Open Post | Tuesday, August 11th
Posted on: August 11, 2020
Snippet From: Weekend Notebook | Sourced Team Notes, Schedule Talk, Hoops & More
– James Hale
The injury to redshirt freshman defensive tackle Marcus Hicks (6’5, 284) is disappointing because again, it hurts the overall depth of the defense. Hicks would have played behind sophomore starter Jalen Redmond (6’3, 277) and senior LaRon Stokes (6’4, 278). Still, Coach Lincoln Riley has talked about Hicks and redshift freshman Kori Roberson (6’4, 288) being part of the future of the resurgence of the defensive line.
Hicks is a physical specimen. A flat belly defensive tackle, and he would have looked very good getting off the bus. I am told he tore his Achilles Tendon in a non-contact drill as the defensive line was working through drills running around dummies and cutting hard off the edge. Hicks was moving very well, but just a freak thing as his Achilles gave out while others routinely made it through the drill.
Hicks will have surgery next week, and with this injury, it’s typically a fairly long rehab of at least five months, and usually, a player doesn’t come all the way back until around the eighth or ninth month.
I know “K also heard in his report that senior wide receiver Theo Howard (6’0, 182) was going through workouts and running routes but had not shown the explosion yet that he had at UCLA, and that’s at the eight months after his Achilles injury. That’s exactly what I thought when I saw him run, but I’m told that with that injury once you rehab to the point that you can return to workouts, then you have to keep working to stretch it back out to get back the flexibility in the tendon. That’s the process that Howard is going through now.
With Hicks out, OU is working with seven inside defensive lineman. At nose tackle, you have junior Perrion Winfrey (6’3, 297), sophomore Jordan Kelley (6’3, 292), and junior Josh Ellison (6’2, 291). At defensive tackle, you have Redmond, Stokes, Roberson, and junior Zacchaeus McKinney (6’3, 272). Those numbers are still pretty good inside, but more importantly, OU has to find players who can really play inside. They know they have a couple in Redmond and Stokes, but the jury is out on the rest and for the defense to be as good as they hope to be they can be they need the rest of the talent to stand up and show out.
At this time of year, OU offensive line Coach Bill Bedenbaugh is a mad scientist. He’s mixing and matching his players trying to find to the best five and then two or more that are versatile enough to round out the group that he will go into war with this season. No matter how many guys return, there’s always major competition because Coach Bedenbaugh recruits so well, and the next generation is always waiting to get their chance.
OU returns four starters from the end of last year’s unit, but both Coach Lincoln Riley and Coach Bedenbaugh said last year’s group was good but not great by OU’s standards.
“Our standards are pretty high here,” said Coach Bedenbaugh. “I mean, we have earned the right to be called the country’s best offensive line before, and we’re always in the conversation for that award. We have had guys go to the NFL and earn starting jobs. They have played well, and when NFL scouts come in here to look at our guys, they always talk about how talented they are, and how they handle themselves.”
“We were pretty good last year but not as dominant and not as physical as I wanted us to be last year. We were not as good as they can be. They know that, and after every game when we watched film I could point out several things that they did wrong, but they already knew it and were disappointed that they didn’t play better.”
“We have a lot of good players and now some players with some experience, but we have some younger players that all they need is experience to get on the field. The competition is going to be intense, and we need it because iron-sharpens-iron, and we need our players always to feel that the next great one is right behind them. We will throw the guys into a bunch of different spots early and see what we got and see if who our best guys are, and then we keeping working them once we get into the season and see how good we can be.”
“K’ has told you that junior Adrian Ealy (6’6, 327) is working at left tackle with freshman Stacey Wilkins (6’6, 316) operating at right tackle along with senior Finley Filex (6’5, 298). Erik Swenson (6’5, 326) continues to work at left tackle. The move of Ealy to left tackle early in camp is something that Coach Bedenbaugh does every season. It seems he always moves his junior and seniors around to give them a bit of experience at other positions, and to give the pros a look at that player at a different position.”
