Weekend Open Post | July 19th – 21st
Posted on: July 19, 2024
Is the O Line Concern Warranted?
– JY – Posted on: July 12, 2024
Like most of you I’m sure, I’ve already grown weary of the disrespect thrown at the team as a whole as the Sooners prepare to enter training camp at the end of the month. In this inaugural season in the SEC, most “experts” have Oklahoma as a middle of the pack squad, and as such have likened the Sooners to teams like Auburn, Missisippi State and so on. As I watched the SEC channel’s special on the July first entry into the conference, I was pleasantly surprised, but I was also a little put off by how little our new conference mates knew about our culture and expectations. Oklahoma Football has long been a standard of excellence. It makes my blood boil that after coming off of a 10 win season, and one in which they defeated the perennial media darling wronghorns, that the Sooners are getting so little respect.
When said experts attempt to justify why they believe the Sooners are going to struggle next year, for obvious reasons, they point to the schedule, and to the offensive line. Oklahoma had four starters who this year will be in NFL Training camps. Still, last year’s offensive line by Oklahoma standards wasn’t one of the great ones in my opinion. Yes, for the 2nd time in two years, both offensive tackles got drafted. Guyton in the 1st round (Cowboys) and Rouse in the 5th (Vikings), and the year before it was Harrison in the 1st round (Jags) and Morris in the 3rd (Chiefs). Still for some unknown reason in spite of turning out more draft picks and award winners whether as a group or individually than any other position group outside of Quarterbacks, Bedenbaugh is the coach who catches the most heat. While upgrading most of the positions from a talent standpoint across the line, which I’ll go into, Oklahoma is viewed as bereft of any ability to keep Jackson Arnold upright or to open up lanes for Sawchuk and company.
As far as the talent still on campus:
I believe you find your starters and two deep in this group.
1* Eddy Pierre Louis 6.0 4 star.
2* Jake Taylor 5.9 4 star.
3* Eugene Brooks 5.9 4 star.
4* Geirean Hatchett 5.8 4 star.
5* Michael Tarquin 5.8 4 star.
6* Jacob Sexton 5.8 4 star.
7* Spencer Brown 5.8 4 star.
8* Josh Bates 5.8 4 star.
9* Heath Ozeata 5.6 3 star.
10* Branson Hickman 5.5 3 star.
11* Febechi Nwaiwu Unranked
Left Tackle: +
Jacob Sexton vs. Walter Rouse: Rouse was a solid player. He’s good, smart and physical. Still I have to give the nod to Sexton. He’s finally going to be healthy this year and is having a hell of an offseason. While Sexton played most of last year, I was shocked that he was able to come back from an ACL so quickly. The residual effects of him missing the offseason and not being at his best were evident, but with a full offseason with Schmitty, I think we start to see the real version of Jacob Sexton. I think the Sooners will be better at Left Tackle.
Left Guard: –
This one was a tough one. Up until about halfway through the Texas game, Troy Everett was the starter until Cayden Green took over as a true freshman. He showed tons of promise and was becoming a fan favorite until he betrayed us. Now you have a fierce competition incoming between Geirean Hatchett, Heath Ozaeta & Michael Tarquin for the left guard spot. Depending on whether one of these two guys separate themselves at the spot, we could see Sexton play guard or tackle. Let’s say either Hatchett or Tarquin win the competition hands down, then Sexton can play tackle. But what happens if Bedenbaugh feels better about putting Sexton at left guard and letting Tarquin play left tackle. It could happen. Tarquin looked really good at tackle during the spring. What most people don’t realize is that both Tarquin and Hatchett were recruited heavily by Coach Bedenbaugh but went other places. I think there is a dropoff, but what you may lose in top end talent, you probably upgrade in nasty, experience & veteran guile. While there is a dropoff most likely, I don’t believe its significant.
