Latest news with #Sooners
USA Today
6 hours ago
- Sport
- USA Today
College football expert believes the Oklahoma Sooners need John Mateer to be great in 2025
The Oklahoma Sooners need a bounce-back season in 2025. OU went 6-7 overall in head coach Brent Venables' third season last year, which included a 2-6 league record in their first season in the Southeastern Conference. They've retooled the offensive side of the ball to go with what was a strong defense in 2024. Although they were picked to finish 10th in the SEC, there are a number of analysts, like Josh Pate, who believe they are a top-10 caliber team. Now, the Sooners enter Venables' fourth year and their second year in the SEC, needing to prove the naysayers wrong after the disappointment of 2024. They'll face a challenging schedule that includes home games against Illinois State, Michigan, Auburn, Kent State, Ole Miss, Missouri, and LSU, as well as road games against Temple, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Alabama. Of course, Oklahoma's schedule also includes the annual Red River Rivalry matchup against Texas and the neutral-site Cotton Bowl in Dallas. OU has to deal with one of the toughest schedules in the country this year, but the Sooners have made plenty of moves this offseason to improve on the product they put on the field last season. J.D. PicKell, who covers college football for On3 Sports, has been vocal in his opinion this offseason that Oklahoma will be much improved in 2025. However, he said this week on "The Hard Count with J.D. PicKell" that he believes OU needs a few things to go right this year to have the kind of success Sooner Nation is used to. PicKell's biggest need for the Sooners this year is for new starting quarterback John Mateer to have an excellent season. PicKell has reason to believe that will happen, given Mateer's relationship with new offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach Ben Arbuckle. It's night and day different when it comes to how stable they are and and what you can actually look at from playing games in the college football world on Saturdays and how you feel about it. You're not forecasting. You're forecasting to the SEC to a degree, but you're not forecasting if John Mateer can play D1 FBS football or not. You were a year ago with Jackson Arnold. You were a year ago with your offensive line and your offensive coordinator. You're not right now. You know Arbuckle and Mateer work well together. - PicKell, - The Hard Count PicKell went on to elaborate that Mateer, who was brought in by Venables and his staff to be the difference offensively, has to, in fact, be the difference-maker at the QB position they hope he is. The Sooners didn't have anything near that at QB in 2024, which is a big part of the reason why Mateer now resides in Norman. PicKell stated that Mateer has to be able to make the plays that win Oklahoma games in the fourth quarter in the SEC. Another "need" that PicKell outlined for the Sooners this year was a top-tier season from their defensive front-seven, especially on the defensive line. He believes that OU needs that group to be at their best in the biggest moments, just like Mateer needs to be for the offense. With bringing back the majority of your defensive line, that has to show itself in the biggest spots against those teams. Like, in the 'big dogs' tier of college football, you've got to have the big boys on the defensive side; and they do, but I want to see them play like it in those spots. - PicKell, The Hard Count Although the Sooners lost plenty of veteran talent, leadership and production on defense this year, especially in the front seven, they returned and retained plenty of good players as well. Guys like R Mason Thomas, Gracen Halton, Kobie McKinzie and Kip Lewis will now be counted upon to be the building blocks of the Venables defense in 2025. PicKell also stated that the 2025 Sooners must understand and embrace the weight of what it means to be playing football at the University of Oklahoma, something he thinks may not have been extremely present in 2024. Because at a place like Oklahoma, a 6-7 season isn't going to cut it. The expectation is to compete for championships. PicKell believes this year's team may have a better understanding of what it means to play at the University of Oklahoma. PicKell believes this year's team has an extra confidence and swagger to them that might have been lacking a year ago in Norman. He also feels strongly that Oklahoma will be far better this season than they were last season. Sooner fans are hoping he's right. 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.
