Tag: Jeff Lebby

Sooners DB target Maliek Hawkins drops top 5, plans to commit early April

Sooners cornerback target and four-star prospect, Maliek Hawkins, announces commitment timeline, releases top 5..

Flowers are blooming, the sun is out, and the temperatures are starting to heat up across the country. Spring football is on the horizon for Oklahoma football, and the Sooners are getting more clarity about their recruiting targets off the field.

One of those targets,  2025 DB [autotag]Maliek Hawkins[/autotag], has narrowed down his recruitment and is planning to announce his decision in early April. Hawkins announced on his social media pages on Saturday afternoon.

Hawkins, the younger brother of Oklahoma freshman quarterback Michael Hawkins Jr., has narrowed his schools to Mississippi State, Arkansas, Texas State, Texas, and the Sooners.

Mississippi State is now led by Jeff Lebby, who has strong ties to the Hawkins family. via Lebby recruited Michael during his tenure as offensive coordinator at Oklahoma. It’s unlikely that the Bulldogs will be the choice. The same goes for Arkansas and Texas State. Leaving the Sooners and Longhorns set to duke it out again for another Texas-based recruit.

This feels like Oklahoma’s recruitment to lose. The ties to Oklahoma are strong. Maliek’s father Mike played for Brent Venables in the early 2000s and his older brother Michael joined the Sooners this spring.

The Sooners have also been pushing for the younger Hawkins brother for years. The Sooners have long been the favorite in his recruitment with predictions dating back to last March.

The Sooners have to close are the clear frontrunners, but have to continue to recruit the athletic and tenacious four-star cornerback.

As it stands, the Sooners are No. 5 in the country in team recruiting in the class of 2025. A Hawkins commitment would also give them their first secondary commitment of the cycle.

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Sooners pick up Rivals futurecast for 2026 quarterback Dereon Coleman

The Oklahoma Sooners received a Rivals Futurecast for 2026 QB Dereon Coleman.

When Jeff Lebby took over the offense for the Oklahoma Sooners, Brent Venables made it abundantly clear Lincoln Riley’s previous strategy of taking a quarterback every other year would no longer fly. Since then, the Sooners have replenished the quarterback cupboard with talent every year. At least two new quarterbacks joined the program via the high school ranks or transfer portal each year.

As Oklahoma heads into the 2024 season, it legitimately has three scholarship quarterbacks. Jackson Arnold leads the way for 2023, but the Sooners welcome two quarterbacks from the 2024 recruiting class: four-star [autotag]Michael Hawkins[/autotag] and three-star [autotag]Brendan Zurbrugg[/autotag]. [autotag]Kevin Sperry[/autotag] is already committed to 2025, and the Sooners are pivoting to 2026.

This winter, they’ve offered a couple of the top quarterbacks in the cycle: Jared Curtis and Faizon Brandon. Joining the list of signal callers the Sooners have offered in 2026 is Dereon Coleman out of Orlando, Florida. That Oklahoma offer has seemingly moved the needle for Coleman so much that OUInsider’s and Rivals recruiting analyst Parker Thune issued a futurecast favoring the Sooners Thursday evening.

Coleman is a smaller quarterback prospect, standing at six feet. He throws a nice tight spiral and showcases some arm strength, ripping passes over the middle of the field. He also showed the ability to buy time with his athleticism while simultaneously looking down the field to make plays with his arm.

Coleman is a solid prospect, and it will behoove many not to sleep on him as he continues to grow and improve. He isn’t rated for the 2026 cycle, but with Oklahoma, Arkansas, SMU, Ole Miss and Nebraska in pursuit, it’s only a matter of time until he receives an evaluation from the recruiting services.

Dereon Coleman’s Recruiting Profile

Film

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Nic Anderson named a freshman All-American by FWAA

The accolades keep on coming as Nic Anderson was named a freshman All-American by FWAA.

We are nearly a month since the 2023 college football season for the Oklahoma Sooners came to a close. Still, the accolades keep on coming for the Sooners.

