Tag: Joe Jon Finley

Oklahoma Sooners lose starting tight end to the transfer portal

OU’s starter at the tight end position is on the move again.

The Oklahoma Sooners will lose their leading receiver from the 2024 season. Starting tight end [autotag]Bauer Sharp[/autotag] plans to enter the [autotag]transfer portal[/autotag], according to a report by On3 Sports.

Sharp was [autotag]Joe Jon Finley[/autotag]’s answer at the tight end position this season, and the position group as a whole underwhelmed for the second straight year under Finley’s watch. Sharp led the Sooners with 42 catches for 324 yards, but was often penalty prone, a poor blocker and made mistakes on trick plays. His team-leading receiving totals are the lowest in decades for Oklahoma.

He spent one year in Norman after transferring from Football Championship Subdivision program Southeastern Louisiana. He has also played quarterback in his collegiate career, and he’ll have one year of eligibility remaining at his next school.

The portal doesn’t open until Monday and will run until Dec. 28. So far, a handful of Sooners have declared their intentions to leave the program. Quarterback Jackson Arnold, running backs Kalib Hicks, Emeka Megwa and [autotag]Chapman McKown[/autotag], wide receivers Nic Anderson and Jaquaize Pettaway and defensive back [autotag]Jayden Rowe[/autotag] join Sharp in leaving Norman.

3 keys for the Oklahoma Sooners vs. the Alabama Crimson Tide

3 keys to the game between the Sooners and the Crimson Tide.

The Oklahoma Sooners are 5-5 overall in 2024 and just 1-5 in Southeastern Conference play. Year 3 under head coach [autotag]Brent Venables[/autotag] and Year 1 in the [autotag]SEC[/autotag] hasn’t gone as expected, and OU now teeters on the brink of missing a bowl game for the first time since 1998.

The Sooners have lost four of their last five games after a 4-1 start, with the only win coming against FCS Maine. Oklahoma must win one of their final two regular season games in order to extend a 25-year bowl eligibility streak.

Venables’ team hasn’t won a conference game since before the first bye week of the season, and now coming off of the second bye week, the task at hand doesn’t get any easier. The Alabama Crimson Tide roll into Norman, looking to make another statement to the College Football Playoff committee and hope to stay on track to reach the SEC Championship Game.

They are led by head coach Kalen DeBoer, wrapping up his first season in Tuscaloosa after being hired to replace Nick Saban after the legendary coach retired following the 2023 season.

It’s a tall order for Oklahoma this week, but this is college football. Just when you think you know how things are going to go, they change in an instant. That’s what the Sooners are hoping for this week.

Here are three keys to the game between the Sooners and the Crimson Tide.

1. Run The Dang Ball

Interim co-offensive coordinators [autotag]Joe Jon Finley[/autotag] and [autotag]Kevin Johns[/autotag] showed some promising things against Ole Miss, Maine, and Missouri after Seth Littrell was relieved of his duties after the South Carolina loss. But it all came crashing down against Missouri.

The one thing the Sooners were able to do well in that game was run the ball, but Finley seemed reluctant to keep calling run plays and concepts that had worked earlier in the game. Instead, Oklahoma took to the air, which didn’t work at all behind a shaky offensive line and an overwhelmed quarterback.

If [autotag]Jovantae Barnes[/autotag] is back this week, that bodes well for OU. Getting [autotag]Taylor Tatum[/autotag] and [autotag]Xavier Robinson[/autotag] heavily involved in the game is a must, even if Barnes is active. The Crimson Tide are good and explosive offensively, so the Sooners must counteract that with a steady diet of the run game.

Up Next: Keys to Victory

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Former Oklahoma Sooners star reveals his pick for offensive coordinator

Dusty Dvoracek has his thoughts on who should replace Seth Littrell at offensive coordinator.

It’s no secret the offense has performed well below expectations for the Oklahoma Sooners this year.

With Jeff Lebby leaving to become the coach at Mississippi State at the end of the 2023 regular season, Sooner fans hoped coach [autotag]Brent Venables[/autotag]’ decision to promote from within the program would pay off. Instead, it’s done the opposite.

