Weekend Open Post | January 17th – 19th
Posted on: January 17, 2025
Look Ahead | 2025 Quarterback Room
– Charlie S – Posted on: January 11, 2025
With the 2024 season in the books and most of the winter portal work done, it is time to look ahead to the 2025 season.
I will go through the position rooms one by one and note who left, who remains, and who is coming in.
Obviously, the spring transfer portal window can and will have an impact on some of the rooms, but we will cross that bridge when we come to it.
Previous look ahead:
Today we will look at the Quarterback Room:
Who is out:
QB – Jackson Arnold (portal) – 6’1 211 – 2 years of eligibility – 63.0 PFF rating – 632 snaps
QB – Brendan Zurbrugg (portal) – 6’2 202 – 4 years of eligibility
QB – Casey Thompson – 6’0 192 – Exhausted eligibility
Who returns:
QB – Michael Hawkins – 6’1 204 – 3 years of eligibility – 61.5 PFF rating – 296 snaps
Who is coming in:
QB – John Mateer (portal) – 6’1 219 – 2 years of eligibility – 81.2 PFF rating – 798 snaps
QB – Cole Gonzales (portal) – 6’0 195 – 1 year of eligibility – 69.5 PFF rating – 603 snaps
QB – Jett Niu – 6’2 185 – 4 years of eligibility
Outlook:
On paper, no other team in the country made the upgrade at QB that the Sooners did through the portal.
The Sooners brought in the top player in the portal (pshhh, stop it with the Carson Beck talk, Mateer laps him) in John Mateer. While Jackson Arnold may have a higher ceiling, John Mateer has put up the far better stats and has looked a lot better doing his job than Arnold ever has to this point.
Mateer will enter spring ball as the unquestioned QB1 as he rejoins his former offensive coordinator, Ben Arbuckle in Norman for the 2025 season.
Cole Gonzales was a sneaky good pickup for the Sooners as he will afford Mike Hawkins the opportunity to sit a year behind Mateer while hopefully taking a redshirt. I say hopefully because the only reason Mike Hawkins should burn a redshirt next year is if John Mateer were to be injured, and nobody wants to go through that again.
Jackson Arnold may go on to have a great couple of seasons at Auburn, but there really should be no looking back on this one as it was a no-brainer to bring in Mateer and pair him with Arbuckle as the Sooners desperately need an offensive upgrade.
Last season Mateer went 239 for 347 (64.6) for 3,139 yards (9.0 average) with 29 TDs and 7 INTs. He also ran the ball 178 times for 826 yards (4.6 YPC) and 15 TDs.
Last season Arnold went 154 for 246 (62.6) for 1,421 yards (5.8 average) with 12 TDs and 3 INTs. He also ran the ball 150 times for 444 yards (2.9 YPC) and 3 TDs.
Last season Gonzales went 205 for 332 (61.7) for 2,543 yards (7.6 average) with 12 TDs and 7 INTs. He also ran the ball 64 times for 212 yards (3.3 YPC) and 2 TDs.
Last season Hawkins went 76 for 120 (63.3) for 783 yards (6.5 average) with 3 TDs and 2 INTs. He also ran the ball 69 times for 204 yards (3.0 YPC) with 1 TD.
One takeaway that jumped out to me was the average yards gained per attempt…Mateer stands at 9.0 yards per attempt while the OU signal callers both averaged under 7 yards per attempt.
The Sooners absolutely upgraded the QB room heading into the 2025 season.
Look Ahead | 2025 Running Back Room
– Charlie S – Posted on: January 13, 2025
With the 2024 season in the books and most of the winter portal work done, it is time to look ahead to the 2025 season.
I will go through the position rooms one by one and note who left, who remains, and who is coming in.
Obviously, the spring transfer portal window can and will have an impact on some of the rooms, but we will cross that bridge when we come to it.
Previous looks ahead:
Today we will look at the Running Back Room:
Who is out:
Kalib Hicks (portal) – 6’1 209 – 3 years of eligibility – 47.0 PFF rating – 18 snaps
Who returns:
Gavin Sawchuk – 5’11 197 – 2 years of eligibility – 60.3 PFF rating – 210 snaps
Jovantae Barnes – 6’0 207 – 1 year of eligibility – 68.5 PFF rating – 383 snaps
Taylor Tatum – 5’10 196 – 3 years of eligibility – 56.4 PFF rating – 193 snaps
Sam Franklin – 5’10 199 – 1 year of eligibility – 61.7 PFF rating – 71 snaps
Xavier Robinson – 6’0 226 – 3 years of eligibility – 74.0 PFF rating – 134 snaps
Who is coming in:
Tory Blaylock – 5’10 195 – 4 years of eligibility
Outlook:
On paper, nothing really changes for the Sooners running back room as they turn the corner toward the 2025 season.
