Oklahoma GameDay: Under the Radar vs. Kent State

These are the players we expect to fly under the radar and have a big impact in Saturday's game against the Golden Flashes.

John E. Hoover | Sep 10, 2022

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Oklahoma Sooners

John Hoover: Jeffery Johnson/Isaiah Coe

Kent State returns just two offensive linemen with significant starting experience: center Sam Allan is an All-MAC performer with 15 career starts, and left guard Jack Bailey has seven career starts. The other three are new (although there are three backups who arrived via the transfer portal.) With a new quarterback (Collin Schlee), the Oklahoma defensive line has a real opportunity to create havoc up front. Jeffery Johnson and Isaiah Coe combined for five total tackles and 1.5 tackles for loss last week against UTEP. Allan figures to be OK as he calls out the protections, but OU’s two strongest, most powerful interior defensive linemen, plus guys like Jalen Redmod and Jordan Kelley, should have a chance to feast.

Ryan Chapman: Key Lawrence

Billy Bowman stole the show last week, finishing as OU’s co-leader with nine tackles against UTEP. The back end of Oklahoma’s defense will be tested in a different way on Saturday, and it could be Key Lawrence’s time to shine. Kent State is going to try tgo force mental errors by running at a fast pace, and Lawrence could be called upon as the last line of defense if there happens to be a coverage bust or somebody misses their gap in the run game. Lawrence said he has great trust in Bowman this week, and OU’s safety partnership will have another opportunity to show the athletic upside brought to the position as a pairing.

FB - Key Lawrence, Iowa State — Key Lawrence :: BRYAN TERRY / THE OKLAHOMAN-USA TODAY NETWORK

Josh Callaway: Jayden Gibson

Freshman wide receiver Jayden Gibson was one of the biggest standouts of both spring and fall camps. The 6-foot-5 Gibson didn't have any catches in the opener, but this seems like a great time to get his feet wet in a major way against Kent State. Jeff Lebby stated earlier in the week a desire to rotate more offensive playmakers onto the field this week. Pair that mindset with a game that should get ugly and a Golden Flashes secondary that had a rough Week 1, and the stage appears to be set for Gibson to get out and try to make some highlight-reel plays similar to what everyone saw in April's Spring Game.

Ross Lovelace: R Mason Thomas

R Mason Thomas has been drawing rave reviews for weeks now, and showed flashes in his first game action last week against UTEP. For Thomas, who just turned 18 years old, to carve out playing time for Oklahoma is extremely impressive. The Sooners clearly like his potential coming off the edge and he has serious speed when rushing the quarterback. If the first game was any indication, his ceiling could be very high in Norman. The coaching staff also mentioned their desire to play more backups this weekend, which could be another indicator.

Published Sep 10, 2022

JOHN E. HOOVER

John is an award-winning journalist whose work spans five decades in Oklahoma, with multiple state, regional and national awards as a sportswriter at various newspapers. During his newspaper career, John covered the Dallas Cowboys, the Kansas City Chiefs, the Oklahoma Sooners, the Oklahoma State Cowboys, the Arkansas Razorbacks and much more. In 2016, John changed careers, migrating into radio and launching a YouTube channel, and has built a successful independent media company, DanCam Media. From there, John has written under the banners of Sporting News, Sports Illustrated, Fan Nation and a handful of local and national magazines while hosting daily sports talk radio shows in Oklahoma City, Tulsa and statewide. John has also spoken on Capitol Hill in Oklahoma City in a successful effort to put more certified athletic trainers in Oklahoma public high schools. Among the dozens of awards he has won, John most cherishes his national "Beat Writer of the Year" from the Associated Press Sports Editors, Oklahoma's "Best Sports Column" from the Society of Professional Journalists, and Two "Excellence in Sports Medicine Reporting" Awards from the National Athletic Trainers Association. John holds a bachelor's degree in Mass Communications from East Central University in Ada, OK. Born and raised in North Pole, Alaska, John played football and wrote for the school paper at Ada High School in Ada, OK. He enjoys books, movies and travel, and lives in Broken Arrow, OK, with his wife and two kids.