Tag: Michael Turk

Stock Report: Sooners defense on the rise after three interception day vs. Iowa State

The Oklahoma Sooners’ defense and special teams is trending in the right direction after their win over Iowa State. From @thatmanbryant

Oklahoma won just its second true road game of the year. They went to Iowa State and won 27-13 behind a solid day from their defense and some timely plays from their offense and special teams. After being dismantled by TCU on the road a few weeks ago, Oklahoma needed to erase the stench of that road defeat from their minds and they did that.

Outside of Eric Gray’s 20 carries for 101 yards and a touchdown, Oklahoma didn’t have a 100-yard receiver, and Dillon Gabriel failed to throw for more than 200 yards but the offense made plays when they had to. They didn’t have to do much in this one as the defense carried the day. The Sooners stymied Iowa State’s ground game for just 66 yards.

The win sets Oklahoma’s record at 5-3, putting them just one win away from securing bowl eligibility. As the Sooners now turn their focus to Baylor, here’s our weekly stock report, where we see who’s trending up and who’s trending down.

5 takeaways from the Oklahoma Sooners 27-13 win over the Iowa State Cyclones

Oklahoma produced in all three phases on Saturday vs. Iowa State in their 27-13 win. Here are 5 takeaways from the pivotal road victory. from @thatmanbryant

Oklahoma may have found its defensive swagger once again. After the bye week, Oklahoma made the trip to Ames, Iowa to take on Matt Campbell’s Iowa State Cyclones. The Cyclones entered the game 10th nationally in yards per rush allowed and were sixth in the nation in points allowed per game at 15.5. They also feature Will McDonald, one of Iowa State’s all-time best at rushing the passer.

Oklahoma beat the Cyclones 27-13 behind a fairly complementary performance in all three phases.

[autotag]Eric Gray[/autotag] contributed 101 yards on the ground and a touchdown. The defense tallied three interceptions of Iowa State QB Hunter Dekkers. Lastly, [autotag]Zach Schmit[/autotag] and [autotag]Michael Turk[/autotag] provided the impact on special teams to put the Sooners over the top. Schmit scored on a fake field goal pass and nailed two field goal attempts, while Michael Turk chipped in two 60-yard punts to flip the field in the fourth quarter, including one that pinned the Cyclones at the one on the drive following a score that made it 20-13.

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The game was sloppy at times, and there are some things to take issue with. However, a conference win on the road considering the season Oklahoma has had, is nothing to scoff at. With such a complementary and tough win, we want to share our five takeaways from the Oklahoma win before Oklahoma starts to prepare for a home game against Baylor.

Report Card: Oklahoma grades poorly in loss to Kansas State

A poor showing by Oklahoma’s defense doomed the Sooners against Kansas State in our report card from week four.

Any dreams of an undefeated season have officially come to an end as Oklahoma suffered its first loss of the season Saturday night against the Kansas State Wildcats. This has become a recurring theme over the last four years between these two.

Somehow Kansas State just finds a way to beat Oklahoma. Saturday’s loss against the Wildcats followed the same script as the previous losses. Deuce Vaughn was a thorn in Oklahoma’s side, accompanied by a breakout performance from an athletic quarterback. This time, instead of Skylar Thompson, it was Nebraska transfer, Adrian Martinez. He looked like the second-coming of former Heisman winner Cam Newton against Oklahoma. He diced them up through the air and ran for days against this Sooners’ defense.

Ultimately, Oklahoma lost the game 41-34. The story may have ended differently if they could’ve come up with two more plays on both sides of the ball. They couldn’t get out of their way. With that said, we have our final grades for the game and shared them below.

Sooners WR Marvin Mims makes PFF Preseason All-America Third-Team

Oklahoma Sooners WR Marvin Mims was named a preseason third-team All-American selection by Pro Football Focus.

Pro Football Focus recently released their College Preseason All-America Team, and but one Oklahoma Sooner received the honor of being recognized: [autotag]Marvin Mims[/autotag] on the third team. Punter [autotag]Michael Turk[/autotag], and defensive lineman [autotag]Jalen Redmond[/autotag] both received honorable mentions.

The former four-star wide receiver has been cast as Oklahoma’s No. 1 target for new quarterback [autotag]Dillon Gabriel[/autotag] after the Sooners lost Mario Williams and [autotag]Jadon Haselwood[/autotag] to the transfer portal and Michael Woods went to the NFL. Each of those guys that left received more targets than Mims last season and while he had fewer touchdowns compared to 2020, Mims had more receiving yards to lead the team for the second consecutive season.

