Tag: Gabe Ikard

College Football experts say Sooners freshman DT has a chance to start

Could a freshman defensive tackle be on the verge of starting for the Oklahoma Sooners?

The Oklahoma Sooners worked overtime to reestablish a defensive culture over the last several years. In particular, head coach [autotag]Brent Venables[/autotag], co-defensive coordinator and defensive tackles coach [autotag]Todd Bates[/autotag] and defensive ends coach [autotag]Miguel Chavis[/autotag] made improving the defensive line a top priority.

In their first two recruiting classes (2022, 2023), they made splashes, adding four-star prospects [autotag]Gracen Halton[/autotag] and [autotag]R Mason Thomas[/autotag] (2022) and five-star defensive end [autotag]Adepoju Adebawore[/autotag]. But the big recruiting win came in the 2024 recruiting class when they added five blue-chip prospects: [autotag]David Stone[/autotag], [autotag]Nigel Smith[/autotag], [autotag]Wyatt Gilmore[/autotag], [autotag]Danny Okoye[/autotag] and [autotag]Jayden Jackson[/autotag].

There’s a great deal of excitement about the defensive line that’s been put together, but it can be challenging to make the jump from high school football to playing in the SEC. A pair of college football experts believe one of those true freshmen could start up front for the Venables and [autotag]Zac Alley[/autotag]’s defense.

On a recent episode of “The Oklahoma Breakdown” with Sooners legends [autotag]Teddy Lehman[/autotag] and [autotag]Gabe Ikard[/autotag], the duo was asked what they thought the starting offensive and defensive lines would look like for Week 1. Lehman mentioned Jackson could start.

“Well I think defensive line, right now, I would say it’s probably going to be [autotag]Damonic Williams[/autotag]. Then, between [autotag]Jayden Jackson[/autotag] and [autotag]Da’Jon Terry[/autotag], I would probably say I slightly lean toward [autotag]Jayden Jackson[/autotag].”

Ikard said he considered Williams, Jackson and Terry to all be “starters,” with [autotag]Gracen Halton[/autotag], [autotag]David Stone[/autotag] and [autotag]Davon Sears[/autotag] working in rotation roles for the Sooners.

There have been reports Jackson has been having a great camp, continuing the upward trajectory in his development over the last few years. The former IMG Academy prospect had a number of offers out of high school. With his unique blend of size, strength and quickness, Jackson has a chance to be a three-down defensive tackle, making an impact against the run and on passing downs. He plays with really good leverage, and his first step is special. He’s disruptive and does a great job holding his spot when double-teamed.

The Sooners upgraded their defensive tackle room significantly this offseason by adding transfer Damonic Williams. While the hope was their 2024 signees would make an impact, the possibility of Jackson starting signals the potential the class offers in 2024 and beyond.

Along with Williams and Jackson, both Ikard and Lehman agreed [autotag]Ethan Downs[/autotag] and [autotag]R Mason Thomas[/autotag] would be the starting defensive ends for the Sooners Week 1 against Temple.

Downs has been the foundation of the Sooners defensive line over the last few years. His consistent ability as a pass rusher and run defender makes him invaluable along the defensive line. Entering his fourth season, the veteran will lead the way for the Sooners.

Thomas has special athleticism. Injuries have kept him from making a consistent impact, but when he’s been on the field, he’s flashed immense potential. If he can stay healthy this season, he’ll flirt with eight sacks.

The Sooners defensive line is better than what it was a year ago when they improved in short-yardage situations and really across the board. Now it’s only a matter of seeing how much better the defense will be as a whole with an improved unit up front.

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‘It does not change’: Gabe Ikard says the expectations at Oklahoma are still high

On the Unnecessary Roughness podcast, Gabe Ikard shared his thoughts on the expectation for Oklahoma’s season in 2023.

We are 70 days from the start of college football season in Norman.

The Sooners take on Arkansas State to open the year. Many vary on how Oklahoma’s season will go.

Some think it could be a disastrous year again for the Sooners, but others think they could make a run at the College Football Playoff. Based on preseason projections, the national narrative has Oklahoma among those who will contend for the Big 12 title in 2023.

According to a former Sooner great, that shouldn’t come as a surprise.

Former Sooner Gabe Ikard went on the “Unnecessary Roughness” podcast, and when asked his expectations for the Sooners, his answer was simple, “The expectation is to win the Big 12 and go to the College Football Playoff.”

Ikard was then pressed by one of the hosts of the show, Kayce Smith, to give a real expectation.

