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Oklahoma Sooners 2022 football schedule

Oklahoma Sooners 2022 football schedule.

The 2022 season for the Oklahoma Sooners marks a new beginning for one of the most storied programs in the history of college football.

Returning to help the Oklahoma Sooners embark on the next chapter is [autotag]Brent Venables[/autotag], who will make his head coaching debut against the UTEP Miners in Norman on Sept. 3. There’s no doubt that the Sooners’ fanbase will be fired up to watch and support their new head coach.

Also returning is former student assistant, now offensive coordinator [autotag]Jeff Lebby[/autotag]. Lebby’s bringing his high-octane offense to the Sooners and brings along a former quarterback with him in [autotag]Dillon Gabriel[/autotag].

Gabriel’s experience helps the Sooners avoid a drop-off at quarterback with both starters from the 2021 season transferring out. Gabriel and the Oklahoma offense get a boost from the return of [autotag]Theo Wease[/autotag] who was out for 2021 due to an injury and initially entered the transfer portal only to return. The receiving yardage leader from the 2020 and 2021 seasons, [autotag]Marvin Mims[/autotag], is back as well to give Oklahoma a nice duo on the outside.

The biggest question facing the Sooners is how they retool a defense that lost six starters from the 2021 season. But with support in the transfer portal from [autotag]Trey Morrison[/autotag], [autotag]Jonah Laulu[/autotag], and [autotag]Jeffery Johnson[/autotag] and some rising stars in Ethan Downs, [autotag]Key Lawrence[/autotag], [autotag]Reggie Grimes[/autotag], [autotag]Marcus Stripling[/autotag], [autotag]Jalen Redmond[/autotag], [autotag]Woodi Washington[/autotag], and [autotag]DaShaun White[/autotag], the Sooners have answers.

Despite all of the turnover, the Oklahoma Sooners are still a contender for the Big 12 and if things go right could find themselves in contention for a College Football Playoff berth.

Some game times and broadcast information are still to be determined. Times are listed in the central time zone.

Week	Date	Opponent	Time
1	9/3	vs. UT-El Paso Miners	TBA
2	9/10	vs. Kent State Golden Flashes	TBA
3	9/17	at Nebraska Cornhuskers	TBA
4	9/24	vs. Kansas State Wildcats	TBA
5	10/1	at TCU Horned Frogs	TBA
6	10/8	vs. Texas Longhorns in Dallas	TBA
7	10/15	vs. Kansas Jayhawks	TBA
8	10/22	at. BYE WEEK
9	10/27	at Iowa State Cyclones	TBA
10	11/5	vs. Baylor Bears	TBA
11	11/12	at West Virginia Mountaineers	TBA
12	11/19	vs. Oklahoma State Cowboys	TBA
13	11/26	at Texas Tech Red Raiders	TBA

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Bringing back defensive culture the biggest question facing the Sooners per CBS Sports

Can Brent Venables rebuild a defensive culture? CBS Sports’ Shehan Jeyarajah takes a look at the biggest question facing each Oklahoma.

The Oklahoma Sooners are in the midst of arguably the most significant transition the team has faced in more than 20 years. The change in the coaching staff, coupled with the loss of 12 starters (six on offense, six on defense), mixes in uncertainty to go along with the typical optimism that comes with spring practice.

As the Oklahoma Sooners and the rest of the Big 12 work through spring practice, CBS Sports’ Shehan Jeyarajah asked a question about each team in the conference. For the Oklahoma Sooners, Jeyarajah asked, “Can [autotag]Brent Venables[/autotag] rebuild a defensive culture?”

After five years of offensive focus under [autotag]Lincoln Riley[/autotag], Oklahoma opted to turn things around by hiring defensive mastermind Brent Venables. The former Sooners assistant under [autotag]Bob Stoops[/autotag] has helped put together 12 consecutive years of 10-win seasons between his time at Oklahoma and Clemson, but starting over in Norman comes with complications.

The Sooners have a proud history of hard-nosed defenses, but things slipped mightily under Riley. The Sooners gave up nearly 400 yards per game in an average Big 12. Plus, six top starters are gone, including nearly every leader in the front seven from last year’s team.