The Sooners’ passing game took a jump when Caleb Williams took over from Spencer Rattler, but there just seemed to be a lack of consistency. All too often, Oklahoma would hit a wall, unable to push the ball downfield.

While Mims is poised to breakout in his junior season, he is still a step or two behind another Big 12 wide receiver, Texas’ Xavier Worthy. Worthy was a second-team selection on PFF’s All-American teams.

If Mims is to take this leap, he needs to be a more consistent threat to put some points on the board. He had five touchdowns last season. Two of them were against Texas, two were against Texas Tech, and one was against Oregon in the [autotag]Alamo Bowl[/autotag]. He was held scoreless in every other game.

The only other 100-yard receiving game he had last season that wasn’t against Texas Tech or Texas was in week one against Tulane.

Mims opportunities were a problem in 2021. While he didn’t produce consistently, [autotag]Lincoln Riley[/autotag] didn’t make getting Mims the ball an emphasis in the offense. Here’s what Sooners Wire managing editor John Williams wrote last month.

The Oklahoma Sooners’ offense struggled with consistency throughout 2021. In the passing game, Oklahoma failed to get the ball to their best playmaker in Marvin Mims. He had three or fewer targets in nine games last season. Against Oklahoma State, when the offense was struggling to move the ball in the second half, Mims saw just two targets. Six players saw more targets than Mims in that game. His one reception was a four-yard catch. – Williams, Sooners Wire

There are quite a few familiar faces spread across the three teams. Former Sooners [autotag]Caleb Williams[/autotag] and [autotag]Mario Williams[/autotag] both made the second team. [autotag]Bijan Robinson[/autotag] (Texas) and [autotag]Deuce Vaughn[/autotag] (Kansas State) were both first-team running backs.

If Marvin Mims plays like a top 10 wide receiver in the country, Jeff Lebby’s offense will be a lot of fun in year one.

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Oklahoma punter Michael Turk named to Ray Guy Award watch list for 2022

Looking to build off of a tremendous 2021 season, Oklahoma punter Michael Turk was named to the Ray Guy Award watch list.

The Oklahoma Sooners lone selection to the Big 12’s preseason first-team, Michael Turk, has a chance to add more accolades to his already stunning resume. Turk was named to the Ray Guy Award watch list for 2022.

Michael Turk transferred to Oklahoma last offseason and became a weapon for a Sooners team that struggled at times with offensive consistency.

After transferring from Arizona State, Turk led the nation with 51.2 yards per punt in 2021 for the Oklahoma Sooners. Turk was fifth in the nation in net yards per punt at 45.6 and had the second longest punt during the 2021 season and was eighth in hang-time at 4.20 seconds among punters with at least 16 attempts.

Though no offense wants to punt the ball away, having a leg like the Sooners have in Michael Turk can help Oklahoma in the field position battles they’ll face this season.

Turk’s ability to flip field position can be a game changer and provide the defense with momentum before stepping on the field.

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Sooners Dillon Gabriel, Michael Turk receive All-Big 12 honors despite no team selections

Oklahoma punter Michael Turk and transfer QB Dillon Gabriel received preseason Big 12 honors.

Football season is fast approaching and with that comes all of the preseason hype trains, preseason awards, and all the other preseason predictions that come with the days leading up to the actual season.

Oklahoma sent multiple guys to the NFL this past spring and while it’s an honor to see them live out their dreams it also means they have the hefty task of figuring out who are the next wave of stars they will be depending on this upcoming season.

After nine All-Big 12 preseason picks last year, the Sooners will only reload this year with two.

Two names that the Big 12 believes are due for great seasons is that of transfer turned starting quarterback Dillon Gabriel who was named preseason Big 12 Newcomer of the Year on Wednesday by the league office.

Gabriel, a transfer from UCF, has totaled 8,037 yards and 70 touchdowns against 14 interceptions in his college career.  He’s completing 60.7% of his passes and has rushed for 372 yards and eight touchdowns.

He has a strong relationship with Sooners’ offensive coordinator Jeff Lebby who was his coach for two years at UCF before Lebby would move on to Ole Miss. Much of Gabriel’s college success was under the tutelage of Lebby and with both reunited in Norman, it’s more than reasonable to suspect Gabriel could be in for a big year throwing to Marvin Mims, Theo Wease, Jalil Farooq, and other talented playmakers.