Center: =
Branson Hickman comes in as a 2nd Team all conference selection and standout at center for the last three years at SMU. Undoubtedly he wants to show NFL scouts that he can play at a high level. He’s a 6th year senior due to covid, and will be out to prove to everyone that he can play against the defenders he’ll face in the SEC. While Andrew Raym left early to go to the NFL, he went undrafted. I thought he could have used another year at Oklahoma to improve, but he was 2nd team All Big XII and probably thought he’d get drafted. He ended up signing on as a free agent with Carolina, but his game left me somewhat wanting. There were times where he showed flashes of brilliance, but there were also times where he did things that made you scratch your head. I almost went with an upgrade here, because I believe Hickman comes in with a chip on his shoulder and something to prove. At times it felt like Raym was lackadaisical and maybe believed he was better than he was. Still while you replace a 2nd team all conference center with another 2nd team all conference center, it’s hard to justify putting Hickman above Raym. Don’t be surprised if Hickman ends up being just what the doctor ordered at the position.
Right Guard: +
If there’s one position throughout all of spring and up to now where there’s zero debate about who the guy is, it’s at right guard. In my opinion watching the spring game Febechi Nwaiwu looked like the Sooners’ best offensive lineman. He’s big, strong, powerful and physical. He was steady and looked like he’d been there for a long time. While you have to admire what McKade Mettauer was all about, and the toughness & grit he brought to the table, I just think Nwaiwu is a better player. I think once the dust settles this year we will have seen an upgrade at right guard.
Right Tackle: –
This is the one position that really has me scratching my head. You lose a 1st round draft choice at the position, but said draft choice didn’t play the last half of the season. The guy who finished the season at right tackle is now projected to be your starter at left tackle, and a number of things could happen here. If Jake Taylor and Spencer Brown struggle in fall camp, and neither separates themselves as the guy, don’t think for a minute that Bedenbaugh doesn’t put Sexton back over at right tackle and let Tarquin play left tackle with Hatchett at left guard. My hope is that Jake Taylor comes out and wins the job, and we have him and Sexton as bookends for the next couple of years. When Hickman and Hatchett/Tarquin graduate, you insert Ozeata, EPP or Eugene Brooks at left guard, and hopefully Bates is ready at center, then down the road you go in 2026. But for the meantime, it’ll be interesting how it plays out.
So I think you upgrade two positions, stay the same at one and see a dropoff at two others. But that’s just to start the season. The beauty of what Bedenbaugh is doing that he’ll never get credit for is that he’s a mastermind at building a unit. Sexton is the guy that Bedenbaugh can use to keep everyone else’s seat hot. He can play left tackle, right tackle or left guard, so Coach B can use that to move him around anywhere he wants to upgrade the unit. If Tarquin and Hatchett both have great camps, and the right tackle position struggles, just put Sexton at Right tackle. Unemployment as an offensive lineman is an amazing motivator, so if someone believes they’re going to lose their job, the level of play and preparation automatically rise. Some of these uber-talented freshmen are probably licking their chops as well thinking they may be able to get a crack. I guarantee you that the offensive line right now is getting sick and tired of being told that they’re the weak link. It’s easy to see how much talent they all have and how highly rated they all were coming out of high school. All they’re hearing is how no one respects them and they’re not any good, they’ll never hold up in the SEC and blah blah blah blah blah. Now I’m not saying that we should believe that they’ll come out and be the best offensive line in the conference, but I do believe they’ll be a lot better than people think. To hear people talk about it right now they’re not being given any respect at all. As a group I think that the offensive line has a chance to be better than they were last year. In my mind top to bottom, I think that Bedenbaugh has more talent throughout the group to pull from this year than he did last year. Honestly I’ll be disappointed if the Sooners don’t come out and prove a lot of people wrong. A big part about how good an offensive line can be depends on how quickly they can come together or “gel” as a unit. If they can come together by the Tennessee game and play at a high level, watch out. Grand-dad used to say that the only way to find out what was in the tea bag was to put it in some hot water. Like trust, the only way to get respect is to go out and earn it.
