Tag: Ted Roof

Co-defensive coordinator Todd Bates, Oklahoma working on new contract per report

Oklahoma defensive tackles coach and Co-DC Todd Bates is set to receive a raise and new three year deal per report.

It’s been one heck of a start to 2024 for co-defensive coordinator and defensive tackles coach Todd Bates.

He received a pay bump earlier this offseason and appears headed for another raise according to Matt Zenitz of 247Sports.

According to Zenitz, Bates is set to push his salary up to $900,000 per year as he finalizes a three-year contract extension with the Sooners. The extension rewards Bates for his contributions and comes on the heels of an offseason, where, according to the report, Bates was being pursued by other programs this offseason. Instead, the well-respected defensive line coach will stay in Norman to continue the work of rebuilding the Sooners defensive line.

Bates has been a monumental add for his development of the Oklahoma defensive line in larger part because of his prowess on the recruiting trail.

Bates was the primary recruiter for the Sooners in their pursuit of five-star defensive tackle David Stone. Stone was the first five-star defensive tackle the Sooners have landed in over a decade. He has also helped transform the Oklahoma defensive line that led the NCAA in tackles for loss or for no gain last season.

For Bates, his journey is just getting started. He has yet to see a complete cycle of his recruits manifest on the field. He’s revitalized the interior defensive line at Oklahoma.

Still, this year represents a significant step in competition as his unproven unit will have their first season in the SEC. They will be face some of the best offensive linemen in the country on a weekly basis.

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

Former Clemson coach lands defensive coordinator position at UCF

A former Clemson defensive analyst has taken a job as the defensive coordinator at UCF.

Another former Clemson coach has landed a new job in college football.

Former Clemson defensive analyst Ted Roof has been named the new defensive coordinator for UCF football. Roof lands with a good program coming off a solid first year in the Big 12.

Roof spent the last two seasons as the defensive coordinator for Brent Venables and the Oklahoma Sooners. The Sooners and Roof parted ways in early January, with UCF taking advantage of the opportunity to land a veteran defensive coach.

Prior to his time at Oklahoma, Roof was on Clemson’s staff in 2021 as a defensive analyst. Former Clemson coaches continue to land jobs across the country.

Sooners promote Jay Valai to assistant head coach for defense

The Oklahoma Sooners announed on Saturday the promotion of Jay Valai to assistant head coach for defense.

After every season, there’s bound to be some coaching turnover. The Oklahoma Sooners have experienced it at each of their coordinator positions. [autotag]Seth Littrell[/autotag] takes over for [autotag]Jeff Lebby[/autotag] as offensive coordinator and OU announced on Saturday that [autotag]Zac Alley[/autotag] will take over for [autotag]Ted Roof[/autotag] as defensive coordinator.

Though the Sooners will have new coordinators on both sides of the ball heading into the SEC, they’ll keep the rest of their staff intact. In order to make sure they have as much continuity as possible, Brent Venables announced the promotion of [autotag]Jay Valai[/autotag] to assistant head coach for the defense.

“I’m incredibly excited about this defensive staff,” said Venables in an official release from the University of Oklahoma. “The leadership in the room with Coach Valai, Coach Alley, Coach (Todd) Bates, Coach (Miguel) Chavis and Coach (Brandon) Hall is exceptionally strong.”

Valai has served as Oklahoma’s co-defensive coordinator, defensive pass game coordinator, and cornerbacks and nickelbacks coach since joining Venables staff in January of 2022.

Valai has spent time coaching at the collegiate and NFL level and has shown his chops on the recruiting trail over the last two cycles, adding a number of blue-chip prospects from the high school ranks and impact transfers as well.

In promoting Valai, the Sooners assure their defensive staff remains intact as they welcome Alley and Oklahoma’s recruiting shouldn’t miss a beat.

The Sooners defense made significant improvements in 2023 to help Oklahoma earn their first 10-win season of the Brent Venables era. If they can take another step in 2024, it could have the Sooners contending for a spot in the College Football Playoff.

Contact/Follow us @SoonersWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Oklahoma news, notes, and opinions. You can also follow John on Twitter @john9williams.

How did USA TODAY Sports grade the Sooners 2023 season?

The letter grade for the Oklahoma Sooners’ 2023 campaign is in. How did they grade out in Year 2 under Brent Venables?

The 2023 campaign was a year of redemption for the Oklahoma Sooners. After a 6-7 season in 2022, the Sooners bounced back with a 10-3 season in 2023.

The Sooners got a massive win over their arch rival the Texas Longhorns but lost two games they shouldn’t have lost to the Kansas Jayhawks and the Oklahoma State Cowboys. You can argue the Arizona Wildcats as well but it was a bowl game with a bunch of new starters in a game that to me, doesn’t matter anyway.

But overall this year was a year fans wanted to see improvement and they got that on both sides of the ball. So, each year USA TODAY Sports gives each team a letter grade for their season. Now, keep in mind the grades are on a relative curve based on preseason expectations weighed against in-season performance, with attention to special circumstances such as injuries or marquee wins.