“It does not change,” Ikard said. “I’m telling you, it does not change. When you look at the Big 12, they are going to play one team where the argument can be made that the team’s got more talent than them. If you’ve got more talent than the other team and you’re well coached, you are supposed to win.”

He followed that by saying going 6-7 last season does not change the expectation, “That’s just life at OU.”

Ikard seems to be speaking from a player’s perspective. The players obviously understand the standard at Oklahoma is to win championships.

With that said, a lot of factors go into being able to do that, and it’s not just talent. Bob Stoops and Lincoln Riley almost always had the most talent but rarely went undefeated. Riley never did.

A lot of stuff has to line up, like your roster construction, the scheme you play in, and how that fits your players.

Also, you can have a bunch of four and five-star players, but unless they develop and reach their ceilings, are they really that “talented?” And as we’ve seen in recent years, star status doesn’t always match reality.

Brent Venables was tasked with a tough job because the last staff did a great job developing the offensive side of the ball but did a poor job developing the defensive side.

Combine that with a lot of the offensive guys they developed left to either follow Riley or go to the NFL, and it makes it tough.

That’s not to make excuses. That’s just facts. Year 2 should be better, and it better be better. Win the Big 12 and making the CFP might be the standard, but that’s not a goal fans should expect. Winning the Big 12 is reasonable, but after seeing all of the holes from last year’s team, making the CFP is a stretch, to say the least.

A realistic goal is nine-plus wins and making the conference title game. After that, we’ll see what happens.

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‘We’re not as far off as it may look’: Bob Stoops confident that Oklahoma’s in good hands

On with Chris Plank and Gabe Ikard, Bob Stoops shared his thoughts on Oklahoma’s 2022 season and why the Sooners aren’t far off.

Nobody likes losing and nobody is satisfied with how the 2022 season went for the Oklahoma Sooners. 6-6 is a far cry from the expectations of Oklahoma Football.

Still, in just his first year with the program, optimism remains about the program’s future under Brent Venables. One staunch supporter of the Oklahoma Sooners’ head coach and his staff is former head coach and the last guy to win a national championship, Bob Stoops.

Stoops joined Chris Plank and Gabe Ikard on SiriusXM College Sports to discuss Oklahoma’s 6-6 season and whether or not Sooners fans should be worried.

 

“I’m not going to be the guy to sit here and talk about major issues,” Bob Stoops shared. “Brent (Venables) and his staff are great, and they can tell you what can be better, and they will. I never overreact to anything; never have.”

With everyone reflecting on what went wrong for the Oklahoma Sooners, Stoops chose to look deeper into the losses and provide a little context.

“We lose our last three games (Baylor, West Virginia, Texas Tech), Stoops said. “They were all by a field goal and all at the last drive of the game. So, you get one stop or make another first down or don’t have a dropped pass or whatever it may be, all of a sudden. It’s different. The two games we don’t play very well in, we don’t have Dillon Gabriel. For most of the game in one (TCU) and the whole game in the other (Texas). And then I look a year ago, and we win five games less than a touchdown. So point being, I get it, I’m not acting like it’s okay, but you just gotta make a couple more plays. Literally, one or two more plays either side of the ball… and you know, you’ve got a couple more wins, and we were able to make em a year ago, and we haven’t this year.”

And while everyone looks to lay blame on one facet of the team or another, Stoops explains there’s plenty of that to go around.

“You could say it’s coaching, or you could say it’s players, it’s both,” Stoops said. “You’ve got to be able to make a play or two more to change the script. And those guys get it. The coaches get it, the players get it. But we’re not as far off as it may look.”

While nobody is happy with the outcome, the reality is that they were just a few plays from potentially being an eight or nine-win team in 2022. That’s no consolation for Venables and his staff as they work to return the Sooners to perennial playoff contention.

As they prepare for their bowl game, the coaches are also tasked with managing incoming and outgoing transfers and making their final push toward the early signing period in just a couple of weeks and national signing day in early February.

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Texas Football: It’s time to stop doubting Quinn Ewers

There aren’t five college quarterbacks playing better football than Quinn Ewers.

Quinn Ewers is the real deal. If you can’t tell by now, I don’t know what would convince you.

The redshirt freshman put on a clinic against Brent Venables’ defense on Saturday. The Oklahoma defense has been bad this season, but found itself in better position to make plays against Texas. Ewers simply carved them up.

One 3rd-and-6 throw illustrates how little Oklahoma’s efforts mattered against Ewers. The talented transfer exited the pocket, rolled left and placed a football right over a defender’s outstretched arms to Bijan Robinson near the sideline.