Yahoo
13 hours ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Why College Football Playoff committee could be tested by these two SEC teams
Billy Napier chuckled when I asked him about Florida's schedule. What else could the Gators coach do but laugh? Florida's gantlet in 2025 projects to be among the nation's toughest, while its fourth-year coach tries to stay off the hot seat. 'I don't have control over' the schedule, Napier said in May as we chatted in a hotel basement during the SEC's spring meetings. Hard to imagine any coach asking for a schedule like the one Napier's Gators will play. Florida will face seven teams expected to be ranked in the preseason US LBM Coaches poll. With non-conference games against Miami and Florida State in the mix, the Gators are one of three SEC teams that will play 10 games against Power Four competition. 'Big-picture wise, it can be an advantage or a disadvantage,' Napier said of the schedule, 'based off' how the College Football Playoff committee makes its at-large selections. Oklahoma's Brent Venables can relate. His Sooners will face seven, maybe even eight, teams likely to be ranked in the preseason Top 25. Florida and Oklahoma serve as a backbone of the SEC's quest for the playoff committee to more heavily weight strength of schedule when making at-large selections. The SEC continued its strength-of-schedule drumbeat this week during the conference's media days. PRESSURE POINTS: Alabama, Kalen DeBoer face big questions in post-Saban era GO TIME: Auburn's Freeze ends excuses, but is he ready for expectations? Why Florida, Oklahoma could challenge playoff committee The SEC positioned three 9-3 teams for playoff consideration last season based on schedule strength, but neither Alabama, Mississippi nor South Carolina earned selection. On paper, at least, Florida and Oklahoma will endure a more intense gantlet than those 9-3 SEC teams navigated in 2024. A 9-3 team from the SEC qualifying for the playoff would vindicate the conference's relentless messaging campaign touting its strength of schedule and as it implores the committee to more heavily weight those metrics. In truth, the committee traditionally values the SEC's strength of schedule, but Alabama, Ole Miss and South Carolina each presented résumés that were too flawed a year ago. Also, it became difficult to distinguish which of those three 9-3 teams most deserved playoff consideration. The committee opted for none of them. Lessons from Alabama, Ole Miss not earning playoff selection I thought the committee erred by awarding the final at-large bid to SMU, which lacked a signature victory despite its 11-2 record, but I didn't interpret the committee's choice as a rule that it would never take a three-loss SEC team instead of a one- or two-loss team from another conference. Florida and Oklahoma, with their capable lineups but daunting schedules, are candidates to become the playoff's first 9-3 qualifier. Each touts one of the nation's most talented quarterbacks, in Florida's DJ Lagway and Oklahoma's John Mateer, a Washington State transfer. Mateer highlighted Oklahoma's portal plunder that transformed its roster after a losing season. Alabama, too, could present a more compelling playoff case if it finished at 9-3 this season, compared to its three-loss résumé from 2024. The Crimson Tide will play 10 Power Four opponents, after facing nine last year. Two of Alabama's three losses last season came against teams that finished the regular season 6-6. Ole Miss, like Alabama, secured a marquee victory against Georgia, but the Rebels lost at home to woebegone Kentucky. Strength of schedule influences the committee's rankings, but losses to bad or mediocre teams become an anchor on a résumé. Interestingly, Oklahoma and Florida landed crippling blows to SEC's quest for four playoff bids last year, by upsetting Alabama and Ole Miss, respectively, in late November. Let Alabama and Ole Miss be a lesson for Florida and Oklahoma: If you must lose, don't lose to the weaker teams on your schedule. Score some wins against Top 25 opponents, let your strength of schedule work for you, and don't lose to Vanderbilt or Kentucky. Oklahoma won't need to worry about that last point. Its schedule includes neither Kentucky, nor Vanderbilt, nor any SEC opponent that's expected to finish among the bottom four of the conference standings. Oklahoma's schedule amounts to 'the biggest challenge in all of college football,' Venables said on the SEC Network in December. That's not hyperbole. I could say the schedules staring down Florida and Oklahoma seem engineered to get a coach fired. Alternatively, they're also designed to nudge a team that finishes 9-3 into the playoff. Blake Toppmeyer is the USA TODAY Network's national college football columnist. Email him at BToppmeyer@ and follow him on X @btoppmeyer. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Florida, Oklahoma could test College Football Playoff committee
USA Today
a day ago
- Sport
- USA Today
Oklahoma Sooners 2025 depth chart projection ahead of fall camp
