University of Oklahoma Sports

[Celebrator]

This would indicate there are quality football players who would call b.s. to your take on today's student athlete.

Notre Dame football 2022 recruiting class still No. 1 in Rivals rankings
https://notredame.rivals.com/news/no...ivals-rankings Notre Dame 2021 Football Commits
https://247sports.com/college/notre-...tball/Commits/

Sure, a great coach attracts great athletes, but it seems to me that when he leaves ND, it will still be a tougher place to recruit to than LSU.

[MagzOK]

This would indicate there are quality football players who would call b.s. to your take on today's student athlete.

Notre Dame football 2022 recruiting class still No. 1 in Rivals rankings
https://notredame.rivals.com/news/no...ivals-rankings Notre Dame 2021 Football Commits
https://247sports.com/college/notre-...tball/Commits/

The talent pool is greatly reduced for Notre Dame do to many things including academic standards. Eschbach and Traber are actually discussing this very thing right now (4:23PM 11/30).

[Urbanized]

I'm not a Riley apologist nor am I saying he did things the right way, but I get the USC move from a strictly business standpoint. And not because it is a "better" program; it's not. I'd say from an organizational standpoint OU is the better program, and even from a tradition standpoint it's in many ways like looking into a mirror.

What he DID get was a job roughly analogous to the one he inherited five years ago - tons of tradition, plenty of money, great nearby recruiting - PLUS a pretty good chance to dominate an otherwise respectable conference with a clear, relatively easy path to the college football playoff every year. Probably easier even than it was here, with only Oregon (the Pac 12's version of Oklahoma State) regularly standing between them and a conference title. That type of situation is vanishing soon at Oklahoma, where it will be a dogfight every year to even get to the SEC title game.

So from that standpoint, it is indeed a soft move on his part.

But beyond that, he was KILLING IT recruiting SoCal, and it will be even easier for him to get Cali kids to a revitalized USC than to get them to Oklahoma.

And - as long as we are talking recruiting - I've heard virtually no discussion about something else that surely drove him to USC; the NCAA's recently-adopted name, image, likeness policy. The opportunity to use NIL as a recruiting tool is probably unique at USC, located in the entertainment capital of the world (with far more football tradition/brand than UCLA...when USC is winning they are more popular in LA than are local NFL teams). The potential for a kid on a hot SC team to monetize NIL is probably even greater than for a kid playing at Alabama. I honestly can't think of any other college football program that could give a kid so much access to NIL monetization. I think this unprecedented move by Riley - and it IS unprecedented; no head football coach has left OU for another job since 1973 and the last time a head coach left OU for a COLLEGE job was 1947 - was the first of many such major shifts we will soon be seeing throughout college football.

All of that said, I still think this move was a giant knife in the back of (especially) Bob Stoops, and of the kids who Riley was lying to, right up until Sunday morning. When he undoubtedly lied to them again in a team meeting before hopping onto his chartered G450 headed to LA.

[floyd the barber]

I'm not a Riley apologist nor am I saying he did things the right way, but I get the USC move from a strictly business standpoint. And not because it is a "better" program; it's not. I'd say from an organizational standpoint OU is the better program, and even from a tradition standpoint it's in many ways like looking into a mirror.

What he DID get was a job roughly analogous to the one he inherited five years ago - tons of tradition, plenty of money, great nearby recruiting - PLUS a pretty good chance to dominate an otherwise respectable conference with a clear, relatively easy path to the college football playoff every year. Probably easier even than it was here, with only Oregon (the Pac 12's version of Oklahoma State) regularly standing between them and a conference title. That type of situation is vanishing soon at Oklahoma, where it will be a dogfight every year to even get to the SEC title game.

So from that standpoint, it is indeed a soft move on his part.

But beyond that, he was KILLING IT recruiting SoCal, and it will be even easier for him to get Cali kids to a revitalized USC than to get them to Oklahoma.

And - as long as we are talking recruiting - I've heard virtually no discussion about something else that surely drove him to USC; the NCAA's recently-adopted name, image, likeness policy. The opportunity to use NIL as a recruiting tool is probably unique at USC, located in the entertainment capital of the world (with far more football tradition/brand than UCLA...when USC is winning they are more popular in LA than are local NFL teams). The potential for a kid on a hot SC team to monetize NIL is probably even greater than for a kid playing at Alabama. I honestly can't think of any other college football program that could give a kid so much access to NIL monetization. I think this unprecedented move by Riley - and it IS unprecedented; no head football coach has left OU for another job since 1973 and the last time a head coach left OU for a COLLEGE job was 1947 - was the first of many such major shifts we will soon be seeing throughout college football.

