“Christ the true and better Isaac,
humble son of sacrifice
Who would climb the fearful mountain,
there to offer up his life
Laid with faith upon the altar,
Father’s joy and only Son
There salvation was provided —
oh, what full and boundless love!”
Lincoln Riley looked a lot of recruits in the eye this past year and told them he wasn't going anywhere, that he was the
#Sooners
' head coach for the long haul.
Those kids that took him at his word are hurting today. Some I spoke to were in tears. This sucks the most for them.
In his media session tonight, Drake Stoops categorically rejected any notion that the
#Sooners
don't have much left to play for in 2023, despite being out of the CFP race.
"I come in here day in and day out, 10 hours in here every day. And for me, there's a lot left to play for.
sports will NEVER be as important as music or any other art. everyone can run and kick balls. a FEW can write and produce songs. being creative and expressing yourselves is something no football player can do successfully and win awards for that
Well... the
#Sooners
will be the best-dressed football team in America, per Brent Venables.
"We're gonna get our guys a new suit every year, bring in a tailor and get them a measurement, make them put a coat and tie on and represent the university. And we're gonna pay for it."
So what you’re telling me is that Baker Mayfield, when not actively entangled in some of the worst organizational debacles the NFL has seen in the 21st century, can actually play QB at a pretty high level?
ASTONISHING
Oh boy.
#Sooners
fans gonna have a field day with this Venables comment.
"I was at Clemson for ten years, and I wanted to make sure I left it better than when I got there. Sometimes it doesn't serve you well, selfishly speaking. But you don't bite the hand that feeds you."
When the
#Sooners
hired him in 1998, Brent Venables says he wanted to go get Akili Smith at QB. The late, great Mike Leach wanted an unheralded southpaw named Josh Heupel instead.
Venables says he "couldn't have been more wrong" about Heupel based on his first impression. But
Within the modern recruiting era, Oklahoma had never signed more than five top-100 prospects in a single cycle.
They’ve got five top-100 signees in their 2023 class — on the defensive side alone. And Peyton Bowen is the highest-ranked DB signee in school history.
📈📈📈
Gabriel was asked what it meant to him to connect with Drake Stoops for a touchdown on the
#Sooners
' senior day.
"Drake is... Drake is my best friend. I told him a while ago, that dude's gonna be in my wedding."
Hey, Twitter fam… meet Rebekah.
This girl is a purple belt in karate, a first lieutenant in the Air Force and a huge Saints fan. She’s also my best friend and God’s greatest blessing in my life.
She’s going to be my wife… sometime BEFORE September.
#committed
#NoFallWeddings
USC football staff spraying water at punt returners during practice to simulate the rain the Trojans will face when playing Notre Dame this weekend. Gotta love it!!
The
#Sooners
needed a leader, a rudder, a catalyst after Caleb Williams left. Dillon Gabriel was all of those things and so much more for Oklahoma.
In many ways, he was the perfect QB to kick off the Brent Venables era.
One of the first things Brent Venables did at his postgame presser was praise Drake Stoops.
“He’s made every person in the Oklahoma football program better.”
He then turned to Stoops to address him directly.
“You’ve enriched all of our lives… thank you, man. Love you.”
That was the last sporting event in which the
#Sooners
will ever participate as a member of the Big 12 Conference.
They’re going out on top. Quite fitting.
It’s a wrap.
@mikehawkinsj
is officially on board with the
#Sooners
, and he’s looking to bring the cavalry with him to Norman in the 2024 class.
“I’d say Caden Durham, Bryant Wesco, David Stone — he’s for sure one [I want] — and Max Anderson.”
Venables on Jaren Kanak: "I tried to reassure him that Clemson was the great place he fell in love with. I told him I didn't have a spot for him."
Said he was "trying to do the right thing" ethically, and that Dabo Swinney eventually gave Kanak his blessing to join the
#Sooners
.
I’m sorry. This is an embarrassment.
Put Nick Evers in the game and live with the results. The gimmicks are utterly pointless when you’re down by three touchdowns.
What you witnessed tonight is what will happen for the remainder of the season whenever USC faces a team that can remotely neutralize Caleb Williams.
This is the epitome of a one-dimensional football team.
The last
#Sooners
quarterback to win a national title was a left-handed transfer who decided at the eleventh hour to come to Norman and play under a first-time head coach.
…
Gabriel gets choked up as he’s asked by
@BerryTramel
what the win means to his supporters in Hawaii.
“There’s three things I represent: the name on the front, the name on the back, and the state of Hawaii… I love that place. I love everything I represent.”
Pretty obvious from Nick Evers’ statement that he feels he wasn’t given a fair shake in Norman.
And given the events of Oct. 8, one can certainly see why.
How’s this for a bizarre factoid?
Baker Mayfield is the oldest quarterback left in the AFC playoff field and Aaron Rodgers is the youngest quarterback left in the NFC playoff field.
Brent Venables just brought up the fact that he's coached in eight national title games and 30 bowls.