There were a lot of people who didn’t think they hired the right coach and they were going to turn into the Nebraska Cornhuskers. I mean this was a team that had one preseason All-Big 12 player on the team and he was selected to the second team. Instead, they finished with two who made All-American teams and six on the All-Big 12 team.
We knew coming in the Sooners needed to win 9 or 10 games in 2023. They did that. So, to me, I think they deserved at least an A- for that but with the teams they lost to I don’t have too big of a gripe with a B+ either.

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

What does Zac Alley bring to the table as defensive coordinator?

The Sooners are expected to hire Zac Alley as their next defensive coordinator but what can fans expect from the new hire?

On Thursday the Oklahoma Sooners announced they would be mutually parting ways with Ted Roof who had been the defensive coordinator at Oklahoma since 2022. That immediately brought speculation about who the next guy would be for the Sooners.

Would they promote from within with [autotag]Brandon Hall[/autotag], [autotag]Todd Bates[/autotag] or [autotag]Jay Valai[/autotag]? Or would they look for someone outside the program? Reports started surfacing Thursday night the Sooners were expected to hire Jacksonville State defensive coordinator Zac Alley.

Now, it hasn’t been made official yet but let’s take a look at what Oklahoma could be getting from Alley as defensive coordinator.

Alley has a lot of familiarity with [autotag]Brent Venables[/autotag]. He worked for four years (2015-18) under Dabo Swinney as a graduate assistant at Clemson. Alley spent the entire time on the defensive side of the football, where he worked primarily with the defensive tackles and linebackers.

He would leave there and head to Boise State to be the co-special teams coordinator and linebackers coach. His first opportunity as a defensive coordinator came from Louisiana-Monroe.

He turned what was the No. 125 ranked rushing defense in FBS in 2020 into the 69th-ranked rush defense in 2021. The Warhawks improved in 11 of 14 defensive categories from 2020 to 2021.

He took the same position with Jacksonville State in 2022. 2023 was their first season in FBS.

In 2023, they allowed 352.8 yards per game, 111.5 rushing yards per game, 241.3 passing yards per game and teams converted 32% of their third downs. They also ranked No. 8 in the nation in stop rate, in the 96th percentile in run defense success and 67th percentile in pass defense success.

Jacksonville State led Conference USA in almost every statistical defensive category including, total yards, rushing yards, yards per carry, sacks, forced fumbles, total touchdowns allowed and was second in interceptions.

More: Social media reacts to reports that Zac Alley will be the next defensive coordinator

From reports, Alley is a “mini” Venables. In fact, in an interview with the Post and Courier back on Nov. 2, 2023, he talked about the similarities.

“I laugh about it,” said Alley, the JSU defensive coordinator who learned the trade while working as a student assistant and graduate assistant when Venables was defensive coordinator on Clemson’s best teams. “But I talk like Coach V. I coach like him. My parents tell me my mannerisms are like him on the sidelines.” – exceprt from the Post and Courier article

He also requires the services of a “get back coach” just like his new boss used to. You can even see the similarities from practice when he was Mic’d up at ULM.

All signs pointed to this type of move. Bringing in someone Venables had trust in to run the defense and had a similar philosophy. Venables can hand his defense off to someone so he can be more of a “CEO” type of head coach.

That doesn’t mean he won’t have any part in the defense because he will. Every head coach still has a say in everything going on. It just means he can now focus on other things more because he has someone he trusts leading the defensive group.

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

Social media reacts to the report that Zac Alley will be Oklahoma’s next defensive coordinator

The Oklahoma Sooners appear set to hire Zac Alley as their next defensive coordinator and here’s how social media reacted.

The Oklahoma Sooners made news on Thursday when it was announced they had mutually agreed to part ways with defensive coordinator Ted Roof. But it didn’t take long for news to surface that the Sooners have found their replacement.

According to a report from 247Sports Matt Zenitz, the Sooners are expected to hire Jacksonville State defensive coordinator Zac Alley.

Alley spent the last two years with the Gamecocks, helping them win nine games in their first season at the FBS level. He’s also spent time with Louisiana-Monroe and Boise State. He also spent time with Brent Venables as a student and grad assistant at Clemson.

It’s yet to be officially announced, but based on reports from several outlets, the Sooners have their next defensive coordinator in Zac Alley.

Here’s how social media reacted.

Zac Alley to be Oklahoma Sooners’ next defensive coordinator per reports

According to reports, the Oklahoma Sooners are set to hire Jacksonville State’s Zac Alley as their next defensive coordinator.

The Oklahoma Sooners mutually parted ways with defensive coordinator and linebackers coach Ted Roof on Thursday afternoon. But it didn’t take long for the Sooners to zero in on his replacement.

According to multiple reports, including one from Matt Zenitz of 247Sports, Oklahoma is set to hire Zac Alley as its next defensive coordinator.

Most recently, Alley was the defensive coordinator with Jacksonville State, which ranked 33rd in the nation in scoring defense (21.2 ppg). Jacksonville State ranked 43rd in total yards allowed, 15th in rushing yards allowed and 96th in passing yards allowed in 2023. Jacksonville State defense ranked ninth in turnovers forced (1.9) per game) and 10th in interceptions (1.2) per game.