Hitting the Ground Running
– Charlie S – Posted on: July 15, 2024
The Sooners are roughly two weeks out from fall camp for the ’24 season which will be their inaugural season in the SEC.
Brent Venables has run proficient camps over the course of his first two seasons in Norman and I do not expect that to change.
However, while the procedure and practices may be the same, there are a bunch of new faces who need to carry out the task at hand which is getting prepared for the new season and the new conference.
Three areas where I think it is very important for the Sooners to hit the ground running jump out immediately to me.
The first area of focus for me is how Seth Littrell goes about his business as the new offensive coordinator. This is not Littrell’s first trip around the block, but it certainly could be considered the most prolific endeavor of his career.
I have no doubt that Littrell has his plan and his road map for getting the most out of the unit in the most efficient way possible. Littrell has the benefit of being a former head coach so his history indicates that he knows how to get his group up to speed when it comes to grasping the concepts, verbiage, scheme and packages.
Still, it will be new for the players, and there are also a bunch of new players in general so that combination could throw a couple of proverbial monkey wrenches at Littrell who will need to be able to adjust and pivot on occasion. I am pretty confident that things will go smoothly in this area, but still worth keeping an eye on in regard to getting the offense up to speed in order to maximize their reps and time together in fall camp.
The next area I am interested in hearing about is how the leadership on the team is shaking out.
Fall camp is where leaders need to lead and character is revealed. OU talks about ‘The Standard”, well this is the time when the standard needs to not only be met, but the effort needs to exceed the prescribed doses and often times the leaders of the team are the ones who can get more out of the team than the team thought they would be able to give.
The defensive leaders are readily identifiable. Danny Stutsman, Billy Bowman, Woodi Washington, DaJon Terry and more are going to be the guys who drive the defense and keep the troops on level while pushing their teammates to give just that little extra bit of ‘more’.
However, when you look at the offensive side of the ball, you may find yourself wondering where that leadership is going to come from. We have heard talk about Jackson Arnold stepping up and Casey Thompson assisting in that process.
But you have an entirely new offensive line, which is an area where oftentimes you find leadership along with a brand new tight end room. You have the young quarterback and a young (somewhat largely inexperienced) running back room. Can you look to the wide receiver room for some leadership? Typically the WR room is not a bastion of leadership, but in this case, you do have some voices who carry some weight such as Jalil Farooq who has been here through it all, and a guy like Deion Burks who inspires by his play on the field.
Getting that offensive leadership up to speed is not something that can happen by order…we have seen that attempted in the past. Leadership is more of an organic happening and it is intended to be established prior to the season. What we will be paying attention to over the course of fall camp is if that leadership is present and how that leadership will reveal itself.
Finally, in regard to things that need to be up to speed as soon as fall camp starts, I will be paying attention to Doug Deakin and his special teams units.
It is imperative that the Sooners improve their special teams production in all areas this season. Aside from Peyton Bowen blocking a few punts last year and Gavin Freeman returning the first punt of the year for a score…the special teams for OU were not so special at all.
Deakin comes to Norman with a very impressive resume as a special teams guru. It is absolutely critical that he comes into camp with rolled up sleeves and ready to work to first get the special teams units up to proficient before trying to get them to become an advantage.
There are question marks at every turn when it comes to special teams. Aside from punter, no job should be considered even somewhat closed. From kicker to returners to coverage teams, Deakin has his work cut out for him. Absolutely an area worth paying attention to this fall camp and again, it is very important for Deakin to hit the ground running from day one of fall camp.
SEC Opponents Greatest Strengths and Weaknesses
– Charlie S – Posted on: July 16, 2024
Starting to go through the Sooners inaugural SEC schedule.
I think it is important to touch on the strengths and weaknesses of each team on the schedule entering the season as a starting point.
