Tag: Matt Wells

Who will be Oklahoma’s backup quarterback in 2024?

Oklahoma has options on the quarterback depth chart behind starter Jackson Arnold.

Backup quarterback is a position few fans or coaches ever want to think about. However, it’s an important role to have decided before going into any season.

The Oklahoma Sooners have zero doubt who their starting quarterback will be in Year 3 of the [autotag]Brent Venables[/autotag] era. [autotag]Jackson Arnold[/autotag] was tabbed long ago as the player who would be the face of the Sooners as they left the [autotag]Big 12[/autotag] for the [autotag]SEC[/autotag].

The quarterback room as a whole has seen a major reshuffle around the former five-star prospect. Former offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach [autotag]Jeff Lebby[/autotag] is the head coach at Mississippi State. Former offensive analyst [autotag]Matt Wells[/autotag], who worked with the QBs, is the co-offensive coordinator at Kansas State. Former assistant quarterbacks coach [autotag]Matt Holocek[/autotag] followed Lebby to Starkville.

[autotag]Seth Littrell[/autotag] and [autotag]Joe Jon Finley[/autotag] were promoted to co-offensive coordinators to replace Lebby, with Littrell coaching quarterbacks and likely serving as the primary play-caller. Finley will continue to coach tight ends. [autotag]Kevin Johns[/autotag], who was the OC and QBs coach at Duke for the last two seasons, was hired by Venables as an offensive analyst this offseason to replace Wells. Johns has worked under Littrell before and received his coaching start working for former Oklahoma OC and current Tulsa head coach [autotag]Kevin Wilson[/autotag]. [autotag]Jack Lowary[/autotag] and [autotag]Ty Hatcher[/autotag] were hired in December as offensive support staff, and both have worked with QBs.

[autotag]Dillon Gabriel[/autotag], [autotag]Davis Beville[/autotag], [autotag]General Booty[/autotag] and [autotag]Jacob Switzer[/autotag] left the program via the [autotag]transfer portal[/autotag] this offseason, leaving Arnold as the only player in the QB room who was here a season ago.

Behind Arnold, Oklahoma has four other quarterbacks on the roster heading into the 2024 season. Veteran transfer [autotag]Casey Thompson[/autotag], true freshmen [autotag]Michael Hawkins Jr.[/autotag] and [autotag]Brendan Zurbrugg[/autotag], and late transfer enrollee [autotag]Steele Wasel[/autotag] make up the rest of the quarterback unit.

Which of these players has the best chance to be called upon if something happens to Arnold? After all, we saw the situation play out last season when Arnold’s redshirt year was burned because he had to replace Gabriel in the second half of a must-win game against BYU.

Casey Thompson has the experience you look for in a college football backup quarterback. The seventh-year “senior” has made stops at Texas, Nebraska and Florida Atlantic over the past few years. He’s Oklahoma royalty, having seen his father [autotag]Charles Thompson[/autotag] and his older brother [autotag]Kendal Thompson[/autotag] play for the Sooners before him. He joined the program as a walk-on transfer this offseason, and has been recovering from injury, meaning he was unable to participate in spring football.

Michael Hawkins Jr., another Oklahoma legacy, provides the young and uber-talented backup option. The true freshman hails from Frisco Emerson High School in Texas, and he could be the future of the position if he develops over the next two seasons behind Arnold. He’s a dual-threat quarterback, flashing his talent in the [autotag]2024 spring game[/autotag].

Brendan Zurbrugg was the second quarterback the Sooners took in the [autotag]2024 recruiting class[/autotag], and his road to playing time is longer than his fellow true freshman’s. Zurbrugg is from Alliance, Ohio, and will be a depth player this season. He was taken by Oklahoma this year for a reason. He’ll have a chance to show what he has in practice.

Steele Wasel is the newest member of the group, transferring in from Akron in early June. He’ll be the fifth quarterback on the roster this season, and the in-state product will provide depth and a practice arm as a walk-on, getting the opportunity to practice against [autotag]Power Four[/autotag] players in Norman.

Thompson and Hawkins Jr. are the front-runners to serve as Arnold’s backup, but they’re on opposite ends of the experience spectrum. It may depend on the nature or severity of an Arnold injury to see which of them plays. Zurbrugg and Wasel are farther back in the competition, but college football has a way of making the unexpected the reality sometimes.

