Per Inside Texas, 2021 RB Camar Wheaton of Garland Lakeview Centennial will be in attendance this weekend.
https://247sports.com/Player/Camar-Wheaton-46050152/
I don't usually copy/paste articles, but it's OU week.
From Scipio at Inside Texas.
Describing the Oklahoma opponent slate as toothless is satisfying on many levels.
Lincoln Riley is 29-4 at Oklahoma. A record that includes two Big 12 les, two college football playoff berths, a lot of offensive records, and a pair of Heisman winning transfer QBs. You may have noticed he's pretty good at scheming up offense.
Sooner Special Teams
Starting kicker Calum Sutherland was arrested for public intoxication in late September, but was actually suspended when a le IX investigation followed on that incident's heels. His replacement, Gabe Brkic, went 2 for 2 on field goals against Kansas and nailed all of his extra points. Brkic is 3 of 3 on the season and is perfect on 13 extra point attempts. Sutherland's loss is being overplayed and if concern about Brkic's leg means that Oklahoma plays with four downs between the 25-35 yard lines in Texas territory, that's not necessarily a good thing.
OU punter Reeves Mundschau leads the league with 46.6 yards per kick.
CeeDee Lamb is a dangerous punt returner, but the OU kickoff return teams have been largely quiet.
Sooner Offense
The Sooner offensive juggernaut is putting up outlandish numbers, averaging 643 yards per game (355 pass 288 rush) at a gaudy 9.9 yards per play. Whatever their level of opponents, that's just ridiculous.
They're converting 58.3% of money (3rd and 4th) downs and have been excellent in the red zone. This isn't a classic spread offense that sputters near the end zone. Jalen Hurts has added physical dimensions to their play that they'd been missing.
QB
Jalen Hurts has been a one man gang. He leads the country in passing efficiency (he's on an all-time record pace) and is the #3 rusher in the Big 12. He's a very strong runner who can power through contact with some elusiveness in the pocket that I don't recall seeing as often at Alabama. Partly because they didn't spread people out as well as OU does. I think much of that has to do with how they employ him, but some of it also pure athletic superiority against slower DL when the OU OL has had breakdowns. He's been a huge red zone asset as a runner and has repeatedly dropped deep dimes on wide open Sooner receivers downfield. The criticisms of Jalen Hurts and his ability to read progressions (and his struggles if you get him off of his spots or preferred directional roll) are valid, but also needs to be understood within the context that the whole genius of Riley's offense is the sheer number of plays run where the reads are spelled out and cons ute single set piece shots, or are two and three level reads on the same side of the field that don't require much from the signal caller but working eyes and mindless execution.
The degree to which Texas can muddy that picture and put a top on the Sooner receivers will be crucial. What does Hurts do when his deepest man has Texas jerseys around him (he wrote hopefully) and there isn't an immediate place to scramble for a cheap 10 yards (he also wrote hopefully)? We won't know until a defense forces him into those decisions. Will that defense be Texas?
RB
The primary three OU RBs (Sermon, Brooks, Stevenson) are averaging 8.8 yards per carry and have combined for 10 rushing touchdowns. Brooks and Sermon are capable pass catchers. Brooks was held out of the KU game to fully recover from an injury sustained against Tech and he's their best big run threat. Sermon is a load who has lost a step in his time in Norman, but he's very capable of running through a big hole and breaking tackles. Rhamondre Stevenson is a big JUCO runner with nice feet. Oklahoma is going to run inside zone, counter trey and will run Hurts as much as they need to win. That's the problem with committing to a light box - the Sooners are fully capable of rushing for 250+ yards.
WR/TE
This is a very talented WR corps with massive big play potential. Think LSU level talents, but with less size. CeeDee Lamb is averaging 24.4 yards per catch and has 7 touchdowns in five games. Charleston Rambo is averaging 27.4 yards per catch with four touchdowns. They're complemented by an array of experienced veterans and talented raw youngsters from their marquee 2019 WR recruiting class. Flex TE Grant Calcaterra hasn't garnered much use so far (5 catches on the year), but it wouldn't be surprising to see him become a focus in the middle of the field at Y if we take away some of their deep stuff. Jadon Haselwood is the closest thing they have to a possession receiver - he averages a mere 15.6 yards per catch. Jeremiah Hall is the H-Back they employ when they want to run the ball with a lead blocker and get some play action max protection.