As the season goes along, obviously these perceived strengths and weaknesses could change. Also, just because I only listed the top strengths and most glaring weaknesses, it does not mean the teams are not strong or weak in other areas. These are just the most noticeable aspects.
For instance, Texas’s strength is OL play, but they are also strong at WR and QB and while I see their most glaring weakness on the interior of the defensive line, I also have real concerns about their secondary ad finding a linebacker not named Anthony Hill.
Heading into fall camp season, here are the areas that I have identified on each opponent that I would call each teams Top strengths and Biggest Weaknesses.
Top Strengths and Top Weaknesses
Tennessee – Strength: Defensive line – Weakness: Secondary
Auburn – Strength: High ceiling linebacker corp – Weakness: Quarterback play
Texas – Strength: Offensive line – Weakness: Interior defensive line
South Carolina – Strength: Running game – Weakness: Quarterback play
Ole Miss – Strength: Passing game – Weakness: Secondary
Missouri – Strength: Passing Game – Weakness: Secondary
Alabama – Strength: Running game – Weakness: Secondary
LSU – Strength: Offensive line – Weakness: Defensive line
Yes, the SEC is big and scary when you listen to the talking heads and buy what they are selling…that’s their job…but every team on this schedule has weaknesses.
The question is, can OU exploit those weaknesses on a consistent basis while also masking their own weaknesses at the same time?
The Sooners have the talent to beat every team on their schedule and Alabama may be the only opponent who has a deeper and more talented overall roster. But it will be about being consistent and focused for Oklahoma to have a successful 2024 campaign.
I view a 9-3 record as ‘successful’ which would mean OU needs to go 5-3 in their eight conference games.
One other note about the schedule as I was breaking it down…Missouri is a poor mans version of Ole Miss right now, at least on paper. Same strengths and weaknesses but not at the same level, in my opinion. That should benefit the Sooners for the Missouri game at the very least.
The Latest | ’25 Kade Pietrzak
– Charlie S – Posted on: July 17, 2024
The Sooners officially hosted ’25 DL Kade Pietrzak over a month ago and by all accounts, they set themselves up in prime position to gain his verbal commitment.
Following his visit, OU sources were very confident that it was a matter of ‘when’ not ‘if’ for Pietrzak. The idea was that Pietrzak was going to take some previously planned visits and fulfill those obligations prior to publicly announcing his commitment to OU.
Here we sit a month and a half later and nothing. There is no commitment to any school and no real news on him from his camp or the OU side. The ultimate holding pattern.
I spoke with a source not connected to OU last night who delivered the first bit of hesitation when speaking of Pietrzak when they said “At this point, who knows?” when I asked about the outlook for Pietrzak and when he may pull the trigger.
Source went on to note that they have heard that Nebraska is starting to gain some confidence in regard to Pietrzak, but the camp up in Lincoln still believes OU is out front. It appears that the goal for Nebraska and Kansas State is to work to continue to extend the timeline for Pietrzak and get him further away from the Norman visit in hopes that one side blinks and Pietrzak is more open to the other school’s overtures.
Currently, I still have this one trending to OU, do not get that twisted, but I will say, I am not quite as certain of him being in the class as I once was. The one thing that I still have not nailed down is any timeline for an announcement. If I come up with anything, I will pass it along.
Floyd Boucard | Trending
– Super K – Posted on: July 18, 2024
Here is the latest I’ve heard on Boucard…
***Spoke with a source on the OU side of things, earlier this week. They seemed cautiously optimistic. They felt, at one time, they were the clear leader but still seemed concerned about Miami and possibly Alabama.
***But the source said they felt the Boucard situation with Alabama was different than the Haywood situation as Boucard doesn’t have ties to that region like Haywood does.
***On the Miami front, there was just concern that Miami can come in with a big NIL at anytime.
***However, again, they still seemed cautiously optimistic. So, let’s say this was five years ago and there were no “NIL” shenanigan possibilities, they would’ve felt very good. Or, at least that’s how I read it.
