Former Oklahoma LB Teddy Lehman calls Texas QB Quinn Ewers ‘average’

Teddy Lehman continues his bizarre crusade against the Quinn Ewers hype this week.

Former Oklahoma linebacker Teddy Lehman doesn’t mince words. He didn’t start this week. Continue reading “Former Oklahoma LB Teddy Lehman calls Texas QB Quinn Ewers ‘average’”

Ethan Downs named to 2023 Chuck Bednarik Award watch list

Ethan Downs ended the year playing really well in 2022. Now he’s found himself on the Chuck Bednarik Award watch list.

2022 was another poor defensive performance for the [autotag]Oklahoma Sooners[/autotag]. They ranked 122nd nationally in total yards, but one bright spot was ranking fourth in tackles for loss.

Head coach [autotag]Brent Venables[/autotag] feels they can build on that in 2023. A big reason they feel they can improve is they return their leader in that category, [autotag]Ethan Downs[/autotag], who finished with 13.5 tackles for loss a year ago.

Downs finished the season really strong with 7.5 TFLs in the team’s final four games. That has Downs making an appearance on a prestigious award watch list.

Downs was named to the [autotag]2023 Chuck Bednarik Award[/autotag] watch list, which is given to the nation’s top defensive player.

This is an award that’s been given out since 1995 and only one former Sooner has ever won. That was in 2003 when [autotag]Teddy Lehman[/autotag] took home the honor.

Downs is going to have his work cut out for him, though. Even though he finished the year strong, his head coach said, outside of [autotag]Danny Stutsman[/autotag], there might only be one returning starter in the front seven. Guys like [autotag]R Mason Thomas[/autotag] are progressing. Not to mention the additions of [autotag]Rondell Bothroyd[/autotag], [autotag]Trace Ford[/autotag] and five-star [autotag]P.J. Adebawore[/autotag].

Those guys are looking to take a starting spot from a position group that wasn’t good enough a year ago. But with those additions comes “competitive depth, ” which should be much stronger this season.

That kind of competition could be what drives Downs to improve on his first year as a starter for the Sooners. Then ultimately being the first Sooner in 20 years to take home the Bednarik Award at season’s end.

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Danny Stutsman named to the 2023 Butkus Award watch list

Oklahoma’s heart and soul of its defense has made the watch list for one of the most prestigious awards in college football.

Danny Stutsman had one of the more positive seasons for the Oklahoma Sooners in 2022.

He was playing his best football at the end of the season but due to lack of depth, he would wear out late in games. Stutsman led the [autotag]Big 12[/autotag] in tackles.

Part of that was running away with the snaps lead as well. That should change with the “competitive depth” at that position.

Stutsman has also stepped into a leadership role. [autotag]Brent Venables[/autotag] said he’s led several player-led practices before fall camp.

Many people think a big year is in store and anything short of an All-Big 12 team would be a disappointment. Stutsman finished with 125 tackles, 10.5 for loss and three sacks. He also added two interceptions.

Those numbers have him on the [autotag]2023 Butkus Award[/autotag] preseason watch list given to the nation’s top linebacker. He would be the first Sooner to win the award since 2003.

The Sooners have four winners in its program’s history. [autotag]Teddy Lehman[/autotag] and [autotag]Rocky Calmus[/autotag] won the award once and [autotag]Brian Bosworth[/autotag] was the first winner in 1985. He won the award twice and remains the only two-time winner ever.

So, with a great season, Stutsman has the chance to join an elite group of players. But it’s something many think he could accomplish.

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Texas Football: It’s time to stop doubting Quinn Ewers

There aren’t five college quarterbacks playing better football than Quinn Ewers.

Quinn Ewers is the real deal. If you can’t tell by now, I don’t know what would convince you.

The redshirt freshman put on a clinic against Brent Venables’ defense on Saturday. The Oklahoma defense has been bad this season, but found itself in better position to make plays against Texas. Ewers simply carved them up.

