Open Post | Weekend, November 19th – 21st
Posted on: November 19, 2021
Additional Official Visitor
– Charlie S – Posted on: November 17, 2021
Just got off the phone with James who let me know that the Sooners are expecting to host ’22 EDGE Jaishawn Barham (6’3 230) out of St Frances Academy in District Heights, MD
Barham is a guy we have mentioned a few times over the past couple weeks. HERE and HERE
He is teammates with OU defensive line commit Derrick Moore and he holds a ton of offers from around the country.
Will add him to the visitor list, but this is a very interesting development.
Iowa State Visitor List
– Charlie S – Posted on: November 17, 2021
Current list of recruits OU expects to be in Norman this weekend for the Iowa State Game:
Official:
’22 RB Jovantae Barnes (6’0 190) out of Las Vegas, NV (Desert Pines HS)
’22 EDGE Jaishawn Barham (6’3 230) out of District Heights, MD (St Frances Academy)
Unofficial:
’22 JUCO DT Jeffrey M’ba (6’6 305) out of Independence CC (Kansas)
’23 DL David Hicks (6’4 250) out of Allen, TX
’23 DL Hunter Osborne (6’3 250) out of Trussville, AL
’23 LB Phil Picciotti (6’3 225) out of Perkasie, PA
’23 DL Derrick LeBlanc (6’4 250) Kissimmee, FL
’23 WR Ashton Cozart (6’3 180) Flower Mound, TX *Trying to get there
Commits:
’22 OL Jacob Sexton
’22 DB Gentry Williams
’22 TE Kaden Helms
’22 DB Robert Spears Jennings
’23 WR Brandon Inniss
’23 RB Treyaun Webb
’22 DB Jayden Rowe
’23 QB Malachi Nelson
The Preseason Reports vs the Season
– Super K – Posted on: November 16, 2021
Not to pat ourselves on the back but just as a matter of fact, when we’ve brought names to you in the preseason via our sources, those players typically pan out during the season. This isn’t always the case but certainly most of the time.
It isn’t a pat on the back because the reality is, it isn’t our assessment of the players. We simply bring you insider assessments of the players and their development. The folks around the program are usually very good at getting an early sense of who, during the offseason, is making strides or what young players will make an early impact.
As I was thinking through some of the issues that need to be resolved at OU to put them back on the championship path, it occurred to me that this is the first time that I can remember where what we were told about players during the off-season and the team, in general, was so different than the actual outcome.
The reality is that sources around the program felt his team was going to be very good and there were a number of players who were supposed to take a big step forward. There were young players who were supposed to make major contributions.
I tried to conjecture a bit on why the difference in results vs expectations this year. And what I keep coming back to is that there is something in the overall will and discipline of the team that seems to be at issue. This team doesn’t compete with itself. It plays down to its competition.
This team was in a dog fight with Kansas and Tulane. If you actually think the talent between OU and Kansas and Tulane are comparable, you’d be wrong.
For the most part, they continue to play down to their competition. They turn it on when they feel like turning it on rather than coming out ready to win every single snap.
That feels like a team that lacks accountability. Accountability comes from good leadership and the question is, where is that leadership lacking?
We will discuss this further but I think there is clearly something that needs to be addressed in the off-season; demands and accountability. Additionally, there seems to be a lack of player leadership driving accountability.
The bad thing is, it may cost a very talented OU team a run at the championship in a year when a number of teams are down. The good news is, it’s not a major overhaul. It can be fixed fairly easily if the intention is there.
Know Your Opponent | Iowa State
– Charlie S – Posted on: November 18, 2021
Head Coach – Matt Campbell (6th Season at ISU)
Offensive Coordinator – Tom Manning (4th Season at ISU, 2nd as OC)
Defensive Coordinator – Jon Heacock (6th Season at ISU)
The Iowa State Cyclones are 6-4 (4-3) heading into this matchup and are coming off of a last-second 41-38 loss on the road at Texas Tech. The Cyclones have lost their last 2 road games (West Virginia & TTU) and also lost at Baylor earlier in the season. They did manage to squeak by Kansas State on the road and beat up UNLV on the road. They do not appear to travel well this year.
On Offense …
The Cyclones are a Power Spread Offense that emphasizes controlling the line of scrimmage and protecting the Football. They’re all about playing complimentary ball for the Defense and they are very similar in the way that they approach everything much like last week’s opponent, Baylor. Iowa State is going to attempt to control the contest with their running game and they will utilize their tight ends Charlie Kolar and Chase Allen to exploit OU’s Safeties and Linebackers in coverage.
