Open Post | Wednesday, November 23rd

Quick Postgame Thoughts | Iowa State
– Charlie S – Posted on: November 20, 2021

The Sooners won their final home game of the season against Iowa State 28-21.

The outcome was actually a pleasant surprise to me as I had OU losing 38-35ish heading into the game.

Just some quick thoughts on the game before I get comfy and watch the other games on the day.

***The Sooners forced 3 defensive turnovers with DTY and Fields getting picks and Redmond returning a Key Lawrence forced fumble for a touchdown. In this case, Alex Grinch you are spot on, turnovers equal victories.

***Speaking of Redmond, he and his fellow defensive linemen really showed out today and found the pass rush that has been missing. Oddly enough, they did it against what was probably, statistically, the best offensive line they have faced this year. Last count I saw was 7 sacks on the day and they really abused Purdy which forced him out of the game for a couple series.

***Key Lawrence is a baller and a play maker. Yes, he still is learning how to play cornerback and has a few issues in coverage, but man, when good things happen defensively for OU, of late, Key Lawrence is usually involved as he forced a couple fumbles on the day.

***OU held ISU to 4 of 18 on third downs…that’s GREAT…however, ISU was 5-7 including an inexcusable fake punt conversion on 4th downs.

***Offensively…man…I’m putting this one on Riley and the WRs in large part.

***The play calling was horrific as OU was facing a 5 man front all day yet only in the second half did they try to exploit it. Which they did successfully…but then went away from it again.

***Yes, Caleb Williams looked bad…looked confused and looked indecisive for large chunks of the game. BUT…Riley did him no favors with no quick passes and no real QB run game aside from called draws.

***The wide receivers had problems holding onto the ball and they also had some problems getting separation early. Later in the game, they seemed to get more separation, and by that time, it seemed like Williams was in his head and wasn’t seeing them.

***Mario Williams showed some really good awareness and hustle working with Williams to get open for that touchdown pass for sure. So that was a bright spot.

***I cannot understand Rileys thinking with Williams behind center. I talked about it earlier this week, said I would like to see more quick passes, a commitment to the tun game and more QB run…none of that happened frequently but when it DID…OU had no problem moving the ball. How can I see it…you see it…everyone see it…but Riley not even move toward those things? Weird.

***Eric Gray got his one carry late in the third quarter. It went for 12 yards. He finished with 4 carries for 28 yards (5,8 YPC) and a touchdown and Brooks carried the ball 17 times for 115 yards (6.8 YPC) so the run game WAS there.

***Overall, it was a good win for OU. It wasn’t dominant, but we know this team is not a dominant team so as long as you accept that this ain’t the year we all thought it could have been…then yeah, it was a good win.

***If the defense plays as they did today next week, OU will give themselves a chance if they can mustard any offensive flow against OkState.

Enjoy your afternoon and evening guys and gals. OU won a football game. It wasn’t perfect, it wasn’t dominant…but at least you are not Texas who is riding a 6 game losing streak.


Post Visit Update | ’22 JUCO DL Jeffrey M’Ba
– Charlie S – Posted on: November 20, 2021

The Sooners hosted ’22 JUCO defensive tackle Jeffrey M’ba (6’6 305) out of Independence CC for an unofficial visit today as you know.

I caught up with M’ba following his visit and it is safe to say he enjoyed his time in Norman and Coach Thibbs probably could not have scripted a better performance from his group to put on display for the big guy.

The Sooners defensive line helped force seven sacks and 15 tackles for loss today and Jalen Redmond and Perrion Winfrey each had a few big moments in the game.

I asked M’ba what stood out to him on his trip and he said ‘The play of the defensive line is what stood out for me. They were flying around out there and that was crazy!’. He went on to make note of Jalen Redmond and Perrion Winfrey. M’ba said ‘Number 32 was going crazy and I was really impressed by the get off on the ball of Winfrey’.

I asked him if he liked the vibe of OU and what he thought of meeting with the coaches. M’ba said ‘Coach Thibodeaux was very welcoming and he made sure I would feel comfortable there’.

When it comes to his recruitment, Jeffrey told me that he plans on signing with the program of his choosing on December 15th. As far as the Sooners go, they are very much in the picture and their approach with him today was helpful.