For instance, if Arnold is injured for part of a game and Littrell needs someone to finish the job, he might go with the steady hand of Thompson to help the Sooners win a close game, especially if it comes in a tough environment. If Arnold’s absence stretches multiple games, the talent and upside of Hawkins Jr. might be the way to go, considering the microscopic margin of error in the SEC. If either of those backups go down, Zurbrugg or Wasel could see an expanded role.

The competition will likely extend throughout fall camp, but Venables, Littrell and Finley need to have an answer at backup QB.

They’ll need to prepare either the experienced Thompson or the young Hawkins Jr. to hold the weight of Sooner Nation on their shoulders if the worst-case scenario happens. While they’re at it, it doesn’t hurt to get Zurbrugg or even Wasel ready to go just in case chaos reigns 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 Aaron on X @AaronGelvin.

Oklahoma Sooners quarterback room will look completely different in 2024

The Sooners have almost completely restacked the quarterback room going into their first season in the SEC.

In early December, Oklahoma’s starting quarterback for the last two seasons, [autotag]Dillon Gabriel[/autotag], announced he was entering the transfer portal.

Gabriel saw the writing on the wall that it was former five-star [autotag]Jackson Arnold[/autotag]’s time to take the reins under center for the Sooners. Gabriel transferred to Oregon to play the final year of his college career.

While Gabriel was certainly OU’s most notable loss in the portal at the QB spot, his was just the first of many departures that have completely reshuffled Oklahoma’s quarterback depth chart.

But let’s start at the beginning. Last season’s quarterback room in Norman consisted of Dillon Gabriel, Jackson Arnold, [autotag]Davis Beville[/autotag], [autotag]General Booty[/autotag] and [autotag]Jacob Switzer[/autotag].

Gabriel’s departure wasn’t even the first domino to fall. Former offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach [autotag]Jeff Lebby[/autotag] was hired to be the head coach at Mississippi State in late November. So, regardless of the portal or recruiting, a different voice was going to call the shots on offense.

[autotag]Seth Littrell[/autotag] and [autotag]Joe Jon Finley[/autotag] were promoted to co-offensive coordinators. Finley is still serving as the tight ends coach, and Littrell is expected to be the play-caller and quarterbacks coach. Additionally, offensive analyst [autotag]Matt Wells[/autotag], who has experience coaching quarterbacks and as an offensive coordinator, was hired away by Chris Klieman to coach QBs for Kansas State in January.

Arnold stuck with the Sooners after Lebby’s departure. By doing so, ehe stablished himself as the starter until he decides to leave Norman. Seemingly, this was the plan all along.

But the QB room has changed around Arnold. From the coach in charge to the players behind the highly-touted sophomore.

After Lebby took the job in Starkville and Gabriel moved to Eugene, the next exit came courtesy of Beville. The former backup transferred to South Carolina after two seasons at OU.

Switzer, the fifth-string quarterback and grandson of [autotag]Barry Switzer[/autotag], entered the portal in April, having spent only 2023 as a Sooner.

And, finally, first-ballot all-name team Hall of Famer and name, image and likeness legend General Booty, entered the transfer portal on May 5. That leaves Arnold as the only player left from the 2023 quarterback room still on the roster.

Though the departures have changed things, the argument could be made that the Sooners have more talent overall under center than they did in November when the regular season ended.

First, the Sooners added two quarterbacks as part of the 2024 recruiting class: [autotag]Michael Hawkins Jr.[/autotag] out of Texas and [autotag]Brendan Zurbrugg[/autotag] out of Ohio.

Hawkins is the more highly touted of the two, and has a chance to be the future of the program after Arnold’s time is up. However, Zurbrugg was a very good prospect. He’ll compete for snaps when given the opportunity. Though both are young, they offer potential and talent for the future of the position.

But Littrell needed a veteran backup behind Arnold to offer stability in case of injury, so the Sooners went and picked up [autotag]Casey Thompson[/autotag] in the transfer portal by way of FAU.

Thompson is OU royalty by way of (most notably) his father [autotag]Charles Thompson[/autotag] and his older brother [autotag]Kendal Thompson[/autotag]. Casey made stops at Texas and Nebraska before his time at Florida Atlantic. He brings six seasons of college football experience to Oklahoma. He carved up the OU defense in the fabled 2021 Red River Rivalry game, holding his own on a field with two five-star quarterbacks in crimson and cream.

