Award list for 2024

Quarterback Dillon Gabriel and Tez Johnson are on the preseason Maxwell Award List for the 2024 season.

The 2024 college football season is a little over a month away and it’s time for those preseason award catch lists to come out and one of the biggest lists included two Ducks who expected to have monster seasons.

Both quarterback Dillon Gabriel and wide receiver Tez Johnson appear on the Maxwell Award watchlist. The award, which enters its 88th year is presented annually to the most outstanding player in college football.

These pair of Ducks have great seasons will go a long way towards the Duks’ goal of being a college football playoffs team and a possible national championship contender.

As the team enters the Big Ten, the opposition increases. The conference has their share of watch list members. Michigan has one (RB Donovan Edwards, USC has one (QB Miller Moss) and Ohio State has three (QB Will Howard, RB Quinshon Judkins, and WR Emeka Egbuka).

The watch list will be trimmed down as the season goes along, but expect all of the Big Ten players to remain there for quite some time.

Dillon Gabriel and Tez Johnson recognized at Big Ten media day

Both Dillon Gabriel and receiver Tez Johnson were named to the preseason All-Big Ten team at media day.

A game hasn’t been played and two Oregon football players have been recognized by the Big Ten media.

Quarterback Dillon Gabriel and wide receiver Tez Johnson have been named to the pre-season Big Ten All-Conference team when the league’s three-day media day event began in Indianapolis Tuesday morning.

Gabriel, a transfer from Oklahoma, hasn’t played an official down for the Ducks, but many think this could be a Heisman season for Oregon’s newest QB1.

As for Johnson, he made quite the splash last season after spending two years at Troy. After a slow start, Johnson ended up with 86 catches for 1,182 yards and 10 touchdowns for the Ducks in 2023. He now leads a very talented receivers room that could be the best in program history.

Gabriel and Johnson were the only two Ducks named to the team. Ohio State had five players and Michigan had four. Here’s a complete list of preseason honorees.

  • LB Jay Higgins, Iowa
  • DT Mason Graham, Michigan
  • DB Will Johnson, Michigan
  • TE Colston Loveland, Michigan
  • QB Dillon Gabriel, Oregon
  • WR Tez Johnson, Oregon
  • SAF Caleb Downs, Ohio State
  • WR Emeka Egbuka, Ohio State
  • RB TreVeyon Henderson, Ohio State
  • DE JT Tuimoloau, Ohio State
  • DE Abdul Carter, Penn State
  • RB Kyle Monangai, Rutgers

 

Jackson Arnold talks offseason growth, calls turnovers vs. Arizona unacceptable

Jackson Arnold spent time assessing his performance against Arizona and SEC Media Days. He’s ready to be QB1.

[autotag]Jackson Arnold[/autotag]’s first start was far from what many Oklahoma fans and recruiting pundits had in mind. For the former five-star quarterback out of Denton, Texas, his first-ever collegiate start was a roller coaster ride that ultimately ended in defeat. In Oklahoma’s 38-24 loss to Arizona, Arnold threw three interceptions and had a lost fumble.

Since that game, Oklahoma has undergone a myriad of changes. They’ve added players from the portal and Arnold’s had an entire spring to work with new play-caller Seth Littrell. Arnold had his first spring game start.

At SEC Media Days, Jackon Arnold stepped up and reflected on his first collegiate start and what went wrong. He also gave the press an insight into what he’s worked on the most as the starting quarterback for the Oklahoma Sooners as he gets ready for his first full season.

“For Arizona, they did a great job mixing up looks and attacking certain concepts that we run while jumping routes,” Arnold said. “But for us, for me, the turnovers were unacceptable. You can’t have that. Especially coming to the SEC. That’s something I had to learn after watching the game, studying the film, and seeing what I did wrong, whether it was timing or a poor decision. You learn from it; you move on from it.”

It’s completely reasonable for anyone to be frustrated with Arnold’s performance. However, it was the young signal caller’s first start at the collegiate level. Arnold reflected on becoming a better player and leader in the offseason, hoping to flush that memory away ahead of his first full season as a starter.

