Tag: Sooners

Oklahoma Sooners coaching staff receives big honor

The accolades for the Oklahoma Sooners softball team continue to pour in.

The accolades for the Oklahoma Sooners softball team continue to pour in after a historic season.

Grace Lyons (Softball America) and Jayda Coleman (D1Softball) earned defensive player of the year awards, and Jordy Bahl was recognized as D1Softball’s pitcher of the year, but the coaching staff was recognized as well.

They were named D1 National Coaching Staff of the Year by the National Fastpitch Coaches Association.

The staff consists of head coach Patty Gasso, associate head coach Jennifer Rocha, assistant coach JT Gasso and volunteer assistant Hannah Sparks.

Under the guidance of head coach Patty Gasso, along with associate head coach Jennifer Rocha, assistant coach JT Gasso and volunteer assistant Hannah Sparks, the Sooners (61-1) became just the second team to win three consecutive national titles (UCLA 1988-90) and finished 2023 with a program and NCAA Division I-record 53-game winning streak. They have won five of the last seven national championships and seven overall. Their .984 winning percentage also eclipsed UCLA’s Division I record of .964 (54-2), which stood since 1992. – NFCA

They helped lead the program to its third straight and seventh overall national title in 2023.

According to soonersports.com, this marks the second straight and sixth overall honor for Gasso and her staff. They also received the award in 2000, 2013, 2016, 2017, and 2022.

They also claimed the NFCA’s regional honor for the 15th time in Gasso’s 29 years at the helm.

This comes after a record-breaking season that saw the Sooners go 61-1 and end the year on a 53-game winning streak. The dominant run included a nation-best and program-record 35 shutouts, 29 wins by run rule, and a 28-0 record versus ranked opponents.

It also resulted in the best win percentage in NCAA Division I softball history and Big 12 regular season and tournament titles.

They also led the country in a number of categories, including ERA, batting average, home runs per game, runs per game, and fielding percentage.

This comes after Gasso was named the Big 12 conference’s Co-Coach of the Year with Baylor Bears coach Glenn Moore.

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Oklahoma needs a breakout season from Austin Stogner at tight end in 2023

The Sooners return Austin Stogner at tight end, and Oklahoma needs him to experience a Brayden Willis-like breakout in 2023.

The tight end position at Oklahoma has just as many, if not more, question marks than the wide receiver position. It’s been a productive position over the years, but there’s not a lot of production to bank on heading into 2023.

The Sooners lose [autotag]Brayden Willi[/autotag]s, who was the second-leading receiver on the team and one of the best players in 2022. He was selected in the seventh round by the San Francisco 49ers.

His leadership made him an invaluable player for the Oklahoma Sooners. Willis has a career year last season. He hadn’t previously eclipsed 200 yards receiving before going for over 500 in 2022.

It was his performance in 2022 that earned him a draftable grade. In addition to what he brings on the field, his leadership on and off will be missed.

On a positive note, Oklahoma sees a familiar face return in [autotag]Austin Stogner[/autotag]. Without Stogner, tight end would be in a load of trouble.

Stogner brings experience, but his production hasn’t matched his talent yet. His best season was his sophomore year at Oklahoma when he had 422 yards and three touchdowns. Since then, he hasn’t reached 215 yards in a season.

The hope is Stogner will have a similar type of breakout that Willis experienced. The Sooners also return [autotag]Jason Llewellyn[/autotag] and [autotag]Kaden Helms[/autotag].

They don’t have a lot of experience. Neither played more than 40 snaps on offense for the Sooners in 2022. What’s going to limit their ability to take a step is that neither Llewellyn nor Helms participated in spring ball due to injury.

This room is going to really rely on Stogner to take a massive step like Willis did and hope missing spring ball didn’t hurt the growth of Helms or Llewellyn.

The Sooners did add someone to be Gabriel’s go-to guy on third downs and in the red zone, areas where Oklahoma struggled in 2022. Stogner has the talent to be a big-time receiving threat for the Oklahoma Sooners, but time is running out in his career to show it.

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Three Sooners make ESPN’s top 25 basketball players in the last 25 years

A trio of former Oklahoma Sooners were named to ESPN’s top 25 college basketball players in the last 25 years.

