Oklahoma football: Five best things we learned from Big 12 Media Days

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NORMAN, OK – SEPTEMBER 10 : The Sooner Schooner takes the field after a touchdown against the Louisiana Monroe Warhawks September 10, 2016 at Gaylord Family Memorial Stadium in Norman, Oklahoma. The Sooners defeated the Warhawks 59-17. (Photo by Brett Deering/Getty Images) *** local caption *** /

Look for the Sooners to hit their stride earlier in the schedule than in 2016

One thing Lincoln Riley has stressed to his players since taking over the head coach’s job in the paramount importance of hitting their stride as a team much earlier in the schedule this season.

The Sooners lost two of their first three games in 2016. Granted, those two early losses very to very good teams (Houston and Ohio State), but they also struggled, particularly on the defensive ,until about the seventh game of the season. They won their remaining 10 games after losing in the third weekend of the season to Ohio State, but they didn’t really put it all together until late October, when the then No. 16-ranked Sooners trounced Kansas 56-3.

“We’ve been focusing on starting fast,” said senior linebacker Ogbonnia Okoronkwo and one of the leaders on the OU defensive unit. “We (know we) can control only what we control, and we want to put everything out on the field.”

“Just talking about the secondary,” added senior safety Steven Parker. “Everybody is hungrier.”

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