2023 was Jacksonville State’s first season in the Football Bowl Subdivision and Alley’s defense helped the Gamecocks win nine games.

From 2011 to 2018, Alley was a part of Clemson’s staff as a student assistant and then as a graduate assistant. From there, he coached Boise State’s linebackers in 2019 and 2020 and also served as the co-special teams coordinator.

Prior to working with former West Virginia head coach Rich Rodriguez at Jacksonville State, the two served under Terry Bowden at Louisiana-Monroe. There, at the age of 27, Alley was the youngest defensive coordinator in FBS in 2021.

Though Alley is young, he has several years of defensive coordinator experience and comes to the Sooners as one of the brightest young talents in the game.

Contact/Follow us @SoonersWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Oklahoma news, notes, and opinions. You can also follow John on Twitter @john9williams.

Sooners and defensive coordinator Ted Roof mutually agree to part ways

The Oklahoma Sooners will be looking for a new defensive coordinator as they part ways with Ted Roof.

The Oklahoma Sooners will head into the [autotag]SEC[/autotag] with new offensive and defensive coordinators. The program announced on Thursday that [autotag]Brent Venables[/autotag] and [autotag]Ted Roof[/autotag] mutually agreed to part ways.

Roof spent the last two seasons teaching Venables’ new scheme. Venables said in a press release:

“Ted is an incredibly knowledgeable coach and teacher, and his players love playing for him. Our program is thankful for his extreme dedication the last two seasons and for helping make us better.”

Venables said in the release that he told Roof on Wednesday he would be moving in another direction and asked if Roof wanted to stay on in a different role. He told Venables he has a deep desire to keep coaching and will look to do that at a different school.

The Sooners displayed much improvement in Year 2 under Roof. After ranking 98th in scoring defense (30 ppg) and 121st in total defense (461 ypg) in 2022, OU improved in both categories in 2023, ranking 46th (23.5 ppg) and 78th (389.4 ypg), respectively.

The defense ranked second nationally in interceptions (20), sixth in turnovers gained (26), seventh in tackles for loss per game (7.5) and 14th in third-down conversion percentage defense (.311; up from .409 in 2022).

The search for the defensive coordinator position will begin immediately per Venables.

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

Know Your Foe: Five TCU Horned Frogs to know for regular season finale

Oklahoma takes on TCU in their final Big 12 home game to end their regular season. Here are five TCU players to know as the Sooners prepare.

Friday will be an emotional day of celebration. The Oklahoma Sooners (9-2, 6-2 Big 12) will host their Senior Day. This will be the last time the Sooners host a Big 12 game on Owen Field.

The crimson and cream have made it through another Big 12 slate. The chances of earning a trip to Arlington for the Big 12 Championship are slim but not quite zero. The Sooners will need help from other Big 12 members to make that happen.

All Oklahoma can do is worry about finishing their final Big 12 slate with a win at home.

Their opponents were the first Big 12 team not named Oklahoma to make it to the College Football Playoff. Sonny Dykes orchestrated a masterful coaching job to get TCU (5-6, 3-5) to the national championship last year. Things didn’t go so hot in their game against Georgia, but his work speaks for itself.

The Horned Frogs lost a significant amount of production from that team, and this season has hardly been as fruitful. This team can still hang with many teams and is hungry for bowl eligibility. They are one win shy of playing in a bowl game and would love nothing more than to spoil Oklahoma’s festivities and get that sixth victory.

There is no Max Duggan, Quentin Johnston, Kendre Miller, Dee Winters, Steve Avila, or Derius Davis for this year’s TCU Horned Frogs. That group of players was the backbone of last year’s team and a big reason Oklahoma lost 55-24 in Fort Worth last year.

With so many faces gone and off to the NFL, who are the players to know for Sonny Dykes’ team? We break down five TCU Horned Frogs to know ahead for Oklahoma’s regular-season finale.

Stock Report: Defensive line struggling heading into final regular season game

Oklahoma escaped BYU’s upset bid this past weekend. In our stock report we look at who’s trending up or down before Oklahoma takes on TCU.

Saturday’s win against BYU was all about willpower. Oklahoma didn’t play its best, especially from a defensive standpoint, and yet, the Sooners found a way to escape a scrappy BYU team playing on senior day.

There were some nice moments or individual performances to take away from the game, like Jayden Gibson’s big day, Billy Bowman putting forth his best performance of the season, and Gavin Sawchuk continuing to morph into the bellcow running back his head coach publicly claimed he was looking for.

There were other positives, too, like Jackson Arnold’s performance off the bench, that helped push Oklahoma to victory. With the good comes the bad, and Oklahoma’s front seven was a large part of that bad. They struggled most of the game and were a significant reason BYU was a threat to potentially upset Oklahoma.

When the dust settled, the Sooners came out on top, and with a short week before they play TCU, the Sooners must regroup fast.

In the meantime, here is our stock report to see who is trending up and down as the Sooners prepare for their final Big 12 home game.