The Red/White Spring Game
By Payton Guthrie
The annual Oklahoma Sooners Spring Game kicks off this weekend with Brent Venables’ team looking to answer some key questions before taking on one of the hardest schedules in recent history in their first season of SEC play.
What to Watch - Positive
QB Play - Jackson Arnold has received a ton of buzz around, rightly so with Dillon Gabriel being allowed to take his talent to the Pacific Northwest, and the early results in the Alamo Bowl were mixed. Arnold showed off a lot of physical talent with his arm & legs that showcased how special he can be for the Oklahoma program. The issue for Arnold was the turnovers and lack of timing within the structure of the offense against the Wildcats. Look to see if Arnold is hitting throws at the top of his drop and if he can see any late rotation in the secondary (a reported weakness out of practice).
Running Backs - The 2023 season was an adventure for the Sooners in the backfield with Barnes & Sawchuk injured most of the yea, Tawee Walker in the doghouse and Marcus Major failing to live up to the “AD Jr” hype that was thrown on him in high school. The 2024 squad has a lot more depth with Barnes & Sawchuk finally healthy and big time recruits Taylor Tatum & Xavier Robinson keeping the room stocked with talent. Watch to see if the Sooners’ OL is running more zone or power blocking and if the running backs can slow down their process enough to read the blocks.
What to Watch - Negative
Offensive Line - No ways two ways to put this, but the offensive live for Oklahoma was sub-par for most of the 2023 season and the 2024 season (barring any additional portal acquisitions) doesn’t seem to be much better. The offensive tackles will be a work in progress for the Summer/Fall windows and I expect Bill Bedenbaugh will have to get blood from a stone to make this collection of players into a strength for the 2024 squad. Keep an eye out on how much time the QBs have to throw and if the defensive line isn’t in the backfield all day.
Defensive Line - The Sooners are, currently, bereft large human beings on the defensive line and will need to get by with speed (not #SpeedD) to create havoc going into the season. The good news is that the two headliners of the 2024 recruiting class, Stone & Jackson, have reportedly lived up to all the hype & more in the Spring session. Watch to see if the defense tackles can keep the running lanes closed up and if the defensive ends can generate any amount of pressure.
Bonus Question -
Who is the Spring Game Super Star?