All of that said, I still think this move was a giant knife in the back of (especially) Bob Stoops, and of the kids who Riley was lying to, right up until Sunday morning. When he undoubtedly lied to them again in a team meeting before hopping onto his chartered G450 headed to LA.

I agree with you 100%.

This is not a dig on Bob Stoops. Admittedly I am a nomad that moved to Oklahoma a few years ago, so I am impartial, but I have one question that nobody has talked about.

Stoops seems to be all about character. It takes a strong man with a good heart to look after a program he has no obligation to do so. So here is the question, wouldn't Bob Stoops see warning signs of bad character with Lincoln Riley?

What Lincoln Riley did was pretty bad. I have no issue with him taking another job, but there's a right way to handle things and a wrong way to handle things.

It's all about integrity and honesty. There is nothing wrong telling your boss and coworkers (in this case players) that you are looking for other opportunities. But to flat out lead them on and then leave in the night is disrespectful.

Now that type of character travels on through life. You would think Bob Stoops saw the warning signs of what type of person Lincoln is before he passed on his position, but I don't know. It truly confuses me. To me you can see a guy's character within a few weeks, but maybe Lincoln hid it well.

Just a thought.

[Pete]

^

Lincoln Riley fooled absolutely everyone. No one had a clue about this USC thing until Sunday morning including his boss, less than half a day after coaching in Bedlam.

Lincoln is a smart guy and when you use intelligence to deceive, a lot of people are going to be left in the dark. I think it's fair to say he is not the person most of us assumed he was. Bob Stoops would never say so publically, but you can bet he feels that way more than anyone.



I really liked him as a coach but the reality is his teams did worse every single year:

2017: Inherited a loaded team (one of the reasons Bob chose to do the hand-off) and should have beaten Georgia in the first round of the playoffs.

2018: Lost to Texas but managed to get into the playoffs again but was drubbed by Bama.

2019: Clawed our way into the playoffs again but were completely embarrassed by LSU.

2020: Started 1-2 and although we managed to win the conference, missed the playoffs.

2021: Regarded as the most talented team since 2017 and not only missed the playoffs, finished THIRD in the conference we had won 6 years in a row.


His offenses saw a similar, steady decline and culminated in this season where they were absolutely inept at times. It's often said that QB's make the biggest jump between their freshman and sophomore years, yet somehow Rattler regressed to the point of being permanently benched. And despite all the changes on defense, OU was still below average in a weak conference.


I'm very sure he felt he had maxed out at OU and knew things were only going to be tougher in the SEC. The Pac-12 is as weak as it's been in a very long time and we'll never know for sure because USC is a private school and doesn't have to disclose salaries, but lots of talk that they DOUBLED his salary which would make him the highest-paid football coach in the country, including the NFL.

As stunned as I was about this (like everyone else) it does present an opportunity to get a coach in place better suited to winning in the SEC and the playoffs, should we get there.

[okcoolcoolcool]

^

Lincoln Riley fooled absolutely everyone. No one had a clue about this USC thing until Sunday morning including his boss, less than half a day after coaching in Bedlam.

Lincoln is a smart guy and when you use intelligence to deceive, a lot of people are going to be left in the dark. I think it's fair to say he is not the person most of us assumed he was. Bob Stoops would never say so publically, but you can bet he feels that way more than anyone.



I really liked him as a coach but the reality is his teams did worse every single year:

2017: Inherited a loaded team (one of the reasons Bob chose to do the hand-off) and should have beaten Georgia in the first round of the playoffs.

2018: Lost to Texas but managed to get into the playoffs again but was drubbed by Bama.

2019: Clawed our way into the playoffs again but were completely embarrassed by LSU.

2020: Started 1-2 and although we managed to win the conference, missed the playoffs.

2021: Regarded as the most talented team since 2017 and not only missed the playoffs, finished THIRD in the conference we had won 6 years in a row.


His offenses saw a similar, steady decline and culminated in this season where they were absolutely inept at times. It's often said that QB's make the biggest jump between their freshman and sophomore years, yet somehow Rattler regressed to the point of being permanently benched. And despite all the changes on defense, OU was still below average in a weak conference.


I'm very sure he felt he had maxed out at OU and knew things were only going to be tougher in the SEC. The Pac-12 is as weak as it's been in a very long time and we'll never know for sure because USC is a private school and doesn't have to disclose salaries, but lots of talk that they DOUBLED his salary which would make him the highest-paid football coach in the country, including the NFL.

