It’s no secret last year was a disappointing season for the standard of Oklahoma Sooners football. The Sooners went 6-7 in Brent Venables’ first year as head coach marking the first losing season since 1998.
A lot of questions were brought up in the offseason about if Venables was the man for the program. Through five games this season, he’s done nothing but put an end to those concerns.
[autotag]Jayden Gibson[/autotag] was a true freshman on that team a season ago. He told reporters, there’s a different feeling this year.
“I feel like this year, we’re just not going for any of that soft stuff,” Gibson said. “We’re going hard. If someone punches you in the mouth, you punch back. I remember some games we got punched in the mouth, and we never recovered.”
Saturday’s game was a perfect example of how the team is responding to adversity this season.
The Sooners got punched in the mouth early in the game as the Cyclones made it a 21-20 game with around nine minutes to go in the second quarter. The Sooners punched back by not allowing a point the rest of the way and closed the game on a 29-0 run.
As for Gibson, he’s ready to put the noise to rest.
“They tried to take our pride from us last year,” Gibson said. “They said that we were sorry, we were not OU. I’m not here for any of that.”
Gibson is one of a number of players in the midst of a breakout season. The sophomore wide receiver seems to make a huge play each week. Against, Iowa State it was no different. He came up big on a fourth down target, hauling in the Dillon Gabriel pass and breaking a number of tackles to get into the end zone for his second touchdown of the season.
Gibson’s only caught six balls, but he’s making the most of each reception, averaging 26.5 yards per catch. And with each big play, he’s flashing his incredible future with the Oklahoma Sooners.
Eventually, though, that future will become the present as he earns more and more snaps this season.
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