This time, it’s for wide receiver [autotag]Nic Anderson[/autotag]. Anderson was named to the Football Writers Association of America Freshman All-America Team, the FWAA announced Tuesday. Anderson joins [autotag]Marvin Mims Jr.[/autotag] as the only Sooners to be recognized by the FWAA as freshman All-Americans.

Anderson finished the year with 798 yards and 10 touchdowns on 38 receptions. His 10 touchdowns were a school freshman record, and his 798 receiving yards are the second most ever by an OU freshman, falling nine yards short of [autotag]CeeDee Lamb[/autotag]’s record.

He ranked fifth nationally with his 21.0 yards per reception and he registered at least 100 receiving yards three times on the year and 90 or more receiving yards in five games.

Anderson was a touchdown machine. He scored multiple touchdowns twice this season. His coming out party was when he snagged three touchdowns on three receptions with a season-high 120 yards at [autotag]Tulsa[/autotag].

He also scored twice while gaining 105 yards on five catches against [autotag]UCF[/autotag]. His most memorable play was when he caught the game-winning touchdown against the Texas Longhorns with 15 seconds remaining.

He had 119 yards on four catches against [autotag]West Virginia[/autotag]. He made his record-setting 10th touchdown on a great catch in the [autotag]Alamo Bowl[/autotag] against [autotag]Arizona[/autotag] on a great throw by [autotag]Jackson Arnold[/autotag].

Anderson was also named a Freshman All-American by The Athletic and was a semifinalist for the Shaun Alexander Freshman of the Year Award and the Earl Campbell Tyler Rose Award.

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Sooners promote Jay Valai to assistant head coach for defense

The Oklahoma Sooners announed on Saturday the promotion of Jay Valai to assistant head coach for defense.

After every season, there’s bound to be some coaching turnover. The Oklahoma Sooners have experienced it at each of their coordinator positions. [autotag]Seth Littrell[/autotag] takes over for [autotag]Jeff Lebby[/autotag] as offensive coordinator and OU announced on Saturday that [autotag]Zac Alley[/autotag] will take over for [autotag]Ted Roof[/autotag] as defensive coordinator.

Though the Sooners will have new coordinators on both sides of the ball heading into the SEC, they’ll keep the rest of their staff intact. In order to make sure they have as much continuity as possible, Brent Venables announced the promotion of [autotag]Jay Valai[/autotag] to assistant head coach for the defense.

“I’m incredibly excited about this defensive staff,” said Venables in an official release from the University of Oklahoma. “The leadership in the room with Coach Valai, Coach Alley, Coach (Todd) Bates, Coach (Miguel) Chavis and Coach (Brandon) Hall is exceptionally strong.”

Valai has served as Oklahoma’s co-defensive coordinator, defensive pass game coordinator, and cornerbacks and nickelbacks coach since joining Venables staff in January of 2022.

Valai has spent time coaching at the collegiate and NFL level and has shown his chops on the recruiting trail over the last two cycles, adding a number of blue-chip prospects from the high school ranks and impact transfers as well.

In promoting Valai, the Sooners assure their defensive staff remains intact as they welcome Alley and Oklahoma’s recruiting shouldn’t miss a beat.

The Sooners defense made significant improvements in 2023 to help Oklahoma earn their first 10-win season of the Brent Venables era. If they can take another step in 2024, it could have the Sooners contending for a spot in the College Football Playoff.

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Seth Littrell not looking to change things up ahead of Sooners Alamo Bowl contest

Though the offensive coordinator will be different, the Sooners offense will remain the same in their Alamo Bowl matchup with Arizona.

Anytime there’s a coordinator change, you can expect things to look different on that side of the ball. However, that won’t happen just yet with the Oklahoma Sooners as they get set to take on the Arizona Wildcats.

Gone is [autotag]Jeff Lebby[/autotag]. Insert [autotag]Seth Littrell[/autotag] and [autotag]Joe Jon Finley[/autotag] as the new offensive coordinators. Littrell will call the plays. While the play-caller will be different, the offense will look a lot like the one Lebby produced with the Sooners.

