Tag: Jadon Haselwood

Sooners wide receiver Michael Woods making himself right at home

Michael Woods was the latest Sooners receiver to lead the team this season after his breakout performance against West Virginia.

Amid a chaotic and lackluster offensive campaign, the Oklahoma Sooners have found some guys who can play and will be major assets if they get better offensive line and quarterback play.

One of those guys is Arkansas transfer, Michael Woods.

Woods transferred after the Arkansas spring game and was a Sooner the next weekend. He spent all summer working with the offense and has made his name felt all season.

The Sooners game against West Virginia is where he shined the brightest. Woods finished with eight receptions for 86 yards averaging 10.8 yards per catch. It became apparent throughout the night that Spencer Rattler’s trust in him went up as the game inched closer and closer to its end. Woods made timely catches on third downs and helped keep the chains moving all night.

For his efforts, Woods became the fourth receiver to lead the Sooners in receiving this season’s four games. Previously, Marvin Mims, Mario Williams, Jadon Haselwood each took a turn as the leading pass catcher. This time, Woods took the lead.

Woods almost operates solely outside and is better for it as it allows guys like Mario Williams, Marvin Mims, and Drake Stoops to maneuver in the slot. Woods’ ability to make contested catches is going to continue to allow him to see the field.

Another aspect of Michael’s game is his ability to fight for yards after the catch. His longest reception came after the catch and his ability to make things happen with the ball in his hands.

Woods finished with 619 yards his last year in Arkansas. Parker Thune of 247 Sports posted an amazing stat about Woods last season in Arkansas and how he would’ve fit into Oklahoma last season.

“Woods’ 619 yards last season represented roughly 26 percent of Arkansas’ offensive output via the pass. That same share of the production in Oklahoma’s 2020 offense would have amounted to 893 yards.”

With that being said, due to the uncertainty of the Sooners offense right now, who knows if Woods will reach that level of production. However, it’s becoming apparent that Woods is a bonafide receiver, and the Sooners are lucky to have him.

With the current state of the Oklahoma offense, they will need his sure hands on these short and intermediate routes until they can unlock the vertical passing game. Woods offers the Sooners veteran leadership and another dependable asset that shows the wide receiver room is not nearly as deficient of playmakers as it may have been last year.

Their biggest obstacle is finding ways to consistently get a passing game going to allow Rattler to spread the wealth and generate more explosive plays, which is what the offense lacks more than anything.

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Oklahoma Sooners’ true freshman among the best in college football

The Oklahoma Sooners have been the beneficiary of yet another standout true freshman wide receiver a year after Marvin Mims led the Sooners in receiving.

The Oklahoma Sooners have hit home runs lately in their recruiting. So well, that several true freshmen have been able to contribute early. Last year saw Marvin Mims and Seth McGowan play key roles for the Oklahoma Sooners.

In 2021, the Sooners are getting contributions again from a true freshman wide receiver in Mario Williams.

Brad Shepard of Bleacher Report highlighted the best true freshmen in college football through the first three weeks of the season and Mario Williams was featured.

All the 5’9″, 186-pounder has done in Norman is squeeze his way onto a crowded depth chart, where he’s the No. 3 receiver on the title-contending Sooners. Quarterback Spencer Rattler and OU’s passing attack hasn’t gotten going yet, sitting 87th in yards per game, and though Marvin Mims (168) and Jadon Haselwood (127) have higher yardage totals than Williams, it isn’t by much. – Shepard

Williams has had a key role in the offense each of the first three weeks of the season with veteran Theo Wease out of action with an injury. Williams was the most targeted wide receiver in week one as the offense attempted to get the bubble screen going against Tulane. In week two, he led the team in receiving before halftime when the starters were still playing against Western Carolina. In week three, though Jadon Haselwood led the way in targets, Williams was just behind him with five of his own.

In the first three games of the season, he’s failed to see fewer than four targets and he’s just behind Haselwood for the team lead in targets and receptions.

Mario Williams has taken full advantage of his opportunity and will continue to make plays in the passing game. He provides the Sooners with another downfield threat but can make plays after the catch in the short or intermediate parts of the field as well.

While teams attempt to take away Marvin Mims in the passing game, and Jadon Haselwood has emerged as a threat as well, opportunities abound for the fab freshman wide receiver. As teams attempt to take away the deep passing game, the Sooners will continue to look to Mario Williams to make plays with the ball in his hands. And through three games this season, there’s no reason to believe he won’t continue to do so.

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Why has Oklahoma struggled in the deep passing game?

A look at OU’s deep passing game, which has been struggling to find any consistency in 2021.

Oklahoma’s reputation as an explosive offense is well documented. This season though, that’s not been the case. There’s still time. Big 12 play starts this weekend at night at home against a decent West Virginia defense. The fans recognize it, the media recognizes it, and it wouldn’t take a rocket scientist to tell you that head coach and play-caller Lincoln Riley recognizes it. The offense doesn’t look right.