All of the guys who saw significant action return, led by Jovantae Barnes who had more than double the amount of carries (122) as the next closest guy in the running back room (56), Taylor Tatum.
Sam Franklin led the team in average yards per carry (7.3) and the departed Kalib Hicks was second in that category as he averaged 5.5 YPC.
Taylor Tatum (5.0), Xavier Robinson (4.8), and Jovantae Barnes (4.7) all had respectable YPC averages while Gavin Sawchuk (3.3) never could seem to get things going.
Barnes led the team with 577 yards and 5 TDs on the ground and no other back cracked the 300 yard mark.
The one constant over the last few seasons has been the mystery of DeMarco Murray’s rotations at the position and the reluctance to stay with what is seemingly working.
The OU running back room has talent. They have speed, size, the ability to catch the ball…it’s just lacking any real identity and seems to be without a guy who will just go out there and take the position.
Why that is? I do not know. Could it be related to the rotation and lack of any real consistency there? Sure. But right now, there are a lot more questions about the talent in the room then there should be. Each of the backs were highly coveted, yet now that they are in Norman, they have produced quite the pedestrian results.
What Went Wrong With the Offense
– Super K – Posted on: January 14, 2025
Going into last season, there was reason for optimism. The Sooners had a young gifted QB, under an experienced OC who had enough past success to land him a head coaching job.
How did it go so poorly?
Some of the blame was justifiably put on the Sooners injury situation. Some was put on the Sooners OC.
I recently spoke with a source who said the problem was a mismatch of what Brent wanted and what the OC was familiar with. Source said if JJF had been the OC hire to begin with, things would have been better, if not amazing.
Essentially source said that BV wanted to run the Baylor offense and Seth simply wasn’t strong enough in the details to do so at the level needed.
That is the sources opinion but there did seem to be some evidence for that on the field. The offense so often looked disjointed and bipolar like someone wants to do one thing but is being forced to do something else.
The point said source made is that whether it will or won’t work, now, at least, the Sooners have an OC who will run his system. Baby steps, right?
Sourced Team Note
– Charlie S – Posted on: January 14, 2025
Real quick note…
Spoke to a source earlier today and asked about their first impressions on new Sooners QB1 John Mateer.
Source said “It’s like he’s a guy who was out of town for a while and he just rolled back in. Like, he knows everybody already. He’s really easygoing and already part of the squad”.
Nothing big, but it sounds like Mateer has made a nice first impression.
Look Ahead | 2025 Tight End Room
– Charlie S – Posted on: January 15, 2025
With the 2024 season in the books and most of the winter portal work done, it is time to look ahead to the 2025 season.
I will go through the position rooms one by one and note who left, who remains, and who is coming in.
Obviously, the spring transfer portal window can and will have an impact on some of the rooms, but we will cross that bridge when we come to it.
Previous looks ahead:
Today we look at the Tight End room.
Who is out:
Bauer Sharp (portal) – 6’4 247 – 1 year of eligibility – 52.9 PFF rating – 644 snaps
Jake Roberts – 6’4 252 – 58.8 PFF rating – 346 snaps
Who returns:
Kade McIntyre – 6’3 221 – 3 years of eligibility – 56.7 PFF rating – 48 snaps
Kaden Helms – 6’5 239 – 3 years of eligibility – 48.2 PFF rating – 71 snaps
Davon Mitchell – 6’3 250 – 4 years of eligibility
Who is coming in:
Trynae Washington – 6’3 200 – 4 years of eligibility
Carson Kent (portal) – 6’4 240 – 2 years of eligibility – 57.6 PFF rating – 556 snaps
Will Huggins (portal) – 6’7 245 – 1 year of eligibility – No data from Pitt State
John Locke (portal) – 6’4 241 – 2 years of eligibility – 53.2 PFF rating – 116 snaps
Outlook:
For the fourth year in a row, the Sooners will have an entirely new set of starters at the tight end position.