Seth Littrell and [autotag]Joe Jon Finley[/autotag] were promoted to co-offensive coordinators. Littrell served as the quarterbacks coach and the primary play caller. Finley continued to coach the tight ends.

However, it only took seven games for Littrell to be relieved of his duties. The offense was (and still is) broken, and changes had to be made. Finley was installed as the interim play caller and offensive analyst [autotag]Kevin Johns[/autotag] was promoted to interim co-offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach.

After promising signs from the duo against Ole Miss and Maine, the offense sank against Missouri in a crushing loss. Finley and Johns will not be the answer next season, and the external search continues for Venables.

With questions over the choice at quarterback, [autotag]Jackson Arnold[/autotag] or [autotag]Michael Hawkins Jr.[/autotag], looming and offensive line problems that have to be fixed, there are a multitude of issues for the new OC on the job to address this offseason.

In addition, the questions about what will happen to the other offensive position coaches on the staff will be interesting to watch. Emmett Jones (wide receivers/passing game coordinator), Bill Bedenbaugh (offensive line) and DeMarco Murray (running backs) will have a new boss, if they’re in Norman next season.

There are plenty of opinions on who Venables should hire, but one person who raises eyebrows is beginning to gain some steam. One former standout at OU has put his support behind a once-unlikely candidate.

Former star defensive lineman Dusty Dvoracek thinks former Mississippi State and Florida coach Dan Mullen should take the reins of the Oklahoma offense. He joined fellow OU standouts Gabe Ikard and Teddy Lehman on “The Oklahoma Breakdown with Ikard and Lehman” last week to voice why he would call Mullen if he was Venables.

“On my list, my No. 1 person I’m calling is Dan Mullen,” the ESPN college football color commentator said. “I have no idea, outside of a major head coaching opportunity, if he’d even entertain this conversation. If you’re asking me what I’d do, I’d pick up the phone and make him tell me no. … The dude can coach offense with anybody in the sport, and he can develop quarterbacks as well as anybody in the sport.”

Dvoracek and Mullen are colleagues at ESPN. The latter has been a studio analyst and color commentator since the 2022 season. It’s been his gig since he was fired by Florida late in the 2021 regular season.

Mullen was Florida’s offensive coordinator under Urban Meyer when the Gators won two national championships in the 2000s. He developed Heisman Trophy winner Tim Tebow during that time.

He became Mississippi State’s coach in 2009 and served their until 2017. The Bulldogs had some of their best years under Mullen, including the 2014 season where they reached No. 1 in the rankings and beat Alabama. He mentored Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott during his time in Starkville.

He returned to Florida as the coach in 2018, leading to three good seasons before he was fired during a rough 2021 campaign. His supporters note his success as a play caller in the [autotag]SEC[/autotag], while his detractors call out his lack of a strong recruiting presence in his latter years with the Gators.

It’s absolutely imperative for Venables to nail this offensive coordinator search. His future and the program’s future ride so heavily on him getting this move right, heading into a make-or-break 2025 season.

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Can Jackson Arnold build on recent success for Oklahoma Sooners?

The Oklahoma Sooners offense has find a greater rhythm over the last few games as Joe Jon Finley has taken on a bigger role in the offense and as Jackson Arnold has been reinserted into the lineup. Over his last three games, Arnold has exhibited a …

The Oklahoma Sooners offense has find a greater rhythm over the last few games as Joe Jon Finley has taken on a bigger role in the offense and as Jackson Arnold has been reinserted into the lineup.

Over his last three games, Arnold has exhibited a greater level of comfort at the helm for the Sooners than he did in his first four as the starting quarterback. In games against South Carolina, Ole Miss, and Maine, Arnold is averaging 209 passing yards, 59 rushing yards, and has six total touchdowns.

Over his first four starts, Arnold averaged just 134.5 passing yards per game and 41.25 rushing yards per game. He had nine total touchdowns but also threw three interceptions.

Since Finley was promoted to playcaller and Kevin Johns was elevated to co-offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach after the loss to South Carolina, Arnold’s completion percentage has jumped to 71.2%. And as important, Arnold is limiting the turnovers.

