Tag: Pat Fields

Going shopping once again: Three defensive backs the Sooners could target via the transfer portal

Three defensive backs the Sooners should pursue via the transfer portal. Names like Trey Morrison, Eric Reed, and Darion Green-Warren in play

While much has been made about the Oklahoma Sooners’ offensive pursuits through the portal with receivers and quarterbacks, should the Oklahoma Sooners also be looking at defensive backs?

The defensive backs weren’t horrible when largely healthy but the Sooners lost their two most trusted players on the back end to the NFL Draft (Delarrin Turner-Yell) and Stanford (Pat Fields). While reports of Jay Valai being the next Sooners defensive backs coach are out there, the Sooners may see defensive backs hit the portal before and after his hiring as guys look for a fresh start. They could also feel as if a new coach may not afford them the same chances they may have thought they would get with Roy manning or Alex Grinch still in the fold.

The Sooners still need game-ready bodies back in the secondary. While they have some talented incoming freshman set to join the squad, the Oklahoma Sooners shouldn’t go into 2022 relying on true freshman on the back end.

Lucky for you, we’ve compiled a few names that may fit just what the Sooners could be looking for.

Eric Reed, CB

The first name that stands out as part of the current potential portal possibilities is Eric Reed. Reed is a cornerback out of Louisiana who left the state to go play for the Auburn Tigers.

Out of high school, many weren’t sure where his best fit was but he can play high-level football at a multitude of positions in the secondary. He’s not played much in college but why not get a fresh start and give him the chance to earn his stripes under a new coach with no preconceived notions about him at all?

Trey Morrison, DB

Trey Morrison is probably the opposite of Reed in the sense that Morrison has played a lot of snaps at the college level. Morrison appeared in 11 games as a true freshman for the North Carolina Tar Heels, starting 10, at nickelback in 2019. That season, he totaled 46 tackles, two sacks, 5.5 TFL, and four pass breakups.

In 2020, he started all 12 games at defensive back and was All-ACC Honorable Mention which included 39 total tackles, two tackles for loss, one sack, three PBU, and one INT. While physically he’s not the biggest player, he’s productive and he’s very experienced.

Over four seasons, Morrison has played in 44 games in college. He gives the Sooners a veteran presence and more position versatility as they ook to retool and rest their secondary going into the 2022 season.

Darion Green-Warren, CB

If you’ve followed the Sooners on the recruiting trail, this name will probably ring a bell. Darion Green-Warren was at one time a hard Sooners recruit. He was recruited most heavily by Kerry Cooks who is no longer with the program.

Green-Warren decommited following the hiring of Alex Grinch in 2019 after being committed to the Sooners for almost an entire year. He would eventually end up at Michigan in 2020 and put his name in the transfer portal recently.

Can Brent Venables lead the charge to get him to finally land at Oklahoma? For the Sooners, it may be worth revisiting. After all, none of the defensive coaches involved with that recruit are on the staff anymore.

While none of these names have reportedly received an Oklahoma offer, the Sooners are in the business of reshaping the roster in the image of Brent Venables. No name is off the table and quite frankly it shouldn’t be as they continue to retool heading into the 2022 season.

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Sooners safety Delarrin Turner-Yell declares for the 2022 NFL Draft

After three years starting for the Oklahoma Sooners, safety Delarrin Turner-Yell has declared for the NFL Draft.

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With the Sooners ending a tumultuous 2021 season on a high note with a win over the Oregon Ducks in the Valero Alamo Bowl, many Sooners took it as a positive way to close their final chapter at Oklahoma.

Nik Bonitto, Perrion Winfrey, and Isaiah Thomas all opted out before the game, while guys like Pat Fields, Marquis Hayes, Tyrese Robinson, Kennedy Brooks, and Gabe Brkic played in the win over Oregon, but have since declared for the 2022 NFL draft.

Following other Sooners defenders, safety Delarrin Turner-Yell has made it known he’ll be heading to the NFL.

Turner-Yell has been a steadfast and reliable option on the backend of the Sooners defense since coming to Norman.

In his career, he was a three-year starter, making 30 career starts. Turner-Yell led the Sooners with three interceptions this season and was fourth in tackles with 53.

For his career, he finishes with 190 total tackles, four interceptions, and a forced fumble. Turner-Yell was an All-Big 12 Second Team selection this season and an Academic All-Big 12 Second Team honoree as well.

Turner-Yell was reliable, had very few busts in coverage, and was a physical player at the strong safety position for Alex Grinch’s Speed D. His experience, leadership, and physicality will be yet another major hole for the Sooners to replace in Brent Venables’ first year as Sooners head coach.

The Hempstead, Texas native marks the 10th starter from this year’s team to declare for the NFL Draft. If Turner-Yell gets drafted, it’ll mark the second consecutive year a Sooners defensive back was drafted.

At a glance, a name like Key Lawrence immediately comes to mind as a guy that can replace Turner-Yell as the Sooners head into a winter where they’ll be retooling a lot of different positions on top of acclimating a handful of new coaches.