One 3rd-and-6 throw illustrates how little Oklahoma’s efforts mattered against Ewers. The talented transfer exited the pocket, rolled left and placed a football right over a defender’s outstretched arms to Bijan Robinson near the sideline.

Quinn fit the ball to Bijan just inside the left boundary. It was the type of play you live with as a defensive coordinator. Unfortunately for Oklahoma defensive coordinator Ted Roof, it’s the type of play Robinson and Ewers routinely make.

As recently as last week, former Oklahoma linebacker Teddy Lehman and others asserted that Quinn Ewers should sit and allow Hudson Card to play in his place against Oklahoma. We discussed the topic but certainly never came to that conclusion. Respectfully, no hot hand is warm enough to justify sitting a healthy Ewers.

Presently, there aren’t five quarterbacks playing better football than Quinn Ewers. He is the reason Texas is capable of a Big 12 title run. It’s time to give the quarterback his respect.

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Former Oklahoma players preview game against Texas

Oklahoma’s defensive front is the Sooners’ only shot of stopping the Texas offense.

Oklahoma might face its biggest challenge on Saturday. At least that’s what two former Sooners players are indicating.

Former Oklahoma greats Teddy Lehman and Gabe Ikard discussed the matchup on their podcast, “The Oklahoma Breakdown.”

You may remember Teddy Lehman from the infamous 2001 Red River Shootout. In the game, Lehman intercepted Chris Simms near the goal line to seal an Oklahoma victory.

Lehman shared an insightful scouting report for the matchup with the Longhorns on Saturday. Among his observations, he noted Texas’ personnel versatility. Additionally he shared Texas seemingly always uses pre-snap motion with a purpose. The former linebacker warned that Oklahoma has to be ready for trickery every time Texas sends motion.

Gabe Ikard called Bijan Robinson, Xavier Worthy and Ja’Tavion Sanders the best players Oklahoma has faced at their respective positions (14:27). He concluded that for Oklahoma to win Saturday it will need to overpower the Texas offensive line.

Saturday will reveal Oklahoma’s plan of attack, but shutting down the Texas offense will not be easy. Even so, it is the Sooners’ best chance of making this game close.

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Oklahoma football all-time roster: Defensive starters and backups

See which legends of defense made the cut in our all-time Oklahoma Sooners football roster.

The Oklahoma Sooners have put together some of the more vaunted defenses in college football history. In addition to having some of the best units in the nation, the Sooners had some of the more iconic players in the sport run roughshod over their opponents.

From Lee Roy Selmon to Roy Williams, Oklahoma’s been a terror on the gridiron throughout the years.

As it was choosing the Oklahoma Sooners’ all-time offense, narrowing down defensive linemen and linebackers was a challenge as the Sooners have produced some incredibly talented players in the front seven.

For more coverage on the Oklahoma Sooners, check out SoonersWire.com. Many of the historical stats can be found at SoonerSports.com.

Check out our other College Wire all-time defenses: Alabama / Auburn / Clemson / Colorado / Florida / Georgia / Iowa / LSU / Michigan / Michigan State / Nebraska / North Carolina / Ohio State / Oregon / Penn State / Rutgers / Tennessee / Texas / Texas A&M / USC

Oklahoma linebacker David Ugwoegbu named to Butkus Award watch list

Ahead of the 2022 season, linebacker David Ugwoegbu was named to the 2022 Butkus Award watch list. Oklahoma is tied with Alabama for the most all-time.

The Oklahoma Sooners have a rich tradition at the linebacker position and in 2022 have a chance to add to their history of [autotag]Butkus Award[/autotag] winners as David Ugwoegbu was named to the award watch list for 2022.

Legend from the 1980s, [autotag]Brian Bosworth[/autotag], was the first recipient of the collegiate award and the only two-time winner of the Butkus. Since the award was first handed out to “The Boz” in 1985, the Oklahoma Sooners are tied with the Alabama Crimson Tide, with the most Butkus Award winners at four.

[autotag]Rocky Calmus[/autotag] and [autotag]Teddy Lehman[/autotag] also received the award as part of Oklahoma’s dominant defensive teams of the early 2000s.

