Tag: Jacob Sexton

Report Card: Offensive fireworks help gloss over Sooners’ defensive woes

Offense dominates the day and passes final Big 12 test en route to a 69-45 win over TCU. We graded the team’s performance in this week’s report card.

Oklahoma has rebounded from the nightmarish season from 2022. They’ll spend the rest of Thanksgiving weekend at 10-2, a sharp contrast from the 6-6 record they amassed before their bowl game last year.

Friday saw the Sooners end their final regular season as Big 12 members in true Big 12 fashion with an old-fashioned shootout. The two teams combined for over 1,000 yards of total offense and 114 points in a 69-45 Oklahoma win.

Senior Day festivities preceded the game, with more than 20 Sooners recognized. Oklahoma’s win also solidified their 59th undefeated home record as well.

As Oklahoma waits to see how the rest of the Big 12 race plays out, we’re here to grade their performance in the win over TCU. Here’s the final report card for the regular season.

Report Card: Defense bent but didn’t break as Oklahoma escaped BYU

How did the Oklahoma Sooners grade out in their win over the BYU Cougars?

Saturday was an odd day for the Oklahoma Sooners. The result is all that matters, but how the Sooners got there was a fascinating journey.

Oklahoma lost Dillon Gabriel at halftime to a concussion, and the Sooners had to roll with untested five-star freshman Jackson Arnold off the bench. The defense was not up to par and jeopardized Oklahoma’s chances of winning. However, two big plays from Billy Bowman and Danny Stutsman changed the game’s complexion.

The game was anything but clean, yet somehow, the Sooners passed their final road test of the season after failing in their last two trips away from Gaylord Family Oklahoma Memorial Stadium.

Without further ado, here are grades for the Sooners win against BYU.

Oklahoma Sooners name captains for Week 12 against the BYU Cougars

The Oklahoma Sooners have announced who the captains will be for this week’s game against the BYU Cougars.

The Oklahoma Sooners head to Provo, UT for the first time in program history to take on the [autotag]BYU Cougars[/autotag]. The Sooners and Cougars have met only two times before.

The first meeting came in the 1994 Copper Bowl, which saw a 31-6 Cougars win in a decade that was one of the worst in program history. The other matchup occurred at the start of the 2009 season in Arlington, TX. It’s a game many Sooner fans remember. That 2009 team had a ton of national hype before the season, but Heisman winner [autotag]Sam Bradford[/autotag] got injured in that game and essentially missed the rest of the season. The Cougars won 14-13.

Now the Sooners head to Utah for their one and only meeting as conference foes. In the build up to the game, the Sooners have announced their captains as Oklahoma attempts to get on the board in the all-time series.

This week’s captains will be [autotag]Kendel Dolby[/autotag], [autotag]Cayden Green[/autotag], [autotag]Gavin Sawchuk[/autotag], [autotag]Jacob Sexton[/autotag], [autotag]Da’Jon Terry[/autotag] and [autotag]R Mason Thomas[/autotag].

It’s a young group with three freshmen and a sophomore. You also get a true freshman in that group.

Green has become a mainstay at guard since coming into the game in the Sooners Red River win in the Cotton Bowl.

Terry has been a force for the Sooners defensive line, eating up blocks to allow the linebackers to fly around. He’s been a key player in the Sooners’ goal-line stand success this season.

Thomas is someone who came in to the season with a lot of hype but has battled injuries for much of the season. He seems to finally be healthy getting his footing. [autotag]Brent Venables[/autotag] mentioned Thomas was their best EDGE defender in the offseason before getting injured.

Sexton has played as a role player on the offensive line since coming back from injury. But last week, with the injury to [autotag]Tyler Guyton[/autotag], Sexton got the start and played really well. Guyton’s status is one of the key injuries to watch this week, but Sexton could be in line for another start.

Sawchuk has really found a rhythm the last few weeks and has given Oklahoma stability at the running back position. He’s rushed for more than 100 yards in back-to-back games.

Dolby has been one of the mainstays on the defensive side of the ball. He’s taken over Justin Harrington’s role as the defensive back version of the cheetah and become an impact player as one of the Sooners’ best cover guys.

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Report Card: Saturday against Tulsa was about passing final nonconference test with flying colors

Oklahoma dominated Tulsa from beginning to end. Take a look as we go position by position and hand out grades for the performance.

Saturday’s dismantling of Tulsa was a much-needed conclusion for the Sooners to their nonconference schedule. The Sooners needed to erase any doubts, bouncing back and disposing of teams handily after a grind-it-out win against SMU.

The concerns about the conservative nature of the offense against SMU were put to rest as Oklahoma slung the ball all over the field for 476 yards.

Defensively, the Sooners grounded the Tulsa passing attack, allowing less than 250 yards through the air.

