Sooners spring practice observations: Burks shines
NORMAN — The OU football team resumed spring practice Wednesday inside the Everest Training Center and media were permitted to watch nearly two hours of the Sooners’ workout.
Here are some observations from OU beat writers Ryan Aber and Colton Sulley from the open period:
Deion Burks impresses at OU football practice
Aber: Deion Burks might’ve been the most impressive player I saw today. He repeatedly made tough catches in traffic, including at least one that drew an interference flag, and separated himself on deep routes. The Purdue transfer looks like he’s got a chance to be the Sooners’ top wide receiver. Burks also showed some swagger, spinning the ball on the turf after a particularly impressive catch.
Sulley: I concur, Burks is going to be a star. He, Jalil Farooq and Jayden Gibson worked out with the No. 1’s during practice. The wide receiver room is one of the deepest position groups on the team entering 2024. Tight end Bauer Sharp also continued to shine. He earned first-team reps, while Davon Mitchell ran with the second team and showed off his athleticism. Offensive coordinator Seth Littrell and co-offensive coordinator and tight ends coach Joe Jon Finely have to be happier with the depth of that room compared to a season ago. Kaden Helms provided an update on his status Wednesday, telling reporters he practiced at the beginning of spring ball and is dealing with some “minor” injuries.
More OU football practice takeaways
Troy Everett spent plenty of time h working at center with the “starting group,” but Everett suffered an injury late in practice. It’s unclear how serious Everett’s injury is but he was able to walk. Wide receiver Brenen Thompson also got banged up, though he was walking fine under his own power after getting up.
The offensive linemen that ran h with the starters during a two-minute drill were Michael Tarquin at left tackle, Heath Ozaeta at left guard, Everett at center, Febchi Nwaiwu at right guard and Jake Taylor at right tackle.
Jayden Rowe looks the part at h least after missing all but the opener last season with a knee injury. He was wearing a brace on his left knee but at 6-foot-2, 228 pounds, looked good mobility-wise and stands out physically among the defense backs group.
Jackson Arnold had some nice h touch on several passes. The most impressive to me was a deep fade that Jalil Farooq hauled in for a touchdown.
Casey Thompson is hurt but h spent plenty of time standing behind the quarterbacks as they were making their stationary throws, mimicking their motions on air as best he could.
Gibson was another receiver who h stood out. Gibson made a particularly impressive leaping catch late in practice.
Michael Hawkins Jr. doesn’t figh ure to see the field this season with Jackson Arnold as the starter at QB and Thompson figuring to be the backup if he comes back all right from his injury, but Hawkins showed off some solid arm strength on several deep throws as well. He had a particularly impressive deep completion to fellow freshman Zion Kearney.
Kearney and freshman Ivan Carh reon look like they could contribute in a deep receivers room.
Head coach Brent Venables conh tinued to let new defensive coordinator Zac Alley primarily work with the linebackers while he spent most of his time surveying the secondary with safeties coach Brandon Hall and newly promoted assistant head coach for defense Jay Valai. Venables also played defensive back on Burks during a 7-on-7 drill.