Tag: Luther Burden

Trio of Sooners among ESPN’s top 100 players for the 2024 season

The Oklahoma Sooners were represented on both sides of the ball in ESPN’s top 100 players for the 2024 season.

The Oklahoma Sooners have a number of talented players on both sides of the ball. If there’s reason for optimism heading into the season it’s that the defense is as talented or possibly more talented than the group on offense.

And that’s a good thing.

The Sooners needed a more well-rounded team during the [autotag]Lincoln Riley[/autotag] era and appear to be trending toward that under [autotag]Brent Venables[/autotag]. The defense has talent at every level of the defense, led by [autotag]Danny Stutsman[/autotag] and [autotag]Billy Bowman[/autotag].

Offensively, they’ve got the talent to have one of the best offenses in the nation. If [autotag]Jackson Arnold[/autotag] lives up to expectations, the Oklahoma offense will be humming all year long.

The Sooners may not have as much name recognition as some of the other teams across the country, but they have a trio of players that will be household names in 2024. ESPN released its top 100 college football players heading into the season and the Sooners had three players land on the list.

74. Deion Burks, WR

Despite playing for a 4-8 Purdue team last season, Burks was one of the top non-quarterback additions in the winter transfer portal. He gives new Oklahoma QB [autotag]Jackson Arnold[/autotag] a No. 1 target who can find the end zone (seven touchdowns in 2023) and stretch defenses. Burks had a reception of 42 yards or longer in four games last fall, including an 84-yard score against Fresno State. – ESPN

Outside of the quarterback, there may be no player more important to Oklahoma’s offensive success than [autotag]Deion Burks[/autotag]. He looks like a thicker, stronger version of Marquise “Hollywood” Brown. Taking over in the slot after [autotag]Drake Stoops[/autotag] had a career year, expectations are high for Burks after he electrified in the Sooners spring game.

73. Billy Bowman, S

Bowman has started 29 of the 35 games he has played in his career and was named a first-team All-Big 12 player for his efforts in 2023. He was second in the country with six interceptions (three of which he took back for touchdowns) and ranked third on the team with 63 total tackles. – ESPN

[autotag]Billy Bowman[/autotag] took the nation by storm in 2023 with his six interceptions and three interceptions returned for a touchdown. Now in his fourth season and third in Brent Venables defense, the sky is the limit for the athletic safety.

32. Danny Stutsman, LB

The senior linebacker is one of the players who will be key to Oklahoma’s success in 2024. An All-Big 12 first-team selection last season, Stutsman led the Sooners with 104 total tackles, 51 solo tackles and 16 tackles for loss. He also had three sacks, a pick, two forced fumbles and a fumble recovery. – ESPN

Everything’s prepped and ready for Danny Stutsman to have another fabulous season for the Oklahoma Sooners. With improved defensive line play and linebacker depth, OU will get the most out of their star linebacker this season.

Notables

  • In the Oklahoma Sooners’ first SEC game, the offensive line will have to do battle with ESPN’s No. 1 player, James Pierce, Jr. It will be quite the test for the offensive tackles Jacob Sexton and Jake Taylor.
  • One-time Oklahoma commit turned Missouri Tiger, [autotag]Luther Burden[/autotag] comes in at No. 5.
  • LSU linebacker Harold Perkins, who has been on a bunch of preseason first team All-American squads alongside Danny Stutsman ranked No. 14 in the nation.
  • Former Sooners quarterback [autotag]Dillon Gabriel[/autotag] came in at No. 16 overall, seven spots ahead of Texas’ [autotag]Quinn Ewers[/autotag].

That’s just a few of the 19 players that the Oklahoma Sooners will face in 2024.

Contact/Follow us @SoonersWire on X, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Oklahoma news, notes, and opinions. You can also follow John on X @john9williams.

Steelers land playmaking WR in new 2025 NFL mock draft

Let’s take a look at the Steelers pick in this new mock draft.

