Tag: General Booty

3 quarterbacks from 2023 Oklahoma roster to start in 2024

General Booty joins Dillon Gabriel and Jackson Arnold as Oklahoma quarterbacks from last season expected to start under center in 2024.

In the program’s final season in the Big 12, the Oklahoma Sooners went 10-3 overall and 7-2 in conference play, ultimately falling 38-24 to Arizona in the Alamo Bowl.

The Sooners are now members of the SEC, hoping to replicate last year’s success under coach Brent Venables.

Any team that wins 10+ games at the FCS level is usually stocked with depth at each position, and for the Sooners that was particularly true at quarterback – evidenced by the fact that three QBs from last year’s roster are set to start at three different schools this season.

First there is last year’s starter, Dillon Gabriel, who is taking over for Dan Lanning and the Oregon Ducks after throwing for 3,660 yards and 30 touchdowns last season. Gabriel is a top candidate to win this year’s Heisman Trophy award and hopes to lead the Ducks to the CFP.

Next is Jackson Arnold, Gabriel’s backup last year who is now stepping into the starting role for the Sooners. Arnold completed 44 of 69 pass attempts last season, throwing for 563 yards and four touchdowns.

Finally we have all-name captain General Booty, who did not see the field last year for the Sooners but was recently named the starter at Louisiana-Monroe.

Booty will start for ULM and first-year head coach Bryant Vincent. The Warhawks face Jackson State followed by UAB and Texas to begin the campaign.

Booty had a 32-yard touchdown run during Oklahoma’s spring game last year, and should be one of the more fun non-Power conference quarterback transfers to watch this season.

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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Akron transfer quarterback Steele Wasel crystal balled to Sooners

Oklahoma is the favorite to land Akron transfer Steele Wasel after a Crystal Ball prediction from Sooners Illustrated’s Collin Kennedy.

Oklahoma looks to still be in the process of bolstering its quarterback room. While Jackson Arnold is QB1 as Oklahoma heads into the 2024 season, Oklahoma continues to ensure the depth behind him is sufficient.

The last recruiting cycle saw the Sooners bring in not one but two quarterbacks. [autotag]Michael Hawkins[/autotag], a four-star quarterback and an Oklahoma legacy, is fighting for the backup quarterback role. [autotag]Brendan Zurbrugg[/autotag] also joined the Sooners after he shined as the field general for his high school team in Ohio.

To complete the transformation, the Sooners finally saw [autotag]Casey Thompson[/autotag], son of former Oklahoma quarterback Charles Thompson, join the program as a veteran presence.

Most recently, [autotag]General Booty[/autotag] hit the transfer portal earlier this spring and eventually transferred to the Louisiana–Monroe Warhawks.

That brings us to the latest development in Oklahoma’s quarterback room as the Sooners were projected to land Akron transfer QB Steele Wasel just from Collin Kennedy of Sooners Illustrated and 247Sports.

Wasel is an Oklahoma native from Choctaw. He has a powerful arm and has excellent size for the position, standing 6-foot-4 and weighing over 200 pounds. As a senior at Choctaw High School, he threw for 3,325 yards and 38 touchdowns.

He redshirted this past year at Akron and will still have four years of eligibility remaining.

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Sooners transfer QB General Booty commits to Louisiana-Monroe

Former Oklahoma QB General Booty is headed to Monroe, Louisiana to play for the ULM Warhawks.

[autotag]General Booty[/autotag] will be heading home to continue his college football career. After the former Oklahoma Sooners football quarterback entered the transfer portal on May 3rd, he has found a landing spot at Louisiana-Monroe.

Booty has ties to nearby Shreveport, Louisiana, and Booty is the latest in a long line of football players in his family from the area. His father Abram Booty and uncle Josh Booty both played at LSU, while John David Booty was a quarterback at USC.

Booty announced the move on social media, and he’s found a new home in Monroe after spending two seasons at Oklahoma.

Booty arrived in Norman in the summer of 2022, transferring in from Tyler Junior College, where he passed for 3,410 yards and threw 27 touchdowns. He appeared in just two games as a Sooner, against TCU in 2022 and against Arkansas State in 2023. He had a long touchdown run in the [autotag]2024 Spring Game[/autotag] that may have boosted his stock right before entering the portal.

