What it Came Down To

[WishBone]

[Zgeo]

Cool

[Fly]

Ditto, that Kidd is COOL!

Fly

[ColleyvilleSooner]

I'm glad Texas and the rest of the SEC and nation are oblivious to the fact BV has totally revamped our program in two years. He showed up and ran off the dead wood and recruited much better athletes on not only offense but also defense. We currently have more talent and depth on both sides of the ball in many years. And his top level recruiting is continuing into the classes of 2025 and 2026. And of course he supplemented the HS talent with a number of very good portal transfers.

I don't want to be overconfident going into the SEC. We will lose some games. But we are in much better shape than any OU team under LR and even Stoops in his later years. BV gets it and has the overall vision we need to compete in the SEC and for NCs. How many predecessors valued the in-state 2-3 star talent and cultivated them in camps and took the best ones as PWOs? In the age of NIL, those guys are essential for depth and will stick around for 4-5 years. I am feeling pretty darn good about the program right now! And best of all, nobody else seems to realize how good we are.

[OU Chinaman]

...I alluded to this earlier. "NOBODY SEES OKLAHOMA COMING!"

Was hoping we'd fly under the radar through the early weeks of the season, but the 30 AUG FRIDAY Night game with Temple will be HEAVILY WATCHED by college football fans eager for the season.

Expecting Jackson Arnold to WOW! the nation, and Venables Defense to serve notice they're ready for the SEC.
The media hype for the 2024 SOONERS will increase exponentially.

[captnop]

Having Deion Burks will be huge... Anthony should be back too, hopefully 100%... RB room is really good .. Knock on wood no preseason injuries .. If the OL line gels .. OU should be good .. I read somewhere that with Williams the Staff feels the D will be as good or better than 2019 Clemson D ,,, which was like 2nd or 3rd in the country ..

[WishBone]

"CatNop" ..IMO we are a good OL away from having a chance to be "really" good,

[ColleyvilleSooner]

"CatNop" ..IMO we are a good OL away from having a chance to be "really" good,

Yes, I commented that now our DL seems squared away we can spend our time worrying about the OL and kicking. Given the bad state of the OL after the 2023 season, we have to be pleased that we seem to have at least a serviceable OL at the end of Spring practice. It didn't get much attention but Tarquin's emergence at LT is huge and so important to the offense. Nwaiwu has lived up to his hype and more, and SMU transfer Hickman is one of the best centers in the country.

The starters at the end of Spring practice: Tarquin, LT; Sexton, LG; Bates, C; Nwaiwu, RG; and Taylor, RT. However I have seen speculation on other boards that the return of G. Hatchett at guard in the fall will change this lineup. He is too good to not start.

The speculation is at the beginning of the 2024 season, the OL starters will be:Tarquin, LT; Hatchett, LG; Hickman C; Nwaiwu, RG; and Sexton, RT. RT really did not look good in the Spring game and Sexton would be an improvement even though he may be more of a natural at guard. At least Sexton has played and started at RT. Taylor doesn't look like he is ready to start. I wish we had picked up a decent OT in the portal because we are very thin and a couple of injuries would be significant.

[Zgeo]

It all comes down to QB play…..

Do we get outstanding QB play or not.

It will be important for JA to have early success and the confidence that brings

If not Booty looked the best of the rest….

[Pokerman]

It all comes down to QB play…..

Do we get outstanding QB play or not.

It will be important for JA to have early success and the confidence that brings

If not Booty looked the best of the rest….

Booty look ok but I thought Hawkins was definitely the "best of the rest". (And will only get better as the season approaches.)

[AllSooner]

With Booty entering the Portal, Hawkins will be next up

[RussC]

With Booty entering the Portal, Hawkins will be next up

Yep. I don’t care how Booty looks anymore. (Couldn’t resist.)

[WishBone]

Russ...I saw That...

[Brisket]

As several have mentioned, OU is good OL play & an inexperienced QB away from being a top-tier team in the SEC & nationally. Nothing you can do about Arnold's inexperience except get him game reps & live with the ups & downs that come with a young QB. If OU can develop a stronger run game, that would take some pressure off of JA in the pass game. JA's legs may be just the thing to improve things on the ground. Time for BB to earn his paycheck & live up to his reputation.

On paper, this should be OU's best defensive team since maybe 2009? Much like a good OL makes the whole offense look better, a good DL improves the entire defense. The "ripple-effect" of Williams on the DL will force the other DTs to up their games if they want to see the field. OU can now go 3-deep at DT (this takes pressure off the true freshmen Stone & Jackson, too).

Williams will command attention inside, freeing up the DE's to win 1-on-1 battles on the edges. This puts the pressure squarely on R. Mason Thomas & PJ to become elite pass rushers. Thomas is supposedly the best pass rusher on the team "when healthy", but unfortunately that has been a rare thing. He needs to get & stay healthy. PJ looks the part, but we've only seen flashes of the talent so far. Need him to improve & be more consistent. If - big if - the DE's improve & OU can get consistent pressure on QBs only rushing 4, the secondary should FEAST on TOs & big plays.

[soonerindallas]

Knock on wood no preseason injuries ..

Given the fact that we always seem to have guys injured before the season, I doubt this will happen.