More specifically, it’s the vertical passing game that Oklahoma’s offense is lacking the most. The running game has found its footing the last two weeks, which bodes well as the schedule toughens up. The short and intermediate passing game is plentiful and very accessible for the Sooners to exploit. They’ve got to figure out a way to push the ball down the field, or the same issues they faced in the Nebraska game will be their undoing.

What exactly did Nebraska do? They went with a deep “2 high” (2 deep safety look) and forced Oklahoma to sustain long drives and run the ball. Their corners played soft zones, and linebackers used zone blitzes to bring additional pressure. To say it plainly, they refused to let Oklahoma beat them deep.

This season, Oklahoma hasn’t challenged teams down the field. With only six attempts on passes of 20 yards, Rattler is well below that of other Oklahoma quarterbacks from the past few years. Rattler’s not even on pace with his performance from a year ago where here attempted 57 deep passes. He completed 29 of those and earned himself a grade of 98.1 from Pro Football Focus which was third behind two first-round NFL draft picks in Zach Wilson and Mac Jones. On the six deep passes he’s attempted this year, he’s posted a grade of 41.6.

Here’s where things get interesting, though: Oklahoma has brought back virtually everyone from that team last year in wide receivers except Charleston Rambo, who transferred to Miami but added Mike Woods and electric freshman Mario Williams. So, in theory, they should be better or at least roughly at the same pace as 2020.

Marvin Mims was a recipient of a few of those 29 deep completions last year. He operated outside the numbers and didn’t see stiffer coverage until the season went on. He now operates out of the slot quite a bit since Jadon Haselwood and Mike Woods have assumed roles out wide.

It’s not unreasonable to think a few things could be causing the lack of vertical throws, but Lincoln Riley has shown us since he came to Oklahoma, he’s not shy about testing teams in the vertical passing game.

Marvin Mims and Mario Williams are probably the two guys who will get the majority of the deep shots. Creating ways to get the ball down the field to his slot receivers may have proven a lot harder than Riley anticipated. Rattler’s decision-making could be making it harder for Riley to want to push the ball downfield.

That decision-making has been Rattler’s biggest weakness, and having an all-world arm has made it harder for that decision-making to be better than it has been. When a quarterback has the arm talent Rattler does, he believes he can make every throw work, regardless of the coverage. Spencer will have to be better, and Riley will have to give him more opportunities to be better.

This offense won’t be able to unlock its full potential if it can’t threaten teams in the passing game at all three levels. Ultimately, that inability could cost them a chance to make a deep run in the Big 12 and return to the college football playoff.

After a slow start to his career, Jadon Haselwood is a reliable passing game threat for the Sooners

After getting healthy, OU WR Jadon Haselwood is becoming a reliable option in the passing game for the Oklahoma Sooners.

Jadon Haselwood is slowly, but surely becoming the receiver the Sooners expected him to be. For much of his life he was always one of the most physically gifted individuals on the field.

Coming out of high school, he was a top five national recruit. His raw talent speaks for itself but his time in Norman has been less than smooth, halting the rise of the former Cedar Grove High School star.

He was courted by every major school in the country. When it got down to crunch time and who really had a chance for his services, it came down to the hometown team from the state of Georgia or the school his father went to and grew up supporting in Oklahoma.

After initially committing to Georgia, Haselwood backed off the pledge before ultimately committing to Oklahoma.

He was pencilled in to make an immediate impact due to his natural ability to win with size and elite ball skills rather than separation. His first year in 2019 he played in 13 of 14 games, had 19 receptions for 272 yards and a touchdown. Those stats don’t pop out at you but he also played behind one of the best receivers in school history in CeeDee Lamb and with a quarterback in Jalen Hurts who was not the pure passer other Sooner quarterbacks were. Oklahoma relied heavily on the run game in 2019.

2020 brought some rough times for Haselwood. After an offseason spent perfecting his craft and the chance to truly step up the depth chart, he would suffer a significant knee injury that kept him out of action until November.

By that time, quarterback Spencer Rattler had already developed a budding partnership with Marvin Mims, Theo Wease and a few others. Haselwood was still not 100 percent and only played sparingly in three games and made four receptions for 65 yards (16.2 average)

However, he still showed on occasion why the Sooners just could not give up on him.

Plays like this in the Big 12 Championship versus Iowa State are what had people excited about Haselwood coming into 2021.

He would opt out of the Sooners bowl game vs. Florida and went back home to his hometown of Atlanta to continue to rehab, recover, and get better as a receiver.

The decision was met with criticism and murmurs from people who thought he was a lock to transfer. Haselwood and his family would firmly deny that.

