Tag: Woodi Washington

Woodi Washington ‘honored’ to be a permanent captain of Team 129

Woodi Washington has been an under the radar player this year for Oklahoma but will leave a big hole to fill.

A player that has kind of flown under the radar this year for the Oklahoma Sooners is senior cornerback [autotag]Woodi Washington[/autotag]. Washington’s numbers aren’t eye-popping, but that isn’t always a bad thing at cornerback.

He’s had 38 tackles, 1.5 tackles for loss, and five pass deflections. But Pro Football Focus (subscription required) ranks him as a top 35 cornerback in the nation. He’s also been the mainstay and leader of a room that has dealt with a number of injuries.

On Friday, Washington will be amongst those being honored on Senior Day. He spoke to reporters about also being named a captain for Team 129. “I’m extremely grateful and honored for the guys to vote me as a captain,” Washington said. “I consider myself a leader of this team and for the guys to vote for me, that means a lot.”

Washington is a player who could have left early a season ago. He had already been in college for four seasons and was coming off a decent year. Many players would have jumped at the opportunity to leave school and go pro.

But not Washington. Instead, he saw the flaws he had in his game and trusted the coaching staff to help him become a better version of himself. That will likely lead to a draft selection for the veteran cornerback with a great chance to make an active roster in 2024.

At the time, it might have seemed small, but it was a big deal when he decided to return to Norman. When he plays his final snap in crimson and cream, he’ll leave a big hole to fill.

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Oklahoma Sooners name permanent captains for the 2023 season

Oklahoma has named the permanent captains for the 2023 season.

Just like that, the 2023 Oklahoma Sooners regular season is about to come to a close. As we head into the final game of the season, the Sooners have announced who their permanent captains will be for the remainder of the season.

Those are [autotag]Billy Bowman[/autotag], [autotag]Ethan Downs[/autotag], [autotag]Dillon Gabriel[/autotag], [autotag]McKade Mettauer[/autotag], [autotag]Drake Stoops[/autotag], [autotag]Danny Stutsman[/autotag] and [autotag]Woodi Washington[/autotag]. Four of those players will be honored on senior night this weekend.

Bowman has emerged here lately and taken his game to another level. He has 52 tackles, which ranks third on the team, and leads the team with five interceptions.

Downs has had a solid season, leading the Sooners with 4.5 sacks on the year. He’s also been one of the best interviews all season. You can tell how much of a leader he is for the team.

 

Gabriel is having a career year for the Sooners. His 69.9% completion percentage is a career high. He’s also only a little under 400 yards shy of breaking his career high in yards and only five passing touchdowns shy of setting a career-high in passing touchdowns. His 38 total touchdowns, however, is a career high.

Mettauer has been a steady force on an offensive line that has really found its groove recently. It’s helped pave the way for [autotag]Gavin Sawchuk[/autotag] to have three straight 100-yard games on the ground.

Stoops embodies what this program is all about both on and off the field. He leads the team with 66 receptions and 755 yards and is tied for the team lead with nine touchdowns.

Stutsman is the emotional leader of the defense. You could tell his presence was greatly missed in the two losses. He leads the team with 91 tackles and 15.5 tackles for loss.

Washington has played a position that has seen a lot of turnover due to injury at the cornerback spot opposite of him. He’s been a steady force and leader for the cornerback position.

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Report Card: Poor grades all around as Oklahoma loses to Kansas

Oklahoma struggles nearly across the board areas but how did each position group grade out in the loss to Kansas?

Oklahoma took their first loss of the season on Saturday, falling to the [autotag]Kansas Jayhawks[/autotag] on a rainy and disgusting day in Lawrence. From the first play from scrimmage, it appeared Oklahoma would be in for a fight. And sure enough, that’s precisely what happened.

Oklahoma fell victim to another slow start on both sides of the ball. The Sooners were never able to get their passing game going. Due to the weather conditions, they relied heavily on their offensive line and running backs to generate offense.

The sooners will try and figure things out as they get set to take on the Oklahoma State Cowboys in what will be the last Bedlam for quite some time.

OU played a rough game on all fronts. Some things were encouraging, but a lot of the performance put forth was not good enough. We broke it down by position group below.

