What To Expect ?

[WishBone]

What can Oklahoma expect from Seth Littrell's offense? 'Lots of touchdowns'
Oklahoma is deep into its first spring with Seth Littrell as offensive coordinator. So, what should the Sooners expect from their new-look offense.
Oklahoma's spring game will offer up the first real look at the Sooners' offense under new offensive coordinator Seth Littrell. Of course, Littrell called the offense in Oklahoma's bowl game loss to Arizona in December — his first official game as offensive coordinator after taking over for Jeff Lebby at the end of the regular season upon his departure for the head coaching job at Mississippi State. The Alamo Bowl wasn't Littrell's offense, though; the Sooners maintained their same system and didn't really stray from what was in already in place throughout the season, given the quick turnaround for the bowl game and the multiple moving pieces on offense from a personnel standpoint.
This spring, however, Littrell's fingerprints are all over Oklahoma's offense. Next Saturday's spring game will be a sneak preview of what's to come this fall. So, what should OU fans expect?
Back in December, just ahead of the Alamo Bowl, Littrell quipped that you could ask 10 different people to describe his offensive system, and you'd get 10 different responses. His roots are in the Air Raid — coming up through the ranks under guys like Sonny Dykes, Mark Mangino and Mike Leach — but he doesn't strictly adhere to its principles. He's a former fullback with a tough-as-nails approach and no need for labels on his scheme.
"You see his toughness and what he wants the offensive identity to be," said tight end transfer Jake Roberts, who started his career under Littrell at North Texas. "And you know, every fullback I've been around has been a pretty tough dude, and Coach Littrell is no different than that. You can see he's about that work. And he's a real tough guy that, you know, and he cares about building an identity for the offense, and he wants us to be a hard-nosed physical offense that's going to be able to impose our will on people."
That doesn't necessarily mean an overhaul from what Oklahoma ran the last two seasons under Lebby.
Littrell has adapted his offense over the years — from Arizona to Indiana, North Carolina to North Texas — to fit his personnel and evolve over time. His track record is well-documented, with his offense featuring characteristics of the Run Raid, developing a power run game while incorporating veer-and-shoot principles. He spent last season as an analyst on OU's staff under Lebby, further familiarizing himself with some of those same veer-and-shoot concepts that Lebby based his scheme on with the Sooners.
"There's not too much of a difference," quarterback Jackson Arnold said. "Littrell ran pretty much the same system back at UNT. That's why he took this job at OU come last year. But, I mean, I think I'll see when we get into more spring game and scrimmages this spring of how he calls stuff and what he likes to call and his tendencies and stuff, because overall, the scheme isn't much different, but I'm sure his tendencies in the way he calls things are different, for sure."
Littrell is adding his own twists — his own flavor — to Oklahoma's offense without making wholesale changes. The concepts may be similar, but he's introducing his own language, play-calls and signals to the fold this spring.
There's a bit of learning curve for the returning players, like Arnold who is assuming the starting quarterback job full-time, but it's a process that the Sooners hope yields promising results. After all, Oklahoma is coming off a season in which it finished fourth nationally in scoring (41.7 points per game), top-10 in yards per play (6.77 yards) and was one of the most explosive offenses in the nation, ranking top-five in 40-yard plays (25) and top-10 in plays of 30-plus yards (40).
"He brings a lot of energy; (he's) a coach that loves explosive plays, so we're definitely going to sling that thing around a lot," wide receiver Jalil Farooq said. "He loves to run the ball a lot. It's kind of a similar offense — not really much to adjust to. I just like the energy he brings, pretty much just explosiveness coming from him, for sure."
While Litrell's fullback background could mean a greater emphasis on a physical run game after Oklahoma was 45thnationally in yards per rush (4.55) and 35th in rushing yards per game (182.15), one difference that can be expected is in his use of tight ends. That position was a weak link for the Sooners last season, but with a revamped room — which includes a player who has already enjoyed success at the position in a Littrell offense — it's suddenly a position that could be much more of an asset for Oklahoma this fall.
"The one thing I'd say is just the versatility that he uses them with, you know, different situations," said Roberts, who had 394 yards and three touchdowns at North Texas in 2022 under Littrell. "You know, when you have multiple tight ends that you can utilize, then that keeps defenses on their toes, you know, being able to go into 11-, 12-personnel sets, run the ball, attack vertical, you know, that's how you can keep people on their toes, when you can use those tight ends in multiple different ways. And I think Coach Littrell does a good job of finding those strengths and utilizing them."
During Roberts' last season at UNT, which was Littrell's last year as head coach there, the Mean Green were 28thnationally in scoring (33.8 points per game), 15th in yards per play (6.68) and touted one of the most explosive offenses in college football. UNT was second nationally in plays of 40-plus yards (28), third in plays of 30-plus yards (47) and tied for 10th in plays of at least 20 yards (83).
While Littrell's offenses have yielded prolific results over the years, it's his approach to coaching it that Oklahoma players have thus far appreciated. He's more toned down and laid back in his approach while still bringing energy to the practice field and meeting room. It's a somewhat different style compared to Lebby, and though the Sooners hope to have similar overall production on that side of the ball, the hope is Littrell can help the offense continue to evolve as the program moves into this next stage in the SEC.
"I can't say too much, but (expect) a lot of touchdowns," said offensive lineman Febechi Nwaiwu, who also played for Littrell at UNT. "That's the goal: A lot of touchdowns."