Five Oklahoma Questions With an AllSooners Publisher John Hoover

Checking in with an Oklahoma expert on what's in store for the Ducks.

Oregon's final game of the season is finally here, with the Ducks set to take on the Oklahoma Sooners in the Valero Alamo Bowl in San Antonio, Tex.

I checked in with AllSooners Publisher John Hoover of the Sports Illustrated network to ask him five questions about Oregon's opponent and this game.

1. Oklahoma’s biggest strength?

For much of the season, it was rushing the passer. But then four of the top pass rushers opted out of this game. The Sooners have also thrived on great quarterback play, but the final three games of the season, Caleb Williams completed just under 50 percent of his passes. 

As the offensive line has slowly gotten better all season, the Sooners’ most consistent element has been RB Kennedy Brooks, who ran for 1,111 yards (at 6.0 yards per carry) and 10 TDs this year, making him just the fourth player in school history to surpass 1,000 yards three times.

2. How much do you think the team will be impacted by opt outs and transfers?

Tons. Outside linebacker Nik Bonitto was a Pro Football Focus first-team All-American. Defensive end Isaiah Thomas was an All-Big 12 performer and was hailed by coaches as the team MVP. Noseguard Perrion Winfrey might have the best pro potential. And linebacker Brian Asamoah might be one of the most athletic LBs in the nation and was coming off three of his best games. 

All four were multi-year starters on the front seven. On offense, starting tight end Austin Stogner transferred to South Carolina, starting wideout and leading receiver Jadon Haselwood transferred to Arkansas, and backup quarterback Spencer Rattler — widely regarded as the preseason front-runner for the Heisman — transferred to South Carolina. If something happens to Caleb Williams, the Sooners’ backup QB is true freshman walk-on Ralph Rucker.

3. What makes Caleb Williams special?

Williams is gifted with natural leadership (he organized a recruiting summit in Norman during the pandemic and convinced more than 20 recruits from two different classes to pay for their own travel and join him) and an unusual degree of poise for someone so young. 

He doesn’t get frustrated or rattled, and he has an innate instinct for the game. Although he plays the game at an elite level, his off-script plays are often spectacular, such as when RB Kennedy Brooks was stuffed on a fourth down and Williams ripped the ball away from Brooks and picked up a critical fourth down at Kansas. He has ample amounts of all the physical attributes you want in a quarterback, but his real strength is between his ears.

4. A player you don’t think is getting enough buzz?

Despite endless praise for all the defensive linemen mentioned earlier who are opting out, the Sooners’ most talented d-lineman could be tackle Jalen Redmond. Redmond couldn’t play as a freshman because of dangerous blood clots. He led the team in sacks as a sophomore, then sat out 2020 for fear of COVID. 

OU led the nation in tackles for loss the first three weeks of the season, but then Redmond got hurt and the defensive line productivity plummeted. With Redmond back in the lineup for the final three games, the Sooners lost twice, but the defensive line looked like its old self again. A healthy Jalen Redmond will be a problem for the Oregon offense.

5. Score prediction?

Oklahoma 34, Oregon 30

I was all set to pick Oregon, but then I decided maybe I was just too close to observing all of Oklahoma’s many warts. The Ducks, it turns out, have more. This could be an ugly baby contest, where someone has to be declared the winner.

So many personnel are missing on both sides, although Oregon will have more and could have, interim coach Bryan McClendon said, “depth issues.” What keeps Oregon in it for me is the number of stone-cold playmakers the Ducks do have: RB Travis Dye is special, QB Anthony Brown is dangerous, safety Verone McKinley is an All-American ballhawk, LB Noah Sewell is a tackling machine. And then, as Bob Stoops said Tuesday, Oregon is great up front on both the offensive and defensive line. I think ultimately the Sooners are slightly more motivated to win just one for Stoops.

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