Oklahoma football: Offensive keys for the OU spring game

Are the young receivers ready for prime time?

We all know what Ceedee Lamb, Grant Calcaterra, Lee Morris and (to an extent) Charleston Rambo can do catching passes, but there’s a slew of young, unproven talent in the Sooners’ receiver room this spring.

Not only did the Sooners sign what might be the most most heralded receiver class in the recruiting rankings era of college football with five stars Jadon Haselwood, Theo Wease and Trejan Bridges (not to mention four-star tight end Austin Stogner), but there’s also Drake Stoops and Jaquayln Crawford waiting in the wings for a chance to shine. Add in a couple of trio of veteran journeymen in A.D. Miller, Mykel Jones and Nick Basquine and you have a lot of players competing for only a few positions on the field and only one football.

Expect to see lots of guys working hard to make plays and prove they are ready to take the field and don’t be surprised to see Lincoln Riley unleash some deep balls to test his young receivers’ playmaking ability under the lights.

Running back depth

If there’s one position the Sooners feel good about on offense, it has to be running back. Oklahoma football returns a 1,000-yard rusher in Kennedy Brooks and another 900-plus rusher in Trey Sermon. Brooks and Sermon are expected to be the team’s main one-two punch this fall, but redshirt freshman T.J. Pledger would like to throw his name in the hat of the running back committee as well and this may very well be his time to show what he can do.

Pledger missed last year’s spring game with a last-minute injury and played sparingly last year to preserve his redshirt eligibility, but the No. 5 running back in the 2018 class (according to Rivals.com) boasts all the skills one needs to succeed in the OU offense. He has power, homerun speed an can catch the ball out of the backfield.

We already know what Sermon and Brooks can do, so don’t expect to see them play much. That means Pledger will have plenty of chances to audition for the team’s No. 3 running back spot before true freshman Marcus Major and No. 1 JUCO running back Rhamondre Stevenson both arrive on campus this fall to fill in the rest of the depth chart at the position. Much like at wide receiver, there won’t be enough carries to sustain all five of these backs, all of which probably have the talent to be a No. 1 guy at most Power Five programs so Pledger must make the most of his head start here.