OU Spring Football

[TulsaWorld]

Good morning OU Hoops,

It has been awhile since I've given any football updates here (you all seem more interested in basketball haha), but I wanted to share with you all an ongoing offseason project that I hope to continue updating until National Signing Day --- a gallery of OU's 2019 football recruiting class:

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It includes links to each player's Twitter handle as well as a link to our articles on each player's verbal commitment. It also has photos from the player's local newspapers.

I also did galleries on OSU's 2019 class and TU's 2019 class.

Please let me know if you have any feedback.

 

[TulsaWorld]

NORMAN — A league-high seven Oklahoma Sooners were named to the 2018 preseason All-Big 12 football team that was announced Wednesday by the conference and chosen by media representatives who cover the league.

Junior running back Rodney Anderson, junior wide receiver Marquise Brown, sophomore tight end Grant Calcaterra, junior offensive lineman Bobby Evans, senior offensive lineman Ben Powers and senior kicker/punter Austin Seibert were among the 29 players who were named to the all-league squad by position. Freshman defensive back Brendan Radley-Hiles was named preseason Big 12 Newcomer of the Year.

The 2018 preseason Big 12 media poll will be released on Thursday.

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[TulsaWorld]

Next go around, I will call this "OU offseason football" or something so its not confined to spring

Here's our coverage from Big 12 media days, day 1, with excerpts from each:

Riley acknowledges defensive dip


Lincoln Riley’s claim Monday that Kyler Murray hasn’t won Oklahoma’s quarterback was expected. Maybe it’s a hard fact. Maybe he wants to keep Austin Kendall invested. Either way, this will continue into August and OU’s fall camp.


The headline at Big 12 Media Days was Riley’s blunt acknowledgement of OU’s defensive shortcomings.


A summary: The Sooners haven’t been comparative to the elite defenses contending for national titles. They are working to upgrade that gap in talent. The fact it hasn’t occurred, and shoring up the gap moving forward, is his responsibility.


In the meantime, Riley says OU must count on younger players to impact the defense in terms of both playmaking and leadership. He is excited about that potential, while lamenting the fact he must ask so much of freshmen and sophomores.

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The cornerstone of an Oklahoma championship defense? Recruiting


“A championship defense is a defense that puts fear in the eyes of the opponents. It’s a defense that doesn’t give up a lot of points. It doesn’t give up a whole lot of yards,” Murray said while staring into a reporter’s eyes. “I feel like a championship defense is one that, when we are in warmups, the other team has watched film and seen us busting heads and then say ‘Oh, that’s Kenneth Murray over there? Neville Gallimore? Them boys are kind of big, huh?’


“That’s what a championship defense is, a defense that is going to intimidate from the jump, before we step on the field, and then when we step on the field, we’re going to bust you in the mouth."

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Six months later you still sense Baker Mayfield's unique pull, and OU's task in replacing it


“I definitely think the way he carried himself had a big effect on how he made those plays,” defensive tackle Amani Bledsoe said. “That’s huge, a player being able to play with confidence and trusting their abilities.”


It creates results on the field and a vibe in the locker room.


This is where things are going to be unavoidably different for the Sooners this season. This is where you wonder how the Sooners might respond.


We’ll see how Kyler Murray (or, sure, Austin Kendall if we are to trust Riley that it’s still a close competition for OU’s next starting quarterback) performs with the ball in his hands. Just as important, we’ll see if the Sooners go to the wall for him like they did Mayfield.

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Lincoln Riley says Oklahoma has not made a decision at quarterback


“Kyler (Murray) is not the quarterback yet,” Riley said. “There is good competition going on and Kyler is going to have to fight like crazy to win this job.”


With his words Monday at Big 12 Media Days, Riley set the stage for the next month. The quarterbacks who served as Baker Mayfield’s No. 2 in 2017 (Murray) and 2016 (Austin Kendall) enter fall camp with hopes of becoming Mayfield’s replacement in 2018.


Oklahoma’s players echoed Riley’s approach, discussing the quarterback position with care while not giving either player the edge.


“I like them both,” guard Ben Powers said. “I wish they could both play. But that’s not how football works."

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[TulsaWorld]

Once again, I should have titled this thread "OU football's 2018 offseason" instead of just limiting to spring.

Fall practice began Friday for football. Here's thoughts from Lincoln Riley.

* How is Caleb Kelly (WILL) adjusting to new positions?

“Looked pretty comfortable in there despite missing all the time in the spring. That position's a little tougher to evaluate, like a lot of these, until you get the pads on. But he's comfortable with our calls, knows what we want defensively. I thought a couple of the guys we moved, I thought Caleb looked comfortable as well as Jordan Parker, you know, getting him back to (strong) safety, I think, is going to be a positive move for us as well.”

* Does quarterback competition start fresh or roll over from the spring?

Riley: “This is a ‘what-have-you-done-for-me-lately’ business, so I don't know that we're going to base any decisions on spring. But you kind of have an idea of where each guy was, things they were doing well, things they've got to get better at. I think more it just kind of gives you a roadmap of trying to get each guy as good as you can.”

Can Big 12 foes find formula to knock the Sooners off the league throne?

“When we play Oklahoma, there are a lot of emotions involved. Every time, something happens in pregame or during the game,” West Virginia linebacker David Long said. “We have to fix the little things and go out there and not overthink it. We can’t let our emotions get the best of us. We have to go out there and play the game.”

Baylor defensive lineman Greg Roberts compared beating OU as similar to knocking the Golden State Warriors off the NBA’s throne.

“If you want to see somebody different, then you have to beat them,” Roberts said. “If you don’t like the way Oklahoma is quote, unquote ‘running the conference,’ then you have to beat them.

“Someone asked asked me who our rivals are,” said Dalton, the K-State quarterback. “Kansas is obviously a big rival but I think, in my opinion, OU is a huge rival because they are the standard right now. They’ve won the league. They’ve won the league for quite some time.”

Also, if you are on Twitter/Instagram, here's a list of handles for current OU football players.

 

[TulsaWorld]

The news you've been waiting on all offseason...

"Kyler did a really nice job in camp," OU coach Lincoln Riley said. "It was really a great competition between Austin and him, one that we carried on longer than maybe even we expected because of how well both guys played. There weren't a lot of differentiating factors in the end because both did play so well and so efficiently, but just felt like from an overall perspective that Kyler was just a little bit ahead.

"We feel like we've got a great quarterback tandem there and we're really proud of the way that Austin has improved through the redshirt year last year and during camp. We're excited for Kyler and his opportunity and the team looks forward to getting ready for FAU."

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