SEC media days are behind us, and the Oklahoma Sooners and the rest of the college football world will begin fall camp in short order. The Oklahoma Sooners begin the 2025 season in 40 days against Illinois State. After the way 2024 went, everyone's itching to see if this year's version of the squad can have a year in which they contend for the SEC or a College Football Playoff berth. The Sooners were picked to finish 10th in the SEC by the media, and that would undoubtedly be a disappointment. Oklahoma feels like a squad that could easily surpass expectations. Though the schedule appears tough, the Sooners are a better team than they were a year ago. Get a little bit of luck on the health front, and this is a team that could be one of the biggest surprises of 2025. It's a deeper and more experienced group than what they carried into 2024, but they'll have to answer questions in fall camp, especially on the offensive side of the ball. As we inch closer to the start of the season, here's our pre-fall camp depth chart projection for the Oklahoma Sooners. Quarterback John Mateer's debut with the Oklahoma Sooners may be one of the most highly anticipated in college football. He had SEC media days buzzing with his confidence and fans and analysts alike are excited to see the dual-threat quarterback on display for the crimson and cream. But the Sooners have a talented backup for 2025 in Michael Hawkins Jr. As a true freshman, Hawkins flashed his speed and arm talent, helping the Sooners beat Auburn on the road in his first career start. Turnovers to start the game against South Carolina saw Hawkins return to backup duty, but he's got tremendous upside. With a chance to sit and learn from offensive coordinator Ben Arbuckle behind Mateer, Hawkins will get an opportunity to reset and get more comfortable with Arbuckle's scheme before being called upon to be the starter. Running Back Though Jovantae Barnes sat out most of the spring letting his ankle injury heal and rest, he's a veteran option for the Oklahoma Sooners running back room behind Jaydn Ott. He proved to be one of the best pieces of the offense in 2024 before getting injured. Venables mentioned Barnes has been key in helping Ott transition to Oklahoma after signing out of the spring transfer portal. Beyond Ott and Barnes, the Sooners have a talented trio of youngsters in Xavier Robinson, Taylor Tatum, and Tory Blaylock. Robinson ran for 100 yards and two touchdowns in the win over Alabama in 2024. Tatum has tremendous upside, but battled with ball security as a true freshman. Blaylock has the ability to make an impact early with incredible speed and contact balance. Biggest question. Are there enough carries to go around? Wide Receiver Wide receiver is a spot that the Sooners need a big bounce-back year from. After an injury-plagued 2024, Oklahoma almost completely turned over the group. Oklahoma is banking on Deion Burks and Jayden Gibson coming back from injury, but they also added key transfers in Javonnie Gibson, Isaiah Sategna, and Jer'Michael Carter via the portal to try to provide a spark at wide receiver. Tight End Tight end is one of those spots that feels like a crapshoot. Will Huggins has the Power Four experience to step in and help right away, while players like Kanak and true freshman Trynae Washington have more athletic upside. Carson Kent is the wildcard here. He may provide more in the passing game than Huggins, but will his blocking hold up down in and down out? Offensive Line While so much attention has been put on John Mateer and Jaydn Ott, it's the Oklahoma Sooners offensive line that's the key to the 2025 season. It was a group that underperformed in 2024, in large part due to injury and inexperience. Oklahoma made key transfer portal additions, bringing in Derek Simmons, Luke Baklenko, and Jake Maikkula. Simmons is likely to start at right tackle, while Maikkula will push center Troy Everett for a starting role. Arguably, the most intriguing position battle is at left guard, where incumbent Heath Ozaeta will try to hold off Eddy Pierre-Louis to start for the Sooners in week one. Ozaeta had offseason surgery and missed spring ball but the experience he gained in 2024 was invaluable. He was a standout from last offseason and is looking to build off a strong finish to the season. It's not often you see true freshmen in the two-deep, but that's how impressive Michael Fasusi and Ryan Fodje have been in their short time with the Sooners. When asked about what young guys could contribute, Venables mentioned the two blue-chip players at SEC media days. Defensive Line That defensive line two-deep looks stout. R Mason Thomas and Gracen Halton are trending toward top 100 selections in the 2026 NFL draft. Those two combined for 14 sacks last season. Marvin Jones Jr. had five sacks for Florida State, and Damonic Williams had a strong first season in Norman. On the second team, the Sooners have a really good group of young players ready to make an impact. Jayden Jackson could end up starting for the Sooners but after missing spring ball, he may start as a rotational defensive tackle. David Stone had a good spring and looks like a player ready to make an impact this year. When asked about defensive ends that look ready to step out and shine, Thomas mentioned P.J. Adebawore and Taylor Wein. Adebawore was a five-star prospect in the 2023 cycle and Wein was a late addition to the recruiting class. By all accounts, the two had huge springs. Don't sleep on Danny Okoye breaking into the two-deep either. Brent Venables called him the best athlete on the team. Linebacker No more Danny Stutsman at linebacker, but this is a group that's been around. Kobie McKinzie will step into the middle linebacker role that was occupied by Stutsman. He's got great size at 6-foot-2, 236 pounds and has been learning behind Stutsman in Brent Venables' system the last three seasons. He was a four-star prospect in the 2022 recruiting class, and now it's McKinzie's time to shine. Kip Lewis is one of Oklahoma's best playmakers on defense. His two interceptions returned for touchdowns last year helped Oklahoma earn its only wins in SEC play. Lewis just gets better each time he takes the field for the Sooners. Kendal Dolby is almost 100%. Robert Spears-Jennings called him the backbone of the defense. Dolby is a playmaker who does so many things for a defense. He can cover, he can play the run, and he can blitz off the edge. If he can stay healthy throughout the 2025 season, Dolby will provide fireworks for the Sooners' defense. The depth with Kendal Daniels, Samuel Omosigho, and Reggie Powers III might be as good as it has been for the Oklahoma Sooners during the Venables era. They'll each play a key role for