Coach Cale Gundy said what we should know right now.....

[Rob Lewis_rivals]

In his signing day press conference, he stated that OU will recruit a high end quarterback in the 2016 class and the fact that there was no quarterback in this year's class will serve OU well in bringing in such a quarterback next year.
This is something I was already aware of, but having Gundy say it makes it very reassuring....and the way he said it told me that perhaps OU is already in the door with some of the nation's top high school quarterbacks, especially with Lincoln Riley (a Mike Leach disciple) added to the staff.
He also said, in so many words, that the disappointing finish to the 2014 season made everybody work even harder in recruiting and he credited OU graduate assistants as stepping up to help recruit players.
My own opinion is that the 2015 class exceeded my expectations significantly.....especially with two high end linebackers coming on board in the final days before signing day. Could the class have been better if OU was coming off a banner year ?.....Probably.....but the 2015 class turned out to be very good when considering the season OU suffered through, the coaching staff changes, Coach Stoops' surgery and some near misses on a few players during recruiting.
If I were asked right after the 40-6 loss to Clemson if OU would finish with a top 20 recruiting class (somewhere between 15th and 17th, depending on the recruiting service), second best in the Big 12 Conference, I would have thought the class would not crack the top 25. The way the coaches closed out recruiting in the final two weeks was remarkable.

 

[doack]

Originally posted by CTOkie:
In his signing day press conference, he stated that OU will recruit a high end quarterback in the 2016 class and the fact that there was no quarterback in this year's class will serve OU well in bringing in such a quarterback next year.
This is something I was already aware of, but having Gundy say it makes it very reassuring....and the way he said it told me that perhaps OU is already in the door with some of the nation's top high school quarterbacks, especially with Lincoln Riley (a Mike Leach disciple) added to the staff.
He also said, in so many words, that the disappointing finish to the 2014 season made everybody work even harder in recruiting and he credited OU graduate assistants as stepping up to help recruit players.
My own opinion is that the 2015 class exceeded my expectations significantly.....especially with two high end linebackers coming on board in the final days before signing day. Could the class have been better if OU was coming off a banner year ?.....Probably.....but the 2015 class turned out to be very good when considering the season OU suffered through, the coaching staff changes, Coach Stoops' surgery and some near misses on a few players during recruiting.
If I were asked right after the 40-6 loss to Clemson if OU would finish with a top 20 recruiting class (somewhere between 15th and 17th, depending on the recruiting service), second best in the Big 12 Conference, I would have thought the class would not crack the top 25. The way the coaches closed out recruiting in the final two weeks was remarkable.

Cale Gundy made it very clear Heupel recruited QBs in 2015. Not sure why some are trying to paint the roster as one that didn't have the coaches out beating the bushes for a top flight QB. Heupel tried without success and that's well documented with the recruitment of Chason Virgil late.

Cale Gundy also made it clear that he works hard to upgrade his RB roster annually as well. He tells his players that his job is to find someone better than the current roster. Just look at Cale Gundy's RB roster, which is 10X more talented and deep than the current QB situation, but he still recruits a RB.

Both Cale Gundy and Lincoln Riley have an optimistic view for 2016 QB recruiting. And, I believe it's warranted. They believe OU's inability to sign a top flight QB in 2015 should grab the attention of top flight QBs in 2016.

Why?

The current roster is full of read option QBs first and foremost. Heupel's Read Option offense required a QB skillset that doesn't necessarily roll into an Air Raid scenario. So, OU is truly fortunate that Heupel didn't sign another Trevor Knight type of QB, knowing the new direction this offense has changed the skillset of talent required at QB.

2016 stand tall in the pocket passers will have OU on their visit list, which is all you can ask for in recruiting. Get them on campus and you have a chance. I believe Lincoln Riley will be a better recruiter at the position.

 

[Rob Lewis_rivals]

The current roster "is full of read option QBs" ?
Outside of Trevor Knight, who are they ?
Hansen and Thomas were rated as pro-style quarterbacks (with good mobility which hardly makes them zone read guys) coming out of high school and Baker Mayfield is also a pro-style player.