QB –#15 Brock Purdy
RB – #28 Breece Hall*
– Purdy is 1-2 in his career against Oklahoma but each game has been close. Purdy has just 16 total touchdowns this season through 10 contests and he has thrown 6 interceptions, so naturally, expect OU to make him look like a first round QB if things transpire normally.
– Breece Hall was considered one of the top RBs in the Big XII heading into this season by many. He is second in the conference in rushing (1.172 yards) behind Baylor’s Smith, and will be in the NFL a year from now. He’s also added 246 yards as a receiver.
WR – #8 Xavier Hutchinson
WR – #2 Sean Shaw
WR – #1 Tarique Milton
TE – #88 Charlie Kolar*
– Hutchinson is the team leader in receptions, yards, and touchdowns. He had 10 receptions for 114 yards in the Big 12 championship game against OU last year. He’s a tall (6’3) possession guy that can go up and get it.
– Milton is small, but he’s a big-play threat that can take the top off of a defense with his speed. Oklahoma shouldn’t let him wind up matched up with any of their Safeties.
– Kolar is the best Receiving TE in the conference and is another guy that will be in the NFL a year from now and Allen may be the second best TE in the conference. What a joy.
LT – #75 Sean Foster
LG – #52 Trevor Downing
C – #57 Collin Newell
RG – #55 Darrell Simmons Jr.
RT – #64 Derek Schweiger
– Veteran group with all 5th or 6th year players except for the Right Guard, who is a Redshirt Junior. This group wants to mash as opposed to pass setting.
– Newell was a 1st Team All Big XII selection last season at Center.
On Defense …
The Cyclones have utilized a 3-Man front in the past, but they’ve been a 4-Man front this year under Jon Heacock and it’s been the right move. Iowa State’s front seven is good. They have been so sound defensively because they have been able to generate pressure this season without having to blitz much and leave the Secondary exposed. This is a very mature, seasoned Defense that the Sooners and Caleb Williams will be facing this weekend.
DE – #9 Will McDonald IV*
NT – #56 J.R. Singleton
DT – #58 Eyioma Uwazurike*
DE – #55 Zach Petersen
– McDonald and Uwazurike are the problems up front. They have combined for a ton of TFLs and have accounted for 17.5 sacks this season (10 sacks for McDonald alone). These two present a real challenge for the Sooners offensive line.
– The rest of the team has combined for a total of 5.5 sacks.
– Petersen is no slouch himself and has played a ton of Big XII snaps during his time in Ames.
MIKE – #34 O’Rien Vance
SAM – #23 Mike Rose *
WILL – #35 Jake Hummel
– Rose is and has been a mainstay at this spot for years. Very solid group of LBs that don’t make many mistakes or miss many tackles. They can be attacked in coverage. Vance has 9.5 career sacks from his LB position.
CB – #26 Anthony Johnson Jr.
MS – #1 Isheem Young
FS – #19 Kym-Mani King
SS – #12 Greg Eisworth II*
CB – #25 T.J. Tampa
– Eisworth has been around FOREVER and earlier in his career was considered one of the top DBs in the conference.
– Young leads the team with 2 INTs. I don’t feel like their Corners are anything special.
Overall Thoughts…
– I wish I had better news for OU coming off the loss to Baylor, but the only way I see this playing out is as a one possession game that either team could win. The Sooners have the advantage of being home as we know ISU does not travel well. ISU is coming off a loss and they really have little to play for as they are 6-4 and no matter what happens, they are destined for a lower tier bowl game.
– The Sooners are also coming off a loss, their first of the season and they still have many, not all, of their goals in reach as they currently have the inside track to be the top seed in the Big 12 championship game should they win out (easier to say than do). It will be interesting to see the energy this team comes out with on Senior Day on Saturday. Maybe it will spark them, I don’t know, but aside from brief glimpses, we have not seen a truly energized OU team at all this season.
– On the field, you know what Iowa State will try to do offensively. They will run Hall, look for the Tight Ends early and often to move the chains, and then try to get over top every now and then with Hutchinson. It’s a winning recipe against the Sooners who have demonstrated little ability to cover short routes and were porous against the run last week. Coming into the Baylor game, there was a false sense of security for the Sooners in the run game as they were ranked 17th in the country in YPG allowed. Following the Baylor game, they dropped all the way to 38th in the country in YPG allowed. Not great Bob. Look for ISU to try to exploit the run early and often and should OU have some success stopping, or slowing them down, watch for the TE’s to come into play more frequently.