Oklahoma has recruited well on the defensive side of the ball and Venables has six defensive transfers on the way. However, the defensive struggles in Norman have seemed to transcend personnel and scheme. Venables has a critical spring to start building trust on the roster and assemble the kind of defensive culture that can get OU back to contention for national titles. – Sheahan Jeyarajah, CBS Sports

I don’t see why Venables wouldn’t be able to create a defensive culture at Oklahoma.

Venables has been one of the more successful defensive coaches in the country in the last two decades. While things weren’t always dominant during his final years at OU, he showed at Clemson the ability to build a sustainably dominant defense. And those defenses helped Clemson win two national titles, play in the second-most College Football Playoff games and accumulate the second-most wins. The team they trail is the team everyone’s chasing; the Alabama Crimson Tide. And the Tigers beat the Tide twice during the Dabo Swinney-Brent Venables run.

Sure, there’s been turnover, but the Sooners look more than capable of addressing those losses with returning players and guys they brought in through the transfer portal.

What they did in the transfer portal was a strategic attempt to replace the snaps lost on the defensive side of the football. The Additions of [autotag]Jeffery Johnson[/autotag], [autotag]Jonah Laulu[/autotag], [autotag]Trey Morrison[/autotag], Kani Walker, C.J. Coldon, and T.D. Roof will pay huge dividends in 2022 and beyond. Johnson, Laulu, and Morrison could all end up starting for Oklahoma. The experience they’re bringing to Norman will be a huge boost to a team relying on some younger players to fill the void left at several other spots.

Oklahoma’s defensive issues weren’t a talent thing, and at times they weren’t even a scheme thing. Alex Grinch helped improve Oklahoma’s defense in the time he spent in Norman. Was it perfect? No. But it was better than it had been, and the Sooners resembled a team that could win with their defense, like in the Iowa State and Nebraska games last season.

And the expectation is that things will go a step further with Brent Venables back in Norman. The Clemson Tigers became one of the best defenses in the country during his time in South Carolina, and that’s why he’s been a hot name for coaching jobs for several years. But beyond the scheme and the ability to recruit top defensive talent, it’s the mindset and the attitude that Venables brings to the table that will help reestablish Oklahoma’s defensive philosophy.

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5 position battles to watch as the Oklahoma Sooners begin spring practice

With key losses on both sides of the ball, the Oklahoma Sooners will have a lot of competition for starting roles this spring. Here are 5 position battles to watch.

The Oklahoma Sooners are set to stage the next phase of their offseason preparation for the 2022 season; spring practice.

With the team putting in winter workouts with returning strength and conditioning coach Jerry Schmidt, Oklahoma starts fresh with a new coaching staff, which has brought it in a new culture, hoping to return Oklahoma to national prominence.

Most of the coaching staff was retained on the offensive side of the ball for new coordinator Jeff Lebby. Lebby brings a new approach to offensive football, looking to return Oklahoma to a fast-paced, balanced, and efficient offensive identity. The only change came at wide receiver, where Dennis Simmons moved on to USC, and Cale Gundy took over as the Sooners wide receivers coach.

Despite the losses, excitement has followed the Oklahoma Sooners in the locker room and the fan base for the start of the Brent Venables era. On defense, it’s a whole new crew, with a new defensive scheme and a new energy. Heading into 2022, more than half of the defensive starters will be new for the Sooners.

With spring practice set to kick off, let’s look at five key position battles this offseason.

247Sports asks if the Oklahoma Sooners secondary can step up

247Sports reporter Chris Hummer’s one burning question for Oklahoma entering 2022: can the Sooners’ secondary step up?

Any doubt that follows the Oklahoma Sooners as they get set for the start of spring practice on March 22 is largely due to the losses on the defensive side of the football. Oklahoma lost five starters to the NFL and Pat Fields transferred to Stanford. Delarrin Turner-Yell and Fields’ departures leave a huge leadership void at the back end of the Sooners’ defense.

247Sports reporter Chris Hummer has one burning question for Oklahoma entering the 2022 season: can the Sooners’ secondary step up?

With so much new in Norman this spring, there are a number of pressing questions. Quarterback will be under the microscope. So will the o-line, wide receiver depth and the defensive scheme. But if there’s been a continued weakness for Oklahoma, it’s the secondary. Oklahoma never ranked better than 58^th in passing yards allowed per game under Lincoln Riley, and the team dropped all the way to 109^th last year after moderate improvements the previous two seasons.

