The 2015 season for Sooner football is officially in session as the players took part in the opening day of fall training camp on Thursday.
With the countdown to the first game in the new season just about a month away, excitement for college football is in the air again. The Sooners began fall training camp on Thursday in preparations for a 2015 campaign in which they are projected as the third or fourth best team in the Big 12, a rarity in the Bob Stoops era.
Oklahoma has won eight Big 12 championships in football in the 19 years the conference came into being as a combination of the old Big Eight and four former Southwest Conference teams. But the Sooners’ have not won an outright conference title since 2010, the last season the Big 12 held a conference championship game.
Oct 4, 2014; Fort Worth, TX, USA; Oklahoma Sooners head coach Bob Stoops prior to the second half against the TCU Horned Frogs at Amon G. Carter Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matthew Emmons-USA TODAY Sports
Coming off of a highly disappointing 2014 season, one of the worst in head coach Bob Stoops’ 16 years at the helm at OU, there are plenty of questions surrounding Oklahoma football and what Sooner fans can expect in the way of a rebound after failing to reach double-digit victories for just the fourth time under Stoops and finishing behind three other teams in the Big 12 standings.
Here are six Sooner football storylines that will get plenty of attention in the buildup to the Sept. 5 season opener at home against Akron:
Who will win the starting quarterback job? Baker Mayfield is probably the safe bet here, but Trevor Knight is well liked and one of the leaders of the team and should not be counted out (remember the 2013 preseason battle with Blake Bell). It is also very interesting that Stoops had Knight attend Big 12 Media Days and not Mayfield. Whoever gets the final call, a lot will be riding on his ability to perform at a consistently high level in offensive coordinator Lincoln Riley’s new “Air Raid” offense.
Sep 13, 2014; Norman, OK, USA; Oklahoma Sooners wide receiver Sterling Shepard (3) during the game against the Tennessee Volunteers at Gaylord Family – Oklahoma Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports
How will Lincoln Riley’s new offense take hold and will it reignite a passing attack that was virtually nonexistent last season? There will be high interest to see if the new quick-throw-and-catch style of play will improve the Sooners’ consistency on offense, but first OU is going to have to find a complement of receivers who can actually catch the ball. This wide-open passing attack is not as new to Bob Stoops and the Sooners as some may think. This is exactly the type of offense that made Oklahoma so successful through its 2000 national championship run and in the early 2000s. A strong passing attack could also make the Sooners’ already-strong running game even more dangerous.
Will highly recruited running back Joe Mixon live up to the high performance expectations that have been placed on him? Mixon was the prized recruit in OU’s 2014 class, which also included a guy named Samaje Perine. All Perine did in his freshman season was set a new NCAA single-game rushing record (427 yards against Kansas) and lead all Big 12 rushers with 1,713 yards, almost 500 more than the league’s second-best running back, Shock Linwood of Baylor. Mixon’s freshman season was derailed after he was suspended for the season for allegedly punching a female student in the face prior to the start of the 2014 season. The highly touted running back from California reportedly has met all of the conditions required of him by the OU coaches and the administration in order to gain reinstatement. Mixon is an explosive runner and has good hands, which should increase his contribution to the offense by becoming a pass target out of the backfield.
Oct 11, 2014; Dallas, TX, USA; Oklahoma Sooners guard Nila Kasitati (54) in action against theTexas Longhorns during the Red River showdown at the Cotton Bowl. Mandatory Credit: Matthew Emmons-USA TODAY Sports
Only one returning starter on the offensive line. One of the big reasons that Oklahoma ranked 10th in the country last season running the football was because of a veteran, experienced front wall of offensive lineman. Four of the starters from that unit are gone, with only center Ty Darlington back for another season. Offensive line coach Bill Bedenbaugh likes the talent the Sooners have on the offensive line with seniors Derek Farniok and Josiah St. John at the tackle position and Nilia Kasitati. a senior, and junior Jamal Danley manning the two guard spots. This will be a transition year for the offensive line, and something to watch as the season progresses. The Sooners appear to have talent at the position, but definitely are thin on experience and depth.
For the Sooners to have any success this season, they must get better in the defensive secondary. Oklahoma has had problems in its defensive pass coverage for several seasons, especially defending against good receivers on big plays down field. This became highly apparent in the 2014 season. The Sooner secondary was young and, outside of All-Big 12 First-Team selection Zack Sanchez, lacked a lot of game experience. The Sooners went from No. 1 in pass defense in the Big 12 in 2013 to next to last in 2014 and ranked No. 117 in the country. The word coming out of Norman this offseason is that defensive coordinator Mike Stoops plans to play five defensive back much of the time against the high-powered spread passing offenses that exist in the Big 12. Bob Stoops believes the defensive secondary play will get better if for no other reason than they are now a year older. The head coach also has said that the secondary class from the 2015 recruiting cycle may be the best one they have ever had. One thing is fairly certain, however. If OU does not improve in the defensive backfield, with the difficult road schedule the Sooners face this season, they will be fortunate to equal even the eight wins they had a year ago.
Oct 11, 2014; Dallas, TX, USA; Oklahoma Sooners defensive coordinator Mike Stoops smiles prior to the game against the Texas Longhorns during the Red River showdown at the Cotton Bowl. Mandatory Credit: Matthew Emmons-USA TODAY Sports
What affect, if any, will all the change up in the coaching staff have on OU’s 2015 season? Co-offensive coordinators Josh Heupel (longtime Stoops’ assistant and quarterback of the Sooners’ 2000 national championship team) and Jay Norvell were let go after last season and replaced by Lincoln Riley, who spent the past five seasons as offensive coordinator at East Carolina. Last season, Riley’s offense at East Carolina ranked third in the nation in passing offense and fifth in the country in total offense. The new Sooner OC is bringing back to Norman the same offense that Mike Leach of Texas Tech fame installed the one season he was an assistant under Stoops in 1999. Riley is a Texas Tech alum and also coached in Lubbock under Leach. Stoops also has brought in a new defensive backs coach (Kerry Cooks from Notre Dame) and a new defensive line coach (Diron Reynolds from Stanford, after a decade as an assistant coach in the NFL), replacing Jerry Montgomery, who left OU to take a coaching job in the NFL). In another major staff change, Mike Stoops will no longer coach the defensive backs (that is why Kerry Cooks was brought in), and he will move to the press box as defensive coordinator during games instead of his usual spot on the sidelines. When asked what all of these changes will mean for Oklahoma, one national writer wrote: “The possibilities range from serious contender to serious concern.