Open Post | Weekend, October 7th – 9th
Posted on: October 7, 2022
Quick Hitter | 2025 Five Star Devin Sanchez
– CJ Vogel – Posted on: October 5, 2022
Last Thursday I made the trip down to Houston to catch 2025 cornerback Devin Sanchez in action.
Now, you may be thinking – “CJ, don’t talk to me this week.” OR “CJ, this is a 2025 kid, who cares?”
Well, this is a 2025 prospect to care about. If you are unfamiliar with Sanchez, now is the time to get to know him. He stands at 6’2.5″ and moves extremely well. I actually had a source in the Houston area last year tell me he was going to be the best DB to come through North Shore all while Denver Harris was still on roster and before he ever played a varsity snap.
The kid is legit.
Anyways, Sanchez told me after the game the two schools recruiting him the hardest so far is Oklahoma and Alabama.
Sanchez mentioned his relationship with Jay Valai has been the best of any coach he has spoken with so far and that the Sooners are in a very good position early in his recruitment.
Of course, it is early, but Sanchez mentioned the Sooners were his favorites right now.
Sourced Notes | Team
– Charlie S – Posted on: October 5, 2022
Working on getting a clearer picture of the walking wounded for y’all and here is what I have come up with at this point…
***QB Dillon Gabriel still in protocol obviously. Will go through additional testing at some point here soon, but it sounds like he is in good spirits and been around the team (video evidence confirms that). I wouldn’t count on him for Saturday, but I also would not rule him out…so in other words, nothing new there.
***Where that leaves OU at the QB position…that is being held very close to the vest as you would expect and to be blunt, the source I spoke to said ‘Don’t even ask me about QB’. I respected that.
***Was told Billy Bowman is ‘doing some things’ in regard to seeing if he can go, right now it sounds like nothing structural, but with how these things go, I cannot 100% say what the issue is. I have had 2 sources indicate it is not structural, but neither of them were doctors so take that for what it is worth. I would be surprised if he is able to go at this point though, but hey, surprises can be good.
***Sounds like Justin Harrington is getting the bulk of the snaps in place of Bowman, but source also mentioned that Jayden Rowe and RSJ are getting a lot more reps in practice this week. Now, Rowe is a guy who has been working at corner, and I am not clear if he is getting additional reps there or at safety, but I will look to clarify…I could see both positions needing some help…injuries or no injuries.
***Have not had any update on Wanya Morris still, but from what I was told earlier in the week, it would not be shocking to see him play. I will check in on that as the week progresses but it does sound like Harrison and Raym will be out there to start the game.
***Asked about Stripling and R Mason Thomas, source said they are practicing…but to be fair, we had heard that about Thomas for the last 2 weeks and he didn’t even travel last week. At any rate, source said they ‘expect them both to play’.
Red River Shootout Visitors
– Charlie S – Posted on: October 6, 2022
The Sooners are the designated home team for the 2022 Red River Shootout.
They get to invite recruits to come to the game.
OU is not allowed to interact with the recruits since it is being played at a neutral site, so this is simply a game invite, it is not like they get to host them or anything.
Below are some of the recruits who have indicated they will be in attendance:
Jackson Arnold – 23 – QB – OU Commit
Josh Bates – 23 – OL – OU Commit
Jaquaize Pettaway – 23 – WR OU Commit
Anthony Evans – 23 – WR – OU Commit
Erik McCarty – 23 – ATH – OU Commit
Makari Vickers – 23 – DB – OU Commit
Samuel Omosigho – 23 – LB – OU Commit
Kalib Hicks – 23 – RB – OU Commit
Colton Vasek – 23 – DE – OU Commit
Johnny Bowens – 23 – DL
Ryan Yaites – 23 DB – LSU Commit
Peyton Bowen – 23 DB – ND Commit
Davhon Keys – 2024 – LB
Michael Hawkins – 2024 – QB
Payton Pierce – 2024 – LB
Casey Poe – 24 – OL
Caden Durham – 24 – RB
Eli Bowen – 24 – DB
Micah Hudson – 24 – WR
Devin Sanchez – 25 – DB
Sourced Notes | Team | Injury Updates Part 2
– Charlie S – Posted on: October 6, 2022
***Super K passed along a note last night that he had a source tell him that offensive lineman Wanya Morris ‘Is good to go’ this week. As you know I mentioned HERE that I would not be surprised to see him play based on what I heard earlier in the week, but I was not able to confirm anything in the update yesterday. Good news from K on that.
***As many of you saw on social media last night, there was a clip put out by OU Football on Twitter that gave a glimpse of QB Dillon Gabriel at practice in pads. I was curious if that was an editing slip up or perhaps footage from a previous occasion. I cannot confirm if that footage was from yesterday or not, but I have been told by two sources that Gabriel was indeed at practice and in pads yesterday.
