Open Post | Weekend, November 16th – 18th

Offensive Line Turnover
– Ryan Lewis

With the dismissal of Tramonda Moore announced last night by the Oklahoma football program, many have started realizing just how many linemen might be leaving this season.

The turnover is certainly going to be one of the highest Coach Bedenbaugh has had to deal with. 20 linemen were on the roster to start this season, with that number already dropping. Let’s look at how the offensive line roster will differ from the start of the 2018 season to the start of the 2019 season.

CERTAINLY LEAVING

1. Jonathan Alvarez (retired from football, plus a redshirt senior)

2. Alex Dalton (season-ending injury, plus a redshirt senior)

3. Quinn Mittermeir (redshirt senior)

4. Tramonda Moore (dismissed)

5. Ben Powers (senior) [Starter]

6. Dru Samia (senior) [Starter]

POSSIBLY HEADING TO THE NFL DRAFT

1. Bobby Evans [Starter]

2. Cody Ford [Starter]

There is no official word on either Evans or Ford, but both are talented prospects who will have to at least consider the Draft as an option. That’s a minimum of six guys departing, with two more possible. Additionally, that’s at least two of the five starting linemen leaving, with two more possible. That’s a lot of change up front.

So what will the Sooners’ offensive line look like next year?

RETURNING LINEMEN

Player and current year

1. Dalton Bishop (SO)

2. Adrian Ealy (Rs FR)

3. Marquis Hayes (Rs FR)

4. Creed Humphrey (Rs FR)

5. Ian McIver (Rs FR)

6. Logan Roberson (Rs SO)

7. Tyrese Robinson (Rs FR)

8. Darrell Simpson (FR)

9. David Swaby (SO)

10. Erik Swenson (Rs SO)

11. Brey Walker (FR)

12. Clayton Woods (Rs JR)

Several of those players (Simpson and Walker for example) will almost certainly get a redshirt this season, so there will be a large collection of underclassmen on that roster.

Who else will be joining the above players as options?

NEW PLAYERS

1. Marcus Alexander

2. Finley Felix

3. EJ Ndoma-Ogar

4. Stacey Wilkins

That would put the total offensive linemen count somewhere between 16 and 18.

POTENTIAL OPTIONS FOR 2019

I spoke with JY this morning to get a little of his wisdom, so his thoughts are scattered throughout this part.

Let’s say for a moment that both Evans and Ford come back. If they keep their same positions, that would leave the two guard roles to be filled. Marquise Hayes could be an option at left guard. JY astutely pointed out that the Sooners currently have more tackle-type players than guards. Would Ford be shifted over to guard so that someone else could slot into right tackle? In that case, perhaps Adrian Ealy takes over at right tackle.

If both Evans and Ford leave, there are all sorts of spots to be filled. Guys like Ealy and Hayes would be high on the short list, but so would guys like Tyrese Robinson and Erik Swenson.

How do you see things setting up in 2019?

 


 

Quick Hitters | Running Back & 2020 Quarterback
– Charlie S

– If you’ve been able to read between the lines, you know we have already alluded to the fact that OU slowed things down a bit with Kenny McIntosh. We are not saying that they pulled off of McIntosh, but it has become clear that in regards to High School backs, Tyrion Davis was, and remains the focus.

They are not putting all their eggs in the Davis basket as they have a very good chance at landing JUCO running back Rhamondre Stevenson. Stevenson is also in the mold of McIntosh and Davis in that he is a big back with some speed.

In regards to Tyrion Davis, we are told that Lincoln Riley had a very good conversation with him last night and we continue to believe that he will take an official visit to Norman which will obviously have to take place following the season.

K will have a more complete update from Davis shortly.

 

– Quick note here, K has spoken to some people out in California and he is hearing that 2020 USC quarterback commit, Bryce Young, is taking a second look at Oklahoma.

This is obviously due to the current instability at USC.

We don’t know how significant the interest is at this point, but K will be digging in on that a bit more in the near future.

 


 

Sourced Update On Five Star Offensive Tackle Evan Neal
– Charlie S

As you know 2019 five star offensive lineman Evan neal was on campus last weekend for Bedlam. Going into the visit there was some confidence that OU had a real shot with him and that this official visit would be critical.