“After that Arizona game, I had to mature and grow up a lot,” Arnold shared with a full media room. “Stepping into that QB1 role, I had to be a real leader for us, for our team, and just stepping into that role, I know I need to mature as a person, as a player too. And the person I am now and the player I am now has improved drastically from where I was in that bowl game.”

Arnold’s coaches and teammates have recognized his accountability for his play against Arizona and his growth. [autotag]Danny Stutsman[/autotag], one of Oklahoma’s defensive stars and leaders, discussed it during his media availability. Stutsman said, “Only playing one game last year and having all these expectations thrown onto him, he’s done an amazing job filling that role and doing whatever it takes. I think Jackson is starting to understand that and trying to do everything he can to be turned into that leader.”

Oklahoma’s former starting quarterback, [autotag]Dillon Gabriel[/autotag], had a wealth of experience before he took a snap with the Sooners. His journey as the starting QB at OU differs from Arnold’s. However, Arnold signed with Oklahoma, knowing they would be joining the SEC and that he would have the opportunity to be the quarterback to lead them into this new era of Oklahoma football under [autotag]Brent Venables[/autotag].

He’s had an entire offseason to acclimate and prepare for what’s to come. All that’s left is for him to prove it come August 30th against the Temple Owls.

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Ole Miss QB Jaxson Dart has high praise for Jackson Arnold and the Sooners

Jaxson Dart of Ole Miss thinks his counterpart in Norman will have an excellent career.

[autotag]SEC media days[/autotag] are underway in Dallas, Texas this week. All 16 teams in the conference will be heard from over the four-day event, with [autotag]Brent Venables[/autotag] and the Oklahoma Sooners taking their turn Tuesday afternoon.

Day one of the week featured, among other teams, the Ole Miss Rebels, who are projected to have a successful season led by head coach Lane Kiffin and quarterback Jaxson Dart. Ole Miss is an [autotag]SEC[/autotag] veteran, while OU is new to the league in 2024.

Basically every team has been asked about Oklahoma and Texas joining the SEC so far, with Brian Kelly and Shane Beamer among those who were complimentary of the Sooners.

Dart was asked about the Sooners and their new starting quarterback [autotag]Jackson Arnold[/autotag], and he heaped praise on the true sophomore.

“Jackson’s awesome,” Dart said. “He has a really bright future, super talented kid, I look forward to playing against him this year and I look forward to him having a really successful year for himself as well.”

Josh Callaway of 247Sports’ Sooners Illustrated also shared more of Dart’s comments about the OU football program as a whole, including his excitement to play against the Sooners in 2024.

“It’s a game that I feel like our fan base is really looking forward to. It’s going to be a super electric environment,” Dart said. “I’m really looking forward to that game and playing against an elite program.”

Dart has a bit of a history with the Sooners, as Venables looked for his inaugural starting quarterback after [autotag]Caleb Williams[/autotag] entered the transfer portal and made his way to Southern California in the winter of 2022. [autotag]Dillon Gabriel[/autotag] was ultimately the choice to be the first starter of the new era, but OU was reportedly interested in Dart and other players like Chubba Purdy, the younger brother of Brock Purdy. Dart said that the Sooners made the final two for his transfer destination, but he ultimately chose Kiffin and the Rebels.

“To be honest it came down to Ole Miss and Oklahoma for me when I was in the portal,” Dart said. “I think that they’re gonna be really successful this year. Coach Venables does a great job of putting himself in a great situation and it’s gonna be fun to see him again and play against them.”

Ultimately, a tenuous situation worked out for both parties. Dart has blossomed into a star in Oxford under Kiffin. Venables got two seasons of veteran leadership from Gabriel before handing the keys to Arnold for the 2024 season and beyond.

The Sooners and the Rebels will face off on October 26th in Mississippi for a game that will kick off at either 11 a.m. or noon.

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Who will be Oklahoma’s backup quarterback in 2024?

Oklahoma has options on the quarterback depth chart behind starter Jackson Arnold.

Backup quarterback is a position few fans or coaches ever want to think about. However, it’s an important role to have decided before going into any season.

