Oklahoma Football: Title hopes still intact, despite NCAA denying DGB’s appeal

Early Friday evening, The Oklahoman’s Jason Kersey reported that Oklahoma’s appeal for a “run-off” waiver, which would make wide receiver Dorial Green-Beckham eligible to play in the 2014 season, was denied by the NCAA.

DGB was potentially a difference maker for the Sooners, who will  break-in a group of talented, but very young and inexperienced receivers.

There’s no doubt Sooner Nation will be disappointed and somewhat shocked by this announcement, but this should not diminish the championship hopes for Bob Stoops and his squad.

The hype surrounding this team began long before there were ever any whispers of the former Missouri Tiger coming to Norman. In other words, the expectations for this team didn’t show up when DGB popped up on campus. The hype was sparked on a January night in New Orleans when Oklahoma took Nick Saban and his Alabama Crimson Tide out to the woodshed.

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Thanks to a couple of really solid recruiting classes brought in by wide receivers coach Jay Norvell the Sooners know they have plenty of talent at the position. While the young talent may be unproven, quarterback Trevor Knight will still have a very reliable target to throw to in junior Sterling Shepard.

With all the hype around DGB, it almost seems as if Shepard has been forgotten about. That’s hard to believe after watching him rack up over 600 receiving yards in each of his first two seasons at Oklahoma. Those numbers are pretty impressive when you consider he was still waiting his turn to become a primary target behind Kenny Stills and Jalen Saunders.

It would seem this is the year for Shepard to prove he’s one of the elite wide receivers in the Big 12.

It also sounds like Stoops is pretty fired up about junior Durron Neal, who may finally be showing the ability he was expected to have all along.

Let’s also not forget about sophomore Derrick Woods, who made that incredible leaping catch in the Sugar Bowl to convert a 3rd and 12 with the Sooners down three points and in jeopardy of letting Alabama take control of the game. It’s a play that seems to get overlooked in that game, but may have been one of the most important catches of the entire night.

Norvell has had some great recruiting classes lately and you can bet that with guys like the athletic Michiah Quick and the big receivers like Mark Andrews (6-6), Jeffery Mead (6-6) and Dallis Todd (6-4) the Sooners feel pretty good about their receivers.

The addition of DGB would have been icing on the cake, but losing his appeal shouldn’t keep Oklahoma fans from having that same excitement they had when they walked out of the Superdome just over six months ago.

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