Quinn fit the ball to Bijan just inside the left boundary. It was the type of play you live with as a defensive coordinator. Unfortunately for Oklahoma defensive coordinator Ted Roof, it’s the type of play Robinson and Ewers routinely make.

As recently as last week, former Oklahoma linebacker Teddy Lehman and others asserted that Quinn Ewers should sit and allow Hudson Card to play in his place against Oklahoma. We discussed the topic but certainly never came to that conclusion. Respectfully, no hot hand is warm enough to justify sitting a healthy Ewers.

Presently, there aren’t five quarterbacks playing better football than Quinn Ewers. He is the reason Texas is capable of a Big 12 title run. It’s time to give the quarterback his respect.

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Former Oklahoma players preview game against Texas

Oklahoma’s defensive front is the Sooners’ only shot of stopping the Texas offense.

Oklahoma might face its biggest challenge on Saturday. At least that’s what two former Sooners players are indicating.

Former Oklahoma greats Teddy Lehman and Gabe Ikard discussed the matchup on their podcast, “The Oklahoma Breakdown.”

You may remember Teddy Lehman from the infamous 2001 Red River Shootout. In the game, Lehman intercepted Chris Simms near the goal line to seal an Oklahoma victory.

Lehman shared an insightful scouting report for the matchup with the Longhorns on Saturday. Among his observations, he noted Texas’ personnel versatility. Additionally he shared Texas seemingly always uses pre-snap motion with a purpose. The former linebacker warned that Oklahoma has to be ready for trickery every time Texas sends motion.

Gabe Ikard called Bijan Robinson, Xavier Worthy and Ja’Tavion Sanders the best players Oklahoma has faced at their respective positions (14:27). He concluded that for Oklahoma to win Saturday it will need to overpower the Texas offensive line.

Saturday will reveal Oklahoma’s plan of attack, but shutting down the Texas offense will not be easy. Even so, it is the Sooners’ best chance of making this game close.

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Oklahoma’s Ty Darlington reportedly joining Billy Napier’s Florida staff

Oklahoma’s Ty Darlington is reportedly set to join Billy Napier’s staff at Florida as a quality control coach.

Oklahoma’s Ty Darlington is reportedly joining Billy Napier’s staff at Florida as a quality control coach.

Gabe Ikard, Darlington’s predecessor at the Oklahoma center position, broke the news Tuesday night.

Following his playing career, Darlington joined OU’s staff in 2017 as an offensive quality control coach where he worked closely with Oklahoma’s quarterbacks. After Lincoln Riley left OU to become the next head football coach at USC, Darlington served as the Sooners’ interim quarterbacks coach in the Valero Alamo Bowl against Oregon.

With Cale Gundy as Oklahoma’s offensive play-caller and Darlington coaching quarterbacks, the Sooners’ offense had a fantastic day versus the Ducks.

True freshman quarterback Caleb Williams finished with 242 passing yards and three passing touchdowns on 21-of-27 passing. Meanwhile, redshirt junior running back Kennedy Brooks carried the football 14 times for 142 rushing yards and notched three rushing touchdowns.

It was a banner day for Oklahoma’s offense and Darlington was a big part of helping make that happen. Now, his next coaching opportunity will come with Napier at Florida.

Darlington took to Twitter to announce his departure from OU.

“I am so incredibly blessed to have been a Sooner, and I will be a Sooner for the rest of my life! For the last 10 years, it has been an honor and a privilege to serve this University as a player and as a coach. This chapter at the University of Oklahoma is coming to a close, but what a ride it has been!” Darlington wrote in his announcement.

He also made it clear that he feels the Oklahoma program is in the proper hands moving forward.

“I could not be more excited about the direction of this program under Coach Venables, Coach Lebby, and the rest of the new staff members! The best is yet to come! I will be leaving to pursue opportunities elsewhere, but I will be a Sooner for life!” Darlington said.

Darlington played in 37 games and started 26 games at center for the Sooners while at Oklahoma during the 2012-15 seasons. The Apopka, Fla., native was the winner of the Campbell Trophy and Wuerffel Trophy in the 2015 season.

The Campbell Trophy is nicknamed the “Academic Heisman” and is awarded by the National Football Foundation to the American college football player with the best combination of academics, community service and on-field performance. Similarly, the Wuerffel Trophy is an award given annually to the college football player that best combines exemplary community service with athletic and academic achievement.

Darlington was selected to the All-Big 12 First Team by the league’s coaches, All-Big 12 Second Team by the AP and named an honorable mention All-American by Sports Illustrated in 2015.