This doesn’t mean that Ealy won’t be at right tackle and that Wilkins won’t be at left tackle. In fact, that is where OU expects both players to end up because Ealy prefers to play right tackle. However, Bedenbaugh has to find a left tackle, and since Ealy is their best-returning tackle he has to find out if he is his best left tackle. Coach Bedenbaugh has always told me that he feels that left tackle is not any more important than right tackle. However, in most years, he will put his best tackle at left tackle, but that wasn’t the case last year because Ealy didn’t feel comfortable at left tackle.
Coach Bedenbaugh said there would be major completion across the board this spring, and that is exactly what he has in the offensive line. Juniors Marquis Hayes (6’6, 349) and Tyrese Robinson (6’3, 335) are back at guard, but their jobs are far from guaranteed. Both started every game last year that they were available, Hayes at left guard and Robinson at right with Robinson also getting two starts at right tackle. Early in camp, I’m told Robinson is also working at right tackle because OU has a lot more quality depth at guard than they do at offensive tackle.
Sophomore Brey Walker (6’6, 352) worked hard during the quarantine, looking at a ton of film. He a huge man and a flat belly, and there is not an athlete on the team that is more physically fit than Walker. That’s not lost on Bedenbaugh, and he would like to start giving Walker more playing time, but he has to prove that he knows the offense and his assignments. Redshirt freshman E.J. Ndoma-Ogar (6’3, 330) is a similar player to Hayes in that he is a great run blocker, and whoever turns out to be the best pass blocker may win the job. Also, who plays with poise will also play a factor in who wins that job.
Hearing Walker and Ndoma-Ogar also work at both guards, especially early in camp. Junior Creed Humphrey (6’5, 320) is the center and a projected first-round draft choice. Who is behind him will be interesting to watch. Junior Ian McIver (6’3, 303) is a very good center, and Coach Bedenbaugh trusts him to be the backup, which would allow him to redshirt freshman Andrew Raym (6’3, 293).
Coach Bedenbaugh is already thinking ahead to having UCLA transfer Chris Murray (6’3, 297) eligible to play next year. Murray is excellent and has impressed Bedenbaugh with his intelligence, his ability to get angles quickly on a defender, and his overall quickness off the ball. It’s rare to have two centers that could be high NFL draft choices, but that’s what OU has in Humphrey and Murray. With Murray waiting in the wings at center, Raym is getting a look at both guard and tackle, as Coach Bedenbaugh looks to find what his best position is outside of center. It’s rare to have so many good centers when you add Nadoma-Ogar to that list as well.
In my last report, I left freshman offensive tackle Aaryn Parks (6’5, 322) off my freshman list, but he is in camp and on the roster. Parks, Anton Harrison (6’5, 334) and Noah Nelson (6’7, 299) are promising young tackles in the program, but both Parks and Harrison could wind up at guard. Early on, it sounds like Coach Bedenbaugh likes what he sees out of all three players and he has to find out who can play tackle first out of those athletes. It sounds as if Nate Anderson (6’4, 281) is working at guard, and is a talent, but needs a redshirt year to get bigger and stronger.
I’m told Redshirt freshman Marcus Alexander (6’3, 317) is working at guard trying to work up the depth chart. Word is that Sophomore Darrell Simpson (6’7, 359), who had a rough off-season with the loss of his father, is getting looks at offensive tackle again with the logjam at guard.
Also, you may have noticed that freshman defensive end Notah Arinze (6’5, 252) was not on the SoonerSports roster. I was told that was just a glitch, and they would get it corrected. They also needed a headshot of him to complete the web bio. No worries about Arinze being on the team as he is going through workouts and is a promising defensive end prospect for the Sooners.
I also hear that the injury to sophomore quarterback Tanner Mordecai (6’2, 211) is going to keep him out of practice for a while. He has a lower leg injury, and it’s worse than first thought. He is currently on crutches but does not need surgery, but he may be out of action for three to four weeks. Now, redshirt freshman Spencer Rattler (6’0, 199) will work to get ready for his first start for whenever OU will play their first game.
This has been great for senior Tanner Shafer (6’3, 207), who is getting increased reps as the number two signal-caller. Freshman Chandler Morris (5’11, 175) has also been impressive, but OU hopes to redshirt him this year.
