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We’re doing a 2024 NFL mock draft roundup and the Baltimore Ravens are projected to target elite defenders
The Ravens are 9-3 and atop the AFC North, but it’s never too early for a look ahead to the 2024 NFL draft.
Baltimore could lose Justin Madubuike (DT), and Patrick Queen (LB) in free agency.
We recently looked at the mock drafts from around the country, and the consensus has Baltimore reloading on defense, especially in the secondary or at edge rusher.
Here are a few 2024 NFL draft prospects who can answer some questions scouts might have about their NFL potential in CFB Week 9.
The final weekend of October should be another exciting one for college football. There are some big matchups, some interesting games out of the national spotlight and some NFL draft prospects with chances to shine.
It’s a good Saturday slate to focus on some 2024 prospects who still have something to prove to the NFL scouts who will be at their games and pore over their game film. The evaluation process is far from over, even though the college season is entering the final month for a lot of teams.
Here are a few 2024 NFL draft prospects who can answer some questions scouts might have about their NFL potential in CFB Week 9.
The Browns add another piece to the interior of their defensive line in a new mock draft.
As the college football season is in full swing, so are 2024 NFL Mock Drafts. And in a new one done by Draft Wire’s Curt Popejoy, the Cleveland Browns stay in-state to add another piece to the interior defensive line. With the 52nd overall pick in this two-round mock draft, the Browns were mocked the Cincinnati Bearcats’ standout defensive tackle Dontay Corleone.
On the season so far for the Bearcats, Corleone has been credited with a massive nine stop tackles from his interior post. He is one of the very best run-stuffing defensive tackles in college football. As a pass rusher, Corleone has registered one sack and five total pressures along the Cincinnati front.
Another defensive tackle makes sense for the Browns as they currently only have two under contract beyond 2023 in Dalvin Tomlinson and Siaki Ika. Where this doesn’t make sense, however, is that the Browns will more than likely be looking for a gap-shooting three-tech rather than another stuffer like both Tomlinson and Ika are.
It is still far too early to tell, but it is so good to have football back in full swing.
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The Sooners are going to be in for a battle this weekend, let’s take a look at how you can watch, the impact players, injury report and what’s the weather going to be like.
The Oklahoma Sooners are set to take on the [autotag]Cincinnati Bearcats[/autotag] on Saturday. This is the first conference game for both teams.
The Sooners are coming off a 3-0 nonconference slate whereas the Bearcats are coming off a heartbreaking overtime loss to in-state foe Miami (Oh.). But don’t let that game fool you. The Bearcats had seven trips to the red zone and only scored on four of them, two of which were field goals.
That’s how you beat yourself in a game you should win. This game is going to be a lot more interesting than people think. This is the best defensive line the Sooners have faced to date and could be the best they face all season.
But that doesn’t mean the offense isn’t any good. They rank No. 12 in the nation in total yards and No. 8 in the nation in rushing. The Sooners’ 15th-ranked rushing defense is going to be tested once again and the Bearcats have a very good dual-threat quarterback at the helm.
Not to mention this is going to be Fox’s Big Noon Kickoff game, the only time Oklahoma is making the trip as conference foes, and is expected to be a blackout for Cincinnati.
But without giving too much away, let’s dive into how you can watch the Sooners on the road.
The Sooners take on the Cincinnati Bearcats and Color Analyst Jim Kelly lets us know what to expect.
The Oklahoma Sooners open [autotag]Big 12[/autotag] play against the [autotag]Cincinnati Bearcats[/autotag] in their first true road game of the season. The Bearcats come in with one of the best defensive lines in all of college football.
They also come in with the No. 8 rushing attack and the No. 12 overall offense. Many people will look at last week’s loss to the Miami (OH) Redhawks, but in that game, Cincinnati beat themselves. In the Bearcats seven trips to the red zone, they only scored two touchdowns and a pair of field goals.
