Tag: LV Bunkley-Shelton

Brent Venables among coaches most likely to win big early

Among coaches in new gigs, Brent Venables most likely to win big early according to CBS Sports.

Nothing’s guaranteed in college football. Though the Oklahoma Sooners were favorites to win the Big 12 in 2021, losses to Baylor and Oklahoma State kept them from the title game. As surprising as Oklahoma missing out on a chance to contend for the Big 12 title was what happened a day after Bedlam.

The turnover at head coach was a shock as Lincoln Riley took the head coaching job at USC less than 24 hours after the loss to the Cowboys in Bedlam.

And while much of the country wrote off the Sooners as a premier college football program in the aftermath, Brent Venables work on the recruiting trail, in spring ball, and with the media has restored confidence in the tradition rich Sooners.

Oklahoma has been at or near the top in just about every early prediction or power rankings piece prognosticating the Big 12. Safe to say, the confidence is restored.

But the Oklahoma Sooners weren’t the only program to experience a coaching change this offseason. There’s coaching movement every year, but this felt like the biggest in number of teams, quality of coaches, and big-time programs looking for a new head coach or poaching one.

Notre Dame, USC, LSU, Miami, and Oregon all joined the Sooners on the coaching carousel. Brian Kelly, Mario Cristobal, and Lincoln Riley were the established coaches that jumped from one Power Five program to another while Venables, Dan Lanning, and Marcus Freeman became first-time head coaches, taking over a premier program.

Chip Patterson of CBS Sports took a look at the coaching movement that happened this winter and believes Venables, along with Lincoln Riley, as the coaches “most likely to have early success.”

What’s somewhat less discussed is how Oklahoma, which hired one of its own in Brent Venables to replace Riley, is equally prepared to compete for a conference championship and contend for a College Football Playoff spot. Venables made strong staff hires that included offensive coordinator [autotag]Jeff Lebby[/autotag] and found a Caleb Williams replacement with former UCF star Dillon Gabriel. Some talent left Norman after the coaching change, but the projected depth chart is still as strong as you’re going to find in the Big 12. – Patterson, CBS Sports

It’s not surprising to see Venables as a coach likely to have success. The Sooners are replacing a lot, but they have quite a few guys returning from the 2021 roster that are ready to make a jump. Add in the additions of [autotag]Dillon Gabriel[/autotag], [autotag]Trey Morrison[/autotag], [autotag]Kani Walker[/autotag], [autotag]Jeffery Johnson[/autotag], [autotag]Jonah Laulu[/autotag], [autotag]LV Bunkley-Shelton[/autotag], [autotag]Javian Hester[/autotag], [autotag]T.D. Roof[/autotag], [autotag]McKade Mettauer[/autotag], and [autotag]Tawee Walker[/autotag] and the Sooners did a great job of restocking their roster with some talented guys.

Venables defense and Jeff Lebby’s offensive prowess will have the Sooners winning a lot of games in 2022. They’ll be challenged by Texas, Oklahoma State, Baylor, and Kansas State, but those teams pose challenges every year.

Oklahoma’s banking on their team identity of toughness and aggression carrying them through what could be their last season in the Big 12. And if the success that’s followed Venables and Lebby through their previous stops translates to Oklahoma, there’s no reason why they won’t be contending for the Big 12 and a College Football Playoff spot in 2022.

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Oklahoma Sooners up 3 spots in latest ESPN power rankings

The Oklahoma Sooners made a positive impression on ESPN’s Mark Schlabach, who moved OU up three spots in his latest power rankings.

Coming out of spring ball, the vibes are all positive for the Oklahoma Sooners. A tremendous crowd at the spring game, followed by several solid recruiting weekends has the Sooners heading into the summer with quite a bit of momentum. Still months away from the start of the 2022 season, Oklahoma’s positioned once again to contend for the Big 12 title.

The Sooners’ spring left a strong impression on local and national media alike and in ESPN’s latest power rankings, the Sooners saw a three-spot bump to No. 14. Here’s what ESPN’s Mark Schlabach had to say.

The Sooners’ roster was decimated by players leaving for the NFL draft and transferring after (Lincoln) Riley left for USC. But first-time head coach Brent Venables has done a nice job of reloading through the transfer portal. (Dillon) Gabriel threw for more than 8,000 yards with 70 touchdowns in three seasons at UCF. (C.J.) Coldon, a transfer from Wyoming, and (Trey) Morrison, from North Carolina, were nice additions to the secondary. (Jonah) Laulu had eight tackles for loss and four sacks at Hawai’i last season. Venables will get things fixed on defense, and the offense will be good enough to outscore most teams in the Big 12. The Sooners will play Kansas State, Baylor and Oklahoma State at home. – Schlabach, ESPN

The Sooners lost a lot in the transfer portal, but they also gained quite a bit. Adding [autotag]Dillon Gabriel[/autotag], [autotag]Jeffery Johnson[/autotag], [autotag]Trey Morrison[/autotag], and [autotag]Jonah Laulu[/autotag] provided a nice early boost in the portal while [autotag]LV Bunkley-Shelton[/autotag] and [autotag]Javian Heste[/autotag]r added some competition at wide receiver.

Oklahoma may not have the same level of star power heading into the 2022 season as they had last year. However, the hope is the change in leadership from the coaching staff will help bridge the gap as new stars are born for the Oklahoma Sooners.