It was a convincing win and a pleasant, feel-good tuneup before they turn their heads to Cincinnati. Big 12 play is upon them, but before we turn the page, let’s pass out grades for this weekend’s performances.

Five Takeaways from Oklahoma’s dominating win over in-state foe Tulsa

Oklahoma brought the hammer down on in-state foe Tulsa on Saturday as they won 66-17. We have our five takeaways from the game.

Oklahoma wrapped up their nonconference schedule for the 2023 regular season on Saturday with pure domination of their in-state foe, the Tulsa Golden Hurricane. Oklahoma blew the doors off Tulsa 66-17.

From the outset, the Sooners had a weird start as starting receiver and kick returner Jalil Farooq fumbled the opening kick to Tulsa. But from then on, the Sooners were in control.

The week there was a lot of focus on Oklahoma’s offense and the conservative approach against SMU.

Jeff Lebby answered those concerns quickly, and the defense continued their improved and inspired play on the way to a runaway victory.

With the game fresh on our minds, here are our five takeaways from Oklahoma’s win.

Walter Rouse back from his injury and ready to roll

After spending four years playing for the Stanford Cardinal, Walter Rouse is excited about making one last statement at OU.

The [autotag]Oklahoma Sooners[/autotag] made a few splashes last offseason both in the transfer portal and in the [autotag]2023 recruiting class[/autotag]. One of those was the addition of [autotag]Stanford Cardinal[/autotag] offensive tackle transfer, [autotag]Walter Rouse[/autotag].

Rouse finished his four-year career at Stanford with multiple accolades. He was an All-Pac 12 honorable mention selection twice and freshman second-team All-American. Instead of going pro, something he admitted was the plan. He decided to use his COVID year and transfer to Oklahoma.

That’s how he ended up at the [autotag]University of Oklahoma[/autotag]. The Sooners had a need at tackle after the departures of [autotag]Anton Harrison[/autotag] and [autotag]Wanya Morris[/autotag] to the NFL.

Combine that with the injury to freshman [autotag]Jacob Sexton[/autotag], and the Sooners were thin. Rouse comes to the Sooners with 38 starts under his belt and more than 2,500 snaps at the collegiate level. Despite missing the spring due to a shoulder injury, he said he’s ready to go.

“The shoulder feels great,” Rouse said. “A lot better than I expected it to be. Honestly, from the first day to now, I feel like I’ve been getting better every single day and improving just a little bit. Honestly, I’m just having fun. I haven’t been able to hit somebody in about eight months.”

He admits missing the spring led to a learning curve, but he said it helped that he could ask questions and do some mental reps on the side. But even with that missed time, Rouse feels the offensive line is coming along really well.

“Overall, especially the one’s group, we are really connecting with one another, and I’m loving working with Savion (Byrd) on the left side,” Rouse said. “Just really forming a great relationship with one another. Some of the stuff we are doing is non-verbal because we just are already feeling it, it’s already instinctive.”

The offensive line plays a major role in how the offense performs as a whole. It helps to have one of the best in the business coaching them in Bill Bedenbaugh. It might be crazy to say after losing a first-round left tackle, but if this group can come together, they have a chance at being even better than a year ago.

And if they are, the addition of Walter Rouse through the portal will be a big reason as to why.

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Projecting Oklahoma’s offensive depth chart before summer practice

Summer offensive depth chart projection for the 2023 Oklahoma Sooners.

Oklahoma has started summer preparation for the upcoming season. Currently, the players are getting in their strength and conditioning work. There have been no padded practices, and there will not be any for a while, but that will not stop us from trying to figure out what Oklahoma’s starting offense and defense will look like when the Sooners take the field on Sept. 2 against the Arkansas State Red Wolves.

Offensively, the Sooners starting quarterback Dillon Gabriel returned to help quarterback an offense that was 13th nationally in total offense last season. Much was made about Gabriel’s performance but a team finishing in the top 20 in total offense is probably doing many things right. Blaming the quarterback for a 6-7 season seems a bit excessive. In the one game Gabriel didn’t play, Oklahoma scored zero points in its biggest game of the season versus Texas.

Outside of that, Oklahoma underwent departures to the NFL by their starting right and left tackles, Wanya Morris and Anton Harrison, respectively. The latter was selected in the first round by the Jacksonville Jaguars. Marvin Mims went in the second round to the Denver Broncos. Starting running back Eric Gray was drafted in the fourth round by the New York Giants. Starting tight end Brayden Willis is a San Francisco 49er after being drafted in the seventh round.

Oklahoma will have holes to fill. We took our best shot at projecting an offensive depth chart while considering transfer portal acquisitions, recruiting, general roster maturation and turnover from last year’s team.