OU's primary receivers are slick in the screen game and great at making plays deep. Our DBs, frankly, have evidenced inconsistent ball skills and have struggled to tackle reliably all year. We'll probably do a lot better defending them with eyes on Hurts rather than trying to turn and run with them. If Texas can get jams at the LOS and play safeties deep while also getting some pocket pressure, then stuff will get real, and Jalen Hurts will have to make some honest QB reads under duress.
OL
Big potential for game impact here. The Sooner OL will probably field its sixth starting permutation in Dallas. Both starting tackles missed last week's game against Kansas and the 45 Sooner points on the scoreboard hid some rough moments. While Riley may be playing possum on the status of both tackles, starting OT Adrian Ealy hasn't been great when he has played. Erik Swenson's absence would be more impactful. Replacements RJ Proctor (slow-footed Virginia transfer) and Tyrese Robinson (natural guard) will get the call outside if Ealy and Swenson can't go.
That's the break Texas needs.
It's crucial to put pressure on the Oklahoma Sooner tackles and not simply concede them 2 on 1 pass blocking on our 4is while we rush three and add a poorly timed jog delay spy blitz from an ILB into Coburn's back.
Put an outside man on their outside shoulders - Ossai and Foster, preferably - run some T/E games, get them iso'd, make them chase speed or block air as the outside rusher drops back only to have Roach and Juwan Mitc twist in front of them. Poor OL playing out of position can and will utterly crap themselves in a big game environment when they start making mistakes. There is no stop button for it and it only gets worse. Texas fans, of all people, should know this. That doesn't mean Orlando has to zero blitz on every down like a maniac, but Texas can craft creative pass rushes utilizing 4-5 men to expose OU's tackles without unduly exposing the entire back end. In fact, the only way to help our back end is to find some timely moments to disrupt OU at the LOS.
Inside, center Creed Humphery is a big, powerful player who will have a fun match-up with Keondre Coburn. Marquis Hayes and Brey Walker will start at guard if Robinson has to move out to tackle.
The Oklahoma OL holds constantly. This is a feature, not a bug. OU understands that they have a big play offense and that their new OL is more massive than skilled, so getting away with ten holds to every one called is an exchange they'll take every time as it's going to result in net points and yards over the course of a game. Their goal is to collapse defenders to the interior and create space outside: for the QB to throw through clean windows, for Hurts to bail on a scramble for an easy 15 yards. How the officials choose to deal with this will be significant in the game outcome, but there's also a tremendous onus placed on Texas defenders.
DL and LBs consent to being held by stopping their feet and failing to create more obvious separation that highlights the hold, effectively forcing a ref to acknowledge it. Our rush philosophy - in combination with containment imperatives - should reflect this. The problem? If you rush to contain Hurts, that can descend very quickly into mummy dances where your DL are being held, but the lack of stunting and movement disallows it being highlighted. I'd feel better about blitzing to contain as some NFL teams do if I had more confidence in our gap soundness and ability to time it up.
Sooner Defense
DC Alex Grinch has them playing a lot better than the Mike Stoops debacles of the last few years, even when you factor in some of the lousy offenses they've seen. They move a lot up front and try to create negative plays - a carryover from Grinch's philosophy at Wazzou. They also platoon heavily. They're assignment simple on the back end and their goal is to not bust coverages and let the offense beat itself with poor execution. Grinch has pretty zealously tried to enforce more physicality in the secondary, with mixed results. It means Radley-Hiles has been intermittently benched as a starter while Grinch has elevated Delarrin Turner-Yell into his mainstay on the back end at SS. Last week against Kansas, OU played a lot of snaps of base 3-4 defense. If we see that against our 11 personnel, things will get real interesting on both sides.
DL
NT Neville Gallimore is an athletic freak who is starting to translate some of that to his actual football play. Last year, you may recall him as the Sooner DL eternally reclining on the ground faking an injury anytime he had to endure three plays in a row. He's in better shape now and can be a problem in spurts. Ronnie Perkins is probably their best pass rusher overall. He's active and has a good first step. The rest are unremarkable, but they rotate in the entire two deep and they give good effort. The Oklahoma front is much improved. But that was a low bar.