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‘Forever a Sooner’: Safety Pat Fields heading to Stanford on a full academic Scholarship

Oklahoma Sooners Safety Pat Fields announced via his Twitter account that he’s heading west to Stanford to further his education.

Wrapping up a senior season that saw him win first-team academic All-American honors, safety Pat Fields announced via his Twitter account that he’ll be heading west to study management science and engineering at Stanford University. He’s received a full academic scholarship to attend the esteemed university in California.

Fields, who started “Town Business,” a financial literacy seminar with the mission of instructing student-athletes on money management, budgeting, credit, and personal branding. In collaboration with the OU National Black Alumni Association, he created the Black Wall Street Foundation to provide scholarships for underrepresented and lower-income students from Tulsa.

For the 2021 season, Fields was elected one of the captains to represent the Oklahoma Sooners along with Jeremiah Hall, Caleb Kelly, Isaiah Thomas (who was added later), and Spencer Rattler.

For the Oklahoma Sooners this season, Fields set career highs in tackles, tackles for loss, and interceptions. His leadership and consistency provided the stability that the Oklahoma secondary needed as it dealt with injuries and inexperience at cornerback.

In the Oklahoma Sooners 47-32 win over the Oregon Ducks in the Alamo Bowl, Pat Fields was named the defensive MVP after leading the Sooners with six solo tackles and added a tackle for loss.

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3 stars from the Oklahoma Sooners 47-32 win over the Oregon Ducks in the Valero Alamo Bowl

Who were the Oklahoma Sooners 3 stars from their 47-32 Alamo Bowl win over the Oregon Ducks?

Another season has reached its end for the Sooners and while it didn’t end with them hoisting a national title, they were able to end it on a high note with a win against a ranked opponent in the Oregon Ducks. The dominant win gives them some momentum as they head towards some time off and then winter workouts.

Months ago if you said that Bob Stoops would be the interim head coach for this bowl game with Brent Venables, the head coach in waiting someone would’ve considered having you institutionalized but we somehow found ourselves in that situation.

Now that the game is over and Stoops has officially and symbolically passed the torch on to Venables, the Sooners are ready to roll into the future. But last night’s performance gave us one more glimpse at this year’s team with a few guys standing out in San Antonio one last time. So let’s check out this week’s three stars!

Caleb Williams, QB

While he still has a massive decision looming, nothing seemed to be weighing too heavily on Caleb Williams’ mind as he put together a complete performance to close out an absolute whirlwind of a true freshman year.

Against the Ducks, Williams completed 21 of 27 passes for 242 yards and three touchdowns while rushing seven times for 34 yards. For the sixth time this season, he threw at least two touchdown passes.

After an opening drive that stalled out, it seemed like Williams and first-time play-caller Cale Gundy found exactly how to attack Oregon and never let up as the offense roared up and down the field.

Williams looked decisive, composed in the pocket, and threw some absolute lasers to receivers Jalil Farooq, Mario Williams, and a bomb like the one below to Marvin Mims.

After showing some noticeable development in his pocket presence, Williams wrapped up his true freshman year on a great note.

He heads into an offseason clouded with a major decision to make in regards to where he will play next year. If this was his last hurrah with Oklahoma, it was a heck of a lasting impression. And if it wasn’t, he provided yet another glimpse at what makes Williams such a fascinating player.

Up Next: Running Game Impressive

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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.

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

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11 things Oklahoma Sooners fans can be thankful for in 2021

It’s the season for giving thanks and the Oklahoma Sooners have a lot to be thankful for as they approach the traditional Thanksgiving holiday on Thursday. It may not have all gone as planned, but it’s been an eventful year for the University of …

It’s the season for giving thanks and the Oklahoma Sooners have a lot to be thankful for as they approach the traditional Thanksgiving holiday on Thursday. It may not have all gone as planned, but it’s been an eventful year for the University of Oklahoma.

As Thanksgiving approaches and we reflect on what we have to be thankful for, we here at the Sooners Wire wanted to provide for you some of the things we’re thankful for as well.

This certainly isn’t an exhaustive list as that could go on and on, especially if we listed each individual player. It also isn’t in any particular order or ranking. The numerical value isn’t representative of a pecking order of things we’re thankful for.

So as you get ready to spend some quality time with your loved ones, we hope you enjoy our list of 11 things we think Sooners fans should be thankful for this year, and would like to wish you a Happy Thanksgiving.

Pat Fields named Wuerffel Trophy Finalist celebrating exemplary community service

Oklahoma Sooners senior safety Pat Fields was announced as a finalist for the Wuerffel Trophy.

While he’s been a constant on the field for the Sooners over the years, Pat Fields has been just as remarkable off of it. Fresh off the press, Fields was nominated as a finalist for the prestigious Wuerffel Trophy, an award celebrating the FBS player who balances exemplary community service with athletic and academic achievement. Nakobe Dean, a junior linebacker from the No. 1 ranked Georgia Bulldogs and Isaiah Sanders, a senior quarterback from Stanford join him as finalists.