The General has been a popular figure in college football for the last two years because of his unique name. He parlayed that into a NIL deal with Rock ‘Em Socks and his own personal line of boxers, briefs, and socks.

The departures of Booty and [autotag]Jacob Switzer[/autotag] at the quarterback position this spring have reshuffled the depth chart for [autotag]Brent Venables[/autotag] and [autotag]Seth Littrell[/autotag]. Sophomore [autotag]Jackson Arnold[/autotag] will be the starter with [autotag]Casey Thompson[/autotag], [autotag]Michael Hawkins Jr.[/autotag] and [autotag]Brendan Zurbrugg[/autotag] behind him.

Booty’s commitment to ULM means he’s the latest former Sooner to find a landing spot in the portal. Still looking for a home are Switzer at quarterback, linebackers [autotag]Shane Whitter[/autotag] and Konnor Near, tight end Hayden Bray, kicker Gavin Marshall and punter Redi Mustafaraj.

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Former Sooners edge rusher Reggie Grimes commits to Memphis

The former defensive end for the Sooners committed to Memphis after a stint in the transfer portal.

Former Oklahoma Sooners football defensive end [autotag]Reggie Grimes II[/autotag] is going back to his home state to continue his college career. He committed to the Memphis Tigers late Sunday night.

Grimes hails from Brentwood, Tennessee and was a four-star prospect according to 247Sports in the 2020 recruiting class for Oklahoma. Grimes committed to [autotag]Lincoln Riley[/autotag] and [autotag]Alex Grinch[/autotag] in late November of 2019, and spent four seasons as a Sooner, the last two of which were under the direction of [autotag]Brent Venables[/autotag].

 

Grimes was a two year starter at defensive end for Oklahoma, and his best season came in 2022, when he tallied 4.5 sacks and nineteen tackles. He entered the transfer portal in December, after a redshirt year in 2023, and arrives in Memphis for head coach Ryan Silverfield with two years of eligibility remaining.

As it stands, the other former Sooners still searching for a home in the transfer portal are quarterbacks [autotag]General Booty[/autotag] and Jacob Switzer, linebackers [autotag]Shane Whitter[/autotag] and Konnor Near and tight end Hayden Bray.

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Oklahoma Sooners quarterback room will look completely different in 2024

The Sooners have almost completely restacked the quarterback room going into their first season in the SEC.

In early December, Oklahoma’s starting quarterback for the last two seasons, [autotag]Dillon Gabriel[/autotag], announced he was entering the transfer portal.

Gabriel saw the writing on the wall that it was former five-star [autotag]Jackson Arnold[/autotag]’s time to take the reins under center for the Sooners. Gabriel transferred to Oregon to play the final year of his college career.

While Gabriel was certainly OU’s most notable loss in the portal at the QB spot, his was just the first of many departures that have completely reshuffled Oklahoma’s quarterback depth chart.

But let’s start at the beginning. Last season’s quarterback room in Norman consisted of Dillon Gabriel, Jackson Arnold, [autotag]Davis Beville[/autotag], [autotag]General Booty[/autotag] and [autotag]Jacob Switzer[/autotag].

Gabriel’s departure wasn’t even the first domino to fall. Former offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach [autotag]Jeff Lebby[/autotag] was hired to be the head coach at Mississippi State in late November. So, regardless of the portal or recruiting, a different voice was going to call the shots on offense.

[autotag]Seth Littrell[/autotag] and [autotag]Joe Jon Finley[/autotag] were promoted to co-offensive coordinators. Finley is still serving as the tight ends coach, and Littrell is expected to be the play-caller and quarterbacks coach. Additionally, offensive analyst [autotag]Matt Wells[/autotag], who has experience coaching quarterbacks and as an offensive coordinator, was hired away by Chris Klieman to coach QBs for Kansas State in January.

Arnold stuck with the Sooners after Lebby’s departure. By doing so, ehe stablished himself as the starter until he decides to leave Norman. Seemingly, this was the plan all along.

But the QB room has changed around Arnold. From the coach in charge to the players behind the highly-touted sophomore.

After Lebby took the job in Starkville and Gabriel moved to Eugene, the next exit came courtesy of Beville. The former backup transferred to South Carolina after two seasons at OU.