Speaking with the media in the buildup to the [autotag]Alamo Bowl[/autotag], Littrell spoke about maintaining continuity for the Sooners in their bowl preparation.

“The offense that we’re running will stay consistent with what we’ve done throughout the year,” Littrell said. “Then we can look up after the season and figure out what we need to do moving forward as far as adjustments and kind of evolving and how we grow. But this isn’t the time for that. This is the time for these guys to go out there and play fast and have that camaraderie together.”

The tenets of the offense that have been so good this year will still be evident in Littrell’s execution. They’ll want to play fast, run the football, and try to hit big plays in the passing game. With [autotag]Jackson Arnold[/autotag] in at quarterback, the Sooners will have a bigger arm to help push the ball down the field.

The question is, will the true freshman have time? Oklahoma will be missing their left guard and center from the final three games of the season after [autotag]Cayden Green[/autotag] transferred and [autotag]Andrew Raym[/autotag] opted out of the bowl to prepare for the NFL draft.

The Alamo Bowl may provide our first look at the offensive philosophy of Seth Littrell. Though the scheme and the plays will remain the same, how they’re called, the flow of the game and Littrell’s offensive demeanor may look different.

Oklahoma legacy Michael Hawkins signs with the Sooners

Oklahoma legacy Michael Hawkins signs national letter of intent with the Sooners.

Oklahoma’s recruiting class had one commitment when April rolled around. That verbal commitment was from four-star cornerback Jeremiah Newcombe. When the calendar turned to April, things changed quickly, and the catalyst came when quarterback Michael Hawkins announced his pledge to the Oklahoma Sooners.

Hawkins is an Oklahoma legacy by way of his father, who played defensive back at Oklahoma under Brent Venables. The younger Hawkins is a surgical passer who has steadily improved over the last two years. In his senior season, he put up video game numbers. He accounted for over 50 touchdowns and fewer than seven turnovers in 2023.

He’s been a recruiter for the rest of the class and has remained solid for Oklahoma despite the offensive coordinator switch from Jeff Lebby to Seth Littrell and Joe Jon Finley.

With Hawkins set to enroll early, he’ll get his opportunity to learn the playbook and get comfortable as an Oklahoma quarterback.

More from the [autotag]2024 Early Signing Period[/autotag]

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Jackson Arnold ‘excited’ to work new Sooners Offensive Coordinator Seth Littrell

Oklahoma has a new play-caller heading into the bowl game but Jackson Arnold feels he’s the right man for the job.

The Oklahoma Sooners will have to replace two key offensive figures heading into the bowl game and next year into the [autotag]SEC[/autotag]. [autotag]Dillon Gabriel[/autotag] and [autotag]Jeff Lebby[/autotag] are off to other schools. Gabriel to play for the Oregon Ducks and Lebby to be the head coach of the Mississippi State Bulldogs.

So, now it’s time for the [autotag]Jackson Arnold[/autotag] and [autotag]Seth Littrell[/autotag] show. Arnold will take over as the starting quarterback and Littrell will take over as co-offensive coordinator with [autotag]Joe Jon Finley[/autotag] and will handle the playcalling.

Arnold talked about what Littrell has been like in his new role with the team. “It’s hard for Coach Littrell because we are still going off of Lebby’s plays and his terminology right now,” Arnold said. “So, I won’t see Coach Littrell take over and implement his styles until the spring, but so far, I’ve seen him step into a more vocal role. Especially in our meeting rooms. That was something I was very curious to see, knowing him coming from an analyst to a position to an OC now, I was curious to see that transition and I think he’s stepped up and been a more vocal leader for us.”

Littrell has a history of leading some high-powered offenses, whether that was for the North Carolina Tar Heels, Indiana Hoosiers, or his most recent stop as the head coach of the North Texas Mean Green.