[autotag]Caleb Kelly[/autotag], now a member of the program’s S.O.U.L. Mission, was a high school recipient of the Butkus Award.

Heading into 2022, Ugweogbu will be relied upon to fill the void left by Brian Asamoah, who now plays for the Minnesota Vikings. In 2021, Ugwoegbu played just the 11th-most snaps on the Oklahoma Sooners defense yet finished sixth in tackles.

The Linebacker room for the Oklahoma Sooners is deep heading into 2022, and Ugwoegbu will have to find a way to differentiate himself from a group featuring DaShaun White, Danny Stutsman, and T.D. Roof. Incoming freshman Jaren Kanak, Kobie McKinzie, and Kip Lewis might also factor into the linebacker rotation, especially early in the season.

With Ugwoegbu’s length and athleticism, he has the potential to be fantastic for the Oklahoma Sooners in 2022. With Brent Venables and Ted Roof coaching the linebackers, this could be Ugwoegbu’s best season as a Sooner.

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Draft Wire mock draft has three Oklahoma defenders going in the first 100 picks

Three Oklahoma Sooners’ defenders were selected in the post-Senior Bowl mock draft by The Draft Wire.

While the NFL draft won’t come until April 28th, that hasn’t stopped the Draft Wire from popping out mock drafts to water the yearlong football fan’s appetite. There’s just one more NFL game to be played, and it’s the biggest one of the year; the Super Bowl. The Cincinnati Bengals and Los Angeles Rams will cap off another NFL season, and both teams feature Sooners that they drafted.

While those teams duke it out, the other 30 teams will be chipping away with film studies, interviews, and putting their draft board as they look to land their next wave of contributors. With Senior Bowl week wrapped up a few days ago, our friends at Draft Wire posted a new three-round mock that features three Oklahoma defenders in the top 100.

53. Perrion Winfrey – Las Vegas Raiders

At pick 53 comes the Senior Bowl MVP, Perrion Winfrey. The violent and disruptive defensive tackle undoubtedly made himself quite a bit of money at the Senior Bowl, dominating practice after practice. He followed that up by dominating the game with five tackles, three for loss, and two sacks to earn the MVP honor.

In the second round of the mock draft, Winfrey was sent to the Las Vegas Raiders, pairing with Utah star LB Devin Lloyd who was their pick in the first round.

The Raiders need a lot of defensive talent infused into a defense that will now be led by Patrick Graham, former DC of the New York Giants. Winfrey could compete for starting snaps immediately.

75. Nik Bonitto – Denver Broncos

The second Sooner off the board was another defender along the defensive line, and that man is Nik Bonitto. Bonitto lands in Denver at pick 75 and would look to be the Broncos’ first option to replace some of the pass-rushing ability lost with Von Miller’s trade to LA as the Broncos began to rebuild their defense.

Bonitto is considered a tweener in NFL circles, meaning he isn’t big enough to be a traditional defensive end in the NFL, but he’s not quite fluid enough to be an off-the-ball linebacker either. One thing is for sure, and watchers of Oklahoma Football will agree: Bonitto is a monster off the edge, and his production as a full-time starter doesn’t give OU fans much hesitation about his ability to rush the passer at the professional level. His athleticism and the first step may make up the difference in strength and size.

96. Brian Asamoah – Denver Broncos

The last Sooner featured in this three-round mock also lands in Denver to play behind his long-time brother in Nik Bonitto. Brian Asamoah went to the Broncos as they continued their defensive rebuild.

There’s no mistaking what Asamoah is. He’s a heat-seeking missile, sideline to sideline looking to make plays.

At the Senior Bowl, Asamoah continued to raise his stock after ending the 2021 season with excellent momentum. He made quite the impression at the Senior Bowl last week, earning top LB honors from the National team in a vote from the offensive line, tight end, and running back groups in practice player-of-the-week awards in Mobile. This is the first time Asamoah was taken in a Draft Wire three-round mock draft.