5 keys to an Oklahoma Sooners victory over Kansas

Can the Oklahoma Sooners extend their winning streak over Kansas on Saturday? Here are our five keys to the game.

On Saturday, No. 6 Oklahoma (7-0, 4-0) will take on Lance Leipold’s [autotag]Kansas Jayhawks[/autotag] (5-2, 2-2) for the final time as Big 12 foes.

Oklahoma needs to play a much better game on Saturday than they did against the UCF Knights. They looked to be sleepwalking through the game at times and could have been more crisp on offense. The offensive line had its worst game of the season in pass protection, and until the fourth quarter, the Sooners couldn’t expose a lousy run defense.

Defensively, two busted plays defined the day, as both led to UCF touchdowns. Those plays aside, it was an excellent day for an Oklahoma defense that continues to show improvement.

Kansas will present another challenge for this revitalized Oklahoma defense. The Sooners D continues to make opposing offenses look outmatched at times. Aside from the occasional busts in coverages, this unit is much better than the one that Kansas saw in Norman last year when Kansas quarterback Jason Bean threw four touchdowns.

The Jayhawks have two solid running backs, Devin Neal and Daniel Hishaw Jr. They are as explosive as teams get and will provide Oklahoma with a challenge.

Ultimately, the Sooners still hold advantages at multiple spots. With their lackluster performance from UCF behind them, the Sooners should come out on fire.

The Jayhawks surely won’t go down without a fight, and Brent Venables will make sure the team knows that.

Kansas hasn’t beaten OU since 1997. The Sooners have won the last 18 matchups between the two sides. But what are the keys to Oklahoma closing out the 100-year series with a win? Here are this week’s keys to the game.

Woodi Washington, Sooners defense hoping for bounce back performance

Woodi Washington and the Oklahoma defense hoping for a bounce-back performance this week vs. Kansas.

Looking at the numbers, [autotag]Woodi Washington[/autotag] isn’t someone you’d think has had a really good season this year so far. He has 27 tackles, 1.5 for loss and two pass breakups.

A big part of that though is that it seems he’s locked down a whole half of the field for a lot of the season. He’s gotten to the point where teams weren’t throwing to his side of the field. Time and time again, he’d be in perfect position and make a good play on the ball.

That was until this past Saturday. Saturday was by far his worst performance of the season. It wasn’t as confident as we’ve seen Washington play this season. On the 86-yard touchdown pass allowed to Javon Baker just before halftime, Washington got caught biting on the run option presented by John Rhys Plumlee.

Prior to Saturday, Washington was allowing just 11.75 yards per reception on 16 catches through six games. The 86-yard score was the first touchdown he’d allowed this season.

The good news is that Washington was able to respond in the game and that performance isn’t indicative of the type of player the defensive leader is.

Washington talked to reporters about the defensive performance as a whole on Saturday. “We just have to be more disciplined with our eyes,” Washington said. “Just be more locked into the details. Trust what the coaches are telling us.”

This is a big week for Washington to have a bounce-back game. The [autotag]Kansas Jayhawks[/autotag] run a ton of trick plays and try to confuse defenses. They also have one of the most explosive offenses in all of college football.

If the Sooners as a whole aren’t locked in, this could be very similar to the game we saw this past Saturday. For now, only time will tell if they learned from their mistakes.

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Report Card: Sooners sleepwalk on offense in UCF scare

Oklahoma took on UCF for the first time Saturday. UCF hung tough but the Sooners pulled it out late. Here is this week’s report card.

Saturday’s performance was an aberration for Team 129. The team we saw on Saturday was eerily reminiscent of the team that took the field 13 times last season to not-so-fun results. Yet, they knuckled up and found a way when it mattered most.

If we’re being honest, last year’s team would not have won that game. But despite the miserable team performance, it never felt like they wouldn’t make the necessary plays to win. That is a true testament to the wholesale changes in mentality, effort, talent, and coaching from last year to 2023.

Let’s get to the bottom line here with the dust settled. Oklahoma won, but it might have been the worst they looked on offense all year. It’s time to pass out grades in this week’s report card.

‘Adversity is going to happen’: Kendel Dolby, Sooners defense battled to seal win

Kendel Dolby and the Oklahoma Sooners defense rose to the occasion when it mattered most.

