Oklahoma football: Five returning Sooners ready to ramp up their game
By Chip Rouse
There are still several unknowns about Oklahoma football as we move to Week 2 of preseason training camp and continue to countdown toward the unveiling of another college football season.
The most obvious of the questions to be answered — but only among the fans, not apparently within the team itself — is how the how the head-coaching change will ultimately affect the performance of the team this season.
Seemingly to a man, the Sooner players say they like having Lincoln Riley as the new head man and that they haven’t noticed much change in his attitude or his relationship and interactions with the team.
That is a very positive signal moving forward because transitional adjustments by the coaching staff and the players alike are a natural fallout after a coaching change and can be a major distraction and public enemy No. 1 when it comes to making improvements or maintaining performance continuity.
Riley may have a new view and appreciation of, as well as additional responsibilities for, the prized Oklahoma football program having moved into the head coach’s office, but he certainly is not a new entity insofar as Sooner football is concerned. What he is is the architect of one of the highest scoring and most explosive offenses in college football the past two seasons (No. 7 in the country in total offense in 2015 and No. 3 in that category last season) as offensive coordinator.
There may be a change at the top of the Sooner football organization but the expectations for winning football games and winning championships remains steadfast at Oklahoma.
Riley has experienced the sweet smell of success in his brief time at OU, but he knows to stay ahead you have to continue to strive for improvement and getting better. Otherwise, you falling back.
On every team every season, there are players whose performance meets expectations and players who fall short of same. The best of the best in college football every season, however, are set apart from the rest because of standout players who take it a step it up a notch and consistently exceed expectations.
We’ve singled out five returning Sooners who are working especially hard in training camp and are primed to step up their game in contributing to the team’s continued success under the new head coach in the coming season: