All Sooners

Oklahoma Names Season Captains Ahead of Cheez-It Bowl

Brent Venables will kick off his first bowl game on Thursday with eight captains, including three linebackers and a quarterback.

John E. Hoover

In this story:

ORLANDO — After 12 weeks of identifying team captains on a game-by-game basis, Oklahoma tabbed its permanent 2022 team captains on Thursday.

Just six hours before kickoff of their Cheez-It Bowl showdown with No. 13 Florida State, OU ID’d defensive back Justin Broiles, quarterback Dillon Gabriel, offensive guard Chris Murray, wide receiver Drake Stoops, linebacker Danny Stutsman, linebacker David Ugwoegbu, linebacker DaShaun White and tight end Brayden Willis to represent the team permanently.

OU and FSU kick off at 5:30 p.m. ET at Camping World Stadium, but it’s not clear if Brent Venables will send out eight captains for the coin toss of his first bowl game or just pick a few representatives.

Gabriel, a transfer from Central Florida, was named Big 12 Newcomer of the Year after throwing for 2,925 yards and 24 touchdowns this season.

Willis was second on the team with 35 catches for 456 yards and led OU with seven TD receptions. He also stood in as an emergency quarterback when Gabriel was injured at midseason.

Stoops was third in the squad with 37 catches for 366 yards and scored three touchdowns.

Stutsman led the Sooners with 118 total tackles this season to go with two sacks and four passes defensed.

Ugwoegbu was second on the team with 101 tackles with two sacks.

White was third on the squad with 81 tackles, with two sacks and six passes defensed.

Broiles, often the heart and soul of the OU defense, made 61 tackles and finished with one interception.

Murray led the Sooners with 879 offensive snaps at right guard this season and was second among the offensive line starters with a pass blocking grade of 79.8, according to Pro Football Focus.

Published
John E. Hoover
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.

Home/Football