It is always exciting to watch young players come to Oklahoma and see them develop into elite talents. The OU defense is a prime example of what happens when kids stick with the program, trust their coaches, and develop into some of the best players in the country. Under Brent Venables, the defense has continually developed elite talent, but it has been the complete opposite on the other side of the ball.
It starts with the offensive line. Bill Bedenbaugh has been the offensive line coach at Oklahoma since 2013. Bedenbaugh has recruited elite talents in the past and has sent multiple players to the NFL.
So what gives? How does E’Marion Harris look great in the spring and then degrade into one of the worst right tackles in the entire conference? Why has Eddie Pierre-Louis not made any progress after having a year under his belt? The offensive line has not been good for years, and now it feels like it doesn’t matter what kind of talent is brought in; they are not improving.
Quarterback John Mateer has also undoubtedly regressed from last season. Some say he has the yips; others say he never had any talent to begin with.
It is clear Mateer is an athlete, and you see glimpses of the quarterback Oklahoma thought it was buying, but the inconsistency has become too much. The decision-making is slow, the reads aren’t being made, and the decisions are dreadful.
Everything that’s bad this year about Mateer is coachable. You can coach those attributes into a player. Why has he not been coached up and continued to improve? Ben Arbuckle and quarterback coach John Kuceyeski not only have a responsibility to improve their players, but it is also a requirement in their job title.
Players keep disappointing under Ben Arbuckle and Bill Bedenbaugh
College football coaches don’t just stumble their way into a job at a blue blood like Oklahoma. They have a track record. Someone saw something in them and hired them to coach football at OU. This coaching staff has an enormous amount of football knowledge -- way more than the fans who criticize their every decision. So why can they not get the job done?
That, perhaps, is the most frustrating part to the fans.
Sooner fans know these coaches, and several have been in and around the university for many years. When players are not developing and instead are actually getting worse, all roads lead to the coaching staff.
Arbuckle has coached quarterbacks who are now on NFL rosters. Bedenbaugh is the same. They know what it takes. The good news for Sooner fans is that there are elite athletes. The bad news is they are not improving. These coaches have what it takes to work with elite athletes.
Unfortunately, something is inherently broken in this football program, and people will lose their jobs if they cannot tap into what got them to the top of college football in the first place. All eyes are on the Cotton Bowl, for the future of this staff and this program hangs in the balance.
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