Immediately after the visit, what we heard was a lot of “Neal was hard to read’ and what not, but the more we have spoken to people, we are feeling that the visit went better than what may have been initially thought.

– Source confirms that the Sooners made a really big impression on his family, particularly his mother

– Source also said that while Neal is difficult to read publicly, he had some very high praise for the Sooners.

– Am told the fact that OU will lose so many offensive linemen this year was not lost on him at all and he clearly sees a path to early playing time

– Have heard that there was some detailed discussion as to where exactly Neal fits into OU’s plans next season including playing next to some of the guys he has been building relationships with such as longtime friend EJ Ndoma-Ogar, as well as with Stacey Wilkins, and Marcus Alexander.

– OU has an added benefit of having a local group of offensive linemen who are actively recruiting him

– Based on our discussions with people around OU and Neal, there is some reason for cautious optimism, It’s our understanding that OU has pulled ahead of Miami and it is really down to Alabama and the Sooners.

– Keep in mind that Neal will take an official to Alabama this month, which will be a return visit.

– Alabama also has a tackle spot opening up and they believe he is a day one starter and a future top round draft pick so they will do what they can to fight for him till the end.

– The Sooners are in a better situation than we previously thought just two weeks ago, but it is gonna be a bare-knuckled brawl till the end.

Image result for Bare knuckle boxing gif

 


 

Kansas Pregame | Class Is In Session
– The Professor

I don’t about you, but last Saturday took about 5 years off my life. The good news is that the Sooners can take a deep breath. This Saturday Oklahoma gets Kansas at home.

With that being the case, today’s lesson will be rather brief. Here are some stats and facts that you might want to know for Saturday.

The History

The Oklahoma vs Kansas series is a lopsided one (but not as lopsided as another series I know). Oklahoma leads the all-time series 75-27-6. When Oklahoma is ranked against an unranked Kansas, Oklahoma leads the series 39-3-0.

Oklahoma hasn’t lost to Kansas in 20 years. The average score since Kansas last won a game against Oklahoma is 42.2-11.2.

Kansas has only scored 146 points against Oklahoma since they last won in 1997. Oklahoma has scored 146 points against Kansas since Baker Mayfield threw an 11-yard pass to Durron Neal with 5:32 left in the first quarter in 2015.

The Coaches

David Beaty was already fired, but it looks like he will finish the season as head coach. Could you imagine getting fired from your job, but you had to still show up and work for a month?

I mean, he did only win six games so far in four seasons at Kansas. Kansas has only averaged 4.5 wins per season in their history. It wasn’t like Beaty had much room to underperform, but damn if he didn’t do it.

To put Kansas’ recent history in perspective, Lincoln Riley has won more games as a head coach than Kansas has won since 2010.

The Players

The running game for The Sooners has been great. Oklahoma now has 3 players with 600 or more rushing yards on the season. Georgia Tech, who runs the Triple Option, is the only other Power 5 school who can claim that.

Kansas is bad offensively, but they do have Pooka Williams Jr. who is averaging nearly 6 yards per carry.

On the defensive side of the ball (yes, we have to talk about it), Kansas is 6th in the country in turnovers gained at 23. Oklahoma is tied for 124th in the country with eight.

And here’s a depressing tidbit, Kansas allows fewer points per game than Oklahoma. That being said, they don’t score either. I don’t think Oklahoma is in any danger of losing the game, but the numbers for the Oklahoma defense are bad.

That’s it for this lesson. Let’s just get through this weekend, everyone.

 


 

Visitors | Kansas
– Charlie S

Last weekend the Sooners hosted their largest in-season recruiting weekend.

This week, OU will host a much more manageable list as we are currently only expecting one official visitor.

There will undoubtedly be additional unofficial visitors added to the list as the game approaches.

 

Official Visitor:

Myron Cunningham – 2019 Offensive lineman – JUCO Iowa City C.C. – OU Offer

 

Unofficial Visitors:

Jontavis Roberston – 2020 Wide Receiver – Jones County HS, Gray, GA

Alec Bryant – 2020 Defensive lineman – Shadow Creek, Pearland, TX – OU Offer