 

[Earle36]

CT, watch out as ole JM...... will pull a bunch of statistics out of his bag to prove you are wrong

. Never mind that you are dead on correct in that Knight is the only true read option QB of the four currently on OU's roster.

I also agree with you and Cale that not taking a QB in 2015 doesn't hurt OU and most likely helps OU with recruiting QBs in 2016. I would rather wait another year for a QB instead of a fall back type QB this year. Go out next year and get a top ranked QB.

 

[JB4AU]

I wasn't worried at all that OU didn't pick up a QB recruit with this years class. OU is loaded with QB talent that simply needs to be developed and get them some WR depth to throw the ball to.

Myself, I'm more worried that we didn't get more LBs, regardless of what Bob Stoops says about having the right numbers on the roster. And I'm curious how much of Bobs staff changes factored into OUs strong finish in recruiting?

 

[Rob Lewis_rivals]

Just like the days following OU's 41-13 loss to Texas A&M after the 2012 season, I am of the belief that the 40-6 loss to Clemson is another "wake up call" given the coaching changes that followed this past season and the great effort put forth in the recruitment of the 2015 class.
But I sure am tired of having this team going through these "wake up calls".
It's time to wake up.....and STAY awake.

As for next year, I expect at least 3-4 solid linebackers and a highly touted quarterback coming in among the other positions being recruited.

 

[kwsusmc]

This is why I am nervous about this year, it is Mayfield or bust. No other QB has shown they can complete atleast 60% of there passes and if the QB can't do this the off will not work. This could be a make or break year for Stoops because last year was unacceptable. Plus I think the recruiting class was kinda a let down considering OU went 11-2 and slapped Bama.

 

[Earle36]

Originally posted by Brentwood Sooner:
This is why I am nervous about this year, it is Mayfield or bust. No other QB has shown they can complete atleast 60% of there passes and if the QB can't do this the off will not work. This could be a make or break year for Stoops because last year was unacceptable. Plus I think the recruiting class was kinda a let down considering OU went 11-2 and slapped Bama.

I will disagree just a tad here. Thomas wasn't chopped liver when he came out of high school. He was put in a bad situation this year when he was thrust into action when Knight went down. I have hope that Riley can resurrect his QBing career. Also, we haven't seen Hansen at all so far. He will just be a RS Freshman and he was pretty high rated coming out of HS.

It is also possible that Riley can help Knight some and maybe make a serviceable QB out of him. I do agree that Mayfield is the odds on favorite to be the starter. It will be interesting to see how it all shakes out this Spring.

Following last Spring's game I was hopeful that we would be pretty good. I thought the defense would be solid, but that was shown to not be accurate. I also had hope for the offense and that turned out to be not accurate either. In spite of the disappointment of last year I am very excited because of the new offensive coaches and the changes on defense. While I am excited, I am not expecting OU to be world beaters in 2015.

I think we have talent on the offense. Still we will be breaking in a new OL and we still don't have proven WRs to take up the slack once we get past Sterling. We will be solid at the RB position and I am hoping that Riley will be able to take advantage of the depth we have at RB Perine, Ford and Ross give lots of options to use in the passing game.

On defense, I am not sold on the LBers and the secondary. I think we will replace the up front losses with Phillips and Chuka. I hope that the new DB coach will give us a boost there. Sanchez has a chance to be much better and I like Thomas' chances as well. I think Parker will be one of the Safety starters and that he will show lots of improvement. We will see on the LBers. They can't be worse than last year and if Shannon is back that should help as well.

I am excited because I think the staff will be way more motivated than last year. I always like to see how the younger kids improve over the past year. I will keep my expectations in check though.

 

[Rob Lewis_rivals]

Originally posted by Brentwood Sooner:
This is why I am nervous about this year, it is Mayfield or bust. No other QB has shown they can complete atleast 60% of there passes and if the QB can't do this the off will not work. This could be a make or break year for Stoops because last year was unacceptable. Plus I think the recruiting class was kinda a let down considering OU went 11-2 and slapped Bama.