It’s been a few years since the Sooners had a true game-changer on the court.

Austin Reaves was a solid college player who has blossomed into a really good NBA player, but he wasn’t someone you knew would be special. He’s continued to grow his game since departing Oklahoma.

ESPN ranked the 25 best players in the last 25 years, and three Sooners made the list. Seeing where the basketball program is today, it’s crazy to think just how many great players have come through the program in the last 25 years.

It’s probably easy to guess who those three are, with two of them being homegrown products and another being known for his upbringing in the Bahamas.

Wide receiver provides major question for the Oklahoma Sooners

The loss of Marvin Mims brings major question marks to the wide receiver position.

For our next summer position breakdown for the Oklahoma Sooners, we are going to look at the wide receivers.

Oklahma’s wide receiver corps suffered a significant loss this offseason with the departure of Marvin Mims to the NFL. Mims caught over 1,000 yards and was a huge piece of the offense for the last three seasons. The now Denver Bronco led Oklahoma in receiving yards each of his three years in Norman.

The Sooners also lost Theo Wease, who was fifth in yards last year. The only two players they return in the top six in yardage are Jalil Farooq and Drake Stoops. Neither caught over 500 yards.

While Farooq has talent and showed promise in both the pass and run game, he’s got to take another step this season.

As for Stoops, he’s Mr. Reliable. You know exactly what you’re going to get from the former walk-on.

But the Sooners need someone to step up and be that No. 1 target, whether it’s Farooq, Nic Anderson, Jayden Gibson, or someone new like Andrel Anthony, Brenen Thompson, or Jaquaize Pettaway.

The Sooners have a lot of talent and a lot of speed, but they need that go-to guy. They also have to fix the drop issues they had last season as well.

Jeff Lebby’s offense loves the long ball, and they have the guys to go get it. They just don’t have a lot of proven experience.

At times last season, specifically after the first quarter versus Oklahoma State, the Sooners struggled with separation. That just can’t be an issue again.

Too many times, if teams were physical at the line of scrimmage, the wide receiver group struggled to separate.

But they added new WR coach Emmitt Jones who is well thought of after being at Texas Tech. He brings a lot of experience in the development department and brings an edge to the position group. The hope is he can help with the issues of separation and drops.

This position group has the most questions, and only time will tell how they’ll be answered.

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Sooners projected to play in the Alamo Bowl by 247Sports

An early bowl projection has the Sooners in a bowl they are familiar with having played in it within the last two years.

We’ve hit that part of the summer where the anticipation is beginning to build toward week one. The 2023 college football season can get here fast enough.

To keep building that anticipation, national publications are releasing season predictions and bowl projections.

247Sports released their latest bowl projections ahead of the 2023 season.

This one had the Sooners in a bowl they are familiar with, having played in it just two years ago.

They have the Sooners taking on the Washington Huskies in the Alamo Bowl.

Brad Crawford with 247Sports said this is a make-or-break season for Brent Venables and Co.,

Should the Huskies finish short of the New Year’s Six, it’ll come via close losses to other Pac-12 elites. Consider Oregon in that group as well. That might be the toughest conference to call when you look at the wealth of quarterback talent out there. Brent Venables hopes to finish with a winning record in Year 2 with the Sooners. If not, the jeers begin and they will be loud. – Crawford, 247Sports

On the surface, the Alamo Bowl isn’t a bowl that’s going to get fans excited. It’s not the College Football Playoff or a New Year’s Six bowl, but in 2021 when the Sooners played in the Alamo Bowl, they had 10 wins going into that game. So, it’s not a terrible bowl to be a part of. There was much more disappointment with that season after being the favorites to win the Big 12 and struggling down the stretch, including a loss to Oklahoma State and the departure of Lincoln Riley the day after.

Crawford’s projections have Texas in the playoff, so you would hope the Sooners are at the least the Big 12 runner-up, earning an opportunity to play in one of those NY6 bowls.

Ultimately, we’ve said it a lot, a nine-plus win season has to happen, and it would be a great building block for Brent Venables and his staff.

Oklahoma is about winning championships, but you have to start somewhere. This rebuild was bigger than people thought, including a complete roster turnover.

