Oklahoma Coach Speak: Beville is the Backup QB ... WR Coach Settling in ... Living With Tempo
NORMAN — It’s finally game week in Norman, and the Sooners are ready to take the field against the UTEP Miners (0-1).
Oklahoma released the team’s first depth chart on Monday, giving the first indications of what to expect on the field come Saturday.
Both new coordinators, Jeff Lebby and Ted Roof, also met with the media on Monday for the first time since the start of fall camp, as the Sooners prepare to start their first game under the leadership of Brent Venables.
Davis Beville Named QB2
Pittsburgh transfer Davis Beville won Oklahoma's backup quarterback job headed into the 2022 season
Ryan Chapman / AllSooners.com
Exiting the spring, the Sooners knew they would need to be aggressive in the quarterback market to add experienced depth behind Dillon Gabriel.
Lebby and Co. brought in Davis Beville from Pittsburgh and General Booty from Tyler Junior College, ensuring that true freshman Nick Evers wouldn’t be thrown into the fray should Gabriel need to exit the game for any reason.
After a strong showing in fall camp, Lebby shed more light on what he was looking for when he named Beville the backup quarterback entering the season.
“Davis, he's created predictable outcomes,” Lebby said. “That's what we're looking for. We want to be able to call a play and have a really good idea what's going to happen before he snaps it. He's done that. He's taken care of the football.”
Lebby’s offense is going to run at a breakneck pace, and amidst all the chaos, ball security is going to be an emphasis for every member of the quarterback room.
“As a unit, we talk about it all the time,” Lebby said. “That's where it starts and stops. We gotta take care of the rock and create good decision-making. He's done that.
“I think part of that is because he's played ball, he's an older guy, he gets it, he understands it, he's been through it. That's why it was so important to get him here. And he's done a great job. Really has.”
L’Damian Washington Taking Advantage of His Opportunity
Interim wide receivers coach L'Damian Washington has settled into his new role with the Sooners
Ryan Chapman / AllSooners.com
Things have settled down since L’Damian Washington took over as Oklahoma’s interim wide receivers coach.
The former Missouri star has settled into his new role, and Lebby said he’s been pleased with the work he’s put in.
Though Washington and Lebby hadn’t worked on staff together until this season, Lebby said Washington came highly recommended from tight ends coach Joe Jon Finley and others who were connected to the Missouri coaching staff.
“It actually started with a dear friend that played with (Washington) at Missouri and had a great connection with him that worked with me at a couple of prior stops,” Lebby said. “He's the one who actually introduced us. LD's got an incredible story.”
OU’s wide receivers should have a much larger role in 2022 as the offense will spread the ball around more, and Washington is fully up to speed in getting that room prepared for the season.
“He's done a great job with the room, with our guys right now,” Lebby said. “He's fully capable. I'm just excited for this opportunity and what he's done with it so far.”
Living With the Tempo
Defensive coordinator Ted Roof isn't concerned with how quickly OU's offense is going to move in 2022
Ryan Chapman / SI Sooners
The pace of Lebby’s offense can be a great asset to keep opposing defenses off-balance.
But it can just as easily turn into a disadvantage for the Oklahoma defense.
If things go wrong early in a drive, the offense could quickly go three-and-out and punt the ball back to the opposing team in the blink of an eye, putting a gassed OU defense back out onto the field.
It’s a challenge that Lebby said he has to be wary of to ensure that the offense’s pace doesn’t become a detriment to the team as a whole.
“There's constant conversation through the flow of a game and understanding when you have to balance that,” he said. “And finding different ways to tempo and create exactly what you're wanting from a team standpoint. So that's not gonna change.
“There'll be great conversation throughout the game to make sure that we're doing that and one, taking advantage of playing fast but also understanding situations when we need to pull back if we need to.”
For Roof’s money, he’s not as worried about the situations his defense gets put in.
Regardless of if he’s handed a short field or little time to rest either by way of a lightning-fast score or a quick punt, Roof is going to challenge his defense to preform through all kinds of adversity.
“The first time that I really experienced that was at Auburn,” Roof said. “When I was a defensive coordinator there, we went really fast.
“… Our job is to stop them regardless. Whatever Coach Venables feels will give us the best chance to win, we're all in. I know what pressure that puts on our defense on a daily basis. It's fantastic. It's what we do. It's who we are. That's how we handle our business, so that's the deal.”
The Sooners will finally kick off the Venables era on Saturday at 2:30 p.m in Norman.
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