Asamoah could see his star rise even higher as he still has the combine and pro day to impress anyone willing to take a peek at him. Pairing him with Bonitto gives the Denver defense an athletic edge rusher and a steady, violent linebacker who can run the defense and run sideline to sideline to make plays.

There’s still a long way to go, but with the way things are trending, there’s a real chance the Sooners have three defensive players selected in the top 100 picks for the first time since 2004 when Tommie Harris, Teddy Lehman, and Derrick Strait all went within the first 80 selections.

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Bob Stoops’ philosophy on in-state recruiting and how it may reveal part of Oklahoma’s future under Brent Venables

Bob Stoops joined The REF and shared his philosophy on in-state recruiting. A glimpse into the past may provide a look into OU’s future.

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Former Oklahoma head football coach Bob Stoops made his weekly radio appearance on The REF (94.7 FM/1400 AM) in Norman on Tuesday with hosts Teddy Lehman and Tyler McComas on their weekday afternoon show “The Rush” from 3-6 p.m.

McComas asked Stoops what he and his staff’s philosophy was in regards to in-state recruiting during his tenure leading Oklahoma.

“Well, the first philosophy was, as much as we could, I do not want to make a mistake and ever pass up a kid from the state of Oklahoma. And if you have any doubt as a position coach, let me watch them,” Stoops explained.

Stoops then used Dan Cody’s recruitment as an example.

“For instance, we didn’t know where Dan Cody would play, so not one position coach wanted to commit to him. They put him in front of me. It didn’t take me five minutes of watching tape. I said, ‘I don’t care what you guys all think. I get nobody knows where you want to put him. He’s going to play here. I’m offering him a scholarship.’ So, our point was, I always emphasized if we’re going to ever make a mistake, make a mistake on a young man from Oklahoma. Give them a chance. If you’re ever in doubt, again, let me watch them. I did not want to miss on an Oklahoma kid, young man. Did not,” Stoops said.

Of course, Cody developed into a star at Oklahoma. The Ada product was a four-year starter for the Sooners at defensive end where he registered 25 career sacks and earned First-Team All-Big 12 status in 2003 and 2004. Cody was drafted in the second round of the 2005 NFL Draft by the Baltimore Ravens.

There’s plenty of other examples of great OU players under Stoops that were in-state kids. Players like Sam Bradford, Ryan Broyles, Rocky Calmus, Gerald McCoy, Teddy Lehman, Curtis Lofton and Sterling Shepard just to name a few.

“I always wanted to give players in this state here the benefit of the doubt, go for them first. And I’ll say this, too. I always told our coaches. You go way back to Jason White, my first recruiting class. I said, ‘We don’t have a big population in the state of Oklahoma, so maybe we’re not going to offer 15 guys, 10 guys from the state, but the guys we do have, they can play anywhere in the country and they can be the best.’ You look at Teddy, Rocky, Sam, Jason, on and on and on,” Stoops said of his in-state recruiting philosophy.

It appears new Oklahoma head football coach Brent Venables is taking a similar approach to recruiting in-state talent.

In recent weeks, Venables and his staff have sent out offers to running back Erik McCarty from McAlester and defensive end Bai Jobe out of Community Christian in Norman. Those two class of 2023 prospects are currently projected to land with OU.

The Sooners appear to have locked up the soon-to-be signing of Booker T. Washington’s Gentry Williams in the 2022 class and they made it a priority to re-offer the top player in the state for the 2024 class in Del City’s David Stone.

McComas feels Stoops’ in-state approach in the past can offer some glimpse into Oklahoma’s future with Venables.

“I think a lot of things about how [Stoops] went about things, we can use as a useful tool to see what the future here is going to look like. I think without a doubt, the way Bob did things, Brent is not entirely going to look like that, but it’s going to look pretty similar. My initial thought is, okay, well, if Bob was willing to give an Oklahoma kid a chance, then I think that Brent is going to be way more willing to do that as well, especially more than what Lincoln and the previous staff did,” McComas said.

