Latest news with #OklahomaSooners
USA Today
6 hours ago
- Sport
- USA Today
Former Oklahoma Sooners offensive lineman joins Madden NFL's 99 overall club
Former Oklahoma Sooners offensive lineman Lane Johnson is having a pretty incredible year in 2025. First, he won his second Super Bowl ring in February with the Philadephia Eagles. Johnson helped pave the way for fellow former Sooner Jalen Hurts and the rest of the Philly offense in a Super Bowl LIX rout of the Kansas City Chiefs. Next, Johnson signed a contract extension to stay with the Eagles through the 2027 season. He'll make over $20 million a year. Then on Monday, Johnson found out that he is a member of EA Sports and Madden NFL's 99 overall club. The members of the club are players who earned a 99 overall rating in EA Sports' Madden NFL video game series, the highest overall rating a player can attain. Johnson will be a 99 overall in "Madden NFL 26" after receiving the news from fellow Eagle Saquon Barkley. He's been holding it down at right tackle in Philadelphia for over a decade, also helping the Eagles win Super Bowl LII following the 2017 season. Johnson began his college football career at Kilgore College, a junior college in East Texas, in 2008. He transferred to Oklahoma in 2009 and spent the next four years with the Sooners. Over his five collegiate seasons, Johnson played quarterback, tight end, defensive end, and finally, offensive lineman. During the 2011 season at OU, Johnson made the switch from defensive end to offensive tackle due to injuries to o-line starters that year in fall camp. He impressed coaches with his natural ability to play the position. He wound up starting 12 games at right tackle that season and 11 games at left tackle the next year as a senior in 2012. He protected quarterback Landry Jones, opened up holes in the "Belldozer" formation with quarterback Blake Bell, and was a third-team All-American after his last season. Johnson has been with the Eagles for his entire career, after they drafted him fourth overall in the 2013 NFL Draft. He has switched back to right tackle and is one of the league's most dominant forces on the offensive line. He's now the elder statesmen on a Philly team that looks to go back-to-back in 2025, with Johnson playing a pivotal role in the team's success. Contact/Follow us @SoonersWire on X, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Oklahoma news, notes, and opinions. You can also follow Aaron on X @Aaron_Gelvin.
USA Today
17 hours ago
- Sport
- USA Today
Oklahoma Sooners linebacker makes Nagurski Award watch list
It's officially watch list season in college football as the 2025 season kicks off in late-August with Week Zero, and then Week One action takes place on Thursday through Monday of Labor Day weekend. The Oklahoma Sooners had another player make a preseason watch list for a postseason award on Tuesday. Linebacker Kip Lewis was one of 60 players named to the watch list for the Bronko Nagurski Trophy, which is given annually to the best defensive player in college football. The only Oklahoma Sooners to win the award were Roy Williams in 2001 and Derrick Strait in 2003. Both did so under Brent Venables when he was the defensive coordinator at OU. Strait represents the last defensive back to win an award that's been dominated by linebackers and defensive linemen over the last 23 years. Lewis provided two of OU's best moments during the 2024 season. His pick six against Auburn gave Oklahoma a lead they wouldn't relinquish late in the fourth quarter, while his pick six against Alabama ultimately put the Crimson Tide into an unrecoverable tailspin that night in Norman. Lewis returns in 2025 as one of the veteran leaders of head coach Brent Venables' defense. He's started at linebacker since midway through the 2023 season alongside Danny Stutsman. Now with Stutsman off to the NFL, the Sooners are hoping Lewis can help fill his big shoes at Oklahoma. He's entering his fourth year at Oklahoma, as a member of the 2022 recruiting class, Venables' first at OU. Lewis figures to have a big say in how good the Sooners could be on defense this year. Venables and his staff will be counting on the veteran to provide more big moments this fall. Contact/Follow us @SoonersWire on X, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Oklahoma news, notes, and opinions. You can also follow Aaron on X @Aaron_Gelvin.