Declaring Mayfield as some kind of quarterback "savior"....at this time....is premature and a bit baseless. He had a good spring last year and at the time showed better than the others, but the other quarterbacks were and still are works in process.
How do we know if Mayfield will take over as the starter ? That's assuming that Knight, Thomas and Hansen aren't good enough to start and that's something I would not bet on.
Lincoln Riley's influence should go a long way in determining who rises to the top and I believe he is of the mindset that all four quarterbacks are on equal footing going into spring drills.
Thomas reminds me a little of Bomar his redshirt freshman (and only) year.
Hansen reminds me a little bit of Bradford.
Knight can still be a factor if he can learn from a shaky sophomore year and can get a solid receiving corps around him, like he had in the Sugar Bowl....and stay in an upright position.
Mayfield can certainly take over as a starter. But I choose to see what transpires in April before declaring he's the main man.

 

[MSU601Dawg]

As long as Mike Stoops and Tim Kish are on staff there is nothing to be optimistic about.

 

[sivabullet]

OUch anorexict, mighty harsh, Mike is no longer coaching dbacks & is co d coordinator. He'll have lots of help to succeed now, and there's still a need for Mike's fire on the sideline and as a coach. Kish man I scratch my head on this on every day

Originally posted by anorexictapeworm69:

As long as Mike Stoops and Tim Kish are on staff there is nothing to be optimistic about.

 

[shanehog]

I think royg and rh makes lots of sense. Do you think a dink and dunk air raid offense might be a bit easier to coach up than our recent qb schemes? In the air raid, might we have a bunch of qbs who might excel? Hueple was one heck of an air raid qb. I don't know how shiny he would have been in recent year schemes.

 

[doack]

Originally posted by CTOkie:
The current roster "is full of read option QBs" ?
Outside of Trevor Knight, who are they ?
Hansen and Thomas were rated as pro-style quarterbacks (with good mobility which hardly makes them zone read guys) coming out of high school and Baker Mayfield is also a pro-style player.

Go watch HUDL film on these guys and form you own opinion as I was able to do. It's still just my opinion.

Hansen is like Trevor Knight, but instead of passing for 56% in high school he threw for 58% and 59%, Junior and Senior years. He's listed as a Pro-Passer, but his high school offense was a spread option / zone read. He ran all over the field as he doesn't appear to get quick reads. He's good running with the ball and making plays as a playaction passer. Could he learn to stand tall in the pocket and distribute the ball like a Landry Jones? He's 6'3", so we'll see.

Trevor Knight, you did see.

Baker Mayfield's reason for being benched at Tech post injury was his inability to make quick reads and distribute the ball consistently from the pocket. He's around 6'1. He would scramble around more, which in high school he did A LOT, creating plays in play action scenarios. He's a playmaker, but the offense requires a big arm ball distributor for playmakers on the field. He does have a better arm than Hansen and Trevor Knight imo. His outside fade passes are stout. He just needs to learn to make quick reads and stand tall in the pocket.

Cody Thomas was in a spread option offense in high school, but he was able to dink and dunk quite effectively, so I can see him be successful in this offense. He does have mobility, if necessary, but this offense doesn't require that aspect of his game.

So, who can transition into a stand tall in the pocket passer is the question here?

Do you recall QBs like Max Browne and Gunner Kiel?

Those are the types of stand tall in the pocket passers Heupel tried to sign, but couldn't. Those are the types of QBs OU will try to sign in the future. Lincoln Riley made it very clear in his press conference that he didn't want his QB making plays with his legs because he views his QB as a ball distributor to playmakers on the field. He doesn't want his QB to take hits running the ball as that could result in injury.

OU just offered Dwanye Hanskins Jr at QB for 2016. That guy stands tall in the pocket with a very stout arm.

I just hope Cody Thomas is able to get coached up and become a stand tall in the pocket arm-slinger for this new offense.

Any current roster QB that requires moving the pocket around in this offense to make plays isn't the best case scenario.




This post was edited on 2/8 8:13 PM by JMISASANO

 

[Rob Lewis_rivals]

Knight was OU's plan B after Gunner Kiel turned OU down in the summer of 2012. OU swayed him from Texas A&M.
After Landry Jones' time here, the coaches wanted more mobility from the QB position. Knight, Thomas and Hansen have more mobility.
It's not that complicated.

