This is a transition year for the Oklahoma Sooners.
Former head coach Lincoln Riley left town for USC, taking quarterback Caleb Williams and several others with him. In response, Oklahoma brought in former Sooners assistant Brent Venables, who left his position as defensive coordinator at Clemson to replace Riley.
The Sooners are certainly a hot topic on the national stage, and FOX Sports college football writer RJ Young faced questions on his first edition of “The No. 1 College Football Show” on Thursday, including one reader who wondered why the Sooners faced off a lot of “hate”.
No. 9 The Sooners open the season against UTEP on Saturday (3:30 p.m. ET on FOX and the FOX Sports app).
Q: Why does everyone hate Oklahoma? Will their opinions change after seeing them in the first week? — Chuck Perez
The fan did not specify what he meant by “hate”. Despite all the personnel losses, the Sooners are ranked 9th in the country.
“I didn’t know people hated Oklahoma to begin with. Honestly, I think this has just been a honeymoon period for Brent Venables and Oklahoma since he took the job,” Young responded. “I don’t know if it hates them. I think Oklahoma has won the last six Big 12 titles in a row and they just lost [last season] in an 11-win season.”
Young pointed out that it wasn’t so much the hatred for Oklahoma as the skepticism directed at the fact that the Sooners didn’t even get to the Big 12 Championship, let alone win it, and then their coach left.
“You also saw Lincoln Riley take himself, the starting quarterback, one of the better wide receivers and half the staff to USC,” he said. “You saw Brent Venables fill that void pretty quickly and with what I think is a great staff that will have a chance to win a Big 12 championship this year.”
Despite returning just nine starters from last season, the Sooners have plenty of talent, including quarterback Dillon Gabriel (considered by some to be a Heisman dark horse), running back Eric Gray (412 yards as a backup) and receiver Marvin Mims (705 receiving yards).
Their talent should keep the Sooners in the running for the conference title. But to really silence the doubters, Young points out, they’ll have to think bigger.
“We just want to see Oklahoma compete for a national championship. That hasn’t happened since 2008,” he said. “I would like Oklahoma to not just make the College Football Playoff … I would like to see them win the national semifinals. So if that’s what you call hate, I’ll take it, because I like to win 11, 12 games a year. I’m not sure that will happen with the move to the SEC.”
Also in the episode, Young answered a number of other interesting questions, including:
+ Who has a better chance to win the Heisman, Caleb Williams or Spencer Rattler?
+ Will Oklahoma and Oklahoma State stop playing when Oklahoma moves to the SEC?
+ Will no. 7 Utah make a statement to start the season?
You can catch more of the conversation from “The Number One College Football Show” on YouTube or subscribe to the show on Apple Podcasts or your favorite podcast app.
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Is Brady Manek going to the NBA?
North Carolina basketball forward Brady Manek will have a chance to earn a spot in the NBA with the Charlotte Hornets. Manek signed to join the Hornets for the Las Vegas Summer League, his agency announced Friday, after going unselected Thursday night in the 2022 NBA draft.
Is Brady Manek NBA Draft? To see also : Saturday Sports: Winning streak continues in Red & Black Football opener.
Where will Brady Manek go?
The UNC basketball star big man from last year’s Final Four team will end his professional career as a member of the NBL’s Perth Wildcats.
Is Manek an NBA prospect?
Former North Carolina standout Brady Manek went undrafted in the 2022 NBA Draft on Thursday night. This may interest you : 2022 MLB Draft follower: results, analysis, complete list of all draft options with 10 rounds. That’s not necessarily a surprising development, as Manek hasn’t been heralded as a top NBA prospect despite his senior season with the Tar Heels.
Who is OU targeting in transfer portal?
However, the coaching staff appears to be on board with the hiring of Todd Bates and the report that they are targeting Jay Valai to coach the cornerbacks. On the same subject : Inside Serena Williams’ Real Estate Portfolio, With Pads in Florida, California, and Paris. It’s a tough decision pending from their talented freshman, Caleb Williams.
Which OU players are in the transfer portal? 15, 2021 per OU Daily.
- Jadon Haselwood, WR in the Arkansas Razorbacks. …
- Spencer Rattler, QB of the South Carolina Gamecocks. …
- Austin Stogner, TE to the South Carolina Gamecocks. …
- Dillon Gabriel, QB of the UCF Golden Knights. …
- McKade Mettauer, OL from California. …
- Daniel Parker, Jr., TE from Missouri.
Who from OU has entered the transfer portal?
Arinze, a former 3-star recruit in the 2020 class, has played just one game in his OU career. Oklahoma linebacker Noah Arinze, a redshirt sophomore from St. Louis, decided to enter the NCAA Transfer Portal. Arinze announced his decision on Monday via Twitter.
Who is Ole Miss targeting in the transfer portal?
Ole Miss Transfer Target Ochaun Mathis sets decision date.
Is Caleb Williams transferring?
After nearly a month on the transfer portal, quarterback Caleb Williams is transferring to USC, ESPN’s Pete Thamel reported Tuesday. As expected, the former No. 1 player in the 2021 recruiting class will reunite with head coach Lincoln Riley at USC.
Does Caleb Williams attend USC? Caleb Williams, the starting quarterback for the USC Trojans, is likely to be the top pick in the 2023 NFL Draft.Before he made it big in the NFL, the Oklahoma transfer had already cashed in on his name, image and personality.
Is Caleb Williams eligible?
Caleb Williams and his father, Carl, have long planned Caleb’s career decisions around the goal of being the No. 1 pick in the NFL draft. Williams will be eligible in 2024 after two seasons at USC.
Why Caleb Williams transferring?
In the end, he decided to head to Los Angeles instead of Madison. Williams had no shortage of suitors when it came to the portal, but his final decision had as much to do with his footballing future as his footballing present.