Most of the players who participated in the 2021 Alamo Bowl are no longer a part of the program. They’re either off to the NFL or found a new home via the transfer portal. Of the players that played more than 20 snaps in that game, only Drake Stoops and Jalil Farooq remain on the offensive side of the ball. On defense, the Sooners have eight players still on the roster that played more than 20 snaps in the win over Oregon. Ethan Downs and Danny Stutsman were true freshmen, and D.J. Graham moved to wide receiver.

It’s going to take time before Oklahoma is back to competing for national championships. That’s not making excuses. That’s just a reality. Remember, Rome wasn’t built in a day. But with what the Sooners have added over the last two offseasons, Oklahoma’s laying the foundation for to be national championship contenders in the future.

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Ranking the 5 most difficult opponents for the Oklahoma Sooners in 2023

Who are the five toughest opponents on the Oklahoma Sooners’ 2023 schedule?

It is never too early to take a look at the 2023 season. The transfer portal is closed, and barring injuries, the teams are pretty much set.

The Oklahoma Sooners are considered one of the favorites in the Big 12, but they have much to prove to themselves and the nation before they ascend back to the top of the Big 12 mountain.

The schedule is fairly friendly, although several road trips have the potential to trip the Sooners up.

So let’s take a look at the toughest opponents the Sooners will face in the upcoming season.

Oklahoma’s nonconference schedule one of the weakest in the Power Five

The Oklahoma Sooners nonconference schedule sans Georgia is one of the worst in the Power Five, according to The Oklahoman.

The season is quickly approaching as we near the end of June, and one of the biggest recruiting weekends is behind us.

Berry Tramel with The Oklahoman (subscription required) ranked every Power Five team’s nonconference schedules ahead of the 2023 season. The Oklahoma Sooners came in at No. 60.

Georgia not being on the schedule as originally planned greatly affects the level of difficulty of the Sooners’ nonconference lineup.

Arkansas State, Southern Methodist, at Tulsa. The Sooners were scheduled to host Georgia, which would have greatly changed the looks of this trio. – Tramel, The Oklahoman

The Sooners’ schedule is very favorable after the cancellation of the Georgia game. Georgia was slated to come to Norman, but the Sooners couldn’t make the return trip to Athens, Georgia with the move to the SEC on the horizon.

The Sooners replaced the Bulldogs with SMU for 2023. SMU, in my opinion, is one of the best Group of Five schools out there. However, it is losing a lot from last year’s team, including starting quarterback and former Sooner, Tanner Mordecai.

The Mustangs also added 41 new scholarship players, which represent 48.2% of their scholarship roster compared to last season. Now, no shot at SMU, but it isn’t Georgia.

The nonconference schedule combined with the conference slate is why most fans believe a nine-plus win season is very attainable. It should happen or there are real problems.

This year is going to show if Brent Venables is the guy or not in my opinion. The schedule lines up perfectly, and the staff went to work fixing some of the holes from the previous season.

If they don’t have a successful season, the national noise will only grow louder.

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Oklahoma’s quarterback situation in much better shape than it was a year ago

The quarterback position is in a much better spot in year two under Offensive Coordinator/QB Coach Jeff Lebby, to say the least.

This summer, Sooners Wire breaks down each position group for the Oklahoma Sooners heading into the 2023 season.

We start with the most important position on the field: quarterback.

The quarterback position is in a much better spot in Year 2 under offensive coordinator/QB coach Jeff Lebby.

Last year the Sooners had [autotag]Dillon Gabriel[/autotag], who had significant collegiate experience. Additionally, he had substantial experience in Lebby’s system. But as we saw, once Gabriel went down, there wasn’t much after him.

[autotag]Davis Beville[/autotag] played much of the game against the TCU Horned Frogs and started versus the Texas Longhorns. The two games without Gabriel were the only two the Sooners lost by more than one score. It was obvious against the Horned Frogs and the Longhorns, Oklahoma didn’t feel comfortable letting Beville throw the ball.

Though the fall was a struggle for Beville, he looked much better in the spring game.

After Beville was true freshman Nick Evers and junior college transfer General Booty. Neither saw significant playing time, and Evers transferred to Wisconsin.

This year though, the Sooners return Gabriel and Beville and added five-star freshman [autotag]Jackson Arnold[/autotag].