Can it improve next year? Perhaps. But Brent Venables will have to work with rather similar personnel. There are two losses at safety with Delarrin Turner-Yell and Pat Fields moving on. Turner-Yell was probably the best player in the secondary and Fields might have been the worst. As for the returning cornerbacks, they’re all back. There’s also North Carolina transfer Trey Morrison, who projects to play safety, and Wyoming cornerback transfer C.J. Coldon.

Coldon and Morrison are experienced pieces who are near locks for the two-deep. But the ceiling of this room will be determined by younger pieces taking a step. Can Key Lawrence and Billy Bowman emerge as difference makers? Will D.J. Graham and Woodi Washington be better at cornerback after up-and-down debut seasons as starters? Can young players like Kani Walker, Jayden Rowe and Robert Spears-Jennings take a step? Those questions will define the Sooners’ spring. – Hummer, 247Sports.

It’s a fair question to ask. As Hummer points out, Oklahoma plummeted all the way to 109th nationally in passing yards allowed as the Sooners surrendered 261.8 passing yards per game and 26 passing touchdowns on the season. By comparison, the two top passing defenses in the Big 12 last season were Iowa State and Oklahoma State. The Cyclones ranked 11th nationally surrendering just 188.2 passing yards per game, while the Cowboys ranked 36th nationally allowing 210.2 yards per game.

One bit of good news for Oklahoma is that new head coach Brent Venables arrives with the pedigree of producing strong defenses annually. That should provide some form of an immediate boost. Clemson’s defense ranked 34th nationally after surrendering just 209.2 passing yards per game in 2021.

OU has plenty of options on the back end of its defense. Cornerback is boosted by the returns of both starters in D.J. Graham and Woodi Washington. C.J. Coldon comes over from Wyoming where he recorded 68 tackles and 10 pass breakups in 2021.

Key Lawrence showed serious flashes last season at both cornerback and safety. It’s likely he’ll slot in at safety alongside Justin Broiles. Morrison is another interesting option in OU’s defensive backfield. He made starts at both safety and nickel back for North Carolina last year.

Oklahoma also brings back cornerbacks Jaden Davis and Joshua Eaton as well in addition to the signings of Gentry Williams and Jayden Rowe. At safety, the Sooners also return Jordan Mukes and Bryson Washington and signed Robert Spears-Jennings. Defensive back Jamarrien Burt signed with Oklahoma, too.

Beauty of the unknown is Oklahoma’s biggest 2022 storyline

What we don’t know about Oklahoma football entering the 2022 season is the storyline that’s brimming with excitement.

When you get right down to it, there’s just so much about what Oklahoma will look like in 2022 that we simply don’t know yet.

In short, the biggest storyline for the Sooners is just how the heck all of this will come together. And that’s really the most exciting part about this offseason. Nobody truly knows. That’s precisely what ESPN’s Dave Wilson wrote for his biggest spring narrative surrounding the Sooners entering 2022. Everything.

It’s a new/old era in Norman, with former Bob Stoops lieutenant Brent Venables taking over after former Stoops coordinator Lincoln Riley up and left for USC. So what is there to watch? How about everything. Is Dillon Gabriel the answer at quarterback after star freshman Caleb Williams joined Riley in L.A.? Can the offensive line come together to buy Gabriel time after Spencer Rattler and Williams both bought time last year? Under Venables’ watch, will the defense add back some bite that was lacking? – Wilson, ESPN.

It’s Brent Venables’ first year as a head coach. OU will have a new starting quarterback in Dillon Gabriel with a new offensive coordinator in Jeff Lebby. Marvin Mims is one of college football’s biggest stars at wide receiver and he returns, but, outside of that, there’s more questions than answers offensively.

Theo Wease returns from injury and he came to Oklahoma as a five-star talent. Fellow wide receiver Jalil Farooq showed signs in the Valero Alamo Bowl against Oregon that he’s ready for a starring role after leading the Sooners in receiving against the Ducks with three receptions for 64 yards. Four-star signees Nic Anderson and Jayden Gibson could factor in straightaway among the wide receiver group simply because of defections from the program.

Along its offensive line, OU will be replacing a pair of longtime starters in left guard Marquis Hayes and right tackle Tyrese Robinson. Assuming the offensive line gels together with the addition of Cal transfer guard McKade Mettauer, who is going to step up and be the Sooners’ leading rusher to replace Kennedy Brooks?

