Feelings about the Oklahoma Sooners are mixed. Opinion on OU is divided as he enters his first year in the SEC, with the Sooners ranked No. 8 in USA TODAY Sports’ post-spring power rankings and No. 24 in On3’s rankings.
Oklahoma is a talented team, but they also have questions that will only be answered when they play SEC teams in the first month of their conference schedule.
The Oklahoma Sooners are ranked 18th in ESPN’s post-spring league power rankings.
Spring update: The Sooners won four games in coach Brent Venables’ second season, and programs typically make even bigger strides in their third year. The only problem is, this is also their first year in the SEC, and the schedule is downright scary. The offense will take on a new look after Dillon Gabriel left for Oregon and former North Texas coach Seth Littrell took over the play-calling duties. Quarterback Jackson-Arnold had a good spring and looks like a future star. Deion Burks, a transfer from Purdue, had five catches for 174 yards and two scores in the spring game. Transfers Michael Turkin (USC) and Febechi Nwaiu (North Texas) were working on a No. 1 offensive line that required replacing all five starters. OU added his SMU center Branson Hickman to open the spring portal. The Sooners could be good again, but they have one of the toughest schedules in the FBS with road games at Auburn, Ole Miss, Missouri and LSU, and home contests against Tennessee, Texas (Dallas) and Alabama. will be faced with. – Schlabach, ESPN
Transfer additions will be key for the Oklahoma Sooners in 2024. From the offensive line to Deion Burks, Oklahoma will be hoping these players can make an impact and help first-year starter Jackson Arnold seamlessly slip into the lineup.
Defensively, the Sooners didn’t have many players to replace, but they were able to acquire one of the best defensive tackles in the country through the portal in Damonic Williams. Adding Williams to the center of a defense that Brent Venables has improved over his first two seasons in Norman gives OU a chance to take another big step toward becoming an elite defense.
Regardless of the level of competition the Sooners face, Brent Venables and his staff have built the Sooners roster to compete with the SEC’s heavy hitters. There will be challenges, but there’s no reason the Sooners can’t compete in his SEC. They have a lot of talent on both sides of the ball.
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This article originally appeared on Sooners Wire
