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Patriotgame
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OUnabomber
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LVPack
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It's been an interesting pattern in BV's first three seasons. Caleb Williams, Dillon Gabriel and Jackson Arnold all told BV that they would be entering the transfer portal. The only remaining question is whether or not Arnold will enjoy the same success that Williams and Gabriel achieved after leaving OU.
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OUnabomber
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I'm not really sure you can blame the first 2 on BV. Williams wanted to go to Hollywood with Riley and I think Gabriel wanted to play closer to home with what he knew would be a really good team. Arnold, on the other hand, could be blamed somewhat on BV and his choice of an OC
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LVPack
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The "closer to home" reasoning he gave doesn't make any sense. It's not like he can hop in a car and make a quick drive over to Hawaii. It's nearly 3,000 miles across the ocean from Portland. It's a 5 1/2 hour flight from Portland, and a 7 1/2 hour flight from Oklahoma City. So he spends an extra 2 hours on a plane. Big deal.
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Patriotgame
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I may be wrong, but I'm not upset Arnold is leaving. All year as you watch him survey the field, he just doesn't seem to be comprehending the defensive alignments and where he should go with the ball.
I think from a football mind perspective, we will be better next year.
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LVPack
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He has two years of eligibility left. His best bet is to choose a program wisely and redshirt next year. With a fresh start, he might start living up to his potential in 2026.
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OUnabomber
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Ya I always thought that was weird, but its what he said for part of his reasoning. Probably had a lot to do with money
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Patriotgame
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I would bet money his family has access to either free airfare to the games and/or access to a private jet via Mr. Nike
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ShamWowed
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I have mixed emotions on Arnold leaving. He had very little supporting cast this year but he also did not seem to improve much outside of his run game. I think if I were to lay blame it would primarily be against the coaches and of course the injuries to O-Line and wideout. I hope he goes somewhere and tears it up. That somewhere though may not be a feel-good story for us, but if I were him, I would consider USC. Hate him or hate him, LR does produce at the QB position.
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LVPack
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Arnold's future remains uncertain. He may end up eventually living up to the hype coming out of high school, but that remains to be seen.
I would note that OU has a somewhat dubious history with highly touted HS quarterbacks. Noah Allen, Tommy Grady, Rhett Bomar, Keith Nichol, Spencer Rattler, and now Jackson Arnold, to name a few. The only one I recall that actually lived up to the hype was Caleb Williams, and he only played one year at OU.
Three of the Heisman Trophy winning quarterbacks, Jason White, Sam Bradford, and Baker Mayfield, along with Heisman runner-up Josh Heupel were not highly recruited coming out of high school.
Chapman MkCown and Bauer Sharp hit the portal. And Jayden Rowe.
Besides Arnold and Anderson, we haven't really been ravaged by the portal like I think many were expecting. Everybody else was 3rd string or lower. The storm ain't as bad as it seemed.
Besides Arnold and Anderson, we haven't really been ravaged by the portal like I think many were expecting. Everybody else was 3rd string or lower. The storm ain't as bad as it seemed.
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OUnabomber
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Thank God Sharp hit the portal. What happened to Davon Mitchell? I thought he was supposed to be the next Gresham.
So many wanted Dillon Gabriel to leave thinking Arnold was OU’s next great QB.
I believe Gabriel had other reasons to leave besides wanting to be closer to home (by maybe three hours) or to step aside for Arnold.
He may not have liked his offensive supporting cast, especially as it relates to the offensive line and the offensive coaches.
I believe Gabriel had other reasons to leave besides wanting to be closer to home (by maybe three hours) or to step aside for Arnold.
He may not have liked his offensive supporting cast, especially as it relates to the offensive line and the offensive coaches.
Winner winner you buy dinner! Seth Littrell vs Will Stein/Dan Lanning was a no brainer.
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OUnabomber
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I guess we never imagined Littrell could be so in over his head. I don't know what BV was thinking
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OUSOONER67
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DG and his parents have said the main reason DG left was to let JA have his time and he didn't want to stand in the way of that.
"In an interview with The Athletic’s Christopher Kamrani (subscription required), Gabriel and his family revealed he received a conservative seventh round-undrafted free agent NFL draft grade. That led to his decision to want to return for one more year, but according to the story, it was Oklahoma’s five-star quarterback Jackson Arnold who was the motivating factor in Gabriel’s decision to transfer.