Eric Gray is the most seasoned, but OU fans have been pining for Marcus Major to get more carries. Major has just 60 career carries for 298 rushing yards, though. The door seems wide open for either true freshmen running backs in Jovantae Barnes or Gavin Sawchuk to step right in and get serious carries.

The Sooners are replacing six of 11 starters defensively and it remains to be seen if transfer portal additions like Jeffery Johnson, Jonah Laulu, C.J. Coldon, Trey Morrison, Kani Walker, and T.D. Roof will impact OU immediately. Defensive lineman Jalen Redmond is the leader in the clubhouse to finish as Oklahoma’s leading sacks and tackles for loss producer, but his career has been defined in part by absences and this will be his first season playing without Nik Bonitto, Ronnie Perkins or Isaiah Thomas to help shoulder the load.

Marcus Stripling was another star in OU’s 47-32 Alamo Bowl triumph over Oregon. Stripling had a pair of tackles for loss and a sack against the Ducks. How he, Ethan Downs and Clayton Smith come along will be another deciding factor in Oklahoma’s success or failure in 2022.

Thanks to the return of DaShaun White and a talented 2022 signing class, linebacker suddenly might be OU’s most talented position group on the entire roster. Is Danny Stutsman primed for a breakout season? Portions of 2021 certainly hinted at that.

On the back end of OU’s defense, the Sooners return their starting cornerbacks in D.J. Graham and Woodi Washington to go along with starting nickel back Justin Broiles and Key Lawrence who played at both corner and safety last year.

It’s new, it’s unknown and that’s exciting.

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CBS tabs Brent Venables’ return to Oklahoma as one of the top spring storylines

CBS Sports reporter Dennis Dodd writes that Brent Venables taking over at Oklahoma is one of college football’s top spring storylines.

For a long time, the prevailing thought was that Brent Venables was too happy as Clemson’s defensive coordinator to accept any head coaching position. Why take on the stress of being a head coach when Venables’ compensation at $2.5 million was tops among assistant coaches?

Plus, Clemson won a pair of national championships under Venables’ watch and the Tigers’ defenses under Venables boasted the most sacks and tackles for loss nationally with 448 and 1,159, respectively. It would have to be the perfect opportunity to pry Venables away from all of that at Clemson.

Ultimately, that’s precisely what Oklahoma wound up being for Venables. Now, CBS Sports reporter Dennis Dodd writes that Venables’ return to Oklahoma is one of the top spring storylines as the gear up for the 2022 college football season gets underway.

Oklahoma looked in disarray after Riley bolted for USC. Who would the Sooners get of substance who was available? It ended up being Clemson defensive coordinator Brent Venables, who had previously been unavailable to basically everyone. After turning down interest from several schools over the years, Venables came “home”. The former Sooners defensive coordinator under Bob Stoops inherits a football factory in full flower. Watch the defense this spring; Oklahoma will play it better than it has in years. Take a long look. Venables is the face of the franchise as it transitions into the SEC. – Dodd, CBS Sports.

That’s certainly the expectation and buzz around Norman with Venables taking over. Folks anticipate a different defense moving forward into 2022 and beyond.

One of the big pieces of news heading into the offseason was the return of senior linebacker DaShaun White who racked up 66 tackles and five tackles for loss. The North Richland Hills, Texas, native’s 66 tackles were good for third best on the Sooners last season. White will be joined in a talented linebacker group by returnees Danny Stutsman, David Ugwoegbu, Brynden Walker, Joseph Wete and Shane Whitter. OU also added Appalachian State transfer T.D. Roof to go along with linebacker signees Jaren Kanak, Kip Lewis and Kobie McKinzie.

Oklahoma also brings back defensive tackle Jalen Redmond who appears prepared to blossom into this defense’s star up front. Over the course of his career, Redmond has collected 21.5 tackles for loss and 10 sacks. The Sooners fortified themselves up front with the additions of Tulane transfer Jeffery Johnson and Hawaii transfer Jonah Laulu.

Plus, Isaiah Coe, Josh Ellison, Jordan Kelley and Kori Roberson return inside. There’s plenty of optimism at OU about the futures of Ethan Downs, Nathan Rawlins-Kibonge, Clayton Smith and Marcus Stripling, too.