 

[doack]

Originally posted by CTOkie:
Knight was OU's plan B after Gunner Kiel turned OU down in the summer of 2012. OU swayed him from Texas A&M.
After Landry Jones' time here, the coaches wanted more mobility from the QB position. Knight, Thomas and Hansen have more mobility.
It's not that complicated.

You just supported my argument.

Less arm more mobility is what you got in high school recruiting, e.g. Hansen and Knight.

Thomas was mobile as well, but he was in a spread option offense more so than a read option.

(Go watch the film and you'll see their mobility versus arm capability.)

Hansen looked more comfortable making plays running outside the pocket than standing tall in the pocket, but read option does ask that from their QBs.

Knight has to move the pocket to make all of the throws, which isn't a good thing in the new offense.

Mayfield is somewhat like Knight with a nice outside fade ball, overall a much better arm.

Thomas is the only QB that stands tall in the pocket to distribute the ball, but his mobility allows him to run the Baylor spread offense. I can see him being the best option for OU, if he gets his arm back on track. In high school he looked stout throwing the ball. At OU he's looked terribly inconsistent, which is strange.

High School stats:

Cody Thomas = 63%

Justice Hansen = 59%

Trevor Knight = 54%

Baker Mayfield = 63%

I see Mayfield and Thomas with enough arm capability to operate this offense. Fortunately, Thomas doesn't have to move the pocket to make all of the throws, but he has to be more consistent. There may be a chance Hansen develops his game to learn to make all the reads instead of making a run for it in playaction. He has the height, so we'll see if he improves on his pocket presence and a quick release. He has time to show his game before he graduates.

P.S. Trevor Knight wasn't Plan B, OU recruited:

A/B Gunner Kiel
A/B Connor Brewer
C Wes Lunt

Trevor Knight was Plan D or E, if you count Jamies Winston's early offer. Knight was almost an after thought committed to a&m, so I'm not sure how you forgot about the others? Most were shocked Wes Lunt (Plan C) picked OSU over OU after Kiel and Brewer committed elsewhere. Some actually thought OU had a chance at Connor Brewer early on because Heupel recruited him hard, but his horn family connection was too much to overcome.





This post was edited on 2/9 4:44 AM by JMISASANO

 

[Rob Lewis_rivals]

Good call, Roy.

 

[Andrew Owens]

Originally posted by CTOkie:
Good call, Roy.

I don't know how anybody can make any conclusions as to what QB can do what in "this offense," since we have yet to see even a practice report on "this offense." But then again, I forgot about JMISASANO for a brief period. Apparently press conferences prior to coaching a minute count toward what we'll see on the field.

JMISASANO, I know you like the rambling posts with meaningless STOUT stats and what not, but you might actually let the new OC and QB coach collect his thoughts and start coaching before you decide which QB can and can't be successful in "this offense" that you have zero clue about. You're just like the rest of us slugs on this subject.

 

[BUDDY G_rivals25215]

Sounds like some of these coaches are prepared to give honest answers instead of "football speak".

I don't mind using football speak when the media want to harp on nagging questions that they know are going to be handled internally, but Bob is notorious for giving football speak almost exclusively.

It has grown agitating over the years. I wanna know what you're thinking Bob!

 

[ksigcajun]

I'm not sure how anyone can draw any conclusions on QB from last spring when all they did was go up against what became the #117 ranked passing D. Mayfield needs to earn his stripes early on in the 2015 season...like @UTenn.

Trevor had a nice deep ball the first half of the season which begs the question as to why we wouldn't have him running and handing off, with passing primarily bombs sprinkled in (if we went with him). Even throws some nice intermediate passes but the erratic bad throws are a killer.

Throw all the caveats out there you want on Thomas (tOSU sure didn't for their 3rd stringer), but he was flat out terrible. I thought the same thing of Andy Dalton when we faced him in Norman early in his TCU career, and he certainly bootstraped himself. So who knows here...

Bottom line, we won't know how improved our DBs are until next year and ergo, won't have a clue about where our QBs are going into next season. No choice but to "in Riley we trust...."