It is hard to find much of anything to criticize with how the Pittsburgh Steelers have handled their business in the 2024 offseason. The team brought in three new quarterbacks, three new offensive linemen and several new starters on defense.

But one thing they didn’t do was replace wide receiver Diontae Johnson. So, unless the team trades for a top receiver at some point before the season, wide receiver will be a top need in the 2025 NFL draft.

NFL Spin Zone put out a new mock draft and they went wide receiver for the Steelers. With the top two left on the board, they gave Pittsburgh Arizona wideout Tetairoa McMillan. Here’s their breakdown of the pick:

The Pittsburgh Steelers have popped up this offseason as a team that could end up being interested in a blockbuster trade for someone like Brandon Aiyuk, and while trading for Aiyuk and drafting a receiver in the 1st round of the 2025 NFL Draft aren’t exactly the same, it wouldn’t be shocking if the Steelers took the first receiver off the board next Spring.

Pittsburgh is in a transitional state at quarterback. None of us knows how Russell Wilson is going to work out for that team in 2024, but the Steelers have to continue building around the QB regardless if the guy they build around is on the roster.

Right now, it feels like it’s a toss-up between Tetairoa McMillan and Luther Burden for WR1 status in the 2025 NFL Draft and someone else could always emerge along the way. But the Steelers get a big-play receiver here to hopefully pair up with George Pickens and Roman Wilson.

While we are fully on board with the Steelers selecting a wide receiver in the first round, if McMillan and Luther Burden are both on the board, right now I take Burden 10 times out of 10.

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Steelers fill 2 major offensive needs in 2025 NFL mock draft

Here is our first too soon 2025 NFL mock draft.

Is it ever too soon to talk about the NFL draft? The ink is barely dry on the 2024 NFL draft but we already have a far-too-early 2025 mock draft to talk about.

In this three-round mock, the Steelers select Missouri wide receiver Luther Burden III in the first round. Burden is a special player who reminds us a lot of a mix of Deebo Samuel and Dez Bryant. He’s got track speed, a running back’s frame and is explosive and agile after the catch.

Moving to the second round, Alabama quarterback Jalen Milroe was available and too good to pass up. All the Steelers current quarterbacks are on one-year contracts this year so don’t be shocked if they don’t prioritize the position. Milroe is a remarkable athlete with a powerful arm and tons of potential.

Moving to the third round, we went with Georgia defensive tackle Nazir Stackhouse. We love his size, power and leverage and want to see him lined up inside next to Keeanu Benton.

This would be a fun draft for the Steelers future, especially to see what the coaches can do with Milroe. Pittsburgh hasn’t properly addressed wide receiver this offseason so we are all for Burden being the pick.

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Way too early 2024 SEC Football Power Rankings

The Sooners and Longhorns are making the jump to the SEC in 2024, so where do they land in our way-too-early power rankings?

In 2024, college football will look like nothing we’ve ever seen. Conference realignment did plastic surgery to the game we’ve grown up with.

The Pac-12 is essentially gone as Oregon, USC, Washington, and UCLA move to the Big Ten. The Big 12 added Arizona, Arizona State, Colorado, and Utah. Stanford and Cal are off to the ACC, along with SMU getting a promotion from the AAC. The SEC is adding Texas and Oklahoma.

The College Football Playoff is expanding to 12 teams, coming off its most competitive four-team version.

All of this is happening in 2024.

It’s a new era of college football. For the SEC, the Sooners and Longhorns are coming off of double-digit win seasons and Texas made the playoff. But how do they stack up against their future SEC counterparts?

Here’s a look at our way-too-early SEC power rankings.

Missouri wide receiver Luther Burden ‘is set to play’ against Vols

Missouri wide receiver Luther Burden “is set to play” against the Vols.

Sophomore wide receiver Luther Burden III is reportedly expected to play for Missouri against Tennessee on Saturday.