In the secondary, the Sooners return their two starting cornerbacks in D.J. Graham and Woodi Washington. Key Lawrence played both corner and safety last season. It’s likely that Lawrence will start alongside Justin Broiles at OU’s two safety spots entering 2022. OU added competition on the back end via the transfer portal, though. Wyoming transfer C.J. Coldon, North Carolina transfer Trey Morrison and Louisville transfer Kani Walker will make things interesting for Oklahoma safeties and cornerbacks coaches Brandon Hall and Jay Valai during the spring and summer.

While it’s certainly a grand transition at Oklahoma, there’s plenty of reason to believe that Venables already possesses a roster capable of turning the corner defensively as soon as 2022. At Oklahoma, fans understandably don’t like to wait very long, so the Sooners’ expectations should be to redeem themselves by winning the 2022 Big 12 Championship and be back in the mix for a College Football Playoff berth.

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5 newcomers to watch for the Oklahoma Sooners in 2022

As the Oklahoma Sooners inch closer to spring ball, here are five newcomers to keep an eye on for 2022.

Roster turnover hits every team in college football. The ones that stay consistently good are the ones that can build depth through their recruiting classes and, in recent years, the transfer portal. That’s how the Oklahoma Sooners have maintained their high level of success over the last 20 years.

The Oklahoma Sooners have had the fourth-highest winning percentage in college football in the last decade. That’s due, in large part, to their ability to recruit and develop players. They’ve also become quite adept at utilizing the transfer portal to fill significant short-term needs while waiting for their younger guys to develop.

Heading into the spring, the Sooners have added several key players in both their recruiting classes and in the transfer portal that should have significant impacts in 2022. Let’s look at five newcomers to watch for the Oklahoma Sooners this year.

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Key Lawrence tweets that OU ‘needs’ Georgia Tech transfer Wesley Walker

Oklahoma defensive back Key Lawrence voiced his support for OU to add Georgia Tech defensive back Wesley Walker out of the transfer portal.

Oklahoma has already bolstered its defensive backfield with three transfer portal additions in the form of Wyoming transfer C.J. Coldon, North Carolina transfer Trey Morrison and Louisville transfer Kani Walker.

If the Sooners coaching staff is listening to one of its star defensive backs, then Oklahoma shouldn’t be done adding out of the transfer portal. Oklahoma defensive back Key Lawrence tweeted his support for OU to pursue Georgia Tech defensive back transfer Wesley Walker.

WE NEED WESLEY WALKER @OU HE JUST ENTERED THE PORTAL ABSOLUTE DAWG I PROMISE THAT 💯💯💯

— KE(Y) LAWRENCE 💰C❌C (@KeShawn2x) February 20, 2022

Walker is a 6-foot-1, 204 pound defensive back out of Ensworth High School in Nashville, Tenn, where he was teammates with Lawrence. If Walker does in fact wind up at Oklahoma, it would add another Tennessee native to a roster that’s already highlighted by plenty of Volunteer State flair.

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Running back Eric Gray is from Memphis, defensive end Reggie Grimes is from Antioch, Tenn., and cornerback Woodi Washington is from Murfreesboro, Tenn.

Over the last two seasons at Georgia Tech, Walker recorded 93 tackles, two tackles for loss, a pair of forced fumbles and six passes defensed in 20 games. In Georgia Tech’s 31-27 win last season at Duke, Walker registered 10 tackles.

Coming out of high school, ESPN ranked Walker as a four-star signee, the nation’s No. 38 cornerback and the 14th highest-rated player out of Tennessee. Rivals and 247Sports both listed Walker as a three-star signee.

According to Rivals, Walker was the country’s No. 58 cornerback and Tennessee’s 18th-best player. 247Sports rated Walker as the nation’s No. 83 cornerback and the No. 30 player out of Tennessee. In the 247Sports composite rankings, Walker was No. 588 nationally, the No. 58 cornerback and the 19th-best player from Tennessee.

Again, Oklahoma head football coach Brent Venables has already added depth in the defensive backfield via the transfer portal, but the addition of another proven power-five playmaker and Walker’s relationship with Lawrence could be an attractive option and the perfect fit.

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ESPN includes Oklahoma as one of 10 teams that lost the most in the portal

ESPN’s Tom VanHaaren included Oklahoma among his 10 college football teams that lost the most in the transfer portal.

