Tag: lincoln riley

Oklahoma DB Tre Norwood to participate in Reese’s Senior Bowl

Former Oklahoma defensive back Tre Norwood will participate in the Reese’s Senior Bowl set for later this month.

A fourth Oklahoma player will be participating in the annual Reese’s Senior Bowl.

Former Sooners defensive back Tre Norwood was announce as a participant on Sunday just a little less than a week after he declared for the NFL Draft.

Norwood joins fellow Oklahoma players Tre Brown, Creed Humphrey and Adrian Ealy in the contest that provides seniors entering the draft one final game chance to showcase themselves before the draft in April.

Norwood had easily the strongest season of his career in 2020 picking up five of his six career interceptions over the course of the year. The last one will likely be his most well remembered when he returned it for a touchdown to help the Sooners build an early lead in the Goodyear Cotton Bowl against Florida.

The four former teammates will lace it up with the Oklahoma helmet on for the final time on Jan. 30th at 1:30 p.m. CT in Mobile, Alabama.

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The top 10 head-coaching candidates Jets should consider to replace Adam Gase

Jets Wire unveils its list of the top 10 candidates to replace Adam Gase.

With Adam Gase’s tenure as Jets head coach over, it’s time to take a look at who could replace him.

Fortunately for Joe Douglas and New York, the cupboard is full of candidates who can turn the Jets around. From bright college coaches to innovative offensive minds and some candidates with impressive defensive backgrounds, Douglas will have plenty of intriguing candidates to choose from this offseason.

Now that the Jets and Gase have officially parted ways, Jets Wire will take a look at who could replace Gase from a variety of angles. To start, here are Jets Wire’s top 10 candidates to replace him, a should-be, ranked wish list if the Jets had their pick of the litter.

Lincoln Riley confirms RB Kennedy Brooks and DL Jalen Redmond will return for 2021 season

Oklahoma head coach Lincoln Riley confirmed that running back Kennedy Brooks and defensive lineman Jalen Redmond will return in 2021.

A little less than two weeks ago it was reported that Oklahoma running back Kennedy Brooks would be returning the Sooners for the 2021 season after electing to opt out of this year.

That report was confirmed by head coach Lincoln Riley on Friday, as well as the impending return of defensive lineman Jalen Redmond, who had also previously opted out of the season.

These were both expected returners for the Sooners, but it is still huge to see it confirmed from Riley. Brooks will more than likely be the top running option on offense while Redmond will certainly be a key contributor on the defensive side.

Brooks ran for over 1,000 yards each season in 2018 and 2019 with 18 total touchdowns, while Redmond had 23 total tackles including 11 for loss with six and a half sacks in the 2019 season. These are obviously big additions to a team that finished out 2020 very strong and will be looking to take the next step to true national title contender status in 2021.

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Looking back at the 2009 Oklahoma-Florida National Championship Game

A look back at the 2009 FedEx BCS National Championship game between Oklahoma and Florida.

Oklahoma is set to conclude their season on Wednesday night when they square off with Florida in the Goodyear Cotton Bowl.

Largely considered among the very best bowl matchups of the non-College Football Playoff games, this meeting of historic Big 12 and SEC programs has lots of intrigue baked into it. An element that certainly excites fans about the matchup is that it is the first time the two teams have played since they met in the 2009 FedEx BCS National Championship Game.

That matchup was the first, and still only, meeting between the Sooners and the Gators. It was a game loaded with talent all over the field and truly a matchup of two great teams.

Both teams provided Heisman-winning quarterbacks in Sam Bradford and Tim Tebow, and both had head coaches who had already won a national title previously in Bob Stoops and Urban Meyer.

Florida struck first on a Tebow touchdown pass to Louis Murphy to grab a 7-0 lead early in the second quarter, but Bradford found Jermaine Gresham for a touchdown of their own to have things square at 7-7 at the half.

The Gators would take a 14-7 lead into the fourth frame after a touchdown run from Percy Harvin had them retake the lead. Oklahoma would then tie it again on a touchdown from Bradford to Gresham to even things at 14-14, but that would be the last time they would score. After a Florida field goal, Tebow would later ice the game on a jump pass touchdown to David Nelson to put them up ahead 24-14 in what would go on to be the final score.

Both teams have current pieces of their team who were involved in the game in one way or another. Sooners current running backs coach DeMarco Murray was on that team but missed the game due to injury – a fact that many Oklahoma fans hold onto as a reason for the loss. Meanwhile for the Gators, their current head coach Dan Mullen was the offensive coordinator at the time.

Murray and the Sooners will look to get some form of revenge when these two blue-bloods collide for the second time ever on Wednesday night at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.

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WATCH: What Oklahoma’s Lincoln Riley said after winning the Big 12 Championship

Watch what Oklahoma head coach Lincoln Riley said after winning Saturday’s Big 12 Championship Game.

Oklahoma won its sixth consecutive Big 12 Championship on Saturday with a 27-21 defeat of Iowa State in Arlington.

The Sooners have managed to completely reinvent themselves in the short span of a couple of years going from an offensive powerhouse with no defense to a team now led by their defense.

Just as they did two weeks ago against Baylor, defensive coordinator Alex Grinch’s group carried the day for the team. The offense made plays throughout the afternoon, but it was the defense that made this win happen.

Spencer Rattler played himself a fine game, avoiding any turnovers and picking up two touchdowns with one passing and one rushing. Rhamondre Stevenson and Marvin Mims both had big afternoons to help the offense get up some early points.

After scoring 24 points in the first half, they would only tack on three more in the entire second half of football – but that was enough for Grinch’s defense to hold the lead. Tre Brown’s interception of Cyclone quarterback Brock Purdy sealed the deal in the final minutes.

