Horns247 Board

Anyone want to bet that they will not be back for the UT game?

OU Outlook... there is 100$ chance of Suckage

Maybe the backup safety, but IMO, the WRs are screwed. If the freshmen and Gardner have a good showing early in the season, they may not have a job to come back to. They werent exactly tearing it up anyway. We will see though, but I wouldnt be very sad if they didnt come back. Too big a headache.

OU still sucks!!

I'm not gonna say OU won't miss a beat because you never know how freshmen will handle the transition, there are few Stills and Shipleys out there that pick it up without any problems. However, Gardner was the top WR prospect in the class according to some and the freshmen incoming class is very impressive. When you throw in Metoyer, who probably would've started on opening day anyways, then Durron Neal and Sterling Shepherd, who are both top 10 WRs, there's a lot of talent there. Also, don't sleep on Derek Woods from California, he has a lot of upside but it all comes down to how quick he handles the transition.

I'm not worried about the run game. We return all but one off the two deep on the OL and have alot of depth. Where there's depth, there's competition. At RB, Clay and Finch are what they are. There's no telling how Whaley will be this year. But look out for juco transfer Damien Williams, who had ridiculous numbers last year, and also Alex Ross who's a different style of back than we have on campus right now. He's a track star at 218 pounds.

As usual it'll come down to which Jones shows up and the OL.

I feel really good about the secondary! Almost all of the big plays given up last year, mainly vs Baylor and TT were mental errors. Colvin, Jefferson and Hurst are elite players. The 4th starter becomes interesting because if its Harris, then Colvin switches to CB. If its Okatcha or Everret then Colvin plays safety. One thing under Mike that will make an immediate impact is he basically runs a nickel for a base defense. Getting that extra DB on the field, likely Gabe Lynn, your prototypical Nickelback. Venebels always had 3 LBs on the field, no matter what the circumstances, drove me crazy!

The front 7 worries me a little. We have a nice rotation of DTs, really excited about Jordan Phillips at 6'6 320 lbs and can do a standing back tuck, he's an insane athlete. The rest are good, not great but there's a lot of them. At DE Washington and King are great pass rushers and played a ton last year but there's little depth there and that's always a concern. Washington in particular is a stud, a former 5 star that finally had the light go on last year.

LBs are up in the air. Wort is a stud, he's on the verge of being an elite LB. Love the kids motor, instincts and heart. Nelson basically started last year because he played as much as any LB last year. He brings great athleticsm but he gets out of position at times and frankly showed some piss poor technique last year. At SAM, Ibiloye will start. I personally, like him more than Nelson and wished he'd get moved to WILL because he's an excellent pass defender and has a nice feel for the game. I feel good about the starters but the depth scares me. We have Bird at backup MIKE and WILL and has the best size on the roster at 245 but I'm not sure how sold the coaches are on him because there was talk of moving him to FB and that's a red flag. After that, its all redshirt or true freshmen. Shannon Franklin is getting a lot of praise and has great upside but he's young. Incoming freshman Erik Striker from Florida is gonna be a damn good one, I wouldn't be surprised if he gets some PT this year.

All and all, I think the impact of Mike will cover up the players lost. I don't think OU will be a top 25 defense but somewhere in the lower 30s range. They'll have games where they shut the team down completely and a few others where they're ripped to shreds. I expect a huge improvement year after next but this year we have some depth issues that scare me. But, I'd take Mike over BV every single day and its a change that needed to be made.

More OU discussion, less aggy talk

What is this? A Sooner thread in Burnt Orange? What's that all about? Don't you guys have your own?

Hey now. Don't bash him for giving us insight into OU. Any bit of free information about an arch rival is always good. We can have civil conversations with Sooner fans.

I'm guessing a two game suspension.