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OU Recruiting 2023: Blowing and Going


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On 9/1/2022 at 10:56 AM, quigley said:

There's so much sunshine being pumped this year in Norman that it's the epicenter of global warming.

Dillon Gabriel is an asset because of his experience, but he also had a high rate of turnover-worthy throws at UCF. WR group is relying on contributions from several players with few or no catches. RB have two under-performers from 2021 listed at #1 and #2. OL has had a steady trajectory down from 2017-2018 and breaks in 3 new starters. The defense under-performed last year and lost its best players at each level. 

Not all of these situations are going to go sideways, but there is a path down for OU too. I frankly don't like football that much anymore (takes all day, CTE; basketball, soccer are just more entertaining), but I'm super interested to see how much truth there is to claims being made by Venables and crew.

So a third of a way through the season, let's check some receipts:

1. Gabriel is an asset because of his experience, but the issue he's having is accuracy. Accuracy can manifest as turnover-worthy throws, but so far it's being critical 3rd down misses that have cost OU.

2. RB have been above average, not great.

3. WR/TE have been above expectations. Willis and Mims are two of OU's best players and will be day 2 draft picks on their current trajectory. Farooq and Wease have met or exceeds their preseason expectations. Stoops has been himself. We haven't seen much of the other TE/WR.

4. OL has been hit and miss. They have started slow each game and improved within games and between games. If they continue to improve, this could be a good group as the season progresses. Hopefully, several of them return next year (Anton Harrison could leave, but could be dominant in 2023).

5. The DL looked ok vs inferior teams, and then were JAGs vs a tough running scheme (KSt) who has excellent running personnel.

6. Same as the DL, LB looked good vs poor offenses, and KSt had them confused, frustrated, and exhausted. DeShaun White needs to move back to LB forming a three man rotation with Stutsman and Ugwoegbu.

The "cheetah" spacebacker guy can be filled by Kanak/Harrington.

7. DBs were terrible vs the run and pass vs KSt, but this group has been more aggressive and appears to be much better coached this year in general.

 

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On 8/22/2022 at 4:04 PM, closetojumping said:

In my 20's, I was visiting my parents with my daughter. We woke up on Saturday morning and they wanted to go to Cracker Barrel for breakfast. This was in east Texas. I thought I was ready for it, but, I wasn't. Never again. When I drive by them on the road somewhere I always just assume it's grandmas, hillbillies, okies, and aggies eating there. In the event of a nuclear holocaust, if only Cracker Barrels were left standing, I'll see you guys on the other side. 

Counter-point, you eat at Casa Ole

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2 minutes ago, kilroydos said:

Not really, no.  Everyone expected to be contributing is doing so.  Minor, week-to-week stuff like anyone.

After watching our offense struggle 2nd half vs Tech then watching OU struggle with consistency, it made me wonder how they would look down an Interior OL, starting QB and top 2 WR's as we were.  (fully appreciating how the coaching change/portal impacted OU's roster before the season).

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1 minute ago, Skipper said:

After watching our offense struggle 2nd half vs Tech then watching OU struggle with consistency, it made me wonder how they would look down an Interior OL, starting QB and top 2 WR's as we were.  (fully appreciating how the coaching change/portal impacted OU's roster before the season).

Consider that OU is probably down two top returning WRs if everything is equal from portal to injuries, so that's a push.  QB would be more of a struggle than Texas has had, likely.  Nobody on the roster has played any meaningful snaps outside of Gabriel.  OL is still a work in progress based on the last game, so losing one of the rotation there would be uncomfortable, but not a huge drop-off.

Good analysis of the interior OL play from Gabe Ikard this week, getting into details about how Raym is making the game harder for himself, lack of communication, and the struggles they've had in operating as a unit G/C/G or in pairs of C/G.  He's not sure if it's the tempo or some other factor causing the mental lapses, but he puts it all down to execution or instruction, rather than innate talent.

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6 hours ago, totallynotabuttpirate said:

Don't worry, he'll go like 22-25 380yds against Texas. 

That guys can’t hit water if he fell out of a boat. It was so bad at he game Saturday they even my wife noticed how bad some of his throws are. And she’s not that bright. 

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1 hour ago, Constant said:

Hearing four million dollars was offered at the last hour. 

 

59 minutes ago, Constant said:

Probably on the high side. It had to be something substantial, though. Need to post this to sooth my wound. 
 

 

38259BD0-3D8C-49C9-9DC3-08741CCCBC80.jpeg

I could see $1m/year guaranteed while he’s on campus or some such shit.

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2 minutes ago, AP101S said:

Counterpoint:

 

A dudes college roommate’s cousin isn’t going to trump my source. After the shock has worn off, it’s hard to disparage these kids for the decisions they make. I don’t blame the kid. It just gets tiresome with Jimbo’s ‘awe shucks’ routine.

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2 hours ago, NoName said:

looks like we sound the bro bible source for that dumb article last year

Yeah, I don’t know what the number would be. I do know he was quietly committed to OU. And the staff still expected his announcement as late as midday yesterday. He had a an OU video, the family had a ton of OU gear. Something changed last minute and I could only assume that would be some large payment promised. 

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10 hours ago, Kormit The Frug said:

B1BA8D91-C9D9-47DA-B206-A4C36EC2C9C0.thumb.jpeg.1e57e51d04f56e0eda142ae6c781cc94.jpegIf Hicks "accidently" takes a sledgehammer to one of his knees, I think I know who the perpetrator was....... allegedly.  

Disgusting. "Jay Jones" needs to take a break to remember this is a sport and that individuals have a chance for self determination.

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2 hours ago, NoName said:

looks like we sound the bro bible source for that dumb article last year

 

Just now, Constant said:

Yeah, I don’t know what the number would be. I do know he was quietly committed to OU. And the staff still expected his announcement as late as midday yesterday. He had a an OU video, the family had a ton of OU gear. Something changed last minute and I could only assume that would be some large payment promised. 

