Soares

[WichitaSooner]

I think most fans are aware that Sawchuk was struggling to stay healthy early in the year.

Walker was better than Major and Barnes and he was healthy till late in the Kansas game, yet he sat the entire first quarter as we fell behind by 14. Wouldn’t you know, he dominated and we took the lead once he was put in the game. And after the season, he was essentially run off because they didn’t put him on scholarship.

Barnes was also hurt, and was atrocious when he did play. Yet he, not Sawchuk, is who Brent turned to in the fourth quarter in Lawrence when we needed to seal the win.

 

[SoonerBounce13]

Walker was better than Major and Barnes and he was healthy till late in the Kansas game, yet he sat the entire first quarter as we fell behind by 14. Wouldn’t you know, he dominated and we took the lead once he was put in the game. And after the season, he was essentially run off because they didn’t put him on scholarship.

Barnes was also hurt, and was atrocious when he did play. Yet he, not Sawchuk, is who Brent turned to in the fourth quarter in Lawrence when we needed to seal the win.

I’m the biggest Walker fan out there. But there were off the field issues that kept him off the field

 

[Eielson]

Walker was better than Major and Barnes and he was healthy till late in the Kansas game, yet he sat the entire first quarter as we fell behind by 14. Wouldn’t you know, he dominated and we took the lead once he was put in the game. And after the season, he was essentially run off because they didn’t put him on scholarship.

Walker was a top 2 back for us, but you have to take into consideration that this is one of our worst backfields of the past 75 years. He is limited as a player, which will be even more exposed in the SEC, so you had to let him go and open up a spot in the portal. It remains to be seen if we got the right guy in the portal, but it was the right decision. Walker isn't a guy you put on scholarship with off-field issues to be your RB4.

RB is one of the easiest positions for freshman to make an immediate impact, and we brought in the top rated one. Tatum should have beaten Walker out for RB3. If Barnes is healthy, Walker could easily be fighting for a spot in the rotation at all, even when Sawchuk pulls his hammy.

If Walker was our RB2 next year, we were toast.

 

[WichitaSooner]

Walker was a top 2 back for us, but you have to take into consideration that this is one of our worst backfields of the past 75 years. He is limited as a player, which will be even more exposed in the SEC, so you had to let him go and open up a spot in the portal. It remains to be seen if we got the right guy in the portal, but it was the right decision. Walker isn't a guy you put on scholarship with off-field issues to be your RB4.

RB is one of the easiest positions for freshman to make an immediate impact, and we brought in the top rated one. Tatum should have beaten Walker out for RB3. If Barnes is healthy, Walker could easily be fighting for a spot in the rotation at all, even when Sawchuk pulls his hammy.

If Walker was our RB2 next year, we were toast.

I agree with much of this, but Walker wasn’t the guy to let go. Tell Barnes to transfer. Walker is the much better player. And while you are absolutely right about freshmen backs, I heard all year that Hicks was the most impressive RB on our roster last season, yet Murray and Brent wouldn’t play him. I think the same will happen with Tatum, especially since he won’t have spring ball to help him. Brent seems the type who would rather play a less talented, more experienced guy simply because he worries that the young guy may not “know the system” or be as good right out of the gate in pass protection.

 

[skyvue]

simply because he worries that the young guy may not “know the system” or be as good right out of the gate in pass protection.

Both excellent reasons not to give a young guy significant playing time.

 

[WichitaSooner]

Both excellent reasons not to give a young guy significant playing time.

And yet winning programs do it all the time. Believe it or not, sometimes young players (a) make mistakes, and (b) learn from them. Seems like maybe you could afford to give your most talented backs a shot in a 400-point win against Tulsa, especially if the older guys are banged up and/or not particularly good.

 

[BoulderSooner]

At the risk of further hijacking this thread..

1. Nick anderson had 798 yds on only 38 catches (drake had 84 catches) which is a sultry 21 yards a catch. Idk how you don't get Anderson all over the field and gameplan 100% around anderson.. And any reps where drake was out there instead of Anderson (regardless of WR position - we put Broyles everywhere on the field) was a mistake imo. I think anderson is a 1200-1600 yd WR, not a 800 yder (does have some big drops here and there tho similar to dez bryant or mike evans - drop easy ones then 1 hands over 2 guys)

2. Similarily, Brenen thompson is the fastest player on the team im sure, or 2nd. Hes so fast that i think DG didnt have the arm to utilize him.. but you have to. He avg'ed 34 yards a catch. Find a way. Blazer. Run some WR screens and sweeps with thompson, not the small 4.67-4.71 guy (frustrating to use drake that way and SOOO many times, not his role at all, almost a negative play every time).