But the main question for myself and for Sooner fans is what does he like to do? Is he more of a running guy because of his background as a fullback or is he more of a passing guy because of his background in the Air Raid?

“He’s very balanced,” Arnold said. “He loves to run the ball, he loves to throw the ball. There’s not one thing he specializes in. But being an H-back as he was a tough guy. So, obviously, he’s going to run the ball. But he’s a very balanced OC, and I’m super excited to get to work with him.”

While some may not have loved the hire, it’s clear his players are excited and believe he’s the right man for the job. Ultimately, that’s all that matters.

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Mississippi State set to hire Alabama OLB Coach Coleman Hutzler as their next DC

Alabama football set to lose first coach from 2023 coaching staff

The season isn’t even over yet, but the annual Alabama Crimson Tide coaching staff purge has already begun. That is the gift and the curse of Nick Saban’s greatness. He elevates coaches and gets the absolute most out of them just to have opposing schools come in and snipe his hires.

The first member of the 2023 Crimson Tide staff to depart will be OLB and Special Teams coach Coleman Hutzler as Mississippi State is currently in the process of finalizing Hutlzer as their new defensive coordinator. Hopefully, Coleman is the only one we lose, but that’s just never how it goes.

It has been a difficult year in Starkville after the passing of Mike Leach on Dec. 12, 2022 and they are yet to find stability in the program. After Leach’s passing, the Bulldogs promoted DC Zach Arnett to become the programs 35th coach. Arnett was ultimately fired after a 4-6 start this season so the Bulldogs will be rolling into 2024 as a brand new regime.

Mississippi State hired Oklahoma OC Jeff Lebby as their next head coach earlier in the week to help turn the program around. Hutzler is one of the first hires Lebby has made, and it is a massive one at that. People around the Alabama program speak and think very highly of Hutzler so it’s a loss that I’m sure stings Saban a bit.

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BREAKING: Oklahoma Sooners star quarterback Dillon Gabriel entering the transfer portal

Dillon Gabriel has played his final game in Norman as he enters the transfer portal.

It appears [autotag]Dillon Gabriel[/autotag] has played his final game in the Crimson and Cream. The star quarterback entered his name into the [autotag]transfer portal[/autotag], per several reports.

Gabriel had a career year this season in Norman. He threw for 3,660 yards, 30 touchdowns and six interceptions on a 69.3% completion percentage. He added 373 yards rushing and 12 touchdowns.

It was long thought this would be Gabriel’s final season at Oklahoma, but many believed he’d be off to the NFL. He still could do that. We’ve seen in the past people enter the portal, so they can have options if they decide not to turn pro.

This means the [autotag]Jackson Arnold[/autotag] era has begun for the Sooners. Presumably, Arnold will make his first start in the Alamo Bowl against the [autotag]Arizona Wildcats[/autotag].

 

If he does decide to transfer instead of entering the draft, keep an eye on the Oregon Ducks and the [autotag]Mississippi State Bulldogs[/autotag]. The Ducks will lose starting quarterback [autotag]Bo Nix[/autotag] and there is the obvious connection to [autotag]Jeff Lebby[/autotag] at Mississippi State.

All in all, Gabriel’s time in Norman should be remembered fondly. He came in and helped resurrect a program after a shocking departure. We will also always have his historic drive in the Cotton Bowl that will live in Red River Rivalry lore forever.

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How the SEC West coaching cycle affects LSU

With changes in leadership at Texas A&M and Mississippi State, here’s how that impacts LSU.

It’s silly season, and a couple of SEC West coaching positions have already opened and filled.

Texas A&M and Mississippi State will begin rebuilds next year, hiring Mike Elko and Jeff Lebby, respectively.

Both Elko and Lebby have former SEC West coordinating experience, but after finding success at Duke, Elko is better versed in head coaching experience.

That was it as far as head coaching changes in the SEC go. Arkansas announced it would keep Sam Pittman despite the Razorbacks’ struggles the last couple of years.

Here’s how the shake-ups around the division affect LSU.