The redshirt sophomore came back to OU for spring ball healthy ever  and physically ready to go. He capped off a productive spring with this beauty of a one handed catch in the spring game.

Haselwood would make it through the fall on the cusp of having a real opportunity to cement himself as a bonafide receiver for the Oklahoma Sooners for the first time since he arrived in Norman.

Oklahoma entered this season lacking a true star opposite Marvin Mims. Through three games, Haselwood has emerged from the pack healthy and as productive as he’s been since he signed his national letter of intent.

His quarterback trusts him and most importantly, injuries are behind him. He’s no longer wearing a brace around his knee and he looks effortless in and out of his cuts and breaks on routes separating hauling in completions.

Rattler has targeted Haselwood 20 times in three games. In their recent game against Nebraska, Haselwood saw nine targets and brought in 6 catches for 61 yards. Rattler clearly has trust in him and his emergence can only mean bigger opportunities for Mims and other guys like Mario Williams and Mike Woods as the Sooners continue to find a rhythm in the passing game.

Haselwood’s finally breaking out now that he’s not dealing with injuries or fighting for relevance on the depth chart. He’s just going out there and playing.

As the Sooners begin their quest to retain their Big 12 title and fight themselves back into the College Football Playoff again, Haselwood will have to continue his transformation into the star receiver Lincoln Riley knew he was getting when he recruited him. If this season is any indication, it seems like it could happen any game now for the Sooners.

3 Players who helped the Oklahoma Sooners knock off Nebraska, 23-16

It wasn’t always pretty, but Oklahoma grabbed the win over Nebraska on Saturday. Here are 3 Sooners who helped them get there.

Many people (myself included) expected Nebraska to buckle under the pressure of Oklahoma’s pass rush in the Sooners’ 23-16 win over the Cornhuskers. That only kind of happened. Ultimately, the Sooners defensive front did seal the win, sacking quarterback Adrian Martinez twice in the final four plays. But not before Nebraska gave OU everything it could handle for the first 59 minutes of the game. 

“A win is a win.” And while the Crimson and Cream won’t receive style points for how they took care of business, they finish non-conference play with a spotless 3-0 record.

Here are three Sooners that helped them get there:

Jadon Haselwood, Wide Receiver 

Jadon Haselwood caught Spencer Rattler’s first target of the game for a six-yard gain. He would finish with a team-high nine targets while catching two of three contested balls per Pro Football Focus. Through three games, it is evident that Rattler has big plans for the redshirt sophomore this season.

His six receptions against the Cornhuskers were a game-high. Haselwood continues to leave his fingerprints on the Sooners’ passing attack as both a blocker and a receiver.

Up Next: Graham Breaks the Internet

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Handing Out Grades: Report Card for the Oklahoma Sooners win vs. Nebraska

How did the Sooners position groups perform in their 23-16 win over Nebraska?

It’s always easier to talk about a team’s performance when they’ve won a game. At the end of the day, all that matters is who has more points than the other. Oklahoma didn’t play their best football in the game versus Nebraska. They would tell you that and the world knows that. However, they won the game and that’s what’s most important and in the process, we saw some things that make us feel a bit better about how these first three weeks have gone.

Let’s hand out some grades.

Quarterbacks: B-

Spencer rattler definitely did not play his best game. Most of that was largely due to him and at times his coach Lincoln Riley being stumped by the soft zone and zone blitz Nebraska was sending their way. At numerous points, Rattler looked notably hesitant in the pocket and it led to errant throws and him holding on to the ball just entirely too long. They would eventually find a few chinks in it and string together enough completions and run the ball more than effective enough to win the game.

He started the game on fire going 6 of 7 on his first drive. He made some great throws on third down but made some questionable decisions trying to get the ball to freshman Mario Williams. When the team needed him to make plays, he delivered. He finished 24/34 for 214 yards and a TD pass to Jeremiah Hall to go along with a QB sneak for a touchdown.

Up Next: Grading the Running Backs and Offensive Line

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Social media reacts to the Sooners win, D.J. Graham’s interception

Social media reactions to the Oklahoma Sooners 23-16 win over Nebraska and D.J. Graham’s highlight-reel interception.

The Sooners came away with the most important thing on Saturday. A win. It wasn’t pretty and they didn’t score any style points, but they remained undefeated at 3-0 as they get set to enter Big 12 play with a home date with West Virginia next weekend.

The Oklahoma Sooners offense struggled to mount a consistent offensive attack after their first drive, which ended in a touchdown. Nebraska’s defense kept Spencer Rattler from making many big plays down the field. Rattler was just 24 of 34 for 214 yards and a touchdown against the stingy Cornhuskers defense.

It was a day that didn’t produce a ton of highlights but had the leading candidate for highlight of the year in D.J. Graham’s interception. That’s a play that will live on in Sooners’ highlight reels for years to come.

