Tag: Jaren Kanak

Uber-athletic 4-star linebacker Samuel Omosigho signs with Oklahoma

Oklahoma earns signature of uber-athletic four-star linebacker Samuel Omosigho.

The early signing period is underway, and the Oklahoma Sooners are beginning to put pen to paper with their [autotag]2023 recruiting class[/autotag].

If there’s a short list for the best athlete in Oklahoma’s 2023 recruiting class, four-star linebacker Samuel Omosigho is firmly on the list. The Oklahoma Sooners will be head over heels that they no longer have to worry about anyone coming to poach him away. Omosigho signed his national letter of during the early signing period.

Omosigho fits the mold as a modern-day hybrid linebacker of the future. At 6-foot-1 and 220 pounds, he can run well and is expected to be an asset in coverage.

Omosigho is the No. 67 overall player, the No. 10 player in Texas, and the No. 93 overall prospect in 247Sports’ composite rankings. Samuel Omosigho can do it all.

He could have played Power Five football at receiver, as he had multiple offers to do that as well. Instead, he chose to play for the Sooners over the Florida Gators and Auburn Tigers. Brandon Hall and Ted Roof led the way in his recruitment.

Omosigho has also been very vocal in his efforts to recruit other targets on Oklahoma’s radar to wear the crimson & cream.

He was selected as an All-American Bowl participant during his senior year and was named Co-Defensive Player of the Year in as a junior Texas District 8-5A. He also earned unanimous first-team all-district honors at outside linebacker.

With his signature, Omosigho is locked in and will turn his attention to next season where he may end up in a similar situation as current Sooner, Jaren Kanak. Kanak hasn’t quite settled into a position yet, but he saw time early due to depth issues at LB. Kanak’s natural talent helped him get on the field, and the same could be said about Omosigho, provided he adds some much-needed weight.

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.

10 best quotes from Brent Venables’ Tuesday press conference

10 of the best quotes from Brent Venables’ Tuesday press conference.

Coming off the heels of the loss to West Virginia, Brent Venables didn’t waste anytime, going straight to the media members in attendance for questions.

He covered a wide range of topics from the loss to West Virginia, Bedlam, the importance of bowl games, the impact a poor season can have on recruiting, in addition to discussing players like Eric Gray and Danny Stutsman, and Oklahoma State quarterback Spencer Sanders.

It was nearly an hour of gold from the Head Coach, but here 10 nuggets that stood out from the Tuesday Media availability.

‘He’s on his way to being an outstanding player’: Danny Stutsman putting it all together in year 2

Leading the Sooners in tackles and snaps, Brent Venables believes Danny Stutsman is “on his way to being an outstanding player.” From @john9williams

Report Card: Front seven failures, turnovers doom Oklahoma vs. Baylor

Oklahoma was inconsistent in their performance against the Baylor Bears. How did we grade each position group? From @thatmanbryant

Saturday’s effort for the Oklahoma Sooners followed an almost identical script to the game they played against the Kansas State Wildcats. An inability to stop the run, untimely errors on offense, and a chance late to flip the script. However, a crucial fourth-quarter fourth-down stop was too much to ask for. That same scenario played out in the Sooners 38-35 loss to Baylor.

Things weren’t all bad as a collective, but it wasn’t good enough, and that has become an all too familiar feeling after Oklahoma Sooners games this season.

How did Oklahoma perform in this week’s positional report card?

REPORT: 3-star linebacker Kaleb Spencer flips commitment from Oklahoma to Miami

In a surprise, 2023 three-star linebacker Kaleb Spencer flipped his commitment from the Oklahoma Sooners to the Miami Hurricanes.

The ebb and flow of recruiting provides a roller coaster journey for college football programs through the early signing period to national signing day.

Oklahoma’s 2023 recruiting class took a hit on Friday night when three-star linebacker [autotag]Kaleb Spencer[/autotag] flipped his commitment from the Oklahoma Sooners to the Miami Hurricanes. Spencer had been committed to Brent Venables and Oklahoma since May and was one of the earliest commitments in the 2023 class.

Speaking with Hayes Fawcett of On3 Recruiting, Spencer cited his relationship with the coaching staff, in particular with Miami assistant Jahmile Addae.

According to the 247Sports composite, Spencer is the No. 692 player in the class and ranks as the No. 58 linebacker.

Even with the loss of Spencer, the Sooners still have three linebackers committed to the 2023 class. Linebacker [autotag]Samuel Omosigho[/autotag] is the No. 99 player and No. 8 linebacker in the 2023 class, while [autotag]Lewis Carter[/autotag] ranks No. 159 and is the No. 13 linebacker in the class. Then there’s [autotag]Phil Picciotti[/autotag], who is a top 50 linebacker in the class.

Spencer is an athletic player on the rise, but the competition for snaps would have been fierce in 2023 at the position. Oklahoma’s depth at linebacker has been tested this fall: [autotag]T.D. Roof[/autotag] and [autotag]Shane Whitter[/autotag] were lost for the year.

[autotag]David Ugwoegbu[/autotag], [autotag]Danny Stutsman[/autotag], and [autotag]DaShaun White[/autotag] have been forced to play a lot. Waiting for their chance to shine are four-star linebackers in the 2022 class are [autotag]Jaren Kanak[/autotag], [autotag]Kobie McKinzie[/autotag] and [autotag]Kip Lewis[/autotag]. So while the linebacker depth appears a bit thin at the moment, over the next couple of years, the position will be filled with blue-chip talent up and down the depth chart.