– On defense, the fact that Iowa State is getting so much pressure from McDonald and Uwazurike allows them to stay home and not send extra men. That will be a challenge for Caleb Williams who looked completely lost against Baylor last week and now faces his first taste of failure. It will be intriguing to see how he comes out. This game offensively for the Sooners will likely be another low possession game and OU will have to grind out long drives early on if they hope to be successful. Williams will have to be responsible with the ball and use his check-downs. Lincoln Riley would do Williams a favor by introducing more of a QB run game as well as some more quick passes (Screens/Slants/Curls) to give the ISU defense a new look.
– A lot of what happens on the field on Saturday will come down to the attitudes of both teams coming off losses that signified something very different for each of them. For Iowa State, they are now only playing for pride. For OU, they are still playing for trophies. Who washes the bad taste out of their mouths better may be the team who walks off the field with the win this week.
One on One | Iowa State
– Charlie S – Posted on: November 18, 2021
The Sooners are back home in Norman following their first loss of the season which they took from Baylor down in Waco.
The Sooners were physically dominated and for the first time this year, Caleb Williams looked like a true freshman against the best defense he had faced to this point.
The Iowa State defense is statistically much better than Baylor’s.
Iowa State is coming off a shocking loss of their own against Texas Tech in Lubbock and they have shown to be less than stellar on the road this year.
Let’s take a look at a couple of ‘one on one’ matchups I will be keeping an eye on.
One on One number One:
Oklahoma Right Guard Chris Murray (and left guard Marquis Hayes) vs Iowa State Defensive Lineman Eyioma Uwazurike
Eyioma Uwazurike is a problem. So is Will McDonald which makes the assignments along the entire offensive line that much more difficult.
While McDonald gets the majority of the headlines, in large part because he has the flashier numbers, it is my opinion that Uwazurike is the more complete player. You can have success running at McDonald and PFF backs that up with his run defense grade of 46.5.
Uwazurike has 7.5 sacks of his own and while listed as a defensive tackle on some sites and a defensive end on others, he is basically Isaiah Thomas…only better this year. He plays interior as well as on the edge depending on the call, but no matter where he lines up, he has a very strong pass rush game up the middle of the offense.
When he and McDonald line up on the same side (in some clear passing situations), they are a dynamic duo that will give the OU offensive line a test they have not seen to this point.
Uwazurike is very proficient against the run because he has the ability to live in the opponent’s backfield (and finish tackles) and all season long, the biggest weakness on the Sooners offensive line, has been the interior.
Again, you would THINK that Riley would be wise to dial up a decent helping of QB run game along with moving the pocket and getting some quick passes off. We will see.
One on One number Two:
Iowa State Tight End Charlie Kolar (and Chase Allen) vs Justin Broiles
This is the nightmare scenario, there is no other way to put it.
Not only does Kolar have eight-plus inches of height on Broiles, but he also has upwards of 70 pounds on him. (Same with Chase Allen).
Broiles is no speedster so that is not a factor in OU’s favor either so there will be receptions made and it will be up to Broiles to try to chop the giants down or at least slow them down and hope the rest of the defense can rally to the play.
You likely will see liberal use of zone against Iowa State from the OU defense, but they can, and will, isolate Broiles (as well as Fields and DTY) on their Tight Ends at times.
It’s not a pretty matchup for OU.
Now, with that said, last week against Texas Tech, the pair combined for 12 catches for about 120 yards and Tech still managed to win the game.
On the season, Kolar and Allen have combined for 60 catches and around 700 yards. You have to wonder if they could match those totals against OU this week. (Just kidding).
Any way you slice it, the Iowa State TE vs OU defense will be a matchup to pay close attention to.
Quick Hitter | Thanks Mom
– Charlie S – Posted on: November 19, 2021
Last night I was speaking to a Sooner commit who will be in Norman this weekend off the record. I was simply touching base and asking him about the vibe around the classes and who they were working on etc…
He kind of turned the tables on me and asked me what I thought about the Riley and LSU rumors. I told him my thoughts, the same ones I have shared with you, and of course, I had to preface to the recruit that I was not sharing any inside knowledge and I can’t speak in absolutes.
After I shared my thoughts, he says, ‘Yeah, that sounds about right. ‘Moms’ called coach Riley earlier this week and asked him straight up. Coach said he ain’t going anywhere, and that was good enough for her’.
The funny part is, he had me on speakerphone and I said ‘Oh man, did she really do that for you?” and I hear ‘Moms’ in the background say ‘Mhmm you know I did Charlie’.
So, take that as you may. Moms don’t play when it comes to their kid’s futures!
