Weekend Open Post | August 8th – 10th
Posted on: August 8, 2025
Sourced Note | Michigan Aware of the Atmosphere
– Charlie S – Posted on: August 5, 2025
***Spoke to a source around Michigan who noted that the biggest problem for Michigan quarterback Bryce Underwood, when facing Oklahoma, will likely be the hostile road environment in Norman, combined with his inexperience as a true freshman.
***Playing at Oklahoma presents a significant challenge for a 17-year-old quarterback in just his second college game and Brent Venables is known to run some complicated looks, particularly when he smells blood in the water…or has a freshman QB going against his defense.
*** The source said Sherrone Moore and his staff are concerned that the setting might amplify early-season jitters, which tend to plague ballyhooed freshmen. This is one area they will focus on over the next month with Underwood. Prepping him for the environment.
***Oklahoma’s defense is one of the toughest defenses Michigan will face early (and throughout) in the season, adding even more pressure to perform against a seasoned opponent. The strength of the Sooners’ defense lies in the front seven, which should limit the run game and find some success in getting into the backfield while getting some licks in on Underwood.
***Underwood’s spring game performance showed flashes, but also showed growing pains, such as errant throws, delay-of-game penalties, and a fumble, indicating he was still adjusting to the college level.
***Source said early in fall camp, he is still making freshmen mistakes (as you would expect), but he is also making strides in regard to recognition and execution. While source is confident that Underwood will have an excellent career and a solid season, right now, source believes Underwood will need to lean heavily on his legs and the Michigan run game if the Wolverines are going to be able to move the ball effectively against the Sooners.
Speaking of Michigan…
– Super K – Posted on: August 5, 2025
In case you missed it, earlier today, Charlie posted some sourced notes about the Michigan game.
As you know, I’ve been passing along some of the insider NFL scout takes on the upperclassmen from teams OU will face this season.
So, a quick look here at Michigan…
On one of the insider scout compilations, I noted that they see the Sooners as having at least eight potential NFL draft picks from the upperclassmen.
According to that same group of scouts, they see this Michigan team with about five.
Another list I have that really focuses on seniors, has it seven to six in favor of the Sooners.
Although interestingly, all those guys for Michigan are on defense and all but one are on the front seven. Whereas the Sooners have guys on the list like Burks at WR and Gracen Halton at DT (who is projected hire than Damonic right now).
So, again on paper, the Sooners seemed to be the better team than Michigan.
This is a game the Sooners have to win. They have so many advantages in this game. A loss would be devastating. A win is a win over a traditional powerhouse on national television which could go a long way in rehabilitating the Sooners bruised reputation.
In my opinion, OU’s season will be decided at home against Michigan and Auburn. I know the back half of the schedule is much more difficult but I don’t think this team has a problem matching talent. If it has a problem, it’ll be knowing how to win. Going into the Texas game 5-0 with that Mateer swagger feels like a set up for a great run.
Sourced Fall Camp Notes | August 5th
– Charlie S – Posted on: August 5, 2025
Spoke to a source following today’s practice and wanted to pass along the latest!
***First, Ryan Fodje’s name is one that keeps coming up when talking about battles along the OL. Source believes Fodje is a guy who is making a strong case to break into the starting lineup. Was told he is consistent and very coachable. Source said, “He’s been a guy that you don’t have to tell things twice to”.
***With the pads coming on, the physicality has ratcheted up as expected according to source. Was told there have been some bumps and bruises, particularly at the RB spot early this week, which has given Tory Blaylock an opportunity to shine. Xavier Robinson and Taylor Tatum are still limited and Jadyn Ott got dinged up today (before anyone asks, no, right now, none of these appear to be serious injuries), and Blaylock has responded with big plays over the last two days.
***OL still seems to be Sexton – EPL – Everett – Febechi – Taylor (with Simmons on the shelf for a couple days). Was told the DL is starting to take advantage on the OL right now and today was not one of their better showings. Normal stuff for camp as the defense should be ahead of the offense at this point. Was told Fodje and Ozaeta are starting to mix in more as Bedenbaugh is looking for the right five. OU is expecting Simmons back shortly.
***The wide receiving corps has gotten some pretty nice praise for holding onto the ball and coming up with some really nice contested catches. Source said Zion Kearney and Isaiah Sategna continue to lead the charge. Source also mentioned that Josiah Martin made a big play today.
***Was told Huggins, Kanak, and Kent have separated themselves at TE and yes, Kaden Helms is hurt (hand) but he should be back in a couple of days once the pain eases and he is fitted with a protective piece of equipment.
***Was told the EDGE room has turned it up over the last couple of days. Sounds like MJJ has really found another gear and been very disruptive. Source also brought up PJ Adebawore once again, saying he has started to stack days. Was told Danny Okoye continues to flash, just needs to find consistency.
***If you are interested in reading all of the sourced Notes from Fall camp and watching all of the raw footage we post from the media viewing sessions, go check out the Donor Board.
Why Every Injury Does Not Need to Be Reported On…Example 5,329
– Charlie S – Posted on: August 6, 2025
James is out at practice…
***Jadyn Ott, Kaden Helms (with protective device on hand), and Deion Burks (as I reported yesterday) are all suited out.
***Expect them to remain somewhat limited throughout camp, but by no means is there a major concern about their availability for the season.