Fields is a fourth-year senior safety from Tulsa, OK who has been a consistent and integral player in the Sooners’ defensive reimagining dubbed “Speed D.” When he’s not coming up making plays in the backfield, intercepting passes, or returning blocked kicks for points, he’s compiling a 3.82 GPA while pursuing a Bachelor of Business Administration degree in accounting and a master’s degree in accounting. According to the official athletic website of the Sooners, both degrees project to be completed by December 2021.

His notable efforts with community service include the founding of “Town Business,” a financial literacy seminar. The seminar focuses heavily on teaching high school football student-athletes about budgeting, money management, credit, and personal branding. He enlisted the help of other notable college athletes, as well as current and former NFL players to help him.

His efforts mean so much to the area of Tulsa. Tulsa has seen a boom in the quality of athletes that are being produced there as they’ve produced high-level, professional-caliber athletes, for a while now. Look no further than former Sooner cornerback Tre Brown, who is contributing as a rookie for the Seattle Seahawks.

In addition to the seminar, he has started the Black Wall Street Scholarship. In collaboration with the president of the OU National Black Alumni Association, Black Wall Street provides scholarships for minority, underrepresented, and lower-income students from his hometown of Tulsa looking to come to Oklahoma while also hosting free football camps during the spring and summer.

His academic achievements include multiple Academic All-District selections (2020-21) and three Academic All-Big 12 First Team selections. He’s received multiple Scholar of the Year awards as well.

Most will only see him as the two-time captain, a three-year starter at safety with 189 tackles, 11.5 tackles for loss, 3.5 sacks, 10 pass breakups, and three interceptions on his ledger. Currently, he sits second on the team with 67 tackles, has 4.5 TFLs and two interceptions through 11 games this season.

The winner of the 2021 Wuerffel Trophy will be announced Dec. 9 on The Home Depot College Football Awards Show on ESPN, a televised event that wraps up award season for college football, while the actual presentation of the trophy takes place on Feb. 25, 2022, at the 53rd All Sports Association Awards Banquet in Fort Walton Beach, Fla.

As Fields potentially nears the end of his career as a homegrown Oklahoma Sooner in the next few weeks, regardless of how these next few weeks go, he will leave an incredible ambassador for his community, school, and his family on top of being an excellent ballplayer that helped bring respect back to the Oklahoma defense.

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Report Card: Defense earns highest marks as they stymie Breece Hall and the Iowa State Cyclones

The defense leads the way in this week’s report card after a sturdy and strong performance in a must-win game for the Sooners.

The Sooners won a rock fight with Iowa State 28-21, largely behind the inspired play of their defense. A unit who has found their swagger since getting back some major pieces from injury.

Meanwhile, on the offensive side of things, the Sooners have hit a wall of sorts behind their true freshman quarterback Caleb Williams. Unlike the week prior against Baylor, he made enough plays to help get the offense over the finish line.

Ultimately, the Sooners walked away victors and with a chance to fight for a spot in the Big 12 Championship game.

As the page flips from Iowa State to the biggest Bedlam matchup in recent memory, we should close out the Iowa State week by passing out our grades for the Sooners 28-21 win over the Cyclones. .

The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly from the Oklahoma Sooners’ 28-14 win over Iowa State

What stood out in this week’s The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly from the Oklahoma Sooners 28-21 win over Iowa State?

It’s always a good feeling to get a win. Though it would be nice to have a blowout win like Michigan, Notre Dame, or Ohio State got, that doesn’t seem to be the way things are going to work for the Oklahoma Sooners in 2021. They seemed destined to play as many close games as possible this season and Saturday was no different.

Oklahoma’s won a lot of football games in the course of their history, so it creates high expectations. But in a sport that’s seeing more and more parity all the time, it’s important to enjoy and cherish each win. With just one regular season game remaining, potentially a Big 12 championship game, and a bowl game, the Sooners may only have as many as three games left this season.

As has been the case for much of this season, it may not have been a complete performance for the Sooners, but they got the win and that’s the most important thing. Now they get set to face Oklahoma State with a chance to clinch their spot in the Big 12 championship game.

But before we look ahead, let’s look go back to Saturday’s win and take a look at this week’s “The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly,” including some bonus “goods.”

Up Next: Is this a Defensive team?

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Instant Takeaways from the Oklahoma Sooners 28-21 win over the Iowa State Cyclones

Instant takeaways from the Oklahoma Sooners gritty 28-21 win over the Iowa State Cyclones.

On a day when the Oklahoma Sooners offense couldn’t do much through the air — again — the Sooners did what they needed to in order to secure their 10th win of the season and move one step closer to securing a berth in the Big 12 championship game.

It was an impressive performance for the defense who played in Brock Purdy’s face all game long and the running game found its footing after several weeks of underwhelming performances against Kansas, Texas Tech, and Baylor.

Though Caleb Williams and the passing game struggled, he made a difference with his legs on the Sooners’ first score of the game, taking the ball 74 yards for the touchdown. Kennedy Brooks provided a fantastic lead block that sprung to go the distance for the score.

The Sooners won their seventh one-score game of the season, which is an impressive feat. Though impressive in some areas, there are some things they need to work on before heading to Stillwater next Saturday for Bedlam. But before we get to that, let’s take a look at some instant takeaways from the Sooners 28-21 win over Iowa State.