As stunned as I was about this (like everyone else) it does present an opportunity to get a coach in place better suited to winning in the SEC and the playoffs, should we get there.

100%. If you take away Baker and Kyler being so successful in the NFL, Riley hasn't really done anything that Bob didn't do, and didn't do any more with what he was given. Losing this recruiting class is going to hurt for a season or two, but as long as Joe C doesn't go off the deep end and hire a Lane Kiffin type, I don't see a huge drop-off in this program.

[barrettd]

To watch Spencer play worse this season than last was telling, to me, especially that Riley stuck with him so long. In hindsight, we Sooner fans can pick apart every little thing as a clue he was leaving, but I can't help feeling he squandered a lot that was given to him.

The whole SEC thing keeps bothering me. I think Oklahoma will be just as competitive as anyone else in the SEC. Of course, moving with a new head coach isn't ideal, but OU is going to be fine in the SEC. Recruits decommitting? Assistants leaving? If you have good assistants, they don't stick around long anyway. Recruits don't mean much to me until they see the field. OU has had a lot of very highly touted recruits, and they've had success with some folks that weren't #1 5 start superstud whatevers, too.

Can't wait to see Coach Stoops on the sidelines again.

[soonergolfer]

This would indicate there are quality football players who would call b.s. to your take on today's student athlete.

Notre Dame football 2022 recruiting class still No. 1 in Rivals rankings
https://notredame.rivals.com/news/no...ivals-rankings Notre Dame 2021 Football Commits
https://247sports.com/college/notre-...tball/Commits/

That’s #1 in 2022 for independent schools. Not that it matters, players will bounce just like the school in which this thread is about.

[okcoolcoolcool]

To watch Spencer play worse this season than last was telling, to me, especially that Riley stuck with him so long. In hindsight, we Sooner fans can pick apart every little thing as a clue he was leaving, but I can't help feeling he squandered a lot that was given to him.

The whole SEC thing keeps bothering me. I think Oklahoma will be just as competitive as anyone else in the SEC. Of course, moving with a new head coach isn't ideal, but OU is going to be fine in the SEC. Recruits decommitting? Assistants leaving? If you have good assistants, they don't stick around long anyway. Recruits don't mean much to me until they see the field. OU has had a lot of very highly touted recruits, and they've had success with some folks that weren't #1 5 start superstud whatevers, too.

Can't wait to see Coach Stoops on the sidelines again.

Agreed, Oklahoma had gotten 5 star offensive talent and decent defensive frontline talent since Stoops took over. It's just too difficult to recruit good DB's and Safeties to the Big 12 where you're almost always on an island against NFL receivers and quarterbacks. I can live without a meaningless Big 12 trophy every year if it means that big time defensive recruits will give Oklahoma a better look now that we're in the SEC.

[Pete]

I have a good friend who is a former assistant coach at OU...

He told me that yesterday there was a gathering of a lot of the former coaches (my friend was there) for the birthday of Bobby Proctor and that even though Brent Venables was not at the event, several coaches (who had coached alongside Brent at OU) said they had seen him in Norman and spoken with him.

So, BV is very high on our list and obviously interested. And the collected word from the coaches was that Dave Aranda of Baylor is very high on the list as well, but they have to give him some space since Baylor is playing in the Big 12 championship game on Saturday.


Otherwise, Joe C is famously stealthy about his coaching searches and I'm sure he has others in mind. But Brent Venables was in Norman yesterday.

[Bill Robertson]

A couple of the "insiders" on the radio stations, who sometimes know things and sometimes not, say that they strongly believe an announcement will be made by tomorrow night. With the regents voting in their regular meeting Friday. So maybe this could move very fast. Or not. Fast would be good for recruiting and early signing. Especially if it is Venables.

[Laramie]

Who knows, Nick Saban may be ready for a change of scenery.

[BDP]

Losing this recruiting class is going to hurt for a season or two, but as long as Joe C doesn't go off the deep end and hire a Lane Kiffin type, I don't see a huge drop-off in this program.

And as much as losing recruits and players to the portal hurts, it does flow both ways. In a way, it may actually be easier to recover from something like this, because you can use the portal to immediately patch up holes. And with Baker, Murray, and Hurts as examples, it could be argued that no one has used transfers better than Oklahoma.

Of course, this all depends on the hire and how they approach things like that, but the portal can be a very big asset for any team looking to turn things around. There's a lot of talent at big time schools sitting on the bench that I am sure would love to make a move to a program like OU if they feel it can boost their career.

[Pete]

^

And players/recruits will follow a coach to a new school -- and that flows both ways too, including whoever OU hires and all the new assistants as well.