In an ESPN+ story, Tom VanHaaren explored which college football teams lost the most in the transfer portal. Oklahoma was one of his 10 schools that lost the most in the portal and he explored how the Sooners replaced that talent with the portal.

Despite losing a handful of really talented football players to other programs, OU head football coach Brent Venables actually managed it well by adding players from the portal to offset those departures. In fact, just a few short weeks ago VanHaaren had Oklahoma at No. 5 on his list of college football teams that were most helped by the transfer portal.

Van Haaren wrote this about the players that OU saw depart through the transfer portal in his “who’s leaving” section of his breakdown.

The Sooners didn’t see the quantity of players leave as some of the others on the list, but there were plenty of contributors who left the program.

The biggest name was freshman quarterback Caleb Williams, who’d supplanted Spencer Rattler as starting quarterback. Williams joined Lincoln Riley at USC, as did receiver Mario Williams, who was also a freshman at Oklahoma this past season.

Rattler and tight end Austin Stogner both transferred to South Carolina, and receiver Jadon Haselwood left for Arkansas. Haselwood is a former five-star who led the Sooners in receiving touchdowns this past season with six. The staff also saw defensive back Latrell McCutchin follow Riley to USC. – VanHaaren, ESPN.

Now, to the part that should excite Oklahoma fans. VanHaaren was pretty positive about what the Sooners have added in his “who’s coming in” breakdown.

When the number of players transferring out was first reported, it looked almost insurmountable for the new staff to replace all the departures. But Brent Venables and the coaches have done an excellent job replacing key players.

Replacing Williams at quarterback would be difficult no matter whom the coaches brought in, but Venables and new offensive coordinator Jeff Lebby added UCF transfer Dillon Gabriel. Lebby and Gabriel were together at UCF and have a level of comfortability, which is a big piece of the puzzle under center.

In addition to Gabriel, the staff also brought in offensive linemen Tyler Guyton and McKade Mettauer, as well as tight end Daniel Parker Jr. On defense, the staff added defensive backs C.J. Coldon, Trey Morrison and Kani Walker, as well as linebacker T.D. Roof. Hawaii defensive lineman Jonah Laulu and Jeffery Johnson were also added in what ended up being a big haul for the Sooners. – VanHaaren, ESPN.

In addition to Oklahoma’s 2022 signing class which ranks No. 8 in the team rankings on 247Sports, On3 and Rivals, the Sooners brought in players to help them out in a lot of different areas both offensively and defensively through the transfer portal.

“Well, I mean, we wouldn’t have brought them in—I’ll be honest, all nine of them—we wouldn’t have brought them in had we not felt the need for immediate help at those positions. Offensive line the depth there. Tight end, Parker being a really a devastating blocker. Looking at defensively, starting on the defensive line. Both inside and outside, having the chance with Jonah and Jeffery both being able to contribute right away. Being physical guys, guys with some tremendous experience. McKade on his side was a three-year starter, Jeffery I believe was a four-year starter. Just tremendous experience with all of them. Tyler Guyton, just a freshman last year, but played as a freshman for TCU. Really showed his athletic ability, what he was able to do as both an H-back and an offensive lineman. Looking at defensively, second and the third level. T.D. Roof, he’s been a tremendous player at the couple of the schools he was at. Just a great leader, coach’s kid that really the game comes easy to him. Just looking at again the secondary, Kani, Trey Morrison, both those guys give you a lot of versatility, some immediate depth with both some guys that left and guys that graduated both at safety and at corner,” Oklahoma head football coach Brent Venables said of his transfer additions on national signing day.

Venables also made it clear that all of the transfers were players he and his staff felt could contribute.

“I would be surprised if all nine of them don’t contribute right away. So, that’s the thinking really is, you know, you’re not bringing them in from an emergency standpoint. You’re really bringing them in to help you where you’re just a little light in your numbers. And again, these are guys that we also believe that can fit. Philosophically who they are as people, as leaders, just have maturity, experience. To me, really important that these are guys that were good players where they were at and bright futures where they were at. Maybe the right stop, but they looked at the Oklahoma opportunity as a very unique opportunity to be able to play at a place like Oklahoma where again there might be a position of need,” Venables said.

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Oklahoma ranked No. 71 nationally in ESPN’s returning production rankings

Where do the Oklahoma Sooners stand according to ESPN’s returning production?