“Missouri star wide receiver Luther Burden, whose status has been in question heading into the Tigers’ top-15 matchup against Tennessee, is set to play against the Vols, sources tell On3 Sports,” Matt Zenitz of On3 announced.

The 5-foot-11, 208-pound Burden III has recorded 64 receptions, 958 receiving yards and seven receiving touchdowns in 2023.

He suffered an injury against Georgia last week.

Kickoff between the Vols and Tigers on Saturday is slated for 3:30 p.m. EST. CBS will televise the Southeastern Conference East matchup.

READ: Missouri football releases Week 11 depth chart ahead of playing Tennessee

READ: Tennessee football releases Week 11 depth chart ahead of playing Missouri

Five reasons Auburn could struggle against Missouri

Missouri could pose more of a challenge than some might think. We break down five reasons Auburn could struggle on Saturday.

For the first time in their brief history, the Auburn Tigers will host Missouri at Jordan-Hare Stadium.

The all-time series history between these two SEC schools dates back to the 1973 Sun Bowl. Missouri won that matchup 34-17 and they wouldn’t meet again until the 2013 SEC Championship game. They played each other again in 2017 in Columbia, Missouri. Now, Auburn gets a chance to be the host in this matchup.

When you look at the resumes for both teams, they are eerily similar. Both teams have wins over an FCS opponent (Auburn vs Mercer, Missouri vs Abilene Christian). Both teams defeated Group of Five teams (Auburn vs San Jose State, Missouri vs Louisiana Tech). And finally, both teams lost to a Power Five team by 28+ points.

Both of these teams are in the bottom half of the SEC in terms of scoring offense and scoring defense. This isn’t a “must-win” game but it certainly is an important game, especially for Harsin.

With a lot on the line for this game on Saturday, Auburn Wire breaks down five reasons why the Tigers could struggle as the home favorite this week.

Where the decommits from Oklahoma’s 2022 recruiting class ended up

Where did the players go that decommitted from the Oklahoma Sooners 2022 recruiting class?

While the 2022 recruiting class ended up as a top 10 group, it’s hard not to look back and consider what could have been. Though it’s no fault of the current coaching staff, assistant holdovers included, the Oklahoma Sooners had quite a few decommits, even from Lincoln Riley’s tenure as the head coach, that negatively impacted the 2022 class.

Over the last year and a half, the Oklahoma Sooners lost commitments from three five-star players, four four-star players, and one three-star player. They’ve seen them go to current and future conference foes. Notably Texas, TCU, and Oklahoma State nabbed once-Oklahoma Sooners commits. If the Sooners move to the SEC sooner rather than later, they’ll face players that ended up at Missouri and Texas A&M.

While the Oklahoma Sooners are moving forward after rebuilding their 2022 class creating momentum toward National Signing Day, let’s take a look at where former Oklahoma commits ended up after the early signing period.

Recruiting roundup: Checking out the 2022 recruiting class and other notes

Where do the Oklahoma Sooners stand with certain players in the 2022 recruiting class?

The Oklahoma Sooners are riding a lot of momentum as the calendar has flipped to November. They are undefeated, ranked in the top eight of every major ranking, and can currently boast a top 10 recruiting class.

While the on-field product has been good and still has the potential to be great this season, great programs don’t just neglect the other part of the team. Recruiting is the lifeblood of college sports. Especially college football despite what Florida head coach Dan Mullen might suggest.

It’s a 365 days a year job and it never stops.

Despite some hiccups, the Sooners are closing in on another top 10 class for the 2022 recruiting cycle. We would seriously be talking about a top 3 class had they not lost a top 10 national recruit in Luther Burden earlier this year. They also lost Jordan Hudson and Talyn Shettron as well.

However, the Sooners picked up the slack in terms of sheer star power and talent by their October run landing two of this senior’s class best talents in Gabriel Brownlow Dindy and Gentry Williams according to the USA Today Sports High School Composite Player Rankings.

With an early signing day of December 15th, the Oklahoma Sooners can put pen to paper and close the deal for good by having many guys sign and send in their National Letters of Intent.