[BDP]

And - as long as we are talking recruiting - I've heard virtually no discussion about something else that surely drove him to USC; the NCAA's recently-adopted name, image, likeness policy. The opportunity to use NIL as a recruiting tool is probably unique at USC, located in the entertainment capital of the world (with far more football tradition/brand than UCLA...when USC is winning they are more popular in LA than are local NFL teams). The potential for a kid on a hot SC team to monetize NIL is probably even greater than for a kid playing at Alabama.

I agree with this, at least on the level of how much money they can get from being in that market relative to how popular the team actually is in the market.

There's no doubt that college football is an afterthought in the LA sports world, but it is the biggest media market in the world and the center of that universe, so the potential for not just NIL money, but the types of NIL deals to be had there are going to be very appealing to 17 year olds when they're trying to decide what market to play in.

[BDP]

^

And players/recruits will follow a coach to a new school -- and that flows both ways too, including whoever OU hires and all the new assistants as well.

Very true.

It is important to put together a staff as quickly as possible, but it is more important to get the right people who have good, long term, connections in place. Unfortunately, that's probably going to mean people who still have very important games to play. The Venebles angle is interesting, though, because Clemson doesn't have the ACC championship game, let alone a chance to play in the CFP.

[Outhunder]

A couple of the "insiders" on the radio stations, who sometimes know things and sometimes not, say that they strongly believe an announcement will be made by tomorrow night. With the regents voting in their regular meeting Friday. So maybe this could move very fast. Or not. Fast would be good for recruiting and early signing. Especially if it is Venables.

Nothing is a 100%, but if this is the case, Venebles is the man.

[Laramie]

Never bought into the recruit rankings. Look at OSU how successful they've been in the last decade with non blue chippers or so called top recruits; our rival UT having all the so called pick of the litter--success doesn't look like loses to OSU, OU and KU.

Some highly promoted recruits turn out to be among the most gloried prima donnas in college football. We'll see how the recruits we lost turn out to be...

[barrettd]

Never bought into the recruit rankings. Look at OSU how successful they've been in the last decade with non blue chippers or so called top recruits; our rival UT having all the so called pick of the litter--success doesn't look like loses to OSU, OU and KU.

Some highly promoted recruits turn out to be among the most gloried prima donnas in college football. We'll see how the recruits we lost turn out to be...

Agreed, and it's not like OU is suddenly going to get no more good recruits. I feel a lot of the talk about Riley being a genius is based on him taking over a perennial conference champion and being gifted a few transfer quarterbacks that were insanely talented. He absolutely should get credit for coaching them up, but let's see him turn USC into a perennial conference champion with near-annual CFP visits, and then we can gauge his talent as a coach.

He should get credit for continuing Stoops's success, but it will be interesting to see how he does turning a program around.

[Bill Robertson]

Nothing is a 100%, but if this is the case, Venebles is the man.

I'm hoping. And the most popular theory is Venables bringing in Jeff Lebby from Ole Miss as OC. That could be a home run move.

[Jersey Boss]

I think it is below the stature of OU to hire less than a proven HC. TCU, LSU, USC all hired proven HC talent. Nor did they hire someone who was there before. OU can do better.

[Bill Robertson]

I think it is below the stature of OU to hire less than a proven HC. TCU, LSU, USC all hired proven HC talent. Nor did they hire someone who was there before. OU can do better.

I don't remember OU ever hiring a sitting HC. Unless it was before my memory. Venables checks lots of boxes.

Should be loyal to OU. He left because he thought his leaving was best for the team.

He's a defensive genius. Exactly what we will need in the SEC.

Has strong recruiting connections on defensive side. Again something we need in the SEC.

Can probably bring a few Clemson players with him. Plus a few Ole Miss players if Lebby comes with him.

What current HC that would leave their program has better qualifications?

[catcherinthewry]

Howard Schnellenberger was the last HC we hired.

[Laramie]

Howard Schnellenberger was the last HC we hired.

Yes, Drunkenberger was the last head coach we hired.

[Jersey Boss]

I don't remember OU ever hiring a sitting HC. Unless it was before my memory. Venables checks lots of boxes.

Should be loyal to OU. He left because he thought his leaving was best for the team.

He's a defensive genius. Exactly what we will need in the SEC.

Has strong recruiting connections on defensive side. Again something we need in the SEC.

Can probably bring a few Clemson players with him. Plus a few Ole Miss players if Lebby comes with him.

What current HC that would leave their program has better qualifications?

That's just it, we don't know what HC would leave their program.