***I did hear from a Florida source who says Miami is less and less in the picture.
***So, the more we hear the more it seems to point to OU. As such, I’m going to trend this one OU 52/48.
***I am still waiting to hear from one more source out in Alabama. If I get a clear indication from said source, then I may be able to bump my confidence (or of course drop it if the news isn’t favorable to OU).
The Boucard Recruitment is Telling a Story
– Charlie S – Posted on: July 18, 2024
***As we have noted throughout the course of this cycle, the Sooners put themselves in a good spot for defensive tackle Floyd Boucard (6’3 315) out of Miami, Florida.
***With Boucard set to announce his decision on Saturday (July 20th) the Sooners find themselves in a very good spot. Boucard will choose between OU, Bama, Miami, and USC.
***As you know, we have it pointing to OU, and if that is the case, a few things about his recruitment stand out in regard to the early evaluation, the relationships OU creates with the players and the families, and perhaps most noteworthy, the relationships OU creates with the player’s handlers/advisors.
***First, in regard to the evaluation prowess of this staff, I take you back to March when Super K wrote a whole piece about how good evals put the Sooners in good positions with priority recruits. You can find that post HERE.
Super K Wrote: ***Another linemen, this time on the defensive side of the ball, to keep an eye on is 2025 DT, Floyd Dawens Boucard (Miami, FL).
On film, Boucard looks exactly like the kind of DL you want to take into the SEC. And it appears OU was on the earlier end of his offers when it comes to bigger schools.
That’s yielded a result that Boucard already has an OV set to Oklahoma (along with Tulane, Louisville and Michigan State). Penn State just threw their hat in the ring today and I think you’ll see more of the big boys come in. As such, I wouldn’t be surprised to see some of those OV destinations change but fully expect OU to remain in it.
Bates has done a great job of relationship building in this one.
***So Bates identified his target (Boucard) early on and built that relationship with him, his family, and the people around him who helped handle his recruitment.
***As for the chatter about Miami and Bama not pushing for him, I am going to offer up some evidence that indicates that those ‘tidbits’ are more sour grapes than reality.
***As you know, we spoke about Bama being the sleeper in this one. Sources down in Tuscaloosa told us that Bama was desperate for interior defensive linemen and Boucard was absolutely a priority for them. Over the last few days and weeks, the Tide have begun to look elsewhere which indicates that they know they are behind on Boucard, but a kid does not go from being a priority to a zero without some sort of major off field problem occurring and that is definitely not the case with Boucard. OU just appears to have beaten Bama on this one at this time.
***Then you have Miami. I know there are also rumors out there that Miami was not pursuing Boucard, and I am not here to disagree with that, but I am here to tell you it was not by their choice that the pursuit cooled. Sources tell us that it was Boucards camp who moved off of Miami, and that move came about under the influence of his handler.
***When you look at what I just wrote and let it sink in…“Sources tell us that it was Boucards camp who moved off of Miami, and that move came about under the influence of his handler” you have to get a bit of a warm and fuzzy feeling as an OU fan because that was something that the prior regime faired incredibly poorly with.
***This staff works very well with handlers/advisors and the evidence shows up in the names of players like Jayden Jackson, Damonic Williams, Cortez Mills and now, perhaps, if things go as planned, Floyd Boucard to name a few.
***Which brings us all the way back to the USC situation with Boucard. As you know, following an early June official visit to Los Angeles, predictions started to roll in for Boucard to land at USC. While a large contingent of the recruiting media got caught up in the idea that USC felt they had secured a silent commitment from Boucard, we mentioned it would be wise to hold the phone and let things play out.
**Super K noted that We’ve Seen This Before on June 10th and he said:
“As you may have noted, Lincoln Riley and USC seemed to have a big weekend with Lincoln tweeting out a lot of emojis.