" It wasn’t because of the potential quarterback competition, one Gabriel would have likely won due to his experience. But according to Gabriel’s mom via The Athletic, the former Sooners quarterback was concerned “Jackson might leave, and he didn’t want that for the program.”
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LVPack
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If Mateer decides to stay put or transfer to somewhere other than OU, I think it would be a mistake for OU to give up on Michael Hawkins. Although he's still rough around the edges, he has a lot of upside. With the right coaching and supporting cast, he could develop into a really good QB. The kid plays with fire and determination. Give him a decent offensive line and some playmakers at wide receiver and see what he can do in Arbuckle's scheme.
Agree.
But I doubt if OU is giving up on Hawkins. He was an elite player in high school and was heavily recruited. He showed potential this season.
Can’t wait to see him play Navy.
I’ll add that OU must bring in a good QB from the portals, otherwise OU will have Jett Niu as backup. Not an ideal situation.
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OUSOONER67
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Add Vickers, McKown, Hatchett, Kani Walker, Jayden Rowe to the list.
11 so far have entered.
Odds on Fav to land JA is Lebby at Miss St.
11 so far have entered.
Odds on Fav to land JA is Lebby at Miss St.
All this could change if schools made these kids sign contracts if they want to get paid. They want to act like pros, treat them like pros.
How did this staff not contemplate Arnold leaving and not give Hawkins more touches. He accounted for only other SEC win vs. Aubie. Sure he was dreadful vs the Cocks, but no worse than Arnold was vs UTenn. Especially after we decided to just run the ball vs. Bama - give Hawkins some touches. Entire year was a waste.
Maybe the staff figured with a new offensive coordinator coming in after the season that Arnold would stick around.
A part of me thinks Arnold's best move would be to stay put and redshirt next season behind Mateer (in this hypothetical scenario) and develop. Obviously most of these guys aren't willing to show that level of patience. Reuniting with Lebby is the only place where he isn't starting over but that is accepting a fate of zero team success.
I still believe Arnold has a ridiculous ceiling but any big time program he's going to be playing catchup to try and be the starter.
Jalil Farooq to the portal. That one hurts imo.
I'm thinking Burks will enter the draft. So one more loss at WR and we'll be looking rough. Need Gibson and Anthony back, but even so need a big grab from the portal at WR.
Defensively the only guy in the portal that was a bummer was Vickers.
Its gonna be messy for a while but if I'm a HC I'm documenting the departures and how things turn out to show these kids that jumping from program to program gets 99% of the nowhere.
I'm thinking Burks will enter the draft. So one more loss at WR and we'll be looking rough. Need Gibson and Anthony back, but even so need a big grab from the portal at WR.
Defensively the only guy in the portal that was a bummer was Vickers.
Its gonna be messy for a while but if I'm a HC I'm documenting the departures and how things turn out to show these kids that jumping from program to program gets 99% of the nowhere.
I’m old enough to remember when players signed with schools because they wanted to play for them. Most dreamed of wearing the school colors and representing the university. Sadly those days are over except for a few exceptions. There seems to be no love or loyalty anymore. Why is that? I think we all know. The NIL sucks.
Did you watch of any of last spring's game or practice. Mitchell who was a really highly rated guy, wasn't ready. He was supposed to be a high school senior this season, and looked like an overmatched high school player. I'm sure he will get therem but he wasn't there yet. As poor as we've been at tight end in 2024, he wouldn't have been an improvement.
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OUSOONER67
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ShamWowed
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WTF? Farooq has been and would continue to be a starter. Is he pissed at the medical staff?
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OUSOONER67
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Looks like JA will be a Miss St Bulldog. No surprise there.
Saw a few mins ago that Auburn is hosting him Fri ot Sat so who knows. Looks like Freeze has 3 QB's hitting the Portal.
Saw a few mins ago that Auburn is hosting him Fri ot Sat so who knows. Looks like Freeze has 3 QB's hitting the Portal.
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Larry4681
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I think this pretty much says JA will end up at MSU and likely become the starter. I am just reading between the lines thinking this is why he entered the portal. Was probably told JA would be the starter.