They arguably have the best quarterback room in the Big 12. Having that depth should open the offense more with the quarterback run game. Better depth behind Gabriel means more security in the event the starting quarterback suffers an injury.

This is Gabriel’s job. And as we saw a year ago, when Gabriel plays a full game, he gives the Oklahoma Sooners a chance to win. While he’s been a target for why the season went south in 2022, Sooner fans should want Gabriel to play meaningful snaps all season. Because that means he’s playing well, the team is playing well and he didn’t get injured.

Arnold is talented. He has a fantastic skill set. However, Gabriel’s experience sets him apart.

If you consider the relative inexperience of the Sooners’ wide receiver group, having a player with Gabriel’s experience lead the way makes a significant difference.

The show will be Arnold’s in 2024. Let him learn from Gabriel and Lebby, so he’s ready for the SEC next year. There will be opportunities to get Arnold playing time in the 2023 regular season, and the Sooners’ coaching staff should take every opportunity to let him throw in a game.

Playing true freshmen at quarterback is generally not a great plan when you have a talented, experienced option. True freshmen don’t often get the opportunity to start for the Oklahoma Sooners. [autotag]Caleb Williams[/autotag] was an exception, and even he didn’t begin the season as a starter. He was incredible as a true freshman but not many have near the success he had. Even Williams struggled against Baylor, Iowa State and Oklahoma State.

We’ve seen too many times when a talented true freshman gets in over his head, loses his confidence and never reaches his full potential. You don’t want that to happen to Arnold.

With Gabriel starting and Arnold the presumed heir apparent, the Oklahoma Sooners have a strong group of signal callers heading into 2023.

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Where did Oklahoma Sooners land in ESPN’s decade rankings since 1920?

ESPN’s Bill Connelly took a look back over the last 100 years using SP+ to determine the teams of each decade. How did the Sooners fair?

A new offseason ranking is just another example of how good Oklahoma’s football program has been each decade since the 1920s.

ESPN’s Bill Connelly went back and ranked the top 10 programs (ESPN+) of each decade and the Sooners faired fairly well, finishing in the top 10 six out of the 11 decades.

Starting with the 1920s, I looked at which teams most thoroughly dominated the sport from decade to decade, using SP+ percentile averages for each team and each decade. How much do these lists change over the decades? What can these averages tell us about how things have evolved over the past 100 years and how much things are evolving now? – Connelly, ESPN

But where did they finish in each decade?

Oklahoma Sooners receive key recruiting predictions 

ChampU BBQ is coming to a close today and so far the Sooners do not have any public commitments.

ChampU BBQ is coming to a close on Sunday, and so far the Sooners do not have any public commitments.

But, don’t worry Sooner Nation that doesn’t mean this weekend has been a bust. The Sooners have received recruiting predictions for three key players.

Those players are four-star running back Caden Durham, three-star running back Xavier Robinson and four-star safety Mykel Patterson-McDonald.

Why is this so important? Well, those three are very close friends with five-star defensive lineman David Stone.

Durham has talked about how important relationships are, so it would only help the Sooners’ chances if his friends commit to OU. He has received two predictions this weekend in favor of the Sooners.

One of them was from OUInsider’s Parker Thune and another was from a Texas A&M insider.

Robinson received predictions from Sooners Illustrated and OUInsider as well.

Patterson-McDonald received a prediction from OUInsider in addition to several others.

If the Sooners can land those three, I just don’t see a world where Stone doesn’t join them in Norman. Yet, individually, they’d be fantastic additions in their own right.

Robinson ran for 2,500 yards to lead Carl Albert to a Class 5A state championship in Oklahoma. Durham led Duncanville to a Texas Class 6A state title after running for 2,000 yards. Patterson-McDonald is a physical playmaker that plays with confidence and speed.

The Sooners look to be on the verge of landing several big-time playmakers in the 2024 class.

The trio would be a great way to build some momentum for the 2024 recruiting class.

Now, it’s unclear when they will commit, whether that’s to Oklahoma or somewhere else but it doesn’t hurt that there’s momentum for Brent Venables and Co.

So, while there have not been any commitments, the recent momentum of predictions in favor of the Sooners means this weekend appears to be a success.

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