Gabriel becomes the second straight Oklahoma player to be tabbed preseason of the year as last year Eric Gray earned the honor. Gray and Gabriel figure to spend a lot of time together in the backfield as both look penciled in as starters at their respective positions.

Michael Turk also received preseason recognition which follows his 2021 season where he was named All-Big 12 First team at punter. Turk was a weapon for Oklahoma especially early on when their offense struggled at times.

His ability to flip the field averaging 51.2 yards on 35 punts was game-changing at times. Twenty of his punts went for at least 50 yards and eight went for at least 60, while 16 punts were downed inside the 20-yard line. He’ll be depended on once again to help flip the field and make things tougher for opposing offenses by pinning them deep in their territory.

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Oklahoma Sooners add punter Brady Braun out of Indiana to 2022 recruiting class

The Oklahoma Sooners added to their 2022 recruiting class, getting a signature from punter Brady Braun.

Punters can be a weapon for a team with a strong defense. Pinning your opponent deep in their own territory or flipping field position with a strong effort from your punter and punt unit can help take the wind out of the opponent.

Teams never want to have to use a punter, but every team wants a good one. The Sooners have a great one in Michael Turk and hope they’ve added another great one with the signing of punter Brady Braun out of Indianapolis, Indiana.

Braun announced today via his social media account that he has signed his national letter of intent for the Oklahoma Sooners.

The Sooners got a commitment from the Under Armour All-American back on Feb. 1 and he made it official today from his high school Bishop Chatard in Indianapolis.

Braun is ranked as the No. 4 punter according to Kohl’s Kicking, a kicking camp that provides evaluations on more than 100 kickers and punters. Here’s what they had to say about Braun.

Braun recently competed at Kohl’s 2021 National Scholarship Camp in July. He won a spot to play in the Under Armour All-American Game at that camp. At the Midwest Spring Showcase he won the punt competition in May of 2021. At the Underclassman Challenge in January of 2021 he scored 111.2 points as a punter. In July of 2020 at the National Scholarship Camp, he had a punt score of 110.84 and earned a 5 star rating. During the 2019 Winter Showcase, Braun charted all three disciplines. His technique puts him in a great position to hit a clean football. He shows top-tier leg strength in his class. Braun has the tools to be a very successful punter. He is definitely one to watch this season!

According to a story from OUInsider’s Parker Thune, Braun received his offer and committed all during his official visit. Those meetings must have spoke volumes for the All-American as he looked to take the next step in his playing career.

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Oklahoma Sooners Punter Michael Turk forgoing NFL for one more season at OU

Punter Michael Turk announced via his YouTube channel that he’ll be sticking around the Oklahoma Sooners for 2022.

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With draft declaration season in full effect, the Oklahoma Sooners have already lost four playmakers off their 2021 roster to the NFL. Nik Bonitto, Perrion Winfrey, Isaiah Thomas, and Brian Asamoah have made it known they’ll begin their preparations for the 2022 NFL Draft.

While early signing day was giving us the official commitments for the 2022 recruiting class, another current Oklahoma Sooner, who was key to their success on 2021 announced his intentions as well.

In a video on his YouTube channel, Michael Turk announced he’ll be back for the 2022 season, bombing kicks and creating great field position for the Sooners.

Turk, who transferred over from Arizona State last Summer, became a weapon in the Oklahoma Sooners arsenal, regularly flipping field position and backing opposing offenses up in their own end zone.

As the Sooners look to get more defensive in the Brent Venables era, having a player that can help you dominate the field position battle is invaluable. Turk’s ability to move Oklahoma out from the shadow of their own goal posts and put pressure on the opposition can’t be understated.

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9 Oklahoma Sooners named to All-Big 12 teams

Jeremiah Hall and Michael Turk earned All-Big 12 First Team honors, while seven other Sooners earned All-Big 12 Second Team recognition.

Tight end/H-back Jeremiah Hall and punter Michael Turk earned All-Big 12 First Team honors, while seven other Oklahoma Sooners were recognized on the All-Big 12 Second Team.

Hall finished the 2021 regular season with 30 receptions for 320 yards with four receiving touchdowns. The Charlotte, N.C., native also had a rushing touchdown against Kansas State.

