Unsung Sooner Football Stars at Quarter Pole of the Season

Because there is so much emphasis in the Big 12 and around the college football landscape these days in high-octane offensive engines, the guys we typically read about are the quarterbacks, the running backs or the wide receivers, the skill positions in every team’s offense. But what about the unsung heroes that consistently show up and do their job well in every game, but rarely are recognized in the game stories? Who are those unsung Sooner football stars three games into the 2015 season?

Oklahoma ranks 10th in the country in total offense (553.3 yards per game) and eighth in passing offense. Quarterback Baker Mayfield and wide receiver Sterling Shepard are the primary names you hear and read about when talk turns to the Sooner passing attack, which has been revved up this season under new offensive coordinator Lincoln Riley.

While Mayfield and Shepard may receive the bulk of the headlines and game balls, the Sooners’ improved passing numbers this season wouldn’t be possible if it weren’t for improved play on the part of a talented and more-involved supporting cast.

Sep 5, 2015; Norman, OK, USA; Oklahoma Sooners wide receiver Durron Neal (5) catches a pass while being defended by Akron Zips cornerback Kris Givens (21) during the first quarter at Gaylord Family – Oklahoma Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark D. Smith-USA TODAY Sports

Senior Durron Neal was the Sooners’ second leading receiver a year ago, and with 12 receptions after three games, he is well on his way to bettering his receiving numbers from the 2014 season. Unlike last season, however, Neal has competition for the No. 2 receiver role this season from a couple of newcomers.

Junior college transfer Dede Westbrook is tied with Neal, both with a dozen receptions, and right behind them is versatile redshirt-freshman running back Joe Mixon with 11, including a 76-yard catch and run for a touchdown in the Sooners’ 2015 opener against Akron.

Also impressive this season is the play of 6-5 redshirt-freshman tight end Mark Andrews, who has seven catches with two of those for touchdowns. Even the reigning Big 12 rushing champion, Samaje Perine, has caught six passes this season.

What is particularly noteworthy when you break down the Oklahoma passing game this season in its new Air Raid offense is the distribution among the receiving targets. The Sooners’ top four receivers are all averaging right around 15 or 16 yards per completion, and aside from Shepard’s 95.3 yards-per-game average, the next four receiving targets – Westbrook, Neal, Mixon and Andrews –  are averaging between 45.7 and 58.3 receiving yards per game.

Austin Seibert is the first true freshman in OU football history to take on both the punting and placekicking duties. And so far, he has made the most of that opportunity and lived up to the high expectations of having come in as one of the top kickers in the 2015 national recruiting class.

All the freshman kicker from Bellville, Ill., has accomplished in his first three games as a collegian is convert on all four of his field goal tries, with a long of 41 yards, go 16 for 16 in extra-point kicks and average 45.8 on 16 punts. By comparison, Tress Way, who was a very good punter for the Sooners from 2009 to 2012, holds the school record and was third in the NCAA and first in the Big 12 in the 2009 season, averaging 45.7 yards per punt.

Sep 5, 2015; Norman, OK, USA; Akron Zips quarterback Tra

Eric Striker and Charles Tapper are team captains and leaders on defense, but two other defensive players who are having excellent seasons so far are linebacker Devante Bond, who spells Striker on many defensive possessions, especially when the Sooners go with five defensive backs, and defensive tackle Charles Walker.

Bond, a senior from Sacramento, Calif.,  played in 12 of 13 games last season and started the final three games of the season. In three games this season, Bond has made 12 tackles, two of them for a combined loss of 18 yards, 2 quarterback sacks, 1 quarterback hurry, 1 forced fumble and a blocked kick.

Walker, a redshirt sophomore who is listed at 6-2, 297 pounds, has 11 tackles in backup duty to go along with 3.5 tackles for loss, 1.5 quarterback sacks, 2 quarterback hurries and 1 forced fumble.

In recognizing this sampling of unsung Sooner stars through the opening three games of the 2015 season, it is interesting to note the geographic diversity of several of the student athletes.

While a good number of the players on the 2015 OU football roster hail from Texas or the state of Oklahoma, Andrews, for example is from Arizona, Mixon and Bond are from California, and Seibert is from Illinois. The Sooners also have players on the roster from Georgia, Virginia, eight total from California, four from Florida, two from both Mississippi, and Louisiana, Ohio, New York, New Jersey, Maryland, South Dakota Utah, Missouri, Kansas, Alaska and even a couple of players from north of the border in Canada.