3. I would also go anthony & gibson over stoops, generally, and maybe even farooq - depending on situation (Im not a farooq guy. Hes a bum. Terrible catch technique. Catches off of his pads. fumbles. Drake is probably a better overall option than farooq)

4. Coincidentally, i was high on Freeman this year going into the season. Hes actually fast and had good hands going into the year.. that dude has played himself completely out of a playing position as it stands. I would relegate him to special teams permanently, excluding some 180 turnaround. Or encourage him to transfer. However, i'm predicting that you'll see, for whatever reason, more of the same of the coach's fave preferential treatment again being doled out to Freeman going forward. This is OU.. D1.. not some small town high school my dad's the mayor team. Players that have failed to produce should not play and i predict that you'll see more of Freeman than we should

5. The unknown WRs. We dont know anything about petteway or bunkley-shelton. Who knows. Lots say petteway deserved more run, well see. If either of them goes off, you'll have to wonder

you clearly don't understand that playing in the slot is a completely different skillset ..

anderson anthony gibson farooq and thompson don't play the slot ... so they are not "over" stoops they don't play the same position ..

farooq a "bum" are you even a fan of OU .. because that is a garbage take ..

sitting down in the zone reading the linebackers ... has nothing to do with speed ..

Drake Stoops had lots of FBS scholarship offers and choose to stay and walk on at OU ... it was not a charity case ...

 

[SoonerBounce13]

And yet winning programs do it all the time. Believe it or not, sometimes young players (a) make mistakes, and (b) learn from them. Seems like maybe you could afford to give your most talented backs a shot in a 400-point win against Tulsa, especially if the older guys are banged up and/or not particularly good.

c'mon dude. just give it a rest. Go into coaching since you are so much smarter than any coach OU has.

Winning programs are not going to be playing freshmen that hurt their team's chance of winning.

 

[WichitaSooner]

c'mon dude. just give it a rest. Go into coaching since you are so much smarter than any coach OU has.

Winning programs are not going to be playing freshmen that hurt their team's chance of winning.

It’s amazing anyone can look at last football season and not realize our coaches did a bad job of identifying our best players the first half of the season. Running back, O Line, and punter are clear examples.

 

[WichitaSooner]

c'mon dude. just give it a rest. Go into coaching since you are so much smarter than any coach OU has.

Winning programs are not going to be playing freshmen that hurt their team's chance of winning.

I guess they’d would rather play bad upperclassmen like Major. But yea, giving Hicks some playing time easily could have hurt our chances in the 66-17 Tulsa game. I mean, one missed assignment could easily swing a 7 touchdown margin. Next thing you know, you’re only up 42 and the Hurricane has momentum.

 

[SoonerBounce13]

I guess they’d would rather play bad upperclassmen like Major. But yea, giving Hicks some playing time easily could have hurt our chances in the 66-17 Tulsa game. I mean, one missed assignment could easily swing a 7 touchdown margin. Next thing you know, you’re only up 42 and the Hurricane has momentum.

the funny thing is that in those early season blowouts, a freshman running back did get carries...just not the one YOU wanted so the coaches are idiots

 

[WichitaSooner]

the funny thing is that in those early season blowouts, a freshman running back did get carries...just not the one YOU wanted so the coaches are idiots

Yep, they gave him a handful and then sat him, and he left. Lost a very talented back for the long term. Again, great roster management.

I'm not going to continue to turn this into a football thread. It's evident that you and a couple others feel like coaches, or at least OU coaches, are the only people on the planet who never make mistakes and should never be questioned on decisions they make. After all, "they get paid lots of money and see the players in practice every day."

 

[SoonerBounce13]

Yep, they gave him a handful and then sat him, and he left. Lost a very talented back for the long term. Again, great roster management.

I'm not going to continue to turn this into a football thread. It's evident that you and a couple others feel like coaches, or at least OU coaches, are the only people on the planet who never make mistakes and should never be questioned on decisions they make. After all, "they get paid lots of money and see the players in practice every day."

You know that isn't fair. No one is saying they never make mistakes.
But they have A LOT more on the line and they have A LOT more knowledge to come to the decisions they do than you or I.
There is a lot more that goes into playing time than talent

 

[hoopsaustin]

you clearly don't understand that playing in the slot is a completely different skillset ..

anderson anthony gibson farooq and thompson don't play the slot ... so they are not "over" stoops they don't play the same position ..

farooq a "bum" are you even a fan of OU .. because that is a garbage take ..

sitting down in the zone reading the linebackers ... has nothing to do with speed ..

Drake Stoops had lots of FBS scholarship offers and choose to stay and walk on at OU ... it was not a charity case ...

Yeah.. slot has to mean a short dude. Those other guys could not possibly ever shut down a route in the hole of a zone bc not short. Got it. Thanks for the education.

Farooq isnt good. Idk what to tell you..

I call them as i see them. Opinions are a crazy thing

 

[skyvue]

Opinions are a crazy thing

Some of them certainly are.