the Sooners defense. Cornerback If there's an area on the defense that has a question mark, it's at cornerback. And that's not because there's no talent. There's a lot of talent, but there have been setbacks due to injury. But it's a group filled with four-star prospects. Brent Venables and Jim Nagy expressed faith in Jay Valai's group by not adding a player in either the winter or spring portal sessions. Eli Bowen was one of the revelations of the 2024 season. He had some really good moments in coverage, like against Ryan Williams and Alabama. But there were also times where he struggled, like at the end of the Missouri game and in the second half against LSU. He's battled an ankle injury this offseason but should be ready to go for fall camp. Gentry Williams has proven he can play at the collegiate level. He's sticky in coverage and physical in the run game. Now he just has to stay healthy for an entire season. Because if he does, the Sooners have a star on the outside at cornerback. Safety Safety is one of the more exciting positions on the team. Despite the loss of Billy Bowman, Brandon Hall still has a really talented safety room, led by Robert Spears-Jennings. Spears-Jennings is looking to build off of a strong 2024 season where he finished second on the team in total tackles, had an interception, four forced fumbles, 2 1/2 sacks, and two fumble recoveries. Former five-star prospect Peyton Bowen is looking to have a breakout season. In 13 games last season, Bowen had 34 total tackles and two tackles for loss. He possesses incredible athleticism and playmaking ability. After sitting and learning behind Billy Bowman the last two seasons, it's now time for Bowen to take a step and become the player that had Notre Dame and Oregon also trying to land during the 2023 early signing period. Special Teams The Oklahoma Sooners were active in the transfer portal to fill key special teams roles. The only returning member of the team's projected first team is long snapper Ben Anderson, who earned All-SEC preseason honors. Tate Sandell is expected to carry the placekicking duties. Arkansas transfer wide receiver Isaiah Sategna will be the Sooners primary return man. Oklahoma is expecting to be in some close games in 2025, and the special teams units could be what provides the difference. 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.
USA Today
2 days ago
- Sport
- USA Today
Oklahoma Sooners commits climb in latest Rivals 300 updated rankings
There are just a few weeks before fall camp gets underway, which puts the 2025 football season right around the corner. As the Oklahoma Sooners prepare for the season, future Sooners in the 2026 recruiting class will be preparing for their senior season in high school. Led by quarterback Bowe Bentley, the Oklahoma Sooners have the No. 26 recruiting class in the cycle. Ahead of the senior season, Rivals, which recently merged with On3, released it's updated and reconfigured top 300 player rankings for the cycle. Currently, the Sooners have just four players included in the Rivals 300 but are trending positively for a pair of top 300 targets in wide receiver Davian Groce and edge Jake Kruel. After last week's update, though, where do future Sooners land in the latest Rivals 300? More: Oklahoma Sooners 2026 recruiting commitment tracker No. 41 Bowe Bentley, QB - Committed Bowe Bentley is Oklahoma's top-rated commitment in the 2026 recruiting class. The Sooners earned a big recruiting win when he chose OU over LSU. The Sooners see a dual-threat quarterback in Bentley. He had a huge year for Celina, leading them to an undefeated season and state title in Texas 4A football. Bentley saw a big jump in the Rivals300 release and is considered the No. 4 quarterback in the class. Bentley climbed 15 spots in the latest update. No. 54 Davian Groce, WR - Target One of the top remaining targets for the Oklahoma Sooners, wide receiver Davian Groce has been trending toward the Sooners for some time, but there hasn't been a lot of buzz lately. Groce is a dynamic player with the ball in his hands and can help an offense at running back, outside wide receiver, in the slot, and can even make an impact as a return man. Groce dropped by three spots in the Rivals 300. No. 151 Daniel Norman, EDGE - Committed Daniel Norman saw one of the biggest jumps in the rankings in the class, moving up to just outside the top 150. Norman rose more than 200 spots. He's got big-time athleticism and great size for the position at 6-foot-4. No. 175 Jake Kreul, EDGE - Target Oklahoma target Jake Kreul had a strong performance in a recent Rivals camp, showing off his pass rush ability. What did that earn him? A 135-spot drop in the Rivals 300. 247Sports ranks the IMG Academy prospect as the No. 61 player overall, while ESPN sees Kreul as a five-star talent and the No. 22 player in the country for the 2026 recruiting class. He's a refined edge rusher with the ability to mix speed and power to win. Kreul has great size and length and will be a difference maker at the collegiate level. No. 177 Tyler Ruxer, TE - Committed Tyler Ruxer saw a big jump after committing to the Oklahoma Sooners. He's got big-time speed that's capable of making big plays in the passing game. He's expected to convert to tight end at the collegiate level, which will provide Oklahoma a dynamic threat down the middle of the field. Ruxer rose nearly 200 spots in the latest update. No. 254 Deacon Schmitt, OL - Committed The Oklahoma Sooners got a big win when they landed four-star offensive line prospect Deacon Schmitt. He had big-time offers from around the SEC and Big Ten. He'll make the transition from offensive tackle to interior offensive line for the Sooners, adding to the guard depth that Bill Bedenbaugh has recruited over the last few cycles. Schmitt climbed nearly 50 spots in the Rivals 300. 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.