Picks came in for some Sooner targets for Boucard to USC and even Smith Orogbo to Texas Tech.
I just want to remind everyone what I’ve said many times before, Creed looked great in the first part of the first round against Drago.
The Sooners haven’t had their chance to punch yet. That will come in the next two weeks.
And, I am confirming but I did check with guys like Smith and Boucard before their visits to confirm the OU visits were still on and they answered in the affirmative.
Venables and company know how to put on a good show.”
***I followed up on K’s note when I wrote Follow Up | Familiar Recruiting Pattern where I wrote:
“Just a follow up to K’s note from yesterday talking about how We’ve Seen This Before…
Following a weekend visit to USC, a few predictions rolled in for ’25 DL Floyd Boucard to commit to USC.
Boucard says “Not so fast my friends” as he shouted out OU defensive line coach Todd Bates on Twitter.
Boucard does not appear to be a guy who is finished with his recruitment and OU and Bama will still have a say in this one.
He could very well land at USC, I don’t know right now, but OU and Bama will not go down without getting their shots.
Kind of feels like the Jonah Williams recruitment when a bunch of OU folk jumped the gun and called their shot and had OU getting his commitment.
Still some very important visits left for Boucard.”
***I mentioned in the comment section that we are all way too familiar with the Lincoln Riley smoke and mirrors show when it comes to recruiting. We know Lincoln and his staff will use the media to their advantage whenever they think they can gain an edge by leaking the stuff they want to put out there and thereby create the sort of image and atmosphere they want out there. The problem with that is, as I mentioned in the comment section of that post, most of the time it winds up backfiring on them. They apparently refuse to learn.
***Bottom line here is, even if Boucard doesn’t wind up committing to the Sooners, there continue to be signs that this Sooners staff is different and much more open to doing what they need to do in order to get the guys they need on campus to compete in the SEC than the prior regime in Norman was. Riley and crew refused to deal with any outside influences in recruiting and that is just not feasible in this day and age.
***The Sooners staff is a very skilled bunch of recruiters who will do the ‘Dirty hard work done in the dark’ as well as hitting all the right notes in relationship building while killing it with their evaluations. It’s really pretty cool to watch unfold.
Follow Up on Pietrzak Note From 7/17
– Charlie S – Posted on: July 18, 2024
As you know, yesterday I had a note on ’25 EDGE Kade Pietrzak and how a source mentioned that Nebraska was gaining confidence in his recruitment as things with OU felt like they were a bit at a standstill. You can find that note HERE.
In that note I wrote: “Source went on to note that they have heard that Nebraska is starting to gain some confidence in regard to Pietrzak, but the camp up in Lincoln still believes OU is out front. It appears that the goal for Nebraska and Kansas State is to work to continue to extend the timeline for Pietrzak and get him further away from the Norman visit in hopes that one side blinks and Pietrzak is more open to the other school’s overtures.”
As I mentioned in the comment section of a previous thread today, some recruiting reporters at other places have flipped their predictions for OU to Nebraska.
I just spoke to the source who pointed toward Nebraska to see if they had heard anything noteworthy on the situation and I was met with an ‘I told you so’ type of response and a little more detail about the Nebraska recruitment. Source said “You’re gonna hear about it being NIL, but the kid and (more) importantly, his family really enjoyed their OV and Nebby did a good job of selling them on him being the focal point of the defense in a less crowded room than at OU”. Source went on to say ‘For a kid like that, what’s not to like about Nebraska?”.
I asked the source if they believed this was a done deal and they said “Done? I wouldn’t say that, but I would say it’s heading that way”.
So, with that, I’m gonna trend this one away from OU at this time. Pretty wild as he was a guy I have had a commit write up in drafts for quite some time now, but who knows, maybe my source will turn out to be incorrect and OU can turn the tide back in their favor, but for right now, Nebraska looks to be in a good spot.