5 things we’re watching for at Oklahoma’s spring game

Oklahoma has its spring game this weekend, and we’ve got five things we’ll be looking at for Oklahoma’s spring debut of team 129.

Team 129 in Oklahoma’s illustrious football history takes the field publically for the first time on Saturday afternoon. It’s a game and weekend that means a lot to the team, staff, fanbase, and recruits.

Oklahoma comes into this spring off the heels of its worst season in over 20 years. The Sooners were a rough watch at times. Despite that, they still found themselves in a bowl game against a talented Florida State team.

Oklahoma lost the likes of [autotag]Brayden Willis[/autotag], [autotag]Eric Gray[/autotag], [autotag]Anton Harrison[/autotag], [autotag]Wanya Morris[/autotag], [autotag]Marvin Mims[/autotag], [autotag]Jalen Redmond[/autotag], and [autotag]DaShaun White[/autotag] to the NFL Draft process.

The Sooners saw players transfer out but also welcomed in a number of players from their top-five recruiting class. The Sooners attacked the portal with some serious intensity bringing in impact transfers on both sides of the ball.

It’s now time for the world to at least get a glimpse of some of these new Sooners while getting a chance to see how the returning players improved from last year.

Here are our top five storylines heading into the spring game.

Oklahoma Sooners land Stanford offensive tackle transfer Walter Rouse

Oklahoma beefs up its offensive line with Stanford transfer offensive tackle Walter Rouse.

Oklahoma has been hot in the transfer portal. That didn’t stop Saturday afternoon when transfer offensive tackle Walter Rose, a former member of the Stanford Cardinal, committed to the Sooners.

Rouse, a seasoned collegiate tackle, has one year of eligibility remaining and fits a need for Oklahoma’s offensive line in the wake it losing both tackles to the NFL draft. Tyler Guyton looks set to replace Wanya Morris at right tackle. The left tackle spot vacated by Anton Harrison could be a battle between the incoming Rouse, Jacob Sexton, Savion Byrd or Aaryn Parks.

 

Rouse was committed to Nebraska and looked set to enroll at mid-year, but Bill Bedenbaugh flipped the offensive tackle to the Sooners. Rouse started 39 games with over 2,552 snaps at left tackle in David Shaw’s run-heavy offense. Rouse also tied for 12th in fewest pressures allowed in the Pac-12 last season and allowed five sacks. He was penalized once in 2022.

Rouse’s commitment gives the Sooners their 11th portal commitment of the offseason. With Rouse and Caleb Shaffer on the way, the Sooners have stabilized the two spots along the offensive line that desperately needed a veteran presence.

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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. Let us know your thoughts, comment on this story below. Join the conversation today. You can also follow Bryant on Twitter @thatmanbryant.

Stanford transfer offensive tackle Walter Rouse to visit with Oklahoma

Looking to add another Pac-12 offensive lineman, the Sooners are expected to host Stanford transfer offensive tackle Walter Rouse.

The Oklahoma Sooners have struck gold going out west in the offensive line transfer portal in recent years. Offensive line coach [autotag]Bill Bedenbaugh[/autotag] helped bring [autotag]Chris Murray[/autotag] from UCLA and[autotag] McKade Mettauer[/autotag] from Cal. In the 2022-2023 transfer portal, it appears that Bedenbaugh has his sights set on another Pac-12 offensive lineman, Stanford offensive tackle [autotag]Walter Rouse[/autotag].

According to Josh Edwards of CBS Sports and 247Sports, Rouse intends to visit with the Sooners, the Iowa Hawkeyes, and the Nebraska Cornhuskers. A former three-star offensive tackle in the 2019 class, Rouse was considered a top 500 player in the country and the No. 5 player in Washington D.C.

Rouse was Stanford’s sixth-highest-graded player on offense in 2022 and has played more than 2,500 snaps in his four-year collegiate career. Per Edwards’ report on Twitter, Rouse has started 39 games at left tackle.

The Oklahoma Sooners are losing starting offensive tackles [autotag]Anton Harrison[/autotag] and [autotag]Wanya Morris[/autotag] to the NFL draft. [autotag]Tyler Guyton[/autotag], who started when Morris was out due to injury, looks to be in line for one of the tackle spots in 2023. Left tackle, however, is up for grabs.

[autotag]Jacob Sexton[/autotag] had the first shot at it, but an injury suffered early in the Cheez-It Bowl loss forced him to miss most of the game. [autotag]Aaryn Parks[/autotag] entered in relief and helped the Sooners have a nice day running the ball.

With the Sooners needing to replace three starters on the offensive line, finding someone with the experience of Walter Rouse could prove invaluable. Rouse’s four years of experience would aid an offensive line that will be young at right guard and one or both of the tackle spots.

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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. Let us know your thoughts, and comment on this story below. Join the conversation today. You can also follow John on Twitter @john9williams.