I cannot confirm how much he participated and I think it is important to remember that just because he was physically there and in pads, it does not mean he has been or will be cleared to go on Saturday.
Either way, it is a good sign to see Dillon up and about.
One on One’s | OU vs Texas – 2022
– Charlie S – Posted on: October 6, 2022
This week the Sooners head to the Cotton Bowl to take on Texas in the 2022 Red River Shootout!
For those of you who are joining us for the first time, this weekly piece will highlight two matchups in the upcoming game that are imperative for Oklahoma to win for them to be successful on the scoreboard when the clock hits 0:00.
Lots of uncertainty in Norman coming off back-to-back disappointing performances against Kansas State and TCU.
The Sooners face another stiff test as the Texas offense can be explosive.
The Horns are off to a 3-2 start under second-year head coach Steve Sarkisian and I am sure they are looking forward to the opportunity to test the Sooners.
Let’s take a look!
One on One Number One:
Oklahoma Linebacker Danny Stutsman vs Texas Running Back Bijan Robinson
This is a matchup made in hell for the Sooners right now as Stutsman has not only struggled with his assignments of late, but he has been poor with his tackling efficiency as well. Stutsman has 10 missed tackles on the year and the majority of them have come in the last 2 weeks.
Bijan Robinson on the other hand is a missed tackle waiting to happen even in the best of times as he is among the most elusive backs in the country. Not only does Bijan make guys miss, but he also is a tackle breaking specialist as his YAC is also among the nations best.
Last year in the Cotton Bowl, Robinson ran for 137 yards on 20 carries, the bulk of which came in the first half and OU did a solid job on him in the second half of their historic comeback.
The cut-back lanes will be there for Robinson and the opportunity to take advantage of over-aggression on the part of Stutsman is a major concern right now. Stutsman and Ugwoegbu have to be assignment-sound and not try to play hero ball on Bijan, otherwise, it could be another very long day for the Sooners defense.
One on One Number Two:
Oklahoma Center Andrew Raym vs Texas Interior Defensive Lineman Keondre Coburn
Whether or not Dillon Gabriel plays is obviously a concern for the OU offense, but that concern could be secondary if Andrew Raym cannot keep pressure from the middle out of the Sooners backfield.
Coburn has had the best start to any of his seasons in Austin and it appears that the light has come on and he is getting closer to reaching his potential.
Raym had a decent game against TCU, but in the past, big strong interior defenders who are quick off the ball have given him some problems as he tries to match them strength on strength instead of using his technique.
Keondre has had a breakout year in regard to getting pressure (17 pressures) and hurries on the QB (15) through the seasons first 5 games.
Chances are the Sooners will try to be even more run centric than they have been to this point of the season and the battle in the middle will go a long way in deciding if the Sooners can effectively move the ball with an uncertain QB situation.
If OU is going to run the ball effectively and consistently, it will most likely have to start with being able to run between the tackles as the Horns do have plenty of speed on the edges to play that game. OU will need to be able to mix and match in the run game and if they can’t move some people in the middle, it could become a problem.
Other One on One Matchups to Keep an Eye On:
Oklahoma CB Woodi Washington vs Texas WR Xavier Worthy (Worthy had 9 receptions for 261 yards last year)
Oklahoma WR Marvin Mims vs Texas DB Jahdae Barron (Mims had 5 receptions for 136 last year)
2022 Freshman Redshirt Tracker
– Charlie S – Posted on: October 6, 2022
Was going to put this out in the morning, but with the thinning of the herd at linebacker due to Shane Whitter being injured and out for the season, I thought now would be a good time to look at the freshmen redshirt tracker.
So far, four members of the class of ’22 have burned their redshirts and four others have no more ‘free’ games to play so they could lose their redshirts in the near future:
QB Nick Evers – 0 games
RB Jovantae Barnes – 5 games cannot redshirt
RB Gavin Sawchuk – 2 games
Nic Anderson – 2 games
WR Jayden Gibson – 4 games RS limit
TE Kaden Helms – 3 games
TE Jason Llewelyn – 5 games cannot redshirt
OL Jacob Sexton – 4 games RS limit
OL Jake Taylor – 4 games RS limit
DL Gracen Halton – 4 games RS limit
DL Kevonte Henry – 0 games
DL Cedric Roberts – 0 games
DL Alton Tarber – 0 games
DL R Mason Thomas – 2 games
LB Jaren Kanak – 5 games cannot redshirt
LB Kip Lewis – 0 games
LB Kobie McKinzie – 0 games
DB Jamarrien Burt – 0 games
DB Robert Spears-Jennings – 1 game
DB Jayden Rowe – 1 game
DB Gentry Williams – 5 games cannot redshirt