He’s playing with a greater comfort level and the offense has been more efficient. And that’s something Arnold attributes to the promotion of Johns.

“The biggest thing was not playing carefree, but I had nothing else to lose,” Arnold said. “Just having that edge and playing like that has really let me see things better and just play more comfortable and more loose. And (quarterbacks coach Kevin Johns), since he got promoted, he’s been big about us being efficient as quarterbacks.”

Arnold mentioned when he met with the media that the message from Johns has been efficiency. Complete passes and keep the ball moving. And that’s shown up in a big way. Arnold’s been more content taking the dump-offs and underneath options in the passing game. Jovantae Barnes went for 57 receiving against Ole Miss as Arnold got the ball out quickly to his running back in the flat and let him work in space.

There’s still work to do and growth to occur, but Arnold has taken steps since he was benched against Tennessee. And with new voices in the offensive hierarchy providing greater comfort, Arnold’s proving capable of developing into the quarterback his five-star rating believed he could be.

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Oklahoma Sooners offense trending in right direction

With three games to go, are the Oklahoma Sooners finally hitting their stride on offense?

The Oklahoma Sooners offense certainly isn’t where it needs to be. Nobody is going to mistake the 2024 Oklahoma offense for one that led to four Heismans in this century. However, after switching to Joe Jon Finley as their playcaller, the Sooners have found a rhythm.

Oklahoma scored 14 points in the first half against Ole Miss. That was the most they’d scored in the opening 30 minutes since putting up 21 points in the first half against Tulane. That was back on Sept. 14. Nearly two months ago.

Just before halftime against the Rebels, OU went on a 92-yard drive to take the lead, converting critical third downs and showing good balance. Though there were less than two minutes, the run game kept the Ole Miss defensive line from pinning their ears back. We all saw what happened late in the game when OU was forced to throw. Oklahoma didn’t have nearly as much success in the second half. Chalk that up to an inexperienced playcaller failing to make adjustments or Ole Miss keying in on what the Sooners wanted to do. Either way, it shouldn’t detract from the positive strides the Sooners made in the first half.

Then this week, against Maine, the Sooners started slow with a punt on their first drive, but that was the only time they didn’t have a success. The Sooners scored on all but one drive (the Sam Franklin fumble in the red zone) and put up their highest point total of the season.

In both weeks, Jackson Arnold completed more than 70% of his passes, showing a greater comfort level running the offense. He looked more confident and poised in the pocket and displayed better awareness of when to scramble.

The running game finally found its legs with Finley’s influence increasing. It started against South Carolina, but because of the early 21-point deficit, the Sooners couldn’t fully lean into running the ball.

But against Ole Miss, a team that had only allowed 66 yards per game and two yards per carry on the season, the Sooners had arguably their best day running the football as Jovantae Barnes and Taylor Tatum both averaged more than four yards per carry. Barnes ran for 67 yards. Taking sack yardage out of the equation, Arnold ran for 99 yards, according to Pro Football Focus.

And the run game success continued last week as Barnes ran for 203 yards on 18 carries and the team tallied 381 rushing yards against Maine.

The offense still has room to improve but given the injuries Oklahoma’s suffered on offense, it’s not surprising this year has been a struggle. But here’s hoping they can build off of the last two weeks and finish the season on a high note.

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Oklahoma’s run game provides offense with a boost

The Oklahoma Sooners may be finding their ground game in the second half of the season.

The Oklahoma Sooners run game has begun to find some answers. Facing an Ole Miss team that was No. 1 in the nation in rushing yards allowed per game and yards per carry, the Sooners ground game came through in a big way.

According to Pro Football Focus, who takes sack yardage out of the rushing totals, the Sooners ran for 208 yards on 40 carries. That’s an average of 5.2 yards per carry. Barnes was quick to find the whole and churned out a lot of positive runs, even if they didn’t all go for big gains. He ran for 67 yards on 16 carries, averaging 4.2 yards per carry.

Arnold showed off his athleticism and toughness picking up 99 rush yards, 71 of which came in the scramble game.