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Former players react to the return of Strength and Conditioning Coach Jerry Schmidt

How did former players react to the news that the Sooners were bringing back strength and conditioning coach Jerry Schmidt?

The Oklahoma Sooners are beginning to fill out their staff. Last night it was reported that they had a “done deal” with Jeff Lebby to be the next offensive coordinator for OU. The bigger news on the night, however, appeared to be the return of former strength and conditioning coach Jerry Schmidt.

As Brent Venables begins to fill out his staff, it appears he’s turning to guys that helped make the Bob Stoops era of Sooners football so successful. Schmidt, affectionately referred to as Smitty, was with the Sooners from 1999-2017.

Players who worked with the former Sooners coach went to Twitter to share their “fond” memories of the brutal workouts Schmidt put them through. We’ve collated some of the best reactions for you to enjoy.

Defensive Personnel Update: Jalen Redmond Might Finally Be Back

It appears No. 2 Oklahoma will have redshirt-sophomore defensive lineman Jalen Redmond back for their showdown against the Kansas Jayhawks.

Fans were no doubt disappointed to see OU radio analyst Gabe Ikard report that freshman wide receiver Mario Williams was out and perhaps senior wide receiver Mike Woods as well versus the Kansas Jayhawks.

Ikard said Oklahoma also looks to be without the services of sophomore cornerback D.J. Graham and senior safety Delarrin Turner-Yell. However, he delivered some news that will be a long-awaited, welcome sight for Sooners fans.

 

This would be fantastic news if in fact redshirt-sophomore Jalen Redmond is back for Oklahoma. The Midwest City product hasn’t played since recording five tackles and 1.5 sacks against the Nebraska Cornhuskers back on Sept. 18th in Norman.

Redmond has been working his way back from a knee injury. He would replenish some much-needed depth up front along the Sooners’ defensive line.

Oklahoma Football: Sooners might be missing several key offensive pieces versus Kansas Jayhawks

No. 2 Oklahoma might be down two of its top pass-catchers against the Kansas Jayhawks according to OU radio sideline analyst Gabe Ikard.

From the looks of things, No. 2 Oklahoma will be without the services of two of its top pass-catchers against the Kansas Jayhawks.

OU radio sideline analyst Gabe Ikard reported that freshman wide receiver Mario Williams is out versus KU.

 

Ikard also said he would be surprised if senior wide receiver Mike Woods plays for the Sooners.

 

If that’s the case, it means Oklahoma is without two of its top four receiving yardage leaders. Woods is second on the team with 294 receiving yards on 25 grabs, while Williams has hauled in 24 passes for 219 receiving yards.

Maybe that just means a monster day for the Sooners’ leading pass-catcher. Sophomore Marvin Mims enters the Kansas game with 456 receiving yards on 21 receptions.

Oklahoma fans would be happy to see redshirt-sophomore Jadon Haselwood follow up his three-touchdown performance against TCU with another big showing against the Jayhawks. Haselwood finished last week with six receptions for 56 yards.

However it plays out, there’s no question it opens the door for other guys to shine as playmakers for OU.

Oklahoma Sooners on Bleacher Report’s All-Big 12 Team of the 21st century

The Sooners have provided some of the best talent in the history of the Big 12. Which of them make this 21st-century All-Big 12 team?

Since the turn of the century, the Oklahoma Sooners have had some of the best players in college football on both sides of the ball. Quarterbacks Jason White, Sam Bradford, Landry Jones, Baker Mayfield, Kyler Murray, and Jalen Hurts have been some of the best at the position in the last 20 years.

The star-studded Sooners have found success between the lines and at awards ceremonies. In the Big 12, no team has come close to their sustained level of excellence over the last 20 years. Though it’s been 21 years since their last national championship, their dominance of the Big 12 can’t be understated.

They’ve been as talented as anyone in the country, even if that hasn’t always translated to national championship success.

It’s no surprise then that when Bleacher Report’s Kerry Miller put together the All-Big 12 Team of the 21st century, Sooners of the past were quite prevalent on the team.

Here were the guidelines he put in place to define the 21st century.

The 21st century began on January 1, 2001. That means the 2000 season does not count. Only seasons in which the program was part of the Big 12 counted. That means players from Nebraska and Colorado from 2001-10, Missouri and Texas A&M from 2001-11 and West Virginia and TCU from 2012-Present were eligible for consideration, but not for the years outside of those ranges. – Miller

Let’s take a look at the Sooners that made Bleacher Report’s All-Big 12 team of the 21st century. Unfortunately, not every spot could be filled with a player from Oklahoma. However, several Sooners could make an argument for inclusion on this list.