With that, let’s take a look at some of the best reactions from Twitter in the Sooners 23-16 win over the Nebraska Cornhuskers.

Passing Out Grades: Report Card for Oklahoma after win vs WCU

How did the Sooners grade out in their 76-0 win over Western Carolina? Check out this week’s positional report card.

After a week of re-evaluation and reflection, the Oklahoma Sooners came out and showed the world that they did not put their best foot forward in game one against Tulane. Tulane played hard for the entirety of the game. However, OU flexed at once and was up 37-14 and eventually took their foot off the gas and allowed the door to be left open for Tulane to come back.

Oklahoma let out some frustration and then some against the Catamounts en route to posting a 76-0 final score. They would narrowly escape, and head coach Lincoln Riley made it known things would be different during their game against Western Carolina. The man did not lie.

There were several aspects of the team that had decent but not spectacular moments in the previous game. After the game in our previous report card, we broke down the grades for those units.

NEXT: How did the Quarterbacks and Running Backs Grade Out?

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Oklahoma Sooners score dominating 76-0 win over Western Carolina

The Oklahoma Sooners got a dominant performance on both sides of the football on their way to a 76-0 blowout of Western Carolina.

After a first half that saw the Oklahoma Sooners (2-0) jump out to a 45-0 lead over the Western Carolina Catamounts, Oklahoma continued to pour it on after halftime en route to a 76-0 win over their FCS opponent on Saturday night.

The Sooners rushed for 277 yards and five touchdowns, averaging 7.3 yards per attempt, and Spencer Rattler had five touchdown passes before giving way to the second and third-string quarterbacks after halftime.

13 different Sooners caught passes from Spencer Rattler, Caleb Williams, and Ralph Rucker, and seven different players scored a touchdown in OU’s win.

Williams completed 5 of 10 passes for 84 yards and carried the ball four times for 60 yards, including an electric 59-yard run on a read-option. Rucker completed was 2 of 2 for 10 yards as the Sooners were just trying to milk the clock.

In the first half, Eric Gray led the Sooners rushing attack, picking up 74 yards on nine carries and adding one reception for 20 yards and a touchdown. Kennedy Brooks carried the ball six times for 48 yards and a touchdown before Jaden Knowles, and Todd Hudson took over in the second half. Knowles had four carries, 34 yards, and two touchdowns, and a 54-yard reception. Hudson had nine carries for 25 yards and two touchdowns.

Mario Williams led the way for the Sooners receiving corps with four catches for 49 yards and a touchdown, and Jadon Haselwood caught two touchdowns, and Mike Woods got his first score with the Sooners.

On the night, the Sooners’ defense allowed just 11 first downs and 178 total yards of offense, much of which was after halftime. They forced three turnovers and sacked Western Carolina quarterbacks four times on the evening. Perrion Winfrey led the way with 1.5 sacks. In the first half alone, they recorded three sacks and six tackles for loss as they smothered the Catamounts.

It was everything you could hope for the Oklahoma Sooners when playing an FCS opponent at home. They were dominant in every area of the game and did a nice job of getting their depth involved in the win.

The Sooners next play the Nebraska Cornhuskers at home at 11 a.m. CDT next Saturday, and we’ll have all the coverage in the build-up here at Sooners Wire.

Contact/Follow us @SoonersWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Oklahoma news, notes, and opinions.

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This under the radar receiver could make an impact vs WCU

This Sooner had the best game of his career in week one. He could take his next step tonight versus Western Carolina

The Sooners enter tonight’s game against Western Carolina without the services of Theo Wease, who is anticipated to miss several weeks with a lower leg injury. While Oklahoma’s receiving corp is at its best with Wease on the field, his absence allows other Sooners further down the depth chart to make an impact on game day.

Last week, Mario Williams and Jadon Haselwood did a nice job replacing Wease’s production in OU’s 40-35 victory over Tulane. The tandem combined for 10 catches and 84 yards against the Green Wave, with Williams scoring his first career touchdown behind solid blocking by Haselwood. 

But while Williams and Haselwood were complimenting No. 1 option Marvin Mims, another Sooner was having his own career day against Tulane. 

Brian Darby had just one catch in eight games played in 2020. The 6-0 wide out comfortably surpassed last season’s total with three catches for 26 yards in week one. 

Quarterback Spencer Rattler looked toward Darby in numerous third-down situations. The sophomore moved the chains on 3rd and 12 in the first quarter before picking up four yards on 3rd and six in the second. Rattler attempted to connect with Darby on another third down midway through the third quarter but would sail the ball over the receiver’s head. 

Spencer Rattler’s readiness to target Darby on numerous third downs against Tulane could indicate his trust for the second-year Sooner. Tonight’s game against the Catamounts should provide a clearer picture of how Oklahoma plans to use Darby this season.