USA Today
19 hours ago
- Sport
- USA Today
SEC legend excited about the Oklahoma Sooners heading into 2025
David Pollack thinks OU has the best defensive line in the SEC and an absolute stud at told the Dari Nowkhah Show he's a believer in the Sooners.'Obviously, getting your quarterback. That kid is a baller. And I know all y'all know who I'm taking about.' The Oklahoma Sooners may have questions surrounding the team heading into the 2025 season, but there's also a lot of optimism. The Sooners' defense looks ready to roll once again after a strong 2024 season. Armed with a quarterback in John Mateer, who is one of the best in the game, the Sooners have the makings of a team that could contend in 2025. David Pollack, a former two-time SEC Defensive Player of the Year and three-time All-American for the Georgia Bulldogs, is a believer in the Sooners. Joining Dari Nowkah and Josh Helmer on the Dari Nowkah Show on KREF, Pollack said, "I love OU this year." Pollack loves what the Oklahoma Sooners have up front, calling the Sooners' defensive line "the best in the conference." The former defensive end said, "If I'm gonna play in a system, I wanna play in Oklahoma's. Like, penetrate, make (tackles for loss), get sacks. Like, I think they're going to be a problem. Venables calling the plays." Defense is certainly a strength of the Oklahoma Sooners in 2025. Brent Venables has remade the defense over the last four years and now has it primed to be his best defense yet as the head coach at Oklahoma. And with Venables returning to playcalling duties, the Sooners will benefit from one of the best defensive minds in the history of the game leading the charge. But Pollack's praise didn't stop there. He's excited about what Oklahoma has to offer on offense as well. "(Ben) Arbuckle on the offensive side," Pollack said. "Obviously, getting your quarterback (John Mateer). Like, that kid is a baller. Here's what I love about him. Obviously, he was at Washington State and he didn't have the greatest supporting cast in the world or the greatest offensive line but what I loved about him is when you watch the scramble play... he's going to make those off-script plays that you guys are used to seeing because you've had some freak athletes with Kyler Murray and Baker Mayfield and the list goes on and on." Mateer's ability to make a play when things are breaking down around him might be his greatest quality. 404 of his 1,008 rushing yards came on scrambles in 2024. He does a great job of avoiding pressure and making plays on the move. In addition to Mateer, Pollack is excited about the addition of running back Jaydn Ott and believes the Sooners did a good job in the transfer portal, adding players where they needed to. Concluding that if Oklahoma's schedule wasn't so tough, they would be a playoff team in his mind. Pollack said, "If y'all schedule wasn't Murderer's Row, I'm putting you in the playoffs." The schedule may be tough in 2025, but it's an opportunity for the Sooners to make some noise this year. If they get improvement on both sides of the ball, they'll have a chance to live up to Venables' belief that, "There's no game on our schedule that we can't win." Contact/Follow us @SoonersWire on X, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Oklahoma news, notes, and opinions. You can also follow John on X @john9williams.
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Pair of Oklahoma Sooners named to Maxwell Award watch list
The Oklahoma Sooners boast some offensive firepower at the helm heading into 2025. And both are out of the transfer portal. John Mateer and Jaydn Ott were big-time additions for Brent Venables and Jim Nagy, and the two former West Coast stars provide a lot of the optimism for what should be a resurgent season in 2025. Fall camp will kick off on Wednesday, marking the beginning of the 2025 season. With the Season just over a month away, watch lists will begin rolling out, and the Sooners' backfield mates landed on the Maxwell Award watch list. The Maxwell Award is given to the most outstanding player in college football. Three former Sooners have won the award. Tommy McDonald won the Maxwell back in 1956. Jason White won the award during his Heisman Trophy-winning season in 2004. Baker Mayfield is the most recent recipient of the national honor, winning the award in 2017. In 2018, when Kyler Murray won the Heisman, the Maxwell went to Alabama quarterback Tua Tagovailoa. Mateer is coming off a 2024 season in which he led the nation in total touchdowns with 44 and had nearly 4,000 yards of total offense for Washington State. Ott is coming off an injury-plagued 2024 season, but back in 2023, he ran for 1,300 yards and 13 touchdowns for Cal. He's hoping he can have a bounce-back year this year ahead of the 2026 NFL draft. Mateer and Ott will need to have big years for the Sooners in 2025 to be in the running for the prestigious award. If they do, the Sooners could be on their way to the College Football Playoff for the first time since 2019. Contact/Follow us @SoonersWire on X, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Oklahoma news, notes, and opinions. You can also follow John on X @john9williams. This article originally appeared on Sooners Wire: John Mateer, Jaydn Ott named to Maxwell Award watch list
USA Today
2 days ago
- Sport
- USA Today
Pair of Oklahoma Sooners named to Maxwell Award watch list
The Oklahoma Sooners boast some offensive firepower at the helm heading into 2025. And both are out of the transfer portal. John Mateer and Jaydn Ott were big-time additions for Brent Venables and Jim Nagy, and the two former West Coast stars provide a lot of the optimism for what should be a resurgent season in 2025. Fall camp will kick off on Wednesday, marking the beginning of the 2025 season. With the Season just over a month away, watch lists will begin rolling out, and the Sooners' backfield mates landed on the Maxwell Award watch list. The Maxwell Award is given to the most outstanding player in college football. Three former Sooners have won the award. Tommy McDonald won the Maxwell back in 1956. Jason White won the award during his Heisman Trophy-winning season in 2004. Baker Mayfield is the most recent recipient of the national honor, winning the award in 2017. In 2018, when Kyler Murray won the Heisman, the Maxwell went to Alabama quarterback Tua Tagovailoa. Mateer is coming off a 2024 season in which he led the nation in total touchdowns with 44 and had nearly 4,000 yards of total offense for Washington State. Ott is coming off an injury-plagued 2024 season, but back in 2023, he ran for 1,300 yards and 13 touchdowns for Cal. He's hoping he can have a bounce-back year this year ahead of the 2026 NFL draft. Mateer and Ott will need to have big years for the Sooners in 2025 to be in the running for the prestigious award. If they do, the Sooners could be on their way to the College Football Playoff for the first time since 2019. Contact/Follow us @SoonersWire on X, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Oklahoma news, notes, and opinions. You can also follow John on X @john9williams.