In addition, the Sooners have an extremely strong commitment from [autotag]Kevin Sperry[/autotag] in the 2025 class. He will likely compete with Hawkins Jr. (and possibly Zurbrugg) for the starting spot going into the 2026 season if all goes as [autotag]Brent Venables[/autotag] and the coaching staff think it will.

To recap, we’re just over five months removed from the regular-season finale against TCU, and the quarterback room looks vastly different. As it stands, the Sooners will take Jackson Arnold, Casey Thompson, Michael Hawkins Jr. and Brendan Zurbrugg into the 2024 season.

But this is Jackson Arnold’s time to be the face of Oklahoma Sooners football, an opportunity he’s relished and prepared for for years. He is now the most tenured player in the QB room. It’s one more way that the OU faithful will be counting on him to lead the way in 2024 and beyond.

Fortunately, the reshuffling at the position looks to have been a success from a talent acquisition standpoint and quarterback is a strong point for the Sooners heading into Year 3 of the Venables era and Year 1 in the SEC.

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 Aaron on X @AaronGelvin.

Big 12 coaches ranked by career win percentage

With turnover of three of the conference’s programs, here’s a look at how the current Big 12 coaches stack up in win percentage.

The Big 12 saw some head coach turnover from the 2021 season. Gone are Lincoln Riley, Matt Wells, and Gary Patterson and in are Brent Venables, Joey McGuire, and Sonny Dykes.

Dykes is the only one of the three with head coaching experience having spent time at Louisiana Tech, Cal, and SMU before taking over the TCU Horned Frogs. For much of the 2021 season, SMU looked to be the biggest threat to Cincinnati’s AAC title and playoff aspirations before a late-season collapse allowed Houston to challenge the Bearcats in the AAC title game.

McGuire made a name for himself in the Texas high school football ranks. He led Cedar Hill to three state championships in his tenure. After that he spent time on Baylor’s staff as an assistant before landing at Texas Tech. He might have limited college experience, but he’s a well respected name in Texas high school circles that should give the Red Raiders a boost on the recruiting trail.

Venables is arguably the most successful defensive coordinator of the last decade, helping Clemson win two national titles and predicting countless NFL prospects. No team had more sacks than the Tigers in the last decade in Venables pressure scheme. Bringing back Venables, the Sooners hope to recreate that success in Norman ahead of a future move to the SEC.

Oklahoma Sooners add former Texas Tech head coach Matt Wells in support role

The Oklahoma Sooners continued to bolster their program with the addition of former Texas Tech head coach Matt Wells.

The Oklahoma Sooners made a significant addition to the football program adding former Texas Tech head coach Matt Wells in a support role.

According to Parker Thune of OUInsider at 247Sports, Wells will be joining the staff to aid in developing relationships with high schools on the recruiting front.

The former head coach spent three seasons at Texas Tech and six seasons at Utah State compiling a career record of 57-51. Former Oklahoma head coach Lincoln Riley talked about his former colleague after he was let go by the Red Raiders midseason.

“Tough to hear the news about Matt Wells,” Riley said after the firing. “(He’s) one of the great guys in coaching. He’s a heckuva ball coach and he’s gonna get his chance to continue leading good programs in the future.”

Most notably, Wells was responsible for recruiting former first-round pick Jordan Love to Utah State. Love helped the Aggies win 11 games in 2018, including a win over BYU and a seven-point loss to Michigan State in the season opener.

In the short-term, Wells will be at the forefront of Oklahoma’s recruiting efforts under Brent Venables. With his coaching experience, the Oklahoma native may find himself on the practice field at some point as well. While things didn’t work out at Texas Tech, he’s a respected name in coaching circles and will be a big asset in helping Oklahoma continue to build its program.

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College football head coaching tracker

Rank these jobs from best to worst and give us a reason why…

It’s already been a busy off-season of coaching changes in college football and we’re still two weeks from the regular season actually drawing to a close.  With Justin Fuente’s announced firing from Virginia Tech there have now already been 12 head college football coaches fired since the season began.

Some are staying on to finish the year while others technically resigned, but the the fact remains there will be at least 12 different head coaches in college football’s FBS when the 2022 season begins late next summer.