Switzer, the fifth-string quarterback and grandson of [autotag]Barry Switzer[/autotag], entered the portal in April, having spent only 2023 as a Sooner.

And, finally, first-ballot all-name team Hall of Famer and name, image and likeness legend General Booty, entered the transfer portal on May 5. That leaves Arnold as the only player left from the 2023 quarterback room still on the roster.

Though the departures have changed things, the argument could be made that the Sooners have more talent overall under center than they did in November when the regular season ended.

First, the Sooners added two quarterbacks as part of the 2024 recruiting class: [autotag]Michael Hawkins Jr.[/autotag] out of Texas and [autotag]Brendan Zurbrugg[/autotag] out of Ohio.

Hawkins is the more highly touted of the two, and has a chance to be the future of the program after Arnold’s time is up. However, Zurbrugg was a very good prospect. He’ll compete for snaps when given the opportunity. Though both are young, they offer potential and talent for the future of the position.

But Littrell needed a veteran backup behind Arnold to offer stability in case of injury, so the Sooners went and picked up [autotag]Casey Thompson[/autotag] in the transfer portal by way of FAU.

Thompson is OU royalty by way of (most notably) his father [autotag]Charles Thompson[/autotag] and his older brother [autotag]Kendal Thompson[/autotag]. Casey made stops at Texas and Nebraska before his time at Florida Atlantic. He brings six seasons of college football experience to Oklahoma. He carved up the OU defense in the fabled 2021 Red River Rivalry game, holding his own on a field with two five-star quarterbacks in crimson and cream.

In addition, the Sooners have an extremely strong commitment from [autotag]Kevin Sperry[/autotag] in the 2025 class. He will likely compete with Hawkins Jr. (and possibly Zurbrugg) for the starting spot going into the 2026 season if all goes as [autotag]Brent Venables[/autotag] and the coaching staff think it will.

To recap, we’re just over five months removed from the regular-season finale against TCU, and the quarterback room looks vastly different. As it stands, the Sooners will take Jackson Arnold, Casey Thompson, Michael Hawkins Jr. and Brendan Zurbrugg into the 2024 season.

But this is Jackson Arnold’s time to be the face of Oklahoma Sooners football, an opportunity he’s relished and prepared for for years. He is now the most tenured player in the QB room. It’s one more way that the OU faithful will be counting on him to lead the way in 2024 and beyond.

Fortunately, the reshuffling at the position looks to have been a success from a talent acquisition standpoint and quarterback is a strong point for the Sooners heading into Year 3 of the Venables era and Year 1 in the SEC.

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Iowa football reportedly in contact with Oklahoma transfer QB General Booty

Iowa is reportedly contacting Oklahoma transfer QB General Booty.

The quarterback position does not appear to be a position of strength for the Iowa Hawkeyes in 2024. Yes, that’s been the case for a number of years now, but it is especially dire this season.

With Cade McNamara still rehabbing from the ACL injury that sidelined him from Week 6 onward last season and pretty much every other quarterback in the program leaving in the transfer portal, Iowa is running out of passers.

Luckily, the transfer portal is still at Iowa’s disposal. While Iowa has been linked to Northwestern’s Brendan Sullivan, the Hawkeyes could be looking out of conference to find quarterback help.

Pete Nakos of On3 reported on Friday that Iowa has been in contact with Oklahoma transfer quarterback General Booty.

Booty has already held talks with multiple programs, including Iowa. Nakos reported Booty has also heard from Tulsa, Samford, UTSA and Louisiana-Monroe.

Booty appeared in only two games over two years for the Sooners after transferring from Tyler Junior College in Texas. He threw for 3,410 yards and 27 touchdowns in his lone season for Tyler Junior College. He comes from an NFL legacy.

Both of his uncles, Josh and John David Booty, played Division I football before heading to the NFL. General’s father, Abram, was a starting wide receiver for LSU in the late 1990s.

It’s hard to judge what Booty’s impact on Iowa football could be. The Hawkeyes need a quarterback, but Booty didn’t really play for Oklahoma.

That gives zero clue how Booty looks at the Division I level. To be fair, just because he hasn’t gotten the opportunity yet, does not mean Booty can’t have the goods.

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Quarterback General Booty opts for the transfer portal

Quarterback General Booty set to enter transfer portal.