Yes, you read that right. Each year for the last 4 years OU has sent out a different pair of TEs as their main guys in the room. Zero holdover from contributing members year to year for the fourth straight season.
Yet over those same four years, one thing remained constant: Joe Jon Finley has been the coach and in charge of that room. That currently remains to be the case. There is a chance that could change, but as of this time, there are no indications that anything is imminent.
When looking at the personnel returning, Davon Mitchell jumps off the paper as the guy with the highest ceiling. Mitchell was a highly rated and coveted TE in high school, but he enrolled a year early at OU and was in no position to help the Sooners last season as he needed to mature on and off the field.
Helms and McIntyre both played bit roles last season, but Helms has a long injury history and you still do not know what he will be able to give you and McIntrye was still physically maturing last season and is pretty much a blank page right now.
Then you have the new guys from the portal. Kent, Locke, and Huggins each arrive at OU while coming from much smaller programs that were playing on a different level of college ball. None of them were prolific pass catchers, and while that may not be a huge part of Ben Arbuckle’s offense, it still remains to be seen how effectively they transition to SEC ball.
Finally, is this the year Jaren Kanak gets some look on the offensive side of the ball? Right now, ahead of spring ball, Kanak seems to be this year’s DJ Graham…the guy who constantly gets rumored to be switching sides of the ball. I do not know if this is simple wish casting that has not been shot down, but I do have a source who says it is a possibility that Kanak (who was an outstanding HS offensive player with his size and speed) gets some run at the TE position in the spring. No, I am not saying a position change is in the cards, just that there is a possibility that OU will explore options with Kanak.
Any way you slice it, this year’s TE room is even more uncertain than any in the past four years, even at the top with uncertainty around the status of the coach of that room.
Gauging the Roster and the Staff
– Super K – Posted on: January 16, 2025
Charlie has been going room by room and discussing the talent. I plan to offer my overall sense of things from both the roster and coaching stand point.
But I’d like to hear where the community is in regard to both of these things?
What kind of win total can this roster achieve? And perhaps separately, what kind of win total do expect this staff to achieve with this roster?
Again, it’s two separate questions that may or may not have the same answer. What kind of win total is this roster reasonably capable of? And what do you expect this staff to get out of it?
Look Ahead | 2025 Wide Receiver Room
– Charlie S – Posted on: January 16, 2025
With the 2024 season in the books and most of the winter portal work done, it is time to look ahead to the 2025 season.
I will go through the position rooms one by one and note who left, who remains, and who is coming in.
Obviously, the spring transfer portal window can and will have an impact on some of the rooms, but we will cross that bridge when we come to it.
Previous looks ahead:
Today we look at the Wide Receiver room.
Who is out:
Jalil Farooq (portal) – 6’1 208 – 1 year of eligibility – 63.9 PFF rating – 34 snaps
Nic Anderson (portal) – 6’4 216 – 2 years of eligibility – 55.5 PFF rating – 9 snaps
Andrel Anthony (portal) – 6’1 186 – 2 years of eligibility – 46.6 PFF rating – 8 snaps
JJ Hester (portal) – 6’2 203 – 1 year of eligibility – 57.7 PFF rating – 467 snaps
Brenen Thompson (portal) – 5’9 168 – 2 years of eligibility – 54.5 PFF rating – 545 snaps
Jaquaize Pettaway (portal) – 5’10 194 – 2 years of eligibility – 61.6 PFF rating – 91 snaps
Who returns:
Jayden Gibson – 6’5 197 – 2 years of eligibility – N/A injured
Deion Burks – 5’9 194 – 1 year of eligibility – 67.0 PFF rating – 276 snaps
Zion Kearney – 6’1 206 – 3 years of eligibility – 60.7 PFF rating – 247 snaps
KJ Daniels – 5’9 161 – 4 years of eligibility – N/A redshirt DNP
Zion Ragins – 5’8 150 – 3 years of eligibility – 48.0 PFF rating – 369 snaps
Ivan Carreon – 6’6 223 – 3 years of eligibility – 56.0 PFF rating – 190 snaps
Jordan Jacob – 5’9 186 – 3 years of eligibility – 65.7 PFF rating – 283 snaps
Who is coming in:
Elijah Thomas – 6’1 185 – 4 years of eligibility
Emmanuel Choice – 6’4 195 – 4 years of eligibility
Javonnie Gibson (portal) – 6’3 205 – 3 years of eligibility – 78.5 PFF rating – 667 snaps
Keontez Lewis (portal) – 6’2 190 – 2 years of eligibility – 79.3 PFF rating – 514 snaps
Isaiah Sategna (portal) – 5’11 185 – 2 years of eligibility – 63.4 PFF rating – 599 snaps
Josiah Martin (portal) – 5’11 170 – 3 years of eligibility – 65.8 PFF rating – 136 snaps
Outlook:
The Sooners lost a bunch of high-ceiling guys to the portal this offseason as Nic Anderson, Andrel Anthony, and Jaquaize Pettaway all sought greener pastures outside of Norman. Brenen Thompon, JJ Hester and Jalil Farooq also took their talents to the portal.