True freshman running back Taylor Tatum had a solid performance as well. He carried the ball nine times for 42 yards. He lost a fumble, highlighting some ball security issues, but has shown he’s got the talent to be a dynamic weapon in the Sooners offense. He just has to protect the ball better.

New play caller and co-offensive coordinator Joe Jon Finley was pleased with the success Oklahoma had in the run game.

“Nobody rushes the ball on these guys like we did,” new offensive coordinator Joe Jon Finley said after the game. “Those are things you can build upon … It’s in there. We just got to be more consistent. Do it for one half, now we got to do it for a complete game.”

While the Oklahoma Sooners offensive line struggled to pass protect on the final few drives, they did a great job in the ground game, providing better lanes for Barnes, Arnold, and Tatum to run through.

Over the final four games, the Oklahoma Sooners will need their run game to continue to be efficient for them.

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Joel Klatt is panicking about the Oklahoma Sooners

FOX Sports college football analyst Joel Klatt didn’t mince words about the Oklahoma Sooners.

It’s no secret that the 2024 college football season hasn’t gone the way the Oklahoma Sooners have hoped. With a 3-0 nonconference start, OU was a bit shaky, but undefeated heading into Southeastern Conference play. A tough loss against Tennessee hurt, but a thrilling comeback win over Auburn sent the Sooners into the bye on a high note.

Coming out of the bye week, Oklahoma has dropped back-to-back stinkers against Texas and South Carolina to drop to 4-3 overall on the season and just 1-3 in [autotag]SEC[/autotag] play. Though their first loss to Tennessee was by just ten points, the Sooners have been blown out each of the last two weeks, failing to even make the games competitive.

Now they face the Ole Miss Rebels on the road, a very good team capable of embarrassing the Sooners once again. They’ll get a reprieve next week against Maine before a gauntlet of the final month of the regular season. That four-week stretch includes a game at Missouri, a bye week, a home game against Alabama, and a road game against LSU to close things out.

Simply put, Oklahoma is in serious danger of missing a bowl game for the first time since 1998. They’ll have to find a pretty big upset on their schedule somewhere and take care of business at home against Maine just to get to 6-6.

OU’s season has many folks around the college football landscape concerned for the program’s future, including FOX Sports college football analyst Joel Klatt. Klatt wrote an in-depth article detailing his thoughts on the rough seasons going on right now at Michigan, USC, and, of course, Oklahoma.

“The Sooners’ first year in the SEC has gone horribly wrong. We all knew Oklahoma’s schedule was difficult entering the season, and we actually discussed it at quite a bit of length,” Klatt said. “But the offense has been a disaster. I’ve been saying that since the Tennessee game and that it didn’t matter who the quarterback was. It didn’t change when [autotag]Michael Hawkins Jr.[/autotag] replaced [autotag]Jackson Arnold[/autotag] because the scheme is wrong. We have evidence of that now. Oklahoma fired offensive coordinator Seth Litrell earlier this week and Arnold is back in at quarterback. The Sooners rank 107th in scoring and 116th in total yards. It’s not working. “

Klatt dove deeper into the many problems with this OU offense, beginning with the caveat of all the injuries the Sooners are dealing with at wide receiver.

“To be fair to Oklahoma, it’s been decimated at wide receiver due to injuries … It’d be a convenient excuse to point at those injuries, though, for why the offense has struggled,” Klatt said. “When I watched the film, the entire offensive system was wrong. The offensive line is playing terribly. When the Sooners try to run the football, they can’t get anywhere. The scheme is wrong. When figuring out if the coaches, players or scheme are the reason for the issues, it’s the coach and scheme. Sure, you could say it’s a little bit of the players because of the injuries, but the coaching staff and scheme were wrong. [autotag]Brent Venables[/autotag] fixed the coach part this week, so credit to him for that at the very least. Oklahoma has a placeholder offense, though. [autotag]Joe Jon Finley[/autotag] won’t be its offensive coordinator heading into 2025. So, like Michigan, this is going to get worse before it gets better for Oklahoma. This is not the bottom …What is Oklahoma going to do offensively? Just play hard and that’s going to be the game plan with the placeholder offense.”