2020 Season | Resetting The Scene | Update: 12:11 PM Big 10 News
– Charlie S
Following the social media activity Sunday night which was based on leaks about the Big 10 Conference leaning towards canceling their season in the very near future and then the #WeWantToPlay movement from a group of players which was galvanized by Clemson Quarterback Trevor Lawrence, many of you have questions as to where things stand at this time.
Here is what we know:
***Over the weekend, following Saturday’s practice, OU pressed pause on their practice schedule and actually allowed their players to leave campus if they chose too. The sense we had gotten is that there was a feeling that OU believed there was a significant chance that the Big 12 was going to cancel their season.
***Big 12 commissioner Bob Bowlsby reportedly spoke to the media and said he expects the Big 12 to release their planned schedule later this week and that no decision has been made.
***The Big 12 administrators are scheduled to meet in the next day or so with their medical experts who they have been working with throughout the pandemic to further discuss the direction of things.
***We can confirm Texas was on the field practicing Monday morning as I typed this.
The Latest | 2020 Season | Some Sunshine Amid the Clouds?
– Charlie S
Talked to K earlier who had been in touch with some sources…
While nothing has necessarily been decided, he mentioned that he’s hearing that the sense out there this evening is that the Big 12 will side with the SEC and ACC and attempt to play.
Stay tuned…
What are some things we have learned through 5 practices?
– James Hale
1) OU has had a tough camp. OU already has lost a starter, critical depth on defense, and has nullified the quarterback competition at quarterback because of injuries. Senior linebacker Caleb Kelly (6’3, 232) is out for the year as he tore his ACL in his right knee for the second straight year. Redshirt freshman defensive tackle Marcus Hicks (’6’5, 284) looked good early in camp and then tore his Achilles Tendon. Sophomore quarterback Tanner Mordecai (6’2, 211) suffered a injury that would keep him from practice from three weeks to a month.
2) Redshirt freshman Spencer Rattler (6’0, 199) has been every bit as good as advertised so far in camp, and when Mordecai went down, the Phoenix, Arizona native took over with gusto. He’s acted like the starter for the last several days. The team has rallied behind him, and the Rattler Era is close to getting underway.
3) OU isn’t sure what they have at linebacker. Now with Kelly out junior DeShaun White (6’0, 227) and sophomore Brain Asamoah (6’1, 230) are running with the ones, but they’re getting challenged by converted Rush End David Ugwoegbu (6’4, 251) and converted safety Robert Barnes (6’2, 232). I’m told Ugwoegbu doesn’t really want to play inside, and the coaches have told him after a week or so, if he doesn’t like playing there or doesn’t feel good about playing inside, they will move him back to outside. However, early Ugwoegbu’s size and speed look good at inside backer. He doesn’t know what he’s doing, but his athletic ability is what you are looking for inside. Barnes has impressed the coaches with his dedication to becoming a backer and his football IQ. Barnes has three picks already in camp, and he has made some outstanding plays. Freshman Shane Whitter (6’0, 230) and Brynden Walker (6’3, 236) have been impressive. I know I was wondering about Walker coming in at 251, but I’m told he has looked good at that weight, and there is nothing wrong with having an inside backer that weights 251 if he is flexible and can move, and Walker has proven he’s both.
4) Sounds like redshirt freshman Jeremiah Criddell (5’11, 197) has been the best young DB during camp thus far, and he is presenting a challenge to Brendon Radley-Hiles at the starting nickel back. Redshirt freshman Woodi Washington (5’11, 192) and freshman Bryson Washington (6’2, 197) have looked good at safety and freshman Kendall Dennis (5’11, 181) at corner. The coaches have tried Criddell at corner, safety, and nickel, and there always seems some confusion where to play him, but in training camp he has been a challenge to Bookie up to this point.
5) OU’s new holder appears to be senior Spencer Jones (6’1, 197) a walk-on from Nashville, Tennessee.
6) Also have heard sophomore wide receiver Trejan Bridges (6’1, 180) has not been able to go through much training camp due to a bruised knee. When practices resume Bridges should be good to go, but if OU plays this year, he is still expected to serve a suspension. OU feels good about the games being reduced by one or two games. As we have said, freshman Marvin Mims (5’11, 177) is having a great camp, and he will play this year.