Oklahoma is still seeing a few players opt for the transfer portal now that spring practice has ended. Earlier this week, wide receiver Gavin Freeman opted for the portal. On Thursday, the Sooners received word that backup quarterback General Booty has entered his name into the NCAA [autotag]transfer portal[/autotag].

Booty signed with Oklahoma in May 2022 after he dominated the competition as a quarterback for Tyler Junior College. He threw for 3,115 yards and 25 touchdowns, ranking second in the NJCAA.

He joined the Sooners  as a depth option, and while his career at Oklahoma didn’t result in him becoming a starter or a notable contributor to games, he provided depth.

The Sooners worked tirelessly to rebuild their quarterback room after the departure of Caleb Williams and Spencer Rattler. Booty was a part of that rebuild. Now the Sooners have rebuilt their room with four talented quarterbacks, led by starter and former five-star Jackson Arnold. [autotag]Michael Hawkins[/autotag] and[autotag]Casey Thompson[/autotag] are still duking it out for the backup spot. [autotag]Brendan Zurbrugg[/autotag], another freshman, gives Oklahoma another developmental player on the depth chart.

Oklahoma will enter the season with these four quarterbacks. Next year, they’ll add four-star quarterback Kevin Sperry to the mix.

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Brent Venables says Sooners quarterback room in best position since his arrival to Norman

“We’re in the best position that we’ve been in since we’ve been here.” Brent Venables likes what he sees from the Oklahoma Sooners quarterback group.

The last two years have been the [autotag]Dillon Gabriel[/autotag] show under center at the University of Oklahoma. But now we are heading into a new era, the [autotag]Jackson Arnold[/autotag] era.

The last time we saw Arnold in action, he had one month to prepare against a really good team with a new playcaller. He made some plays that made you say, “Wow” but he also made some plays that left you scratching your head. It was a very typical first start for a true freshman.

While most want to focus on the three interceptions, he also threw for 361 yards and two touchdowns and ran for 65 yards on five carries if you take out the sacks.

Now Arnold has an entire offseason to prepare to be the Sooners starter on their way into the SEC.

But it’s not just him that’s impressed the coaches this offseason. Brent Venables shared with the media what he’s seen from his group of gunslingers.

“The whole position is doing really good,” Venables said. “[autotag]Brendan Zurbrugg[/autotag] has gotten lots of reps, too. But between Jackson, Mike (Hawkins), Brendan, and (General) Booty, Casey’s (Thompson) taking every mental rep. He’s right there next to me when we’ve got the team settings. I feel great. We’re in the best position that we’ve been in since we’ve been here.”

That has coincided with a lot of what we’ve heard about how impressive Hawkins has been this spring. A lot of people were worried about the depth there because Arnold only has started one game and Thompson has the only real experience but is coming off an ACL injury.

Venables’ words say a lot about the quarterback situation. There’s a lot of talent there, and in just a few months, Arnold and the rest of the quarterbacks will have a chance to prove it.

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Best photos from latest Oklahoma Sooners spring practice

Spring ball is heating up and here are the best photos from the Oklahoma Sooners latest spring practice.

Spring practice is in full throttle as the Oklahoma Sooners prepare for the 2024 college football season. There are a number of intriguing storylines to watch this spring with [autotag]Jackson Arnold[/autotag] taking over at quarterback and the turnover along the offensive line.

The newcomers are making a strong impression on the media in attendance. [autotag]Deion Burks[/autotag] and [autotag]Bauer Sharp[/autotag] have stood out in the passing game as Arnold gets acclimated to life as the starting quarterback.

Defensively, true freshmen [autotag]David Stone[/autotag], [autotag]Jayden Jackson[/autotag], and [autotag]Reggie Powers[/autotag] have mixed in with the first-team defense and looked good in the early going.

There are a number of players that the team is taking precautions with on the injury front, so it’s hard to know who exactly is leading the way in the most high-profile position battles.

What we do know is that this is a deeper team than what the Sooners took into the spring a year ago, especially at wide receiver, defensive back, and linebacker. The competitive depth across the board is better this spring than in any year of the [autotag]Brent Venable[/autotag]s era at Oklahoma, which should serve the team well as they try to work out their depth chart.

Here’s a look at the best photos from the Sooners most recent spring practice.