Oklahoma is less than a week away from the start of their 2022 campaign. While there’s been heaps of optimism and positivity coming from the camp in Norman all summer long, elsewhere, people aren’t as sold on Oklahoma’s potential this season.
Some of the writers at CBS Sports shared their thoughts on the Big 12 heading into 2022. The conference’s flagship programs, Oklahoma and Texas, were deemed two of its most overrated teams. Shehan Jeyarajah had this to say about the Sooners.
The Sooners have been the model of consistency over the past six years, but they’re entering a new era. More than 40% of the roster is new, according to Venables. Gone are the top two quarterbacks, leading two rushers, four of the top five receivers, and the top three sack leaders from last season. There’s plenty of new talent to replace the losses, but they haven’t played together. The coaching staff is new, and the scheme and philosophy are new. This isn’t a turnkey operation, and we won’t see the best of Oklahoma until November. – Shehan Jeyarajah (also Barrett Sallee), CBS Sports
There’s validity in the belief that Oklahoma won’t look like last year. The thing about that particular idea is that Oklahoma, especially offensively, didn’t look good at all for multiple stretches last year.
Spencer Rattler struggled, the offensive line struggled, and then the switch to Caleb Williams in the middle of the season infused some new life for a while. But even they still struggled with some of the same larger issues that plagued the team when Rattler was under center.
The offensive talent that was lost outside of running back Kennedy Brooks isn’t that big of a deal, considering they now have an entirely new offensive system, and the offensive line has a new blocking scheme as well. The Sooners are bringing back three starters along the offensive line, their best wide receiver Marvin Mims, and Theo Wease is returning from missing most of 2021.
Adding to that is new starting quarterback Dillon Gabriel, who’s had success in Jeff Lebby’s offense, which resulted in freshman All-American honors in 2019.
Defensively, the losses they suffered may be more significant, at least as things stand right now. Nik Bonitto, Isaiah Thomas, Perrion Winfrey, Brian Asamoah, and the safety duo of Pat Fields and Delarrin Turner-Yell, had the experience and production combination that can’t easily be replaced. And potentially more important, most of those guys were…