McCarty fits the bill for a player that Oklahoma is willing to extend an offer to and take a chance on that maybe it wasn’t willing to under Riley. According to Rivals, the 6-foot-2, 180 pound running back is ranked as a three-star recruit.

“My whole conclusion out of that is, okay, I thought OU was going to be more active in the state with recruiting and obviously they’re going to get four and five-star guys, but I’m kind of thinking that maybe—not like five or six guys a class—but you’re going to see one or two three-star kids from Oklahoma be a part of classes here moving forward and that obviously wasn’t the case here recently,” McComas said.

Oklahoma fans are more than familiar with both the upside and the downside of the NCAA’s transfer portal since Riley ushered off to USC. McComas said that’s less of a worry with in-state talent.

“Some people might call some of these kids risks. I would consider it…it’s a calculated risk. They’re not going to just take a kid to take a kid to say they recruited Oklahoma. They’re going to take him because they like his size, they like his measurables, they like what he’s going to be. I like it because you’re way more apt to keep a kid on the roster I think if he’s from in state. You’re way more apt for that kid to not maybe go into the portal after his sophomore season. Maybe he’s more patient to finding his turn on the roster,” McComas said.

One of the other common thoughts about in-state talent is that their connection to and familiarity with Oklahoma’s program means they may inherently care more about the program.

McComas didn’t completely shoot that down, but pointed out that there’s been prominent examples of players that are synonymous with OU that aren’t from the state of Oklahoma.

“Some of those things are overblown. Baker Mayfield and Brian Bosworth cared more about OU than maybe any other players that existed here and they were both from the state of Texas. So, maybe the whole they care more about OU thing is overblown, but I definitely think that there’s some advantages to guys may be willing to stay around four and five years if they’re from the state as opposed to outside of it,” McComas said.

Successful in-state recruiting was one of the pillars of the Stoops era and early indications are that it appears Venables and his staff are making it one of the foundational pieces of their approach with the Sooners.

In-state talent winding up out of state has been one of the bigger recruiting gripes of the Oklahoma fan base in recent years. If the early approach from Venables’ staff is a sign of things to come, then OU fans may be able to put some of those past frustrations to rest.

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Coach Stoops and Coach Venables share story on Teddy Lehman’s commitment

Bob Stoops and Brent Venables share their memories of working out Teddy Lehman before offering him a scholarship to play for the Sooners.

The early signing period is upon us. It’s a day when kids take the first step in realizing their dreams of playing college football. More specifically, athletes who’ve dreamt of playing for the University of Oklahoma or have been wooed by the Sooners over the last few years can start putting pen to paper today to be a part of the 2022 recruiting class.

Oklahoma’s done a great job over the years of unearthing talent and Teddy Lehman was one of those talented kids that flew under the radar according to this story from OU Insider’s Joey Helmer.

Yet, still, while some colleges sent him some letters, he “pretty much, he was an unknown,” then-head coach Lonnie Reed said in a story with The Oklahoman’s George Schroeder. Lehman then set up camps with three Big 12 schools, OU, Oklahoma State and Nebraska. He never made it to either Stillwater or Lincoln, but did make a trip to Norman and, needless to say, impressed. – Helmer, OU Insider

Getting together for Sooner Sports weekly show at Rudy’s BBQ in Norman, Chris Plank was joined by Teddy Lehman, Bob Stoops, and Brent Venables to discuss a variety of football things. But out of it came this gem of a story, which Oklahoma Football shared via their Twitter account.

Lehman, working out for the Sooners amazed with his 4.4 40-yard dash. It was so incredible that Venables didn’t believe it and made the former Sooners’ linebacker run it several more times. According to Venables, not only was it accurate, he got faster as he ran it.

Venables shared a conversation he had with Lehman at one of their recruitment camps in the early 2000s. Venables asked Lehman, “What do you think you’re going to run today? If you run 4.6, I might offer you today. He said, ‘(Speaking as Lehman) if I run 4.6, I’m gonna quit football.”

Lehman got his scholarship offer that day and the rest is history. Lehman went on to win the Butkus Award, be a two-time All-American selection, and win the Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year award in 2003.

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