Color Analyst for the Bearcats, [autotag]Jim Kelly[/autotag], talked with me on my podcast, Eat. Sleep. Bedlam. He said the offense was the unit hurt the most when former Head Coach Luke Fickell left.
“Most of that affected the offense,” Kelly said. “That’s the side of the ball that we thought, we don’t really know what to expect. The defensive side, a lot of folks stayed.”
Two of the guys Sooner fans better get to know are [autotag]Dontay Corleone[/autotag] and [autotag]Jowon Briggs[/autotag]. Those two both play along the defensive line and most likely will be playing on Sundays in the future.
New Head Coach [autotag]Scott Satterfield[/autotag], who was the head coach for the Louisville Cardinals a year ago, brings over an entirely new scheme. Kelly said they are a staff that usually likes to bring pressure.
“They like to blitz a lot, although they’ve played it more straight this year,” Kelly said. “Brian Brown is the defensive coordinator. He came from Louisville with coach Satterfield. They led the nation last year in sacks. So he plays a really aggressive style. However, I don’t think he feels like he has the corners, particularly against a team like Oklahoma and what [autotag]Dillon Gabriel[/autotag] was able to do last week.”
There’s no question the Sooners are going to have to attack this secondary. The running game will probably have to be more outside runs, and offensive coordinator Jeff Lebby may opt for short, quick passes to supplement the running game.
Offensively they have to stop the run. Make [autotag]Emory Jones[/autotag] beat you with his arm. They have three really good running backs to go along with Jones running the ball.
If the Sooners are able to do that, we could be looking at another rout. I don’t expect that. I expect this one to be closer than many people think.
Contact/Follow us @SoonersWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Oklahoma news, notes, and opinions. You can also follow Jaron on Twitter @JaronSpor.
There will be plenty of talent on the field for the Sooners and the Bearcats but here are the five who will make the biggest impact.
[autotag]Big 12[/autotag] play is finally here for the Oklahoma Sooners. The Sooners went 3-0 in nonconference play for the second year in a row under Brent Venables.
But if people remember last season, this is when the wheels fell off. The Sooners went on to win three games the rest of the way and started the conference slate with a three-game losing streak.
This year feels different for the Sooners, but you can’t help but see some similarities in this game vs. the [autotag]Cincinnati Bearcats[/autotag] and last season vs. the [autotag]Kansas State Wildcats[/autotag]. The Wildcats were coming off of a loss to a Group of Five team. The Bearcats are coming off a loss to a Group of Five team.
Kansas State’s strength was their play in the trenches. Cincinnati’s strength is their play in the trenches. Kansas State brought in a running quarterback. Cincinnati brings in a running quarterback.
There are a lot of similarities in this game, but on paper, Cincinnati isn’t nearly as talented as that Kansas State team. But that doesn’t mean they don’t have any talent.
Let’s take a look at five players to watch for both teams for this Week 4 game.
Cayden Green was thrown into the fire on Saturday but says he’s up for the challenge of playing a new position.
It is no secret, that the offensive line has not lived up to expectations, in particular in the run game. The Oklahoma Sooners once again did not average at least five yards per carry something they have said is a goal.
During the win against Tulsa, starting left guard [autotag]Savion Byrd[/autotag] went out with an injury. It’s still unclear what that injury is and how long he will be out for. True freshman [autotag]Cayden Green[/autotag] Troy Everett filled in for Byrd.
Green has primarily been playing left tackle but with Jacob Sexton returning to action, Green moved to guard.
Green said he was made aware of the change early last week.
“I got called in for a meeting with Coach B (Bedenbaugh), and I didn’t really know what it was about, and then he told me Monday. And I was kind of like, ‘Oh okay,” Green said. “As soon as I left the meeting, I had just gotten out of class so I went straight to work.”
Green performed fairly well in his first action at left guard. He’s someone I thought could be in for a move to guard if all went well.