With 1:16 left in the fourth quarter, the [autotag]UCF Knights[/autotag] had just completed an effortless drive to score a touchdown to cut the lead to two. In an attempt to tie the game, the Knights’ offense stayed on the field and lined up for a two-point conversion.

Quarterback [autotag]John Rhys Plumlee[/autotag] took the snap and slung it out to his left to [autotag]Xavier Townsend[/autotag] who then looked to throw the ball. The Sooners’ defense, led by [autotag]Kendel Dolby[/autotag], was all over it.

They covered it beautifully. From [autotag]Billy Bowman[/autotag] and [autotag]Woodi Washington[/autotag] taking away his main read to Dolby and [autotag]Danny Stutsman[/autotag] staying out wide and defending the cutback to make sure he didn’t try to run it in as well. Ultimately, Dolby was the one who wrapped him up for an eight-yard loss, which essentially sealed the Sooners’ win.

Dolby talked to reporters after the game about that play. “Adversity is going to happen, Dolby said. “Coach (Venables) preaches that to us all of the time. Next play, that’s our mindset. It’s how I was thinking on that.”

The biggest thing that stood out about that two-point stop was that everyone on defense simply did their job. That’s not something we’ve seen from Sooners’ defenses in the past. At times those units seemed more concerned with making the big play as opposed to doing what the defense asked them to do.

Dolby was asked about Townsend wanting to throw it, and he said flat out his job was to play the ball and not worry about the throw. The throw was Bowman’s and Washington’s responsibility. Both of them did a great job taking that away as well. And because of it, the Sooners avoided overtime and remained undefeated on the 2023 season.

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Oklahoma Sooners survive, beat the UCF Knights 31-29 to stay unbeaten

It wasn’t pretty but the Oklahoma Sooners remained unbeaten with a 31-29 win over the UCF Knights.

The Oklahoma Sooners hung on to beat the UCF Knights 31-29 in a game that came down to the wire.

The Sooners’ defense started it off with a three-and-out but after a dropped direct snap and dropped pass by [autotag]Gavin Sawchuk[/autotag], the Sooners’ offense also went three and out.

The Sooners’ defense forced another three and out after a 3rd down sack by [autotag]Ethan Downs[/autotag]. UCF shanked the punt, and the Sooners started their next drive at UCF’s 40-yard line.

The Sooners offense couldn’t get anything going after a first down and [autotag]Zach Schmit[/autotag] missed a 38-yard field goal. While Sooners’ offense has looked out of sync, the defense has looked solid again as they forced another three and out. After another bad punt, the Sooners’ offense started the drive at the UCF 45-yard line.

Oklahoma cashed this time as [autotag]Dillon Gabriel[/autotag] found [autotag]Nic Anderson[/autotag] for a 29-yard score. The defense forced another three and out and had great field position again. But the offense couldn’t capitalize once again and Schmit once again missed the 43-yard field goal.

The Knights responded with a big run that put the ball first and goal on the Sooners’ one-yard line. Oklahoma’s defense came up big again and forced the Knights into a 4th and goal at the 2, but [autotag]Jaren Kanak[/autotag] was called for an unsportsmanlike penalty giving the Knights a first down.  [autotag]John Rhys Plumlee[/autotag] tied it up at seven with his touchdown run.

After an Oklahoma punt, the Knights had a 1st and goal from the six but the Sooners’ defense held and forced a field goal. The Knights took a 10-7 lead late in the second quarter.

The Sooners finally got something going on offense as Gabriel hit Anderson again this time for a 42-yard touchdown pass.

[autotag]Woodi Washington[/autotag] got caught playing the run instead of the run-pass option, and UCF threw an 86-yard touchdown pass to regain the lead.

Gabriel led a great drive before the half, where Schmit finally cashed in with a field to tie it up at 17 going into halftime.

The Knights outgained the Sooners 232 to 226 in the first half.

The Sooners started with the ball, and Gabriel threw it to [autotag]Drake Stoops[/autotag], who got hit as he was trying to catch it, which resulted in an interception. The defense forced a three-and-out, but the Knights were already in OU territory and kicked a field goal to take the 20-17 lead.

For a lot of the second half, the Sooners couldn’t get much going on offense.  Their first four drives of the second half ended with an interception and then three straight punts.