USA Today
3 days ago
- Sport
- USA Today
Oklahoma Sooners among The Athletic's top 5 football programs since 2000
It was December of 1998 when new Oklahoma Sooners athletic director Joe Castiglione and the program introduced former Florida defensive coordinator Bob Stoops as the next head football coach at OU. Stoops replaced John Blake, who'd led the program through three rough years before being fired by Castiglione following the 1998 season. However, Stoops was really the hopeful replacement for the legendary Barry Switzer, who had resigned after the 1988 season. There were ten dark years in Norman, as the program shuffled through head coaches Gary Gibbs, Howard Schnellenberger, and Blake from 1989 to 1998, losing an unacceptable number of games in the process and fading from the national spotlight. None of those coaches was a suitable heir to Switzer, who had been OU's head coach from 1973 to 1988 and won three national championships. Switzer had been at OU since 1966, serving as the offensive coordinator before his promotion to head coach. Castiglione and the Sooners believed they had their next successful head coach in Stoops, and they were more than right. What has followed is 26 years where Oklahoma has been back in the spotlight, typically among the nation's elite teams from 1999 to 2021. Although Stoops retired after the 2016 season, the success he set in motion has positioned OU at the forefront of the sport. The Athletic took on the daunting task of ranking the best college football programs of the 21st century last week, and obviously, the Sooners were very high on the list. Oklahoma was ranked third, falling behind only Alabama and Ohio State. Though the list doesn't include Stoops' first year at the helm, it includes the rest of his head coaching career, and that of Lincoln Riley and Brent Venables. Stoops led the Sooners to the first national championship of the 21st century, with a perfect season in 2000. The year concluded with a win over Florida State in the title game, giving Oklahoma a total of seven national championships. Although Oklahoma hasn't won it all since then, it has been among the top-performing programs in America over the last quarter-century. The Sooners have played for three more national titles and made four trips to the four-team College Football Playoff. The program won four Heisman Trophies and had four other players finish as finalists for the award. OU won 14 conference championships, and a bevy of All-Americans put the Sooners as a no-doubt top-five program since 2000. The standard was set in Norman well before Stoops arrived. Coaches such as Bennie Owen, Bud Wilkinson, Chuck Fairbanks, and Switzer defined what it meant to win in college football and at OU. However, after one of the worst decades of Oklahoma Football in the 90s, it was Stoops who quickly showed that he and the program could meet that standard again. Oklahoma Football is still feeling the effects of his excellence over a quarter of a century later. Yes, the program has had some tough times lately. The handoff from Stoops to Riley looked so good for so many years, but the program was quietly slipping under Riley's watch. When he bolted to Southern California, Venables was hired to take the reins. It's been a rough go under Venables at times, with the only two losing seasons since the Blake era happening under his watch. But Venables had no easy task taking over for Riley, and he's doing his best to get the program back to its Stoops-era winning ways. He has the defense ready to contend, but the offense took a hit in 2024 with a bevy of injuries limiting the team's potential. But Venables and his staff have positioned themselves to be much better in 2025. It's a big year for Venables and a big year for this program in 2025. Though the straits aren't as dire as they were when Stoops took over in 1999, Oklahoma's backs are against the wall this season. However, the blueprint is there for the fourth-year head coach, who leads a program that has defied the odds plenty of times before, and is clearly one of the elite programs in all of college football. 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.