Green said there are some differences with the position switch. “I think schematically they’re about the same,” Green said. “But I think technique-wise and speed of the game-wise, everything happens a lot faster closer to you.”
While it will be a challenge for Green to learn a new position during the season, if he’s able to handle it, it could pay big dividends for the Sooners going forward.
The unfortunate thing for Green is his second game playing a new position will be against one of the best defensive tackles in the nation, Dontay Corleone.
Contact/Follow us @SoonersWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Oklahoma news, notes, and opinions. You can also follow Jaron on Twitter @JaronSpor.
Who are some of the players that could give the Sooners the most problems in 2023?
The 2023 Oklahoma Sooners schedule leaves much to be desired. After canceling the game against Georgia Bulldogs, there aren’t many games that move the needle.
Georgia would likely have the most talented players at each position. Losing the back-to-back national champion certainly kills Oklahoma’s strength of schedule.
But the Sooners still face teams with talent, such as the Texas Longhorns and the TCU Horned Frogs. There’s some talent joining the Big 12 this year as well.
So, who are some of the players Oklahoma fans should be looking out for, and what position groups could give the Sooners the most problems heading into the season?
Let’s take a look at the best player or position group the Sooners will face in 2023.
Next up in our 2023 season previews, the Oklahoma Sooners welcome the Cincinnati Bearcats to the Big 12.
In this opponent preview, we look at the Cincinnati Bearcats. Cincinnati is one of four new Big 12 teams added to the conference this year.
The Sooners face the Bearcats and the BYU Cougars on the road. Cincinnati is replacing a great deal of talent and its coaching staff after Luke Fickell departed for Wisconsin.
New head coach Scott Satterfield has substantial experience at Appalachian State and Louisville. Back in 2019, Satterfield and the Mountaineers beat UNC and South Carolina in nonconference matchups to lead App State to a 13-1 record. His time with the Cardinals offered mixed results, he never finished better than 8-5 and went 2-1 in bowl games.
The Bearcats rank 124th in the nation in returning production, according to ESPN (ESPN+). They return 42% of their offense, which ranks 121st, and 49% of their defense, which ranks 107th.
Gone is starting quarterback from last season, Ben Bryant. In is former Florida Gators and Arizona State Sun Devils quarterback Emory Jones. Jones is entering his sixth college season.
Last year he threw for more than 1,500 yards, seven touchdowns and four interceptions. He also added four rushing touchdowns
They also have to replace leading rusher Charles McClelland, who ran for more than 800 yards and seven touchdowns.
They lose almost their entire receiving corps, replacing them with transfers. Of the six players listed in the two-deep, only one played last season for the Bearcats. That was Chris Scott, who caught four passes for 32 yards.
Defensively they have five transfers listed in their two-deep depth chart while replacing leading tackler in Ivan Pace Jr, who was signed by the Minnesota Vikings as an undrafted free agent. Defensive tackle Dontay Corleone is the player to watch for the Bearcats on defense.
Corleone was named to the preseason All-Big 12 team and is the highest-graded defensive tackle returning for 2023 in the Big 12.
Aside from the highly-regarded defensive tackle, though, Satterfield has his work cut out for him. Their season will depend on how quickly the incoming transfers get up to speed and gel.
This is a game I could see Oklahoma’s defense struggle in. The program, historically, has struggled with mobile quarterbacks, and Jones brings that to the table. It was a major issue in 2022. If the Sooners slow Jones and the quarterback run game down, it could be an encouraging sign that the defense will be improved in 2023.
It will be the Oklahoma Sooners only trip to Cincinnati as a conference opponent, so the Bearcats would love nothing more than to send them back to Norman with a loss.
Score Prediction: 34-20 Oklahoma
Predicted Record: 4-0
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Contact/Follow us @SoonersWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Oklahoma news, notes, and opinions. You can also follow Jaron on Twitter @JaronSpor.