LB
According to every media member who reads SID press releases and doesn't watch anything but the ball during games, Kenneth Murray is an elite LB. According to the other 5% of the media, he's fine. Name familiarity and hype drive his train. Let's relax. OU also starts Dashaun White and Nik Bonito, who have the requisite athleticism, but aren't super-experienced. I don't know what happened to rush LB Mark Jackson, but he's deep in Grinch's dog house. David Ogweogbu and Jon-Michael Terry round out the corps. They run blitz them a lot and they love to twist. Catch them with their pants down trying to combine DL stunts with run blitzes and there are some big gains available in the run game.
It's important the Texas runners do something at the second level when that happens. Catching OU in a stunt and "punishing them" with an 8 yard gain is an OU win.
Given OU's propensity to bring backers and their youth in a big game environment, it might be a good idea to check their assignment soundness covering Longhorn runners.
DB
CB Parnell Motley is a decent player and a Human Pass Interference factory. Like the Sooner OL's holding, this is a feature not a bug. Trading 15 yards to prevent a sure touchdown is smart football at the college level. Constantly fouling to get a receiver off of his game and frustrated works more often than not. A little like Chris Paul establishing early in every big playoff game that he is going to foul someone on every possession and it's on the ref to decide if he wants to call them all, Motley grabs jerseys and elbows on any play where he feels he may get beat to stifle separation. Most crews prefer to keep six flags an amusement park and won't throw flag after flag in a big game. The other corner is Tre Brown. He's a better athlete than football player, at least in my limited viewing.
Pat Fields and Delarrin Turner-Yell have stabilized the back end at safety. They don't bust and they will tackle. Nickel Brendan Radley-Hiles is the ultimate Sooner dip****. Talks incessant noise, carries himself like a moron, dives for shoelaces whenever a runner squares up on him. Grinch benched him against Kansas. I hope he plays against us and Devin Duvernay cleats him.
The Sooner secondary is playing much better, more fundamental football, but an aggressive Collin Johnson paired with Duvernay's chain-moving and Eagles' single shot upside will b a challenge for them. It's really important that CJ make himself a problem at X.
Final Thoughts
1. The Sooner OL situation has to be exploited, particularly at tackle. The classic drop eight or four man 4i pass rush front takes heat off of those tackles and offers them help. Let's give them an opportunity to melt down on a big stage. Get Hurts off of his spots and hit the timing and rhythm of this offense
2. Coaching and playing through holds is important on the DL and at WR. It's going to happen. Don't stop moving or give up on a play in exasperation.
3. The Sooners are ranked 129/130 in penalties in college football. A good portion of that is a feature, not a bug (holding, PI's) but a fair amount of it has been typical punk-ass Sooner stuff. Twisting face masks in piles, chop blocks, cheap shots. Don't play that game. Or if you do, bring a gun to the knife fight.
4. Negative plays don't put OU's offense off their script. They shrug at them. 2nd and 11 and 3rd and 10 aren't daunting. Against OU's offense every down is a potential scoring play. Getting impatient and deciding to "make something happen" on money downs is inadvisable.
5. It's Texas-OU. Rankings don't matter. Records don't matter. Leads don't matter. Up 17? Down 17? Keep playing. The breaks even out.
Destroy OU. Hook 'em.
Per Inside Texas, WR Dajon Harrison of Hutto will be at the Cotton Bowl this weekend.
Depending on what happens with guys like WR LV Bunkley-Shelton and ATH Kelvontay Dixon, he may be able to find his way into the class.
He's a very good player, which is why TCU tried to lock him up early, but it's a matter of numbers at this point.
https://247sports.com/Player/Dajon-Harrison-46051172/
https://a.hudl.com/profile/8403013/Dajon-Harrison
That breakdown from Scipio was legit. Thanks brother.
2021 DE Ethan Downs of Weatherford, OK commits to OU.
He received a UT offer in June after he camped in Austin.
https://247sports.com/Player/Ethan-Downs-46056733/
Ugh
That Scipio breakdown makes it seem as if OU is getting away with record holds even by their standards.
We got ed hard by asymmetric reffing in the B12 champ game last year.
Any word on if those two tackles are practicing this week?
Inside Texas saying 2022 RB Jadarian Price of Denison will be at the game this weekend.
https://247sports.com/Player/Jadarian-Price-46059477/
I was wondering if Ash may end up in Austin because of his ties to Herman.
Building that Saban-esque staff
Herman certainly going after that coaching model.
Per The Football Brainiacs, 2021 OL Savion Byrd (Duncanville) and 2021 OL Donovan Jackson (Bellaire Episcopal) will be in Dallas this weekend.
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