The big questions heading into today’s spring games for OU, OSU
NORMAN — There’s been plenty of intrigue in the spring for OU football, from a large group of fresh faces — including a trio of transfers from the same school — to holes to fill on the offensive line and the secondary most notably to a pair of players who opted out a year ago returning.
The Oklahoman’s OU coverage team of Ryan Aber, Jenni Carlson and Berry Tramel answer three questions about the Sooners entering Saturday’s spring game, which kicks off at 4 p.m. and will be televised on Bally Sports Oklahoma:
Who are you most looking forward to seeing in Saturday’s spring game?
Carlson: Two guys spring to mind: Kennedy Brooks and Caleb Kelly. Brooks opted out of last season be
cause of the pandemic, so there’s every reason to believe he’ll look good at running back. But still. I’m curious about him. Kelly, of course, is coming back from another season-ending injury. He could be the feel-good story of the 2021 season.
Tramel: I’m looking forward to seeing the Tennessee guys. I won’t be able to tell anything about the offensive tackle, (Wanya) Morris, because I don’t have that kind of football sense. But safety Key Lawrence? I hear big-time things about him. And one of my best friends is a Vol fan who says tailback Eric Gray will win the Heisman Trophy at OU. Of course, the same fan said Jon Gruden was taking the Tennessee job, so I’m ready to rely on my eyes and not my ears.
Carlson: Those transfers could be the difference between OU truly contending for a national title or not.
Aber: All good answers but I’ll go with a couple defensive linemen — Jalen Redmond and Isaiah Coe. The defensive line has been as big of a reason as any why the Sooners haven’t been able to break through and win a College Football Playoff game and they’re finally building some depth over there along with some front-line guys who could hold their own in a big-game setting. Redmond’s work this spring has drawn rave reviews after he opted out last season after a very productive 2019. He gives them some added versatility and with Isaiah Thomas and Perrion Winfrey up front, there’s a number of ways to deploy that group with Redmond’s and Thomas’ abilities to play both inside and out. Coe is an interesting one because he didn’t get a lot of focus in the 2021 class but Calvin Thibodeaux and several players have raved about Coe’s spring performance so far.
Tramel: That brings up an interesting dilemma with spring ball. If the dline looks good, is that because the dline IS good, or is it because the offensive line is substandard? That’s why I send most of my eyesight at spring games to players in space. Quarterbacks, receivers, defensive backs.
Who’s the freshman you’re most looking forward to getting your first look at?
Tramel: Mario Williams. Some of the veterans rave about the wide receiver, and frankly, by Lincoln Riley’s own testimony, there is playing time to be claimed at wide receiver. If this guy can produce in what is really his spring season of high school, his future is bright.
Carlson: Just because I don’t think we’re going to see him a lot in the fall, I’ll go with Caleb Williams. I guess he might play for Spencer Rattler in mopup duty, but I assume the best-case scenario for this team would be for Williams to see little of the field. But he is such a highly rated quarterback. I’m curious to see how he looks in light of how Rattler looks.
Tramel: Quarterbacks usually are the only thing interesting to me about spring practice. Especially if there’s a battle for the starting job, but Caleb Williams-type players certainly are the silver medalist. Closest thing to Jack Mildren in 1968, playing for the OU freshman team on Monday nights at Owen Field.
Aber: Caleb Williams is the easy answer, for the reasons both of you mentioned, but I’ll go with Billy Bowman. He’s drawn rave reviews and plenty of talk about the possibility of contributing on both sides of the ball, but he’ll start out in the secondary and with as good of wide receivers as this team has, it’ll be interesting to see how he matches up with some of them this early. The Sooners are going to need some new faces to step forward in the secondary and he’s a very intriguing one.