M’ba told me that he wanted to be sure he didn’t rush into anything and say something while on the trip and he pointed out that OU put no pressure on him and that only helped their position in his eyes as he felt like they really respected him. He said “They didn’t pressure me to choose at all, and I love that because it shows they will let me take the time to make my decision and go there if I really want to.’


Position Group Progress Report | Game 11: Iowa State
– Charlie S – Posted on: November 22, 2021

Checking out how the position groups performed in the Sooners victory over Iowa State. Coming into the game, OU was a small favorite over the Cyclones and they wound up covering the spread and winning 28-21.

This is the eleventh progress report of the season and I will include the previous game’s ratings for each unit.

Let’s see how things shook out against Iowa State.


QB: 2* (Last Week low 1*)

Pass game horrible.

Still had perhaps the most important play of the game offensively with the 74 yard touchdown run.

If I am grading Williams strictly as a QB and what he did in the pass game, he would have earned a Nebula.

But I cannot base it solely on the pass game.

Thus…the 2* overall.

Williams was 8 of 18 for 87 yards (YIKES) with  1 touchdown and 1 interception.

He had a rushing stat line of 12 carries for 67 yards and the one touchdown. That means on one carry he picked up 74 yards and on the other 11 ‘carries’ he lost a total of 7 yards. Sacks are factored into that.

Riley did him no favors with the play calling, nor did the wide receivers with their drops and lack of separation on occasion (yes there were times when guys were open and Williams did not find them)…but yeah, he has to be a lot better.


RB: 4* (Last week Low 2*)

They were good.

Actually noticed a few block pickups and they were about the only offensive skill position group that played to the level they should be playing.

Brooks ran 17 times for 115 yards which was good for a 6.8 yards per carry average. He had a big momentum shifting 26 yarder as well. Nice day for him.

Gray ran 4 times for 23 yards which was good for a 5.8 yard per carry average and he had a 7 yard touchdown run. All of that came late in the game and I really thought they may have used him a bit earlier, but that didn’t come to fruition.

Add Jeremiah Hall into the equation as he tied for the lead in receptions on the day (2) and the unit had a nice day.


WR/TE: 1* (Last week 1*)

Only 9 receptions were made, and only 5 of those 9 came from wide receivers (2 came from Hall who I grade with the RBs).

Mario Williams had a pair of receptions and the lone touchdown on the day (He did really good work there).

Mims, Haselwood and Woods each had one reception. That’s it.

A lot of their lack of productivity can be attributed to Williams struggles and the play designs for sure, but overall, they were pretty non-existent.

Feels like Stoops was missed more than expected in this game, but again, these guys are plenty talented and each of them can be difference makers.

Not a great day at all.


OL: High 3* (Last week High 1*)

I gave the offensive line a bum ranking last week against Baylor.

Not going to do it again for their performance against Iowa State.

Not only did they battle a very good front, they battled through some injuries and rough play calling against Iowa State.

Yes…they had their whiffs early in the run game and they were charged with giving up 4 sacks. Many of those sacks (I will get into them more in ‘Film Don’t Lie’) can be placed at the feet of Caleb Williams and his reluctance to pull the trigger by either running or throwing.

But overall, even with a shifting personnel deployment, they played really well in pass pro and when they went to the zone run scheme they were great. Not good, great. Problem is, they didn’t stay in the zone scheme long or go to it early enough.

Williams had 6+ seconds on couple of the sacks…young man needs to ‘crap or get off the pot’ and make a decision there…that’s not on the offensive line.

Thought the best OL on the day was actually Marquis Hayes, and I have not said that once this year. Harrison and Raym also played pretty well.

Murray and TRob were struggling in the pull game and Murray had some bad misses particularly early on.

Felt good for Swenson to get a lot of run in his last home game and he held up really well at both right tackle and left tackle. Some consistency in scheme would be really beneficial to this unit. Congel came in and did fine at center when Raym was hurt. Hopefully Raym can play this week because he has been starting to put some really solid snaps on film of late.


DL: 5* (Last week 2*)

A little hesitant to throw a 5 star performance out there, and I could easily nit-pick it down to the 4* range…but they were the difference in the game for OU so I’m going to give it to them.