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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.

Eric Gray leading the way of highest-graded Oklahoma Sooners per Pro Football Focus

Eric Gray leading the way for the Oklahoma Sooners as the highest-graded player from Pro Football Focus.

At the midway point of the season for the Oklahoma Sooners, we’ve seen enough that we should have a good feel for who some of the best players are on this squad.

Dillon Gabriel may be the most valuable player on this team. We witnessed the difference in the offense when he wasn’t available. His and the Sooners’ performance against the Kansas Jayhawks a week ago put his value to this team on full display, throwing for 403 yards and a pair of touchdowns.

But there’s another player that should be in the discussion of best player on the squad and that’s Eric Gray. He’s been invaluable this season, rushing for 695 yards and averaging 7.2 yards per carry. Even after the bye week, he’s still inside the top 10 in runs of 10 yards or more.

Gray’s elusiveness has led to a breakaway percentage of 43.7%, which is top 20 in the nation among running backs with at least 96 carries on the season. Breakaway percentage reflects the percentage of carries that have gone for more than 15 yards. Eric Gray’s 12 runs of 15 yards or more is tied for 15th in the nation.

And it’s that ability to break big plays that has the Eric Gray as the highest-graded Sooner through the first half of the season.

Here’s how the Oklahoma Sooners rank and were graded by Pro Football Focus among players with at least 100 snaps.

Report Card: Offense carrying the load in a bounce-back performance

Oklahoma’s offense led the way versus Kansas, and it shows with their grades in this week’s report cards.

The last three weeks had to be an evaluation and film study nightmare for the Oklahoma Sooners. There were injuries, bad technique, and missed assignments on both sides of the ball. They needed a decent performance against a tough Kansas team, and they delivered on Saturday.

The result was far from dominant unless you look at the offense’s performance alone but what transpired was a team desperate for a win that played hard and didn’t let up.

As we do at Sooners Wire, we took time to grade each unit for their performance in Oklahoma’s 52-42 win..

5 defensive players to watch for Oklahoma as they take on No. 20 Kansas

Oklahoma takes on No. 20 Kansas on Saturday and we are looking at 5 defenders to watch.

Oklahoma is desperate for a win to regain any semblance of confidence that they’ve lost over the three-game losing streak.

A tough loss to Kansas State turned into a lopsided shellacking at the hands of TCU in Fort Worth, which ultimately culminated in last week’s 49-0 drubbing thanks to the Texas Longhorns.

In every one of those losses, the Sooners gave up 40 or more points.

On Saturday, the No. 20 Kansas Jayhawks team will stroll into the Palace on the Prairie fresh off their first loss of the season to No. 13 TCU. Kansas comes in with a dynamic offensive team averaging just a touch under 40 points per game.

They are a balanced offensive club averaging 226.3 passing yards per game and 215.2 rushing yards per game. For the majority of the season, the Jayhawks have been led by junior quarterback Jalon Daniels but after suffering an injury against TCU, Daniels looks doubtful for the game on Saturday according to ESPN.

Regardless, Oklahoma will have their hands full Saturday with backup QB Jason Bean, whom they faced last year. Their defense couldn’t stop a nosebleed of late so Daniels or not, this game should pose a significant threat to Oklahoma.

How do they go home Saturday night in their new UNITY uniforms winners? They’ll need better performances from these five defenders.

Report Card: Sooners hit rock bottom in 49-0 shutout by rival Texas

The Oklahoma Sooners doesn’t grade well in their 49-0 shutout loss to the Texas Longhorns in the Red River Showdown.

There’s no easy way to say this, but the Oklahoma Sooners are at rock bottom. Three straight losses, and their latest came in the game that’s circled on the calendar every year for Oklahoma. Texas dismantled Oklahoma 49-0, marking the first time in program history the Sooners have lost by 30 or more points in consecutive games.

The game was hardly competitive, and to add insult to it all, Texas has found their quarterback for the next few years as well. Quinn Ewers looks like he has the “it” factor. Things look bleak for the remainder of 2022 for the Sooners as it currently stands. Their performance yesterday may have been the worst of the season, considering the circumstances. The lack of preparation by the coaching staff seemed to exacerbate the issue.

Without further ado, here is the report card for the Sooners’ performance versus the Texas Longhorns.

Oklahoma Sooners linebacker Shane Whitter out for the season

Per a report from Parker Thune of OUInsider at 247Sports, Oklahoma linebacker Shane Whitter will miss the remainder of the season with a shoulder injury.

An already thin linebacker corps just became thinner. According to a report from Parker Thune of OUInsider and 247Sports, the Oklahoma Sooners will be without linebacker Shane Whitter for the remainder of the season.

In his third season with the Sooners, Whitter suffered a shoulder injury, making him the second Sooners linebacker to be lost for the season. In fall camp, T.D. Roof suffered an elbow injury.

Oklahoma’s depth at linebacker is being tested. As Thune mentions, the Sooners have just four scholarship linebackers that have played this season for Oklahoma.

There’s the starting trio of Danny Stutsman, David Ugwoegbu and (Cheetah) DaShaun White along with true freshman Jaren Kanak.

Whitter had appeared in three games for the Oklahoma Sooners and played 49 snaps.

The loss of Whitter stretches the linebacker group, especially on special teams. More opportunities could be on the horizon for Kanak, Jake McCoy, and true freshmen Kobie McKinzie and Kip Lewis. As Thune notes, it appeared the plan was to redshirt both linebackers, but that may have been dashed with the latest injury.

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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.