The Oklahoma Sooners have zero doubt who their starting quarterback will be in Year 3 of the [autotag]Brent Venables[/autotag] era. [autotag]Jackson Arnold[/autotag] was tabbed long ago as the player who would be the face of the Sooners as they left the [autotag]Big 12[/autotag] for the [autotag]SEC[/autotag].

The quarterback room as a whole has seen a major reshuffle around the former five-star prospect. Former offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach [autotag]Jeff Lebby[/autotag] is the head coach at Mississippi State. Former offensive analyst [autotag]Matt Wells[/autotag], who worked with the QBs, is the co-offensive coordinator at Kansas State. Former assistant quarterbacks coach [autotag]Matt Holocek[/autotag] followed Lebby to Starkville.

[autotag]Seth Littrell[/autotag] and [autotag]Joe Jon Finley[/autotag] were promoted to co-offensive coordinators to replace Lebby, with Littrell coaching quarterbacks and likely serving as the primary play-caller. Finley will continue to coach tight ends. [autotag]Kevin Johns[/autotag], who was the OC and QBs coach at Duke for the last two seasons, was hired by Venables as an offensive analyst this offseason to replace Wells. Johns has worked under Littrell before and received his coaching start working for former Oklahoma OC and current Tulsa head coach [autotag]Kevin Wilson[/autotag]. [autotag]Jack Lowary[/autotag] and [autotag]Ty Hatcher[/autotag] were hired in December as offensive support staff, and both have worked with QBs.

[autotag]Dillon Gabriel[/autotag], [autotag]Davis Beville[/autotag], [autotag]General Booty[/autotag] and [autotag]Jacob Switzer[/autotag] left the program via the [autotag]transfer portal[/autotag] this offseason, leaving Arnold as the only player in the QB room who was here a season ago.

Behind Arnold, Oklahoma has four other quarterbacks on the roster heading into the 2024 season. Veteran transfer [autotag]Casey Thompson[/autotag], true freshmen [autotag]Michael Hawkins Jr.[/autotag] and [autotag]Brendan Zurbrugg[/autotag], and late transfer enrollee [autotag]Steele Wasel[/autotag] make up the rest of the quarterback unit.

Which of these players has the best chance to be called upon if something happens to Arnold? After all, we saw the situation play out last season when Arnold’s redshirt year was burned because he had to replace Gabriel in the second half of a must-win game against BYU.

Casey Thompson has the experience you look for in a college football backup quarterback. The seventh-year “senior” has made stops at Texas, Nebraska and Florida Atlantic over the past few years. He’s Oklahoma royalty, having seen his father [autotag]Charles Thompson[/autotag] and his older brother [autotag]Kendal Thompson[/autotag] play for the Sooners before him. He joined the program as a walk-on transfer this offseason, and has been recovering from injury, meaning he was unable to participate in spring football.

Michael Hawkins Jr., another Oklahoma legacy, provides the young and uber-talented backup option. The true freshman hails from Frisco Emerson High School in Texas, and he could be the future of the position if he develops over the next two seasons behind Arnold. He’s a dual-threat quarterback, flashing his talent in the [autotag]2024 spring game[/autotag].

Brendan Zurbrugg was the second quarterback the Sooners took in the [autotag]2024 recruiting class[/autotag], and his road to playing time is longer than his fellow true freshman’s. Zurbrugg is from Alliance, Ohio, and will be a depth player this season. He was taken by Oklahoma this year for a reason. He’ll have a chance to show what he has in practice.

Steele Wasel is the newest member of the group, transferring in from Akron in early June. He’ll be the fifth quarterback on the roster this season, and the in-state product will provide depth and a practice arm as a walk-on, getting the opportunity to practice against [autotag]Power Four[/autotag] players in Norman.

Thompson and Hawkins Jr. are the front-runners to serve as Arnold’s backup, but they’re on opposite ends of the experience spectrum. It may depend on the nature or severity of an Arnold injury to see which of them plays. Zurbrugg and Wasel are farther back in the competition, but college football has a way of making the unexpected the reality sometimes.