Here at Fighting Irish Wire we’re certainly not expecting Brian Kelly to be exiting anytime soon, even if Kirk Herbstreit has him on a plane to Southern California, but we certainly would be curious about a Kelly assistant getting a chance at a head coaching job.

Below is our tracker of all FBS coaching changes that will be updated through the fall and into the early parts of 2022.

3 offensive keys that could lead to an Oklahoma victory over Texas Tech

3 Offensive keys to an Oklahoma Sooners win vs. the Texas Tech Red Raiders in week 9.

The Oklahoma Sooners are desperate for a bounce-back in the worst way. After an embarrassing performance against the Kansas Jayhawks, which saw the Jayhawks dominate for at least 2.5 quarters of the game, the Sooners should be chomping at the bit to play again.

They will get their shot as they play their penultimate home game this 2021 season against the Texas Tech Red Raiders. Texas Tech comes in with their cloud hanging over their head in the form of having to play with their interim head coach in Sonny Cumbie, who took over for recently let go head coach Matt Wells.

The Sooners offense looked very uninspired much of the game. The offensive line didn’t dominate as they should’ve and while they were down a few playmakers, the Sooners’ offense didn’t look like it had been looking of late.

This Texas Tech defense ranks 70th in the nation in total defense. They aren’t great but they are not horrible either. They offer some decent resistance. However, with better focus and some better execution, there are plays to be had against them. Here are the Sooners Wire offensive keys to the game:

Switch it up

Far too often teams come out and just try to jam the ball down their opponent’s throat by running hapless runs one after the other.

This week, the Sooners should come out with some of their more creative play designs and get the juices flowing early.

The fans will be rocking and the Sooners need a fast start to wash away the stink of that previous game. Lincoln Riley should roll out one of his patented gadget plays and some quick passes to get Texas Tech on its heels early and the offense into a rhythm.

As Caleb Williams gets more comfortable in this offense, we should see the Sooners bring back the uptempo play calling as well to wear teams out.

Up Next: Play Action a Key to OU’s success

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Oklahoma Sooners vs. Texas Tech: Sooners Wire Staff Predictions

Get ready for Saturday’s matchup between the Oklahoma Sooners and the Texas Tech Red Raiders with our Sooners Wire Staff Predictions.

If you’re looking for the brightside of Oklahoma’s 35-23 escape of the Kansas Jayhawks, it’s that this team continues to prove capable of overcoming adversity early in football games.

Sure, it was against Kansas, and a better team might have run away with that one. But we’ve witnessed this team do it several times this season. In the Texas game and against West Virginia, things weren’t going well, but Oklahoma found a way to win the game.

And while style points matter for playoff consideration and positioning, isn’t it just about wins? If the Oklahoma Sooners are able to win all of their games, they’ll have a chance to contend for the National Championship despite a perceived lack of style points.

Texas Tech comes into this one facing adversity with the recent firing of head coach Matt Wells. Sonny Cumbie takes the reigns as interim head coach for a team that has underachieved since starting the season 3-0. They’ve gone 2-3, alternating wins and losses in Big 12 play.

In their most recent loss, Texas Tech had a 24-10 lead on Kansas State at halftime only to be outscored 15-0 in the second half.

Texas Tech has been an enigma this season. They came back from a 14-0 first quarter deficit and trailed 21-7 at halftime against Houston before going on to win 38-21. Then the next week, they trailed Stephen F. Austin at halftime to comeback and win again.

In looking at how the Oklahoma Sooners and Texas Tech Red Raiders stack up statistically, on paper Oklahoma’s clearly the better team. Of course they were the far superior team last week and we remember how that turned out.

To help get you ready for Saturday’s matchup, check out predictions from our Sooners Wire staff.

Up Next: Sooners Wire Staff Predictions.

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Around the Big 12: Where does Texas Tech go from here, TCU’s Zach Evans rumors

It’s been a wild week in the Big 12.

Stay up to date with the latest happenings surrounding Big 12 athletics.

Where does Texas Tech go from here?

It’s never easy losing your head coach in the middle of the season, but after what transpired on Saturday against Kansas State, it’s understandable why the school felt it was time for a change. Sonny Cumbie will now have the opportunity to interview for the job in the next four weeks. The list of candidates include former Texas assistant Jeff Traylor and the son of Texas Tech coaching legend, Sonny Dykes.