 

15 hours ago, Enchubben said:

 

I could see $1m/year guaranteed while he’s on campus or some such shit.

OU rivals guys were alluding to a large payment throughout a podcast yesterday. 1 m/ yr is in the range the Surly NIL gurus have been bantering about for top players. This seems plausible. I hope Hicks takes care of his money, and, if things don't work out in College Station, OU may still be interested in 1-2 years.

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7 minutes ago, quigley said:

 

 

OU rivals guys were alluding to a large payment throughout a podcast yesterday. 1 m/ yr is in the range the Surly NIL gurus have been bantering about for top players. This seems plausible. I hope Hicks takes care of his money, and, if things don't work out in College Station, OU may still be interested in 1-2 years.

Yeah, we’ll see. I don’t blame the kid. I can’t imagine being in that position. It is what it is. Just hate its A&M. 

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8 minutes ago, Constant said:

Yeah, we’ll see. I don’t blame the kid. I can’t imagine being in that position. It is what it is. Just hate its A&M. 

What is fascinating about this is that they are going to be paying a monster payroll to their DL group, and there are only 4 spots on the field. It is the most aggy thing I can think of. 

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32 minutes ago, quigley said:

OU rivals guys were alluding to a large payment throughout a podcast yesterday. 1 m/ yr is in the range the Surly NIL gurus have been bantering about for top players. This seems plausible. I hope Hicks takes care of his money, and, if things don't work out in College Station, OU may still be interested in 1-2 years.

Venables doesn't seem like the kind of guy who lets bygones be bygones, especially if he actually never told the coaches he was going to flip and they found out at the commitment.

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On 9/26/2022 at 10:24 PM, quigley said:

So a third of a way through the season, let's check some receipts:

1. Gabriel is an asset because of his experience, but the issue he's having is accuracy. Accuracy can manifest as turnover-worthy throws, but so far it's being critical 3rd down misses that have cost OU.

2. RB have been above average, not great.

3. WR/TE have been above expectations. Willis and Mims are two of OU's best players and will be day 2 draft picks on their current trajectory. Farooq and Wease have met or exceeds their preseason expectations. Stoops has been himself. We haven't seen much of the other TE/WR.

4. OL has been hit and miss. They have started slow each game and improved within games and between games. If they continue to improve, this could be a good group as the season progresses. Hopefully, several of them return next year (Anton Harrison could leave, but could be dominant in 2023).

5. The DL looked ok vs inferior teams, and then were JAGs vs a tough running scheme (KSt) who has excellent running personnel.

6. Same as the DL, LB looked good vs poor offenses, and KSt had them confused, frustrated, and exhausted. DeShaun White needs to move back to LB forming a three man rotation with Stutsman and Ugwoegbu.

The "cheetah" spacebacker guy can be filled by Kanak/Harrington.

7. DBs were terrible vs the run and pass vs KSt, but this group has been more aggressive and appears to be much better coached this year in general.

 

I think the two biggest areas of weakness are the interior of the OL and the LB group.  The interior of the OL just isn't physically talented enough to be starting at a program like OU.  Physically overmatched players make mistakes and commit penalties trying to compensate for their limitations.  Bedenbaugh's reputation has been coasting off of those '17 and '18 OL groups for a long time now but I don't think BV/Lebby will put up with a unit like this year's for long.  If you look back at OU's OL recruiting history, BB whiffed on every single OL recruit in both '18 and '19.  Three current OL starters are portal guys.  It's not a good situation and it's baffling that the OU fanbase overall keeps praising that guy so much.    

The ILB thing is the opposite problem.  The players are plenty talented physically but they haven't been playing Venables' scheme for long enough yet.  K-State gave a blueprint for confusing those two guys.  There's some hope that spot gets much better at some point but it might not happen this year.  Both the ILBs were missing run fits and taking bad angles all night against EMAW.     

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2 hours ago, Fondren & Main said:

When is Bert gonna pull Vasek’s offer?  Heard he’ll be at the WVU game this weekend.

No no no. Its like a "marriage", its a commitment. Unless she is like really, really hot then you grit your teeth and smile when she goes "drinking with friends and turns her phone off"

 

duh. 

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23 hours ago, camel at sea said:

I think the two biggest areas of weakness are the interior of the OL and the LB group.  The interior of the OL just isn't physically talented enough to be starting at a program like OU.  Physically overmatched players make mistakes and commit penalties trying to compensate for their limitations.  Bedenbaugh's reputation has been coasting off of those '17 and '18 OL groups for a long time now but I don't think BV/Lebby will put up with a unit like this year's for long.  If you look back at OU's OL recruiting history, BB whiffed on every single OL recruit in both '18 and '19.  Three current OL starters are portal guys.  It's not a good situation and it's baffling that the OU fanbase overall keeps praising that guy so much.    

The ILB thing is the opposite problem.  The players are plenty talented physically but they haven't been playing Venables' scheme for long enough yet.  K-State gave a blueprint for confusing those two guys.  There's some hope that spot gets much better at some point but it might not happen this year.  Both the ILBs were missing run fits and taking bad angles all night against EMAW.     

You aren't the first to say this, but all of it rang true today.

Overall, the defense looks confused and defeated. There reports that that Venables yelled at them all week. It's not the right approach if you want to teach. Very early on, the team's at a crossroad.

TCU's not that good, but way better than OU.

Edited by quigley
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We will see what this week's practices look like.  If you think someone's close but being lazy, I can semi-understand the hard-nosed approach.  If you realize they're floundering and need rebuilding, the support HAS to be there.  This is a real inflection point in his career, so let's see what comes out of it.

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