Last season, that group of guys accounted for all of 42 catches and 3 touchdowns.
OU was very aggressive in the portal with respect to adding talent to the room. Javonnie Gibson, Isaiah Sategna, Keontez Lewis, and Josiah Martin decided that their next stop would be in Norman, Oklahoma.
Last season, that group of guys accounted for 168 catches and 15 touchdowns.
Javonnie Gibson alone had more catches (70) and touchdowns (9) than all six of the OU portal defections had…combined.
Coach Emmett Jones completely reset his room ahead of the 2025 season and it was badly needed as Brent Venables preaches that the best ability is availability, and last year, there was a serious lack of availability in the OU WR room. Coach Jones brought in some size, some speed, and some dependable hands from the portal this cycle.
While the new additions from the portal may not have the ceilings of say Nic Anderson and Andrel Anthony, they have displayed the ability to be efficient pass catchers and polished route runners and they all played a lot of snaps, which is something that cannot be said for most of the guys who left.
I like each of the new guys and if OU can get Deion Burks to stay healthy and Jayden Gibson to get healthy, the wide receiver room has a chance to be much more effective next season.
The Sooners also add two exciting freshmen to the roster in Thomas and Choice and I think both of them could (and will) push for time in the rotation. Source tells me both of these guys have shined in early testing since arriving on campus and some folks are pumped about their potential impact this coming season.
Heading into the 2025 season, there should be a very real sense of optimism around the wide receiver room. Count me among the optimistic.
Look Ahead | 2025 Offense Confidence Rankings
– Charlie S – Posted on: January 16, 2025
Now that I have dropped all the ‘Look Ahead’ write ups on the offensive side of the ball, I thought it would be interesting to read your thoughts on which rooms you have the most confidence in and which rooms you have the least confidence in.
You can find all the write-ups here, just click the link:
Here is how I rank my confidence in the rooms from top to bottom.
In order of confidence:
1. Quarterback – Clear hierarchy, good depth, high ceiling – high floor, familiar with offensive scheme, previous relationship with coaches. Concern: Few major concerns, obvious health of Mateer will be important.
2. Offensive Line – Lots of competition, good depth, some elite prospects, good athleticism, proven coach. OU should have very good competition at the tackle spots and some of those guys will likely slide over and compete for interior time should they lose on the tackle spots. Concern: Lack of a true backup center right now, Bedenbaughs general reluctance to play younger more talented players, and finding leaders to step up with Troy Everett to bring back the OLU mindset.
3. Wide Receiver – OU has a bunch of established wide receivers mixed with some potentially very good youngsters. Deion Burks and Jayden Gibson (when healthy) should be the headliners. Concern: Last years lack of development of any wide receiver, keeping Burks on the field, lack of any other proven WR1 types. Emmett Jones has his work cut out for him and he needs to produce some tangible development.
4. Running Back – There is a lot of talent in the running back room and right now, all the impact players from last year return. You have some high end young guys and some quality veterans. Concern: We have no idea what happens with the running back rotation each year and fumbles were a concern with OU’s most complete back, Taylor Tatum. I could see some movement here in the spring, but any way you slice it, DeMarco Murray has to get this room functioning at a higher level.
5. Tight End – Momma always said if you have nothing nice to say, don’t say anything. Seriously though, no idea what to expect from this room as every year under joe Jon Finley there have been new starters. Once this years starters are identified, we can get into the strengths and weaknesses deeper, but right now, this is not a bright spot on the offense. OU has brought in 3 guys from the portal, and they may not be done. Concerns: Everything.
Interested to read how you rank your confidence in the rooms ahead of spring ball!
