Tag: emeka megwa

Another Oklahoma running back enters the transfer portal

The hits continue as the Oklahoma Sooners lose another one to the transfer portal.

Transfer portal season is here. The Oklahoma Sooners had several players enter their names into the portal on Monday. The Sooners have lost three running backs to the [autotag]transfer portal[/autotag]. [autotag]Marcus Major[/autotag] made his announcement earlier Monday.

Major came in as a highly touted running back from Oklahoma City, but injuries held him back. He came back this season and started for much of the year before getting injured once again.

Major finished his Oklahoma career with 194 carries for 833 yards and eight touchdowns. Major has one year remaining and will be a sixth-year senior wherever he decides to go next.

Most likely, this leaves the Sooners with [autotag]Gavin Sawchuk[/autotag], [autotag]Jovantae Barnes[/autotag], [autotag]Kalib Hicks[/autotag] and [autotag]Emeka Megwa[/autotag] for the bowl game.

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5 reasons to be confident in the 2023 Oklahoma Sooners

Though there are certainly questions that still need to be answered, here are five reasons to be optimistic about the 2023 Oklahoma Sooners.

Just about two months away from the start of the 2023 college football season, there are few teams without question marks on the roster.  The Oklahoma Sooners are no different.

But instead of focusing on the unsolved mysteries with the Sooners ahead of fall camp, let’s take a look at some of the reasons to feel optimistic about Oklahoma football heading into its final season in the Big 12 in 2023.

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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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.