[autotag]Marcus Stripling[/autotag] and [autotag]Ethan Downs[/autotag] are expected to have breakout seasons, replacing [autotag]Nik Bonitto[/autotag] and [autotag]Isaiah Thomas[/autotag] on the edge. Gabriel’s experience in college football and within Jeff Lebby’s offense will help get everyone on the same page in a new offense.

ESPN’s buying the hype surrounding the USC Trojans who sit at No. 4 in Schalbach’s power rankings. Oklahoma State was the highest-ranked Big 12 team at No. 11.

No surprise at who sits No. 1 and 2 in the power rankings. Alabama and Ohio State who have arguably the two best quarterbacks in college football, and the two players favored to win the Heisman, head into 2022 as the two best teams in college football.

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Sooners commit Ashton Cozart visit to Oregon a cause of concern?

Should Oklahoma be concerned with committed players taking visits?

The temperatures outside aren’t the only things that look to be heating up this summer. The 2023 recruiting class is now at the forefront of the college football world as this summer represents their last summer before they decide on what their future holds for collegiate football.

The Oklahoma Sooners haven’t even hit double digits yet in terms of commits so they have quite a long way to go before they fill up their scholarships and so forth. However, they need to keep the guys they do have committed in the fold. No one has decommitted yet but our friends at Ducks Wire confirmed that Sooner wide receiver commit Ashton Cozart will be in Eugene, Oregon for a visit this weekend.

Cozart spoke with On3 earlier this month about his thoughts on recruiting and was on record saying, “In my opinion, in this industry, it’s become a business, so you can’t just be too high on one person because anything can happen,” Cozart told On3 earlier this month. “I’m still committed to Oklahoma but I think it’s smart to keep an eye on other opportunities as well and keep those relationships up.”

In many ways, he’s extremely right. That’s not the kicker though. The catch is that his would-be future head coach whom he committed to spoke candidly and passionately about commitments and scholarships needing to mean something and even compared recruiting to marriage in essence comparing the need to take additional visits as akin to dating someone while already married.

There’s another part of this equation that may be flying under the radar and not being considered when looking at this picture from a wider point of view. Since Cozart committed to the Oklahoma Sooners on February 4, the Sooners have landed not one but two transfer wide receivers with multiple years of eligibility. Javian Hester was first and just earlier this week LV Bunkley-Shelton joined the mix. Both primarily play in the slot which is not remotely close to what Cozart offers outside as a Z or X receiver.

However, that’s just another body and more reps that could be taken away from him on top of the other receivers the Sooners would return next year in Jalil Farooq, Jayden Gibson, and Nic Anderson too. Maybe after seeing this unfold and looking at things Cozart feels compelled to make sure his heart and his path to playing time still lead him to Norman and going on visits is a way of confirming or denying that. There are months between now and the time he has to sign the dotted line for his final decision.

No one knows for sure what’s going on behind the scenes but the situation is something to monitor going forward. How will Venables and the staff take to it? Will it have a lasting impact on recruiting going forward if the Sooners switch their policy or will the policy remain in place and the Sooners have a conversation with Cozart? We don’t know but we’ll continue to monitor Cozart’s recruitment going forward.

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Oklahoma Sooners get transfer portal wide receiver LV Bunkley-Shelton from Arizona State

For the second time in recent weeks, the Oklahoma Sooners land a wide receiver through the transfer portal, this time LV Bunkley-Shelton

Jeff Lebby is making quite the impression in the transfer portal pitching his offense of late. In back-to-back weeks, he’s landed another wide receiver out of the transfer portal with multiple years of eligibility. Last week it was Javian Hester, who transferred from Missouri. This week it’s LV Bunkley-Shelton, a transfer from Arizona State.

Bunkley-Shelton entered the portal on April 29 and shortly after began to take visits. He visited Oklahoma on May 7 and his official visit was spearheaded by Sooners’ former defensive back turned defensive assistant Jeremiah Criddell. Bunkley-Shelton and Criddell are both from California and played on the same 7-on-7 teams in high school. The Arizona State product narrowed his options to two schools, Oklahoma and Kansas. Ultimately, he chose the Sooners and spoke to 247’s Greg Biggins as to why:

“OU just stuck out a little more for me. They came after me hard right when I went in to the portal and made me feel like a priority. I really liked it there, it’s a big time program and I think I’ll fit in really well there. Having Jeremiah there was huge in my decision,” Bunkley-Shelton told Biggins. “He’s family, we’ve been close for a long time, since before high school. We played on GZ (Ground Zero, 7v7 program) together and he’s someone I know I can trust.”

“When you go somewhere new, it always helps to have someone there that you’re comfortable with and that’s definitely Jeremiah. I liked Oklahoma a lot as it was, but having him there helped put them over the top.”

As a redshirt freshman in 2021, Bunkley-Shelton hauled in 33 receptions for 418 yards and two touchdowns for the Sun Devils. He had 11 catches for 100 yards as a true freshman in 2020. He’ll have three years of eligibility remaining with the Sooners.

As a recruit, he was a four-star prospect in the 247Sports Composite rankings and No. 158 overall player in the nation. Bunkley-Shelton will join the Sooners in the summer in time for fall camp and will join a wide receiver room that includes [autotag]Marvin Mims[/autotag], [autotag]Theo Wease[/autotag], [autotag]Drake Stoops[/autotag], and [autotag]Jalil Farooq[/autotag] plus transfer Javian Hester to go along with the two young four-star freshmen in Nic Anderson and Jayden Gibson.

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