As far as the product on the field, the team still has an opportunity to get to the postseason, although the task is tall. Tech has Oklahoma, Iowa State, Baylor, and Oklahoma State remaining on the schedule. They are playing with house money, can they do the unthinkable and pull off an upset?

Rumors surrounding TCU running back Zach Evans

Rumors continue to circulate on social media regarding Zach Evans future with the TCU Horned Frogs. Most of the speculation has centered around the star running back potentially leaving the program, but Dallas Morning News’ Drew Davison rebutted those rumors by stating Evans was at practice yesterday and “all is good.”

However, Evans removed any sign of TCU from his Instagram page on Wednesday. This is shaping up to be a situation worth monitoring.

No fine will be issued for Iowa State after fans stormed the field

Iowa State fans celebrated the Oklahoma State victory by storming the field at Jack Trice Stadium last week. According to Big 12 commissioner Bob Bowlsby, the school will not be fined or reprimanded.

I have concluded my review of the field storming incident that occurred at the conclusion of Saturday’s Oklahoma State at Iowa State football game.  Although no action by the Conference is being taken, I am using this opportunity to express my concern that, although improvements have been made, more needs to be done to ensure a safer exit from the field for the opposing team and game officials.

I know that the ISU administration is committed to providing the safest possible environment. I strongly urge that this experience be used to further consider steps that may be taken to ensure safety for all concerned.

Contact/Follow us @LonghornsWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Texas news, notes, and opinions.

Former Texas assistant Jeff Traylor among candidates to replace Matt Wells at Texas Tech

Former Texas assistant Jeff Traylor will be a hot commodity.

The head coach landscape has yet another opening following the firings of Clay Helton at USC and Ed Orgeron at LSU. The Texas Tech Red Raiders announced on Monday that they relieved Matt Wells. Athletic director Kirby Hocutt stated that the next hire would be one that will unify the fanbase.

One of the names that has been passed around is former Texas Longhorns assistant coach Jeff Traylor. Currently, Traylor has his UTSA Roadrunners in the top 25 of the AFCA Coaches Poll with an 8-0 record. During his time as the head coach, Traylor has compiled a record of 15-5 with the Roadrunners in two years.

At a late afternoon news conference, Hocutt called Wells “a very good man” and one “who always operates with integrity and character.”

“Matt Wells did a lot of things right,” Hocutt said. “The performance on the field did not match our expectations.”

Tech (5-3, 2-3 in the Big 12) has finished each of the past five seasons and six of the past seven with losing records. The Red Raiders have not finished above .500 in conference play since 2009, Mike Leach’s last season.

“We’ve got to get this right,” Hocutt said with an emphatic tone. “Bottom line, we have got to get this right for Texas Tech athletics and Texas Tech University.”

Hocutt emphasized that getting a coach with Texas ties will be important for high school connections and recruiting reasons. – Don Williams, Lubbock Avalanche-Journal

A head coach candidate with high school connections seems to point straight to Traylor. He spent time as an assistant coach at Big Sandy and Jacksonville in East Texas before becoming the head coach at Gilmer High School. He joined the Longhorns staff in 2015 after 14 years with Gilmer.

Multiple coaching lists all have Traylor among the top names, as well as Sonny Dykes. Dykes is the current head coach at Southern Methodist and the son of Tech coaching legend Spike Dykes.

Texas Tech fires football coach who followed Kliff Kingsbury

Texas Tech fires head football coach Matt Wells

Following Kliff Kingsbury at Texas Tech should not have been a hard act.

However, whatever Matt Wells did after the current Arizona Cardinals coach went 35-40 in Lubbock wasn’t good enough.

The Red Raiders announced Monday that Wells “has been relieved of his duties, effective immediately.”

Since Wells took over going into the 2019 season, the Red Raiders are 13-17 and 7-16 in Big 12 games. Texas Tech is 5-3 and has the ominous task of facing fourth-ranked Oklahoma on Saturday.

Lubbockonline reports:

Wells is in the third year of a six-year contract. To fire him without cause, Tech is obligated to pay Wells 70% of the amount remaining in his contract, around $7 million.

Wells’ final game was a 25-24 loss to Kansas State, which saw the Wildcats overcome a 14-0 deficit and convert a third-and-34 situation thanks to Texas Tech penalties.

Cumbie was at Texas Tech from 2009-13. He then went to TCU and returned to the Red Raiders in December as offensive coordinator.