Overall, Klatt emphasized that he is “worried and panicking” about Oklahoma, and while it may not be fun to here, it’s what needs to be heard right now, because this team, mainly offensively, isn’t very good right now.

The offseason offensive coordinator search and hire for Brent Venables will be a telling moment in his career as Oklahoma’s head coach. If he gets it right, he could have a long and successful career patrolling the sidelines in Norman.

If he gets it wrong, his days in this role could be numbered, and the clock may already be ticking on him as we speak. That doesn’t mean he can’t turn it around, but it does mean that what he does next is incredibly crucial.

Kirk Herbstreit thinks Oklahoma Sooners are hitting ‘rock bottom’

ESPN College Football analyst Kirk Herbstreit thinks OU is hitting “rock bottom” right now.

The Oklahoma Sooners desperately need to rebound in a big way this week. [autotag]Brent Venables[/autotag]’ team has lost two straight and three out of their last four games, and they’ll have to play excellent football to avoid a third straight defeat on Saturday. OU will face the Ole Miss Rebels on the road in Oxford, Mississippi.

One college football expert believes that things couldn’t get much worse for Oklahoma. That would be ESPN’s Kirk Herbstreit, who took to his social media earlier this week to answer a few questions from fans about the current state of college football. He shared his thoughts on the top teams in the sport and a few programs that have been outright disappointing.

“The Sooners, they’re hitting rock bottom,” Herbstreit said. “Oklahoma is seriously reeling as an offense.”

That’s a pretty emphatic and blunt way to put it, but Herbstreit has seen the Sooners in some of their worst moments this year. He was on hand in Norman when Oklahoma hosted Tennessee in a 10-point loss and benched [autotag]Jackson Arnold[/autotag] in favor of [autotag]Michael Hawkins Jr.[/autotag] to try and find a spark for the offense. Herbstreit was also at the Cotton Bowl for the Red River Rivalry, when Texas defeated Oklahoma by 31 points.

Defensively, Oklahoma has improved from where they were a year ago. It’s the best defense of the three-year Venables era, and the best defense the Sooners have had in a long time. While Oklahoma certainly isn’t great on special teams, that unit has also improved a bit since last year. In fact, it may be the best special teams group of the Venables era as well.

But the offensive woes have kept Oklahoma from winning, or competing for the most part, in [autotag]SEC[/autotag] play. Hawkins was benched after three straight turnovers to open the game last week against South Carolina, and Arnold has been re-inserted as the starter. However, neither quarterback is getting much help at all from the pieces around them, and it wouldn’t shock anyone to see Hawkins back under center at some point this season. It also wouldn’t be a shock to see Arnold take things the rest of the way.

That’s where it’s at right now with this OU offense. With Seth Littrell relieved of his duties on Sunday, [autotag]Joe Jon Finley[/autotag] has been promoted to the role of primary play-caller. Kevin Johns is now a co-offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach. While the trio of [autotag]Emmett Jones[/autotag], [autotag]Bill Bedenbaugh[/autotag] and DeMarco Murray may not be directly responsible (as coordinators) for the mess on offense, each of their position groups needs to play better.

With the tough schedule the Sooners have coming up in November with games against Missouri, Alabama and LSU, this team will have to dig deep to find something, even if that something is just bowl eligibility for a 26th straight season.

Brent Venables shares what went into offensive coordinator change

On his weekly coach’s show, Brent Venables shared more about what led to the offensive coordinator change.

There have been struggles on offense for much of the 2024 season. Sure, they scored 51 points against Temple and 34 against Tulane, but the Sooners haven’t looked like a team playing in a rhythm at all this season.

Saturday’s loss at South Carolina, spurred on by turnovers on their first three drives wasn’t what led to the decision, but it was likely the straw that broke the camel’s back. Before Saturday, Oklahoma’s offense wasn’t playing well. Saturday simply was the culmination of seven games of issues.

During his weekly coach’s show on Monday, [autotag]Brent Venable[/autotag]s revealed that his decision to make a change at offensive coordinator wasn’t a decision based on just one or two games.