Turk averaged 51.3 yards per punt and downed 15 of his 33 punts inside the 20-yard-line. Nineteen of Turk’s 33 punts traveled at least 50 yards and eight went for at least 60 yards. Turk recorded five of the top 14 single-game punting averages in Oklahoma history, including the best and third-best marks against TCU (59.7) and Texas (58.0).

Linebacker Brian Asamoah, outside linebacker Nik Bonitto, kicker Gabe Brkic, offensive lineman Marquis Hayes, defensive lineman Isaiah Thomas, safety Delarrin Turner-Yell and defensive lineman Perrion Winfrey represented the seven OU players chosen to the All-Big 12 Second Team.

Asamoah leads the Sooners with 89 tackles and has recorded four tackles for loss to go along with one sack.

Bonitto has recorded 39 tackles and owns the Sooners’ team-lead with 15 tackles for loss. The redshirt junior from Fort Lauderdale, Fla., also has seven sacks.

Brkic has connected on 18-of-24 field goal tries, including five from 50-plus yards with a pair from 56 yards out against Tulane and Western Carolina.

Hayes helped anchor an Oklahoma offense that averaged a Big 12 best 38.4 points per game and has started all 36 games in which he has played over the past three seasons.

Thomas ended his regular season by leading Oklahoma in sacks with eight. The Tulsa native also has 11.5 tackles for loss and 38 tackles overall.

Turner-Yell had a team-high three interceptions. He also recorded 47 tackles and 2.5 tackles for loss.

Winfrey was the final All-Big 12 Second Team selection from Oklahoma. The Maywood, Ill., product has 11 tackles for loss, 5.5 sacks and notched a pair of quarterback hurries.

Safety Pat Fields, defensive back Key Lawrence, wide receiver Marvin Mims, offensive lineman Chris Murray, offensive lineman Tyrese Robinson, wide receiver Drake Stoops, linebacker Danny Stutsman, quarterback Caleb Williams and wide receiver Michael Woods earned honorable mention recognition.

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Trio of Oklahoma Sooners earn Big 12 weekly awards for performances against Iowa State

Jalen Redmond, Key Lawrence and Michael Turk were all honored in the Big 12 weekly awards for their performances against Iowa State.

It was nearly a clean sweep by Oklahoma in the Big 12 weekly awards.

Redshirt sophomore defensive lineman Jalen Redmond won Big 12 defensive player of the week, sophomore defensive back Key Lawrence earned Big 12 newcomer of the week and redshirt senior punter Michael Turk was honored as the co-Big 12 special teams player of the week.

Redmond electrified the Gaylord Family Oklahoma Memorial Stadium crowd with his 42-yard scoop-and-score touchdown versus Iowa State. In the process, the Midwest City native recorded OU’s first defensive score of the season, first fumble returned for a touchdown since 2018 and the Sooners’ first touchdown by a defensive lineman in a home game since 1979.

“Oh man, it was exciting. I had one against Tulane and ended up tripping and falling on that one, so I had to get this one back. It was good. It was exciting. It was something to remember, especially on this night. Last home game,” Redmond said of the play.

Redmond finished with four quarterback hurries—the most by an Oklahoma defensive player since 2017—and one of them led to senior safety Delarrin Turner-Yell’s third-quarter interception.

Redmond also recorded 1.5 tackles for loss and a sack. His scoop-and-score touchdown was set up by a fantastic play by Lawrence. The Nashville, Tenn., product bolted after Iowa State quarterback Brock Purdy, knocked the football loose and set off Redmond’s rumble into the end zone.

Lawrence had two forced fumbles, seven tackles, one tackle for loss and a sack to his credit versus the Cyclones. It’s the fourth game out of the past five for the Sooners where Lawrence has finished his day with seven or more tackles.

Meanwhile, Turk continues to annihilate footballs when given the opportunity. The Arizona State transfer blasted four of his six punts against Iowa State more than 56 yards. Three were 60-plus yard punts versus the Cyclones and that gives Turk eight punts of at least 60 yards this season and 16 of at least 50 yards.

Turk averaged 54.8 yards per punt against Iowa State and is averaging 52.7 yards per punt on the season. The Sooners’ single-season record is 47.8 yards per punt.

It’s the second time this season that Oklahoma had three players honored in the Big 12 weekly awards. The Sooners head to Stillwater, Okla., to take on Oklahoma State at 6:30 p.m. on ABC in what is one of the marquee games of this week’s college football slate.

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