Does It Really Matter Who the Sooner QB Is with the Horn of Plentiful Playmakers?

In the off chance you haven’t paid any attention whatsoever to what is going in August training camp as the Oklahoma Sooners prepare for the rapidly approaching 2015 college football season, there is a highly contested competition in progress over who is going to be the No. 1 Sooner QB come opening day.

The lead candidates are Baker Mayfield, who last played a college game as a freshman walk-on starter at Texas Tech in 2013, and redshirt junior Trevor Knight, who played the game of his life in the Sooners’ 2014 BCS Sugar Bowl win over mighty Alabama, but since then has really been no better than what could be described as serviceable as the OU starter at the position for most of 2014.

Much has been made about which of these two candidates will win the starter’s job to kick off the 2015 season, with arguments being raised and rumored going both ways. The current speculation is that head coach Bob Stoops, with heavy input naturally expected from new offensive coordinator Lincoln Riley, will break the suspense with an announcement sometime around the middle of next week on who will be under center when the Sooners taken the field on Sept. 5 for their first offensive possession of the new season.

Sep 13, 2014; Norman, OK, USA; Oklahoma Sooners wide receiver Sterling Shepard (3) makes a catch over Tennessee Volunteers defensive back Cameron Sutton (23) during the game at Gaylord Family – Oklahoma Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports

For the record, I’m still sticking to my guns that it is Mayfield’s job to lose, and that Knight will fit nicely into the the No. 2 slot as the primary backup. I wouldn’t be all that surprised to see the Sooners use both quarterbacks in the home opener with Akron, which shouldn’t be more than a tune up for Week 2, when the stakes go up considerably with a road date at Tennessee.

The more I think about it though, the more I question if it really matters whether it’s Mayfield or Knight as the starter in Riley’s more wide-open “Air Raid” offense. The beauty of this style of offense is that it relies more on quick timing routes and the ability of receiving targets to get open and, of course, be able to bring in the quick throws that are made to them. That doesn’t mean that the vertical passing game isn’t important, but deep-throw accuracy isn’t the end-all, be-all of the offense.

The quarterback in this offense does have to make quick decisions, however, because of the fast-developing nature of the quick-strike passing game. And that is why the Sooner coaches are paying very close attention to how the Sooner quarterback candidates are able to handle and execute this vital aspect of the quarterback’s role in training camp scrimmages.

The quarterback’s primary responsibility in the new offense the Sooners are putting in this season is to be able to make the quick decisions that are required at the line of scrimmage and manage the offense. That is not to say that other fundamental skills of the position are not necessary or important, just not as important.

The new offense is not necessarily expected to make the Sooner receivers better, but it will put them in better position to make plays and contribute more to the offense. OU has talented receivers – and it did last season, as well – only in the 2014 campaign, the offensive schemes in the passing game did not put the receiving targets in the best position to maximize their abilities.

This season, with the addition of Dede Westbrook as a strong No. 2 to All-Big 12 performer Sterling Shepard, as well as speedy sophomore Michiah Quick, Durron Neal and newcomers to the receiving corps Jeffery Mead and Mark Andrews, the Sooners should be well-suited to blow away their pass yardage numbers of a year ago.

Shepard and Westbrook both possess big-play characteristics and are major threats to add valuable yardage after the catch.

Nov 22, 2014; Norman, OK, USA; Oklahoma Sooners running back Samaje Perine (32) runs for a touchdown during the game against the Kansas Jayhawks at Gaylord Family – Oklahoma Memorial Stadium. He broke the ncaa all-time single game rushing record during the game. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports

And these are just part of the playmakers that the Sooner quarterback will have at his disposal. Most teams that run this type of offense don’t have as strong a running game as the Sooners, who led the Big 12 in rushing last season, and OU is even stronger in that regard this season. Last season, it was all about freshman sensation Samaje Perine. Perine is back again in 2015, as is Alex Ross, who doubles as one of the best kick-return specialists in the Big 12.

What makes the Sooners potentially even better in the running game this season is the addition of former five-star recruit Joe Mixon along with Daniel Brooks. Mixon was rated as a higher prospect than Perine coming out of high school. largely because he has excellent pass-catching ability to go with breakaway speed.

Brooks also has looked good catching passes out of the backfield. He and Baker Mayfield connected on a 90-yard TD catch and run at practice on Monday.

The fact that defenses must respect the explosiveness of the Oklahoma run game only adds to the Sooners’ ability to make plays with what is sure to be a more wide-open passing attack.

The Sooners clearly are blessed with talent at all the skill positions on offense. With that many playmakers on offense, and a new offense that is designed to get the ball into the hands of not just one or two, but multiple offense weapons, it takes much of the emphasis off of who becomes the starting quarterback of this team.

Mayfield has the better credentials for this style of offense, but given the adjustments that have been made in the offense and the combination of weapons at the QB’s disposal, there really is no reason that Knight couldn’t also be successful manning the controls.

Something tells me that OU’s opponents are in for a bit of a surprise when the go up against the Sooners this season. Shades of 2000? Probably not that much of a surprise, but certainly not 2014, either.