UCF added another field goal to make it 23-17 going into the fourth.

With 11:24 to play in the game, the Sooners finally got something going in the run game. Gavin Sawchuk picked up 23 yards on three carries and Marcus Major had two carries for 26 yards to help the Sooners get down the field before Drake Stoops took the screen pass from Gabriel for a touchdown.

With the score 24-23, the defense would get a stop after a huge sack by [autotag]Peyton Bowen[/autotag] to force a UCF punt.

The Sooners’ offense would take over and bleed the clock before Sawchuk busted it for a 30-yard touchdown run to put the Sooners up 31-23 late in the 4th Quarter.

UCF marched down the field and scored on a 4th down pass but the Sooners held on the two-point conversion to stay up 31-29.

The Sooners survived to remain unbeaten. The offense gained 442 yards of offense and held UCF to 397 total yards.

Dillon Gabriel had another solid day in the win, throwing for 253 yards and three touchdowns. He completed 66% of his passes and ran for 22 yards. Nic Anderson led the Sooners in receiving with five catches for 105 yards and two touchdowns. Drake Stoops caught seven passes for 60 yards and the go-ahead score.

On the ground, Marcus Major, who was apparently dealing with a shoulder injury coming into the game, carried the ball 18 times for 80 yards. Gavin Sawchuk, who got the start, rushed 10 times for 60 yards and a touchdown.

Defensively, Danny Stutsman led the way with 12 total tackles and a forced fumble. Key Lawrence had nine total tackles, including seven solo tackles in the win. Ethan Downs continued his strong 2023 season with six total tackles and a sack. In total, Oklahoma had three sacks and 13 tackles for loss.

Against one of the best run games in the country, the Sooners held the Knights to just 3.6 yards per carry and 149 yards rushing on the day.

It wasn’t a clean win, but the Oklahoma Sooners stayed undefeated. Now they get ready for a pair of road games in Lawrence to face the Kansas Jayhawks and then in Stillwater to face the Oklahoma State Cowboys.

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Midseason positional review: How have the Oklahoma Sooners looked at the midway point?

How have each position group done so far for the Oklahoma Sooners at the midway point?

The Oklahoma Sooners have hit the midway point of the 2023 college football season. The Sooners are undefeated at 6-0 in year two under [autotag]Brent Venables[/autotag]. Venables is now 13-7

Offensively they’ve been pretty good. They rank No. 6 in total offense, No. 9 in 3rd down offense, No. 2 in 1st down offense, and No. 4 in scoring offense.

The defense has also been pretty good and shown vast improvement. They rank No. 50 in total defense, No. 12 in 3rd down defense, No. 31 in rush defense, and No. 2 in turnovers forced.

There is still much improvement that needs to be made for both units, but so far, they’ve made significant strides.

Prior to the season, I broke down each position group, so let’s go through and see how they are doing at this point and give them a midseason grade.

Woodi Washington ready for ‘first real test’ of the season

Woodi Washington is ready for what he calls their first real test of the season.

The Oklahoma Sooners are off to a hot start in 2023. A lot of players have taken major leaps like [autotag]Danny Stutsman[/autotag], [autotag]Dillon Gabriel[/autotag] or any of the wide receivers.

One person who hasn’t gotten as much recognition is [autotag]Woodi Washington[/autotag]. Typically it’s a good thing if you are a defensive back and aren’t getting talked about a lot.

That usually means you aren’t getting beat too often and Washington has almost seemingly locked down one half of the field to this point. But this week is going to be a different challenge. The receiving group they will face this week might be the best in the country.

Washington talked to reporters about the challenge this Saturday.

“I think we’re a much-improved team,” Washington said. “So, we’re just excited to go out, and we’ve got our first real test of the season, I guess you could say. So we’re just excited for that.”

Washington has 17 tackles this year but has been graded as a top 30 cornerback in all of college football by PFF (subscription required). Last year due to injuries, Washington had to play safety in this game, and the Sooners just couldn’t get anything going offensively or defensively, resulting in a 49-0 rout.

This year is going to be different.

The Sooners are with their starting quarterback, and the defense is playing at a high level. Will it be enough to win? We’ll find out Saturday at 11:00 a.m. CT.

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.