After the game, Riley met with the media to break down the afternoon and winning yet another conference title. Watch what he had to say here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-PMIFemK0QM&feature=youtu.be

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Oklahoma LB Caleb Kelly announces he’s returning for a sixth season at OU

Oklahoma linebacker Caleb Kelly announced on Twitter Saturday that he will be returning for a sixth season with the Sooners.

Oklahoma defeated Iowa State on Saturday to claim its sixth consecutive Big 12 championship. It was led by the defense, which has improved by leaps and bounds in the two years under Alex Grinch.

The Sooners will certainly hope to keep as many of the pieces from this defense together for next season as possible, since with another year in the system, they could have a chance to be a special team.

One guy they know will return hasn’t been on the field for one snap this season, linebacker Caleb Kelly. He went down with a season-ending injury in August, leaving some wondering if his career was over. But, he announced on Twitter he will return next year for his sixth season.

As Kelly notes, this will give him a chance to pick up an insane sixth Big 12 title ring should the Sooners win the league again next year. This is a nice piece of news for Oklahoma both from what Kelly could bring on the field but also as a veteran leader.

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Suspended Oklahoma WR Trejan Bridges expected to make 2020 debut in Big 12 Championship

Oklahoma’s long await is over. The Sooners have been getting asked about the status of suspended players since it all started last Dec..

Oklahoma’s long await is over.

The Sooners have been getting asked about the status of suspended players since it all started last Dec.. Oklahoma was missing a starter in Ronnie Perkins and two key contributors in Rhamondre Stevenson and Trejan Bridges against LSU in the Peach Bowl. They were suspended due to a failed drug test ahead of the College Football Playoff.

Perkins and Stevenson returned on time, but Bridges didn’t. Perkins’ return has made a really good defense better and Stevenson has made teams respect Oklahoma’s running game more over the last four games. And now we’ll see what Bridges can do.

Sooners Wire can confirm the reports from SoonerScoop.com and The Football Brainiacs that Oklahoma is expecting Bridges to play in the Big 12 Championship on Saturday. Since Perkins and Stevenson returned, Bridges has taken to Twitter to discuss his frustrations over the wait.

Bridges made an impact during his freshman season albeit a small one. He caught a big touchdown against Iowa State during Oklahoma’s run to their fifth-straight Big 12 Championship.

The Carrollton, Texas, native came to the Sooners in the 2019 recruiting class as a five-star recruit according to Rivals. Lincoln Riley recently compared his playing style to Tylan Wallace’s whenever he was asked during Oklahoma State week.

It is undetermined what kind of impact Bridges can have in his first game. Unlike Jadon Haselwoood who has been rotating back in slowly, Bridges has been healthy and practicing since his suspension started last Dec.. His ability to take the top off a defense with his speed and competitiveness at the catch point could definitely help in the Big 12 Championship.

Oklahoma and Iowa State will play in the Big 12 Championship on Saturday at 11 a.m. CT.

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Oklahoma QB Spencer Rattler was snubbed from All-Big 12 team, reacts to it on Twitter

He has a right to be a little upset. Oklahoma quarterback Spencer Rattler has taken some losses early in his Sooners’ career

He has a right to be a little upset.

Oklahoma quarterback Spencer Rattler has taken some losses early in his Sooners’ career, but he’s on the same trajectory as the guys before him.

In his second year under Lincoln Riley, Rattler is producing touchdowns (3.1 a game) at a higher rate than Baker Mayfield did if you include the amount of touchdowns (at least 10 by Rattler in 2020) dropped by each. His 2020 passer rating (174.7) is more in line with Mayfield’s 2015 season (173.3), but that’s still almost 25 points better than the next best quarterback in the Big 12.

The All-Big 12 teams were released on Thursday. Rattler did not make either the All-Big 12 first or second team. Iowa State’s Brock Purdy and Texas’ Sam Ehlinger went first and second respectively.

And both of those quarterbacks have had great years. They have been in the Big 12 for awhile, but Rattler leads the two major passing categories (passer rating and average yards per game at 279.1) and is second in total offense (290.6) behind Sam Ehlinger (309.8) and Rattler isn’t a running threat.

Oklahoma’s starting quarterback then took to Twitter to express some frustration. Rattler has deleted one tweet, but left this one up.

Ronnie Perkins took to Twitter, too. He made All-Big 12 Second Team after only playing in the last four game, which is a pretty strong honor, but I guess he thought otherwise.

No Oklahoma players ended up making the All-Big 12 First Team.

Iowa State dominated the Big 12 awards this season. They got Big 12 Offensive Player of the Year (Breece Hall), Defensive Player of the Year (Mike Rose) the Offensive Newcomer of the Year (Xavier Hutchinson), the Coach of the Year (Matt Campbell) and nine All-Big 12 First Team selections. The Cyclones are playing in their first Big 12 Conference Championship game.

Oklahoma and Iowa State will kickoff on Saturday morning at 11 a.m. CT.

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Oklahoma football notebook: Lincoln Riley talks signing class, Alex Grinch talks Iowa State

On the first day of the early signing period, Lincoln Riley, Alex Grinch, and Isaiah Thomas met with the media to discuss the latest.

Wednesday marked the beginning of the early signing period around the country and thus many college football commits made the move to being signees this week.

Oklahoma welcomed 16 new players to the program on Wednesday from the class of 2021 including five-star quarterback Caleb Williams and offensive tackle Savion Byrd who announced his commitment to the Sooners on Wednesday.

On top of the big day, Oklahoma is still deep in preparations for the Big 12 Championship Game on Saturday that will pit them in a rematch with Iowa State.

On Wednesday, head coach Lincoln Riley along with defensive coordinator Alex Grinch and defensive lineman Isaiah Thomas to talk signing day as well as the big matchup with the Cyclones. Here is what they had to say:

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