For instance, if Arnold is injured for part of a game and Littrell needs someone to finish the job, he might go with the steady hand of Thompson to help the Sooners win a close game, especially if it comes in a tough environment. If Arnold’s absence stretches multiple games, the talent and upside of Hawkins Jr. might be the way to go, considering the microscopic margin of error in the SEC. If either of those backups go down, Zurbrugg or Wasel could see an expanded role.

The competition will likely extend throughout fall camp, but Venables, Littrell and Finley need to have an answer at backup QB.

They’ll need to prepare either the experienced Thompson or the young Hawkins Jr. to hold the weight of Sooner Nation on their shoulders if the worst-case scenario happens. While they’re at it, it doesn’t hurt to get Zurbrugg or even Wasel ready to go just in case chaos reigns in 2024.

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EA Sports has two Duck receivers as the fastest in the nation

Tez Johnson and Evan Stewart are rated as the fastest players in the new EA Sports College Football ’25.

The hype for EA Sports’ College Football ’25 has been through the roof. Football fans, as well as non-football fans, are anxious for this game to come out.

Needless to say after waiting a decade, this game will sell millions and millions of copies and downloads.

Fans have their particular teams will surely want to play out the season using their favorite teams and fans of the Oregon Ducks will have a ton of fun leading the Ducks to the digital promise land.

They’ll also play with two of the fastest players in the game as receivers Tez Johnson and Evan Stewart were given a speed rating of 96 and 95, respectively.

Game players will no doubt like to throw the bomb to Johnson and Stewart to utilize that Olympic-type speed. They’ll also be using quarterback Dillon Gabriel to throw those long passes, one of the highest-rated QBs in the game.

The newest Duck signal-caller has an overall rating of 92, the fourth-highest rating among quarterbacks in the game. His speed (81) and awareness (99) make him one of the game’s most dangerous quarterbacks and nearly impossible to defend.

For college football fans and Oregon fans, July 19, the date this game comes out, just can’t come soon enough.

Who will represent the Sooners at next week’s SEC Media Days?

Oklahoma announces their attendees for 2024 SEC Media Days.

SEC Media Days are less than a week away, and there is a palpable energy, to say the least. This is the first media days session that will include Oklahoma and Texas.

This media event marks the first time Nick Saban will not attend SEC Media Days since he took the Alabama job in 2007.

Coaches, players, and media luminaries make this multi-day event compelling for all involved with SEC football.

For Oklahoma, they enter this media day with quiet confidence. The Sooners know who they are, and [autotag]Brent Venables[/autotag] has done an admirable job preparing his program for the SEC on and off the field. We are less than two months away from seeing them put it on the field. As they adapt to their new conference home, the Sooners seem to be in the right state of mind.

Brent Venables has chosen who he will send to SEC Media Days as his student-athlete representatives.

Unsurprisingly, [autotag]Billy Bowman[/autotag], [autotag]Danny Stutsman[/autotag], and [autotag]Jackson Arnold[/autotag] are Venables’ choices. Bowman and Stutsman are both seniors and leaders on this team. Jackson Arnold gets the nod because he is the starting quarterback and has taken on a major leadership role in the offense in his first full year as a starter.

Arnold will have to balance the newfound responsibility as the Oklahoma starting quarterback on and off the field. There is a level of leadership that comes with it. He didn’t have nearly as much responsibility sitting behind [autotag]Dillon Gabriel[/autotag]. Now that Arnold is the guy, he’ll be tasked with being much more of a leader and producing like the Sooners believe he’s capable of.

Stutsman and Bowman passed up the NFL a year early to return and play Oklahoma’s inaugural season in the SEC. They are playing for their present and future. They will be pillars on the team trying to make their way back to the College Football Playoff and improve their draft stocks as both are set to be taken in the 2025 NFL Draft.

Last year at Big 12 Media Days, Danny Stutsman was joined by [autotag]Drake Stoops[/autotag], [autotag]Dillon Gabriel[/autotag], and [autotag]Jonah Laulu[/autotag].

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