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In an ESPN+ story, Bill Connelly released his returning production percentages and rankings for all 131 FBS teams.

According to Connelly’s rankings, Oklahoma is No. 71 nationally in returning production at 64 percent. Offensively, the Sooners return just 47 percent of its production, which ranks 117th. OU brings back 82 percent of its production on the defensive side of the football, which is good for 15th nationally.

Here’s the formula for determining returning offensive production: percent of returning wide receiver and tight end receiving yards equals 37 percent of the overall number, percent of returning quarterback passing yards equals 29 percent, percent of returning offensive line snaps equals 28 percent and percent of returning running back rushing yards accounts for 6 percent.

Transfers’ production at their previous school are taken into account to determine returning production.

In the case of Oklahoma’s offense, that doesn’t help much, though. UCF transfer Dillon Gabriel has passed for 8,037 yards and 70 touchdowns over the course of his collegiate career, but he only played in three games last season due to injury.

If you add in Gabriel’s passing yards during the 2021 season to what Spencer Rattler, Ralph Rucker and Caleb Williams passed for, it equals 4,229 passing yards for the Sooners last season. Only 834 of those passing yards are returning, equaling 19.7 percent returning production for quarterbacks.

Again, at least in the case of OU’s quarterback position, it’s a tricky percentage to use, because the hope is Gabriel remains healthy throughout 2022. Under that scenario, Gabriel would approach or exceed his passing totals from the 2019 and 2020 seasons when he passed for 3,653 and 3,570 yards, respectively.

At wide receiver and tight end, it’s easier to understand. OU will be without four of its top-five pass catchers from 2021 next season. Michael Woods and Jeremiah Hall are entering the 2022 NFL Draft and Jadon Haselwood and Mario Williams are transferring to Arkansas and USC.

Factoring in the 12 receptions and 97 receiving yards Daniel Parker Jr. recorded at Missouri last season, Oklahoma pass-catchers caught 291 passes for 3,522 receiving yards in 2021. According to those numbers, OU is replacing 49.7 percent of its receiving yards from last season.

Looking strictly at the running back position and not accounting for any of Oklahoma’s other rushing yardage, Sooner running backs carried 304 times for 1,810 yards. Of course, Kennedy Brooks rushed 198 times for 1,253 rushing yards, meaning OU is replacing 69.2 percent of its rushing yardage from running backs.

Defensively, Connelly’s ranking allots 59 percent of his returning defensive production to percent of returning tackles, 28 percent to percent of returning passes defended, 8 percent to percent of returning tackles for loss and 5 percent to percent of returning sacks.

Here’s where things get a little wonky after mixing in the Oklahoma transfers’ production. As a team, OU recorded 902 tackles, 97 tackles for loss, 33 sacks and 24 passes defended. Not accounting the transfer numbers in just yet, Oklahoma would be replacing 40.3 percent of its total team tackles, 53.1 percent of its tackles for loss, 65.1 percent of its sacks and 33.3 percent of its passes defended.

Since Oklahoma added defensive transfers Jeffery Johnson, Jonah Laulu, C.J. Coldon, Trey Morrison, Kani Walker and T.D. Roof, all of those replacement numbers actually dip.

With the transfers mixed in, Oklahoma is replacing just 31.2 percent of its tackles, 41 percent of its tackles for loss, 49.4 percent of its sacks and 20 percent of its passes defensed.

To this point, Coldon had 10 passes defensed in 2021 and Morrison had four. OU had 24 passes defensed as a team last season. The outgoing players for Oklahoma represented 364 tackles, 51.5 tackles for loss, 21.5 sacks and eight passes defensed. The transfer portal adds accounted for 261 tackles, 28.5 tackles for loss, 10.5 sacks and 16 passes defensed.

Point being, returning production can be an inexact science once transfer portal players start getting tossed in. The bottom line is this: OU is replacing four of its top five pass-catchers offensively, its leading rusher, its top three sacks and tackles for loss producers and three of its top five tacklers from last season.

OU landed one of the top transfer quarterbacks in Gabriel and there are able replacements across the board elsewhere, some of which also happen to come from out of the transfer portal as well. How all of it meshes together won’t be determined by anybody’s returning production rankings.

Contact/Follow us @SoonersWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Oklahoma news, notes, and opinions. Let us know your thoughts, comment on this story below. Join the conversation today.

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