***Again…guys miss practice/get dinged up every day.
Sourced Notes | Fall Camp | August 6th Practice
– Charlie S – Posted on: August 6, 2025
Spoke to a source following today’s practice, and just a couple of real quick notes I wanted to pass along…
***First…the offense won the day. One day after what may have been their roughest outing of the fall, source tells me the offense did some nice work today.
***Was told it was Mateer leading the charge and Josiah Martin (remember him from yesterday’s notes?) and Isaiah Sategna had big plays.
***Source said Carson Kent has really been a pleasant surprise in the passing game as well and he continued that theme today.
***Source mentioned Keontez Lewis as a guy who had a couple of big plays and Elijah Thomas got loose for a big play.
***On the OL, was told it was Luke Baklenko coming in at right tackle to give Jake Taylor some relief after Taylor got dinged up.
***Defensively, source simply noted that Marvin Jones Jr, Reggie Powers, and Courtland Guillory stood out to them. Always good to hear about guys in the secondary standing out.
***Lastly, was told Taylor Tatum should be back sooner rather than later after nursing a hammy and was told Gracen Halton is ready to go but OU wants him to have a few extra days of rest.
Follow up on Jake Kreul
– Super K – Posted on: August 7, 2025
In case you missed it, yesterday, Charlie posted a trending note on Jake Kreul (HERE).
I’d like to add just a bit of clarification that I received from a source…
***I do not believe this is a money issue.
***As Charlie has previously noted, Kreul has liked OU but wanted to see how the Sooners perform during the season. But with the sped up timeline, that isn’t possible before the decision…
***The source I checked with said the issue for Kreul remains the questions surrounding the security of the staff and their performance this upcoming season.
***Source said that if Texas does land Kreul, it might not be over. Source said if the Sooners perform well this season, then Kreul could be on flip watch.
***So regardless of what happens in this one, it will remain one to watch. And Charlie has heard that the OU staff continues to stay in touch with Kreul.
Fall Camp Buzz…or Lack Thereof
– Charlie S – Posted on: August 7, 2025
We are just over a week into fall camp (sure feels like it’s been longer, doesn’t it?), and we have put out a ton of sourced notes already.
It’s always nice to hear the names of guys who are standing out and excelling during camp. Those are the guys sources want to talk about as well as it is an exciting time!
However, there is the other side of fall camp, the guys who we are not hearing much about. Is it always a case of a guy underperforming? Is it a case of a guy simply doing his job as expected? Is it a case of a guy not making the wow plays that catch your eye?
Bottom line, there are still three weeks of camp left and two scrimmages which will give every player a chance to get their name out there with some buzz around it!
Here are five guys who I thought we would be hearing more buzz around at this point of camp:
LB Taylor Heim – Heim is entering his third fall camp and while he has only made two appearances in two seasons (Arkansas State/Maine) there was a bit of a groundswell of buzz around him in the spring. Heim came to Norman as a project, and he still has plenty of time to develop as he has three years of eligibility remaining, but to this point of fall camp, he has been very quiet. Heim has been working at the cheetah spot and getting some LB work as well, and it may simply be a case of needing additional time to develop, but right now, it sure does feel like there should be some to this point of fall camp around a kid who is a very good athlete and someone Venables is intrigued with.
DB Peyton Bowen – Aside from the big reveal that he is healthy, let’s face it, at least from our sources, there has not been a ton of buzz around Bowen so far this camp. Yes, he is penciled in as the starter opposite RSJ and he will likely begin in that position for game one snap one, but there has been substantially more buzz around Jayden Hardy and particularly Reggie Powers at the safety spot early in fall camp than there has been around Bowen. Would be nice to hear about him having a big scrimmage coming up to get a little more juice around him.
WR Zion Ragins – Ragins took the third most number of snaps last season at WR for the Sooners, and to this point of fall camp, he has been a ghost from sources and very rarely caught on camera from the media. Maybe he is simply keeping his head down and working, but the new influx of WRs has certainly pushed him out of being a featured name. I did ask about him last week and was told he is out there practicing and still has all that speed. Just has not been able to harness it to this point of camp, and a couple big plays in the next couple of days and the scrimmage would be nice to hear.
OL Isaiah Dent – He’s out there. We’ve seen him. Dent did suffer an injury and missed most of the spring, but this is a guy who was one more injury to another player away from starting for the Sooners last year on the OL. At this time, he is likely going to start the season on the scout team by the looks of things unless he picks the pace up in fall camp. With the injury bug already causing some guys to miss time (nothing long-term) on the OL (at tackle), I was expecting to hear Dents name a bit closer to the top of the rotation than what we have heard to this point.
LB James Nesta – Nesta enters his second fall camp as a Sooner, coming off a redshirt year as a freshman, which saw him play in the first game of the season (Temple) and the last game of the season (Navy) in one capacity or another. Nesta dedicated himself to football in the offseason, and there were some accolades thrown his way in the spring from sources and BV himself. His inclusion on this list isn’t as much of a ‘what’s going on’ as much as it is ‘he’s a guy we may hear more about as fall camp goes on’. Nesta has a full four years of eligibility, and he will likely be in the 3-deep this season. He does have a bit of a label as a very hard hitter, so I would not be shocked to hear his name more as camp goes on.
Interested to read your thoughts on who you thought we would be hearing more about in fall camp at this point.