As it currently stands, Oklahoma’s well on its way to locking down their 2022 class as no one currently looks like a surprise flip to somewhere else at the moment with a month to go.

However, there are a few recruits who could still jump on board namely guys like Jovontae Barnes, Hero Kanu, Marvin Jones Jr., Azareyeh Thomas, and Chris McClellan.

Jovontae Barnes, a running back from Las Vegas is set to visit Oklahoma for the Iowa State game. He plans to silently commit and announce his decision at one of the winter All-Star games in January. The Sooners are in an excellent spot here if you’ve followed our coverage over the months.

Hero Kanu, a defensive lineman originally from Germany, but playing football in California, is another huge possibility for the Sooners here. Judging things right now, this seems like it may be down to Oklahoma and Ohio State, which may be a theme for Oklahoma over the next few months on the recruiting trail.

Marvin Jones Jr. plays with 2023 Sooners commit Brandon Inniss. The chance is there for them to play in college as well. Jamar Cain is on the prowl and is positioning Oklahoma to be right in the thick of it over the coming months in a battle with Alabama and Florida State for the highly talented edge rusher.

Azareyeh Thomas popped onto the scene after a visit a few weeks ago and Oklahoma is trending well enough to have garnered multiple crystal ball predictions on 247’s site. Thomas is listed as an athlete but looks to be playing safety if he plays for the Sooners.

Most, if not all of these guys will be names to monitor in the coming months as letters of intent begin to get signed and as players end their high school seasons, allowing them to focus solely on their recruiting journeys as their senior football seasons come to an end.

USA TODAY High School Sports recruiting rankings Power 5 spotlight: SEC

See the top 10 high school football recruits committed to SEC schools.

As recruiting for the high school football class of 2022 ramps up, more and more NCAA schools are seeing who may be its superstars of the future. And with the early signing period nearing and national singing day on the horizon, the intrigue and conversations will expectedly increase.

So to keep updated on the latest, we’re taking a look at the top recruits in each of the Power 5 conferences, according to the USA TODAY High School Sports Composite Player Rankings, which averages the grades from the three biggest recruiting services: 247Sports, ESPN and Rivals. 

First up is the SEC, a conference absolutely loaded with talent from the class, boasting 10 five-star prospects and 73 four-star players as of Nov. 3.

Here’s a look at the top-10 ranked players…

(Note: The recruit’s measurements and position are courtesy of 247Sports.)

5-star Luther Burden’s commitment to Missouri is icing on a strong class

Luther Burden committed to Missouri football, adding a five-star playmaker to the Tigers’ strong class of recruits.

On top of everything else that makes the SEC so difficult to compete in, Missouri football has struggled to recruit as well as its peers in recent years.

Last year, Mizzou picked up a pair of four-star recruits but was ranked the No. 11 class in the conference. That was actually an improvement, breaking a five-year streak in which the Tigers finished 13th in the conference, a stretch in which they got four total four-star players.

With the commitment of five-star wide receiver Luther Burden, ranked on the 247Sports Composite as the No. 5 player in the class, second-best receiver and top player in Missouri, Mizzou is staring down its competition.

The Tigers have six four-star commits, as many as they had in the previous six years combined, and are getting contributors on both sides of the ball. With a quarterback, running back, two wide receivers and offensive lineman all ranked as four-star players or better, this may be the offensive foundation for the next three years. On the other side of the ball, a four-star safety and four-star defensive lineman join the group.

There is still much recruiting to be done, but Missouri’s class is ranked by 247Sports as the fifth-best class in the SEC and 14th in the nation, massive step-ups from years past.

Burden, who committed on Tuesday, makes plays on offense and special teams. In 13 games over this season and last, he has 81 receptions for 1,489 yards and 17 touchdowns, and has also returned kickoffs and punts this season. Just two days before his commitment, Burden caught two touchdown passes and returned a punt for another score.

He turns this class from a good group into a great one.