"I say that not in a braggadocious way, but... I recognize how hard it is to get there. It starts at the line of scrimmage. You can't hide weakness up front."
#Sooners
The
#Sooners
’ quarterback of the future just won a prestigious national award over Texas’ quarterback of the future and USC’s quarterback of the future.
That’ll play well on social media tonight.
Any farms/ranches in the 405, preferably closer to Norman, in need of a ranch hand this spring and summer? Got lots of experience. DM if you could use the help!! Boomer!!
#sooner
20 minutes after tonight’s practice ended at the Under Armour All-American Game festivities, three-star OL and
#Sooners
signee Daniel Akinkunmi was still out on the field — literally all alone — drilling his footwork individually.
Kid’s determined to be different.
Bob Stoops on when he learned of Lincoln Riley's departure. 😂
Woodson: "You still got a office there?"
Stoops: "No, I just went into one I built." ⚡️
#OUDNA
|
#BoomerSooner
Long after all his teammates had already left the practice field and hit the showers, one
#Sooners
freshman remained on the field, honing his technique in solitude.
Even as a freshman,
@TheJaydenRowe
is already putting in the extra work.
So Marcus Harris wasn’t even scheduled to take an official visit with the
#Sooners
until last Thursday. His top five didn’t include Oklahoma.
96 hours later, he’s in the boat.
That’s Emmett Jones for you.
Nearly 20 minutes after the
#Sooners
’ 76-0 romp over Western Carolina went final, the Pride of Oklahoma is still on the field, playing Amazing Grace in tribute to the victims of 9/11.
Beautiful.
Brent Venables says he was unaware Art Briles was on the field and was informed shortly before walking into the press conference.
“That’s being dealt with.”
Former Oklahoma State DL Trace Ford has committed to the
#Sooners
, per his Instagram.
Huge head-to-head win over USC on the trail for Brent Venables and his staff.
Venables says spiritual enrichment is a crucial facet of his SOUL program.
"Shame on us if we're not providing opportunities for young people to grow in their faith. I'm not here to save everybody, but I'm a Christian. And I'm not afraid to express my beliefs."
#Sooners
Over the past nine months or so, Lincoln Riley had wholly focused the efforts of the
#Sooners
' offensive skill-position recruiting on the West Coast.
Sure makes you wonder.
Especially given that it wasn't difficult to foresee that USC vacancy coming open.
Anybody surprised by Tawee Walker's portal departure really shouldn't be. He wasn't on scholarship for the
#Sooners
, and did more than enough this year to land a scholarship opportunity elsewhere.
He's one of the toughest runners in the nation. Period.
Starting quarterback hurt.
Starting running back hurt.
Starting wide receiver hurt.
Starting safety hurt.
Starting right tackle hurt.
Like… forget the scoreboard for a second and it’s still an abject disaster.
The
#Sooners
weren't even planning on taking a portal receiver two weeks ago. Then they started poking around. Then they got serious about it.
And then Emmett Jones casually pulled the No. 1 transfer wideout in America. That man has more than earned his salary this year.
Somebody has 22 catches for 298 yards and four touchdowns in the last two games.
And some of y’all swore up and down that he only saw the field because he’s the coach’s kid.
Dawg.
Venables on his first impression of
@calebkkelly
:
"First time I met Caleb Kelly, I was like, THAT guy's got a story that needs to be heard. And he's a connector. He also has a heart for people. The light inside of that guy, I saw it within the first 30 seconds."
#Sooners
Holy crap Gavin Freeman.
Kid chose to walk on at OU over scholarships elsewhere. Now he scores in his first career game. What a moment for the homegrown kid.
For all that Dillon Gabriel is as a player, he’s also truly one of the best humans that has ever worn the crimson and cream.
Always handled the criticism with grace and the success with humility, and led the
#Sooners
with consistent unselfishness.
The epitome of a class act.
Savion Byrd walked out into the bowl at LaVell Edwards Stadium and took a couple minutes to take it all in.
Overheard him say to a BYU stadium staffer, “This is my first time seeing a mountain. Like, at all.”
Caleb Williams is literally sitting in the student section at the
#Sooners
’ basketball opener. Like a regular college kid.
Turns out Superman isn’t so different from the rest of us after all.
One coach came to OU in December with zero (0) commits at his position group. Less than two months later, he got commitments AND signatures from three blue-chip prospects in the span of six hours.
Hats off to Miguel Chavis. Easily the unsung hero of signing day for the
#Sooners
.
Fun little quote from
#Sooners
OL McKade Mettauer tonight. The Cal transfer was asked why Oklahoma was his dream school growing up.
"My family went to A&M, but I knew I wanted to break the chain of that [lineage]. I wanted to play big-time football."
One can believe that the
#Sooners
are headed in the right long-term direction and still be appalled by this performance today.
In fact, if you aren’t appalled, I don’t know what to tell you. This is among the worst football games ever played by this institution.
If nothing else, the
#Sooners
have a head coach who is willing to assume responsibility for everything, even though the vast majority of the blame for today's loss falls elsewhere.
Venables sat in front of reporters and just said, "I blew it."