After weeks and weeks of disappointing play, the defensive line put together a really nice game against an offensive line that had only surrendered 12 sacks on the entire year. Likely the best offensive line they have faced for the most part.

Really thought Bonitto, Thomas, Winfrey, and Redmond finally put it all together and put their most consistent effort of the year on the field. They will need to do the same next week, and if they do, you could see an even higher number of sacks and tackles for loss because the Oklahoma State offensive line isn’t nearly as good as the Iowa State offensive line.

Yeah, I saw a couple plays where they ‘took off a play’ but they also applied a ton of pressure and controlled a very explosive run game.

Well done. Well deserved.

Plus, when you get a big man TD…you get a bump.


LB: High 3* (Last week High 4*)

Ok, last week against Baylor I gave this group another bum grade…but in this case it was too high.

They probably played a bit better overall this weekend, but still it was not exceptional by any means, hence the 3* ranking.

Asamoah was solid and DaShaun White probably had his best game of the year…and maybe of his career.

Ugwoegbu was the only other backer to see the field and when I noticed him, it wasn’t because he was showing out.

Consistent run fits continue to be a little bit of an issue with this group, but Saturday they were more solid, which is a good sign.

They still get lost in coverage at times but they were very active and did a good job tackling against Iowa State for the most part.


DB: Low 4* (Last week 2*)

Pat Fields had arguably the best game of his career. nice timing for him to do it on his last home game. Actually feel really good for him.

DTY had some whiffs on tackles but brought a lot of energy and made some nice plays behind the line of scrimmage while adding a free interception.

Key had a nice redemption day following a less than stellar performance against Baylor as he cause 2 fumbles (one for Redmond to rumble home with) and did a much better job in coverage.

Graham was shaky before he got hurt and Woodi looked a lot more like the Woodi from last year as he seems to be rounding into form coming off that injury.

Broiles was put in a no win situation against the massive Iowa State tight ends and he performed as expected. That is on the coaches, in my opinion. You have to have a better plan than that.

Good day overall. If Graham is out for Bedlam, you have to hope Latrell McCutchin can step up as the third defensive back for the week.


Special Teams: High 1* (Last week High 1*)

Brkic still hasn’t made a field goal since the burrito exhibition.

Turk had a great day.

You cannot fumble a punt, particularly when you are just fair catching it Mr. Gray.

Not a good day overall.


Quick Hitter | Sourced Visitor Note
– Charlie S – Posted on: November 22, 2021

Spoke to a source who was around Sooners official visitor, ’22 EDGE Jaishawn Barham (6’3 230) out of District Heights, MD, throughout his visit.

Source was near Barham at the game and mentioned that while Barham was pretty quiet for the most part, he appeared to be thoroughly enjoying the game and was very vocal when the defense made big plays.

Was told that the atmosphere stood out to Barham and his family as well. They were very ‘wide eyed’ and taking it all in.

Source told me ‘I could easily see him as part of the class. Coach Cain was with him the minute the game was over and the rest of the family looked like they were having a (heckuva) time”.

We will work on getting some info from the Barham camp and more notes from the OU side as well, but it sounds like the Sooners made a nice impression.


Quick Hitter | Kanu
– Charlie S – Posted on: November 22, 2021

In regard to Hero Kanu, sources around OU tell K they are not expecting to be the choice for Kanu.


TFB Randoms | Barham & Agbo
– Charlie S – Posted on: November 23, 2021

Couple random notes we picked up last night…

***In regard to weekend visitor Jaishawn Barham, yes, he has been officially offered by OU. Something to keep an eye on.

***On the offensive line, Super K heard OU feels like they are in very good shape with ’22 offensive lineman Malik Agbo who visited for the ChampU BBQ in June.


Update | Marvin jones Jr
– Charlie S – Posted on: November 23, 2021

As you know, the Sooners are in a battle for the services of ’22 EDGE Marvin Jones Jr (6’4.5 245) out of Fort Lauderdale, FL.

Jones and his family visited Norman back in September.

Source tells K that there is a possibility of a midweek return visit to Norman following Bedlam this weekend.

K was told that Jones and his family are hoping to see Norman one more time prior to making his decision.