“A lot goes into you making those types of changes and it’s over the last several months,” Venables said Monday on his weekly coaches show. “There’s a body of work that you look at all of it and evaluate it. Obviously, we haven’t played winning football on offense.”

Oklahoma started out 3-0, but it was a grind to get there. Since then, the Sooners are just 1-3. Their lone win came against Auburn, where they needed a big play on defense to pull off a miraculous comeback. Since SEC play has begun, the Sooners have made two quarterback changes and now changed their offensive coordinator structure.

Joe Jon Finley takes over as the playcaller because of his familiarity with the playbook and the offense as a whole. Kevin Johns, who was an analyst doing advanced scouting for the team, joins the offensive staff as co-offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach. Johns previously worked with quarterback Riley Leonard at Duke and and former Sooners offensive coordinator Kevin Wilson at Indiana.

There’s no telling how much the change will make a difference. The Sooners have several more really good teams on their remaining schedule. But Venables is still somewhat optimistic that they can see improvement.

“I do believe if we make some incremental improvement, play to our potential, do the things that the game requires you to do in order to execute and win (we can be successful),” Venables said.

The first big test for Finley, Johns, and the offense comes this Saturday when the Sooners make the trip to Oxford to take on the Ole Miss Rebels.

BREAKING: Oklahoma fires offensive coordinator Seth Littrell per report

Brent Venables decided to move on from his offensive play caller, Seth Littrell, according to a report from SoonerScoop’s George Stoia.

This story was updated to add new information.

With the Oklahoma Sooners at 4-3 in their first season in the [autotag]SEC[/autotag] and the OU offense completely stuck in the mud, the offensive coordinator has changed.

After the Sooners lost 35-9 against South Carolina on Saturday, head coach [autotag]Brent Venables[/autotag] decided to make a change.

Offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach [autotag]Seth Littrell[/autotag] has been fired, according to a report from SoonerScoop’s and On3’s George Stoia. The report was also confirmed by ESPN’s Pete Thamel.

Littrell was the primary playcaller, and that duty will now be handled by co-offensive coordinator/tight ends coach [autotag]Joe Jon Finley[/autotag] for the remainder of the season. [autotag]Kevin Johns[/autotag], who is an offensive analyst, will also have a significant role in the offense. Johns has been an offensive coordinator before, serving in that role at Duke.

OU is currently averaging just 22.1 points per game in the 2024 season, which lands them at 107th out of 134 teams at the FBS level. They’ve been held below double digits in their last two games, both losses, scoring just one touchdown.

“Seth is an all-time great Sooner,” said Venables in a release from the University of Oklahoma. “He has a deep love for this university and football program, and has poured his heart and soul into both. Despite that, our performance as an offense this season has not at all lived up to the OU standard and I felt a change was necessary now.

Littrell was promoted from an analyst role in 2023 to co-offensive coordinator with Finley before the bowl game last season. The move followed [autotag]Jeff Lebby[/autotag] leaving to take the head coaching job at Mississippi State.

“The leadership role Joe Jon plays on our team is critical. He has the confidence of our locker room and coaching staff, and I’m thankful to him for taking on this expanded role in the middle of the season. Kevin joined our staff last spring as an offensive analyst after serving as an offensive coordinator for over a decade. He has a wealth of experience coordinating offenses and coaching quarterbacks, and I’m looking forward to the fresh approach he’ll bring and the bigger role he’ll play in offensive game-planning. I’m confident Joe Jon, Kevin and the rest of the offensive staff will work tirelessly to put our players in positions to succeed and make us more effective on that side of the ball.”

Littrell was installed as the playcaller for the OU offense, but he lasted just eight games overall and just seven games this season before he was relieved of his duties.

The veteran coach was the head coach at North Texas until he was let go in 2022, making his way to Venables’ staff in Norman before last season.

Now, the attention turns to trying to salvage this season with an offense that can at least put something on the board, but perhaps more importantly, to the impending hire that Venables will make to run the offense in 2025.

The way things stand right now, next year is looking like a make-or-break season for Venables in Norman. It is absolutely imperative that he gets this OC hire right this offseason.