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Oklahoma Football: Top 5 Takeaways from Lincoln Riley’s Spring Press Conference

By Matthew Hodowany

MIAMI, FL - DECEMBER 29: Head coach Lincoln Riley of the Oklahoma Sooners reacts against the Alabama Crimson Tide during the College Football Playoff Semifinal at the Capital One Orange Bowl at Hard Rock Stadium on December 29, 2018 in Miami, Florida. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images)
MIAMI, FL - DECEMBER 29: Head coach Lincoln Riley of the Oklahoma Sooners reacts against the Alabama Crimson Tide during the College Football Playoff Semifinal at the Capital One Orange Bowl at Hard Rock Stadium on December 29, 2018 in Miami, Florida. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images) /
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MIAMI, FL – DECEMBER 29: Jalen Hurts #2 of the Alabama Crimson Tide carries the ball in the second quarter during the College Football Playoff Semifinal against the Oklahoma Sooners at the Capital One Orange Bowl at Hard Rock Stadium on December 29, 2018 in Miami, Florida. (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images)
MIAMI, FL – DECEMBER 29: Jalen Hurts #2 of the Alabama Crimson Tide carries the ball in the second quarter during the College Football Playoff Semifinal against the Oklahoma Sooners at the Capital One Orange Bowl at Hard Rock Stadium on December 29, 2018 in Miami, Florida. (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images) /

This season, Riley is planning to use the fan atmosphere seen at the spring game to be used as a strategic marketing tactic to land potential recruits.  since it worked so well last season, Riley is asking fans to come out as at this spring game, there will be even more recruits in attendance this year so Riley wants to build off the things the program did right and make it an even more enticing event this spring.

5. Addressing the QB situation 

With the transfer of former Alabama signal caller, Jalen Hurts coming to the Oklahoma program, there was no shortage of speculation whether it would be him or Tanner Mordecai getting the nod in week 1. But, Riley shot down any chance of a narrative being formed has he confirmed that Hurts would have to battle it out in order to win over the starting job.

With the potential for OU alum, Kyler Murray to go number one in the draft, Oklahoma has to identify who is going to be their guy. Mordecai was no slouch and is not to be overlooked. During his high school campaign in Waco, Texas as the dual-threat four-star recruit posted over 6,000 passing yards and close to 2,000 rushing yards which helped him collect a 52 passing touchdowns and 23 rushing touchdowns in 2017.

On the case of Hurts, the national title ring with Alabama speaks volume. As Hurts comes to the OU program with a national ring with Alabama on his finger, the pressure is on him to win the job. Having split time with Heisman runner-up Tua Tagovailoa, Hurts posted 765 passing yards, 165 rushing yards, and a combined 10 touchdowns.

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Though there may be the obvious choice in Hurts, Riley is not counting Mordecai out of the equation which ensures for a healthy quarterback competition this spring.

Summation

In Riley’s half-hour long press conference, there were countless topics to cover surrounding this Oklahoma program and the challenges they face this spring. But, with these emerging storylines, the one surrounding the starting quarterback that Riley selected will ultimately be the most followed one as the countdown to regular season action inches closer by the day.

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