Oklahoma
Newcomer Profile: Oklahoma OL Eugene Brooks Still ‘Mountain of a Man’ After Trimming 50 Pounds
NORMAN — Oklahoma coach Brent Venables boasted on National Signing Day that 6-foot-4, 320-pound offensive line newcomer Eugene Brooks had lost half-a-hundred pounds.
“Eugene Brooks from the state of California, just a real natural powerful guard. Just great girth and size. Just really nimble and he’s got a great story about his development,” Venables said. “He’s lost 50 pounds in the last couple of years and he’s still a mountain of a man to really create a lot of opportunity for himself. He’s got a great testimony.”
Estimates for Brooks’ reported weight loss range from 50 to 60 pounds leading up to his senior year. Before he trimmed down, he was “dominant,” said 247’s Gregg Biggins, and won several offensive line MVPs at camps he attended. Since his “incredible” transformation, it seems Brooks has retained his strength while adding speed.
Brooks was a 4-star prospect at Sierra Canyon High School (CA). He was ranked within 247Sports’ top 150 players in the 2024 class, the No. 14 player in California and No. 5 interior lineman nationally. He was an Under Armour All-America selection.
WATCH: Oklahoma OL Eugene Brooks Interview at Spring Media Day
Oklahoma’s 2024 signing class ranked 11th nationally. The Sooners brought in five total offensive linemen, four of which have enrolled for the spring. Brooks is one of those, along with Edmond Santa Fe (OK) alum Josh Aisosa, a 3-star interior lineman; Daniel Akinkunmi, an international tackle prospect from the NFL Academy in London; and Isaiah Autry-Dent, a 3-star tackle from Mississippi.
“Really, you know, feel great about the lines of scrimmage. We have, when it’s all said and done with a few of the portal additions, we’ll have, give or take, 16 offensive and defensive lineman that will help us again reinforce the trenches where the game’s won or lost,” Venables said.
The Sooners offensive line had more turnover from the 2023 season than any other group on the field. Brooks has heard the concerns surrounding the unit.
“Really, I hear them, but as a group, being a player in our group, we know what we have to do,” Brooks said during spring media day. “We’re coming in every day working, keeping our mind straight, keeping our head on a swivel and just coming in grinding every day, and we know what our destination is this season.”
A local reporter asked, “so, the O-Line’s going to be just fine?”
“Yes sir,” Brooks responded.
A massive prospect, Brooks pairs unique lateral movement and agility with power and frame. He was a 2023 CIF Southern Section Division IV champion in the shot put title his junior year with a throw of 55 feet, 6 inches. In his throwing career, he went 56-0 in the shot put and 127-1 in discus.
That power and explosiveness will give Brooks a chance to get playing time in an offensive line room where everyone is still getting familiar with one another.
“The offensive line, as a unit, we’re all talking to each other, we’re all coming up as leaders, you know, keeping each other pushed, keeping each other motivated for this opportunity,” Brooks said. “I’m very excited, you know? As a unit, as a team, we’re going to come in and show you guys what we’re capable of.”
In the end, Brooks’ recruitment came down to OU and Texas. The opportunity to play for Oklahoma’s 12th-year offensive line coach, Bill Bedenbaugh, was too great to pass up for Brooks as he picked the Sooners on July 25. Bedenbaugh has twice been named a finalist for the Broyles Award, given annually to college football’s top assistant coach. For five straight years from 2016-20, an OU player won Big 12 lineman of the year. In total, Bedenbaugh has helped 10 Sooners offensive linemen get drafted.
“He’s really just passionate about the game, you know, he really loves the game, and just being able to come in early and just be able to be coached by him is a blessing,” Brooks said. “It’s a great opportunity for me to come in and be coached by him.”
Oklahoma was the only team in the country that produced a top-10 rushing offense and a top-10 passing offense over the past decade. The Sooners also rank first nationally in total offense with 509.4 yards per game in that span.
Playing in the SEC wasn’t necessarily a factor in Brooks’ recruiting, but it was a factor.
“Really just how the team and everybody was more welcoming and it’s like a family, that was the reason why I committed,” Brooks said. “But then going to the SEC was like a big plus. That added onto it.”
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Oklahoma is looking to make some history when it takes on Alabama on Friday in the opening round of the College Football Playoff.
The Sooners and Crimson Tide square off at 7 p.m. Friday at Gaylord Family — Oklahoma Memorial Stadium. The game will be televised on ABC.
A win would not only boost the Sooners into the quarterfinals, but would give them three consecutive victories over the Crimson Tide.
OU beat Alabama 24-3 last season in Norman and 23-21 earlier this season in Tuscaloosa.
Since 1960, only 12 programs have beaten the Crimson Tide in three consecutive meetings and only one such streak included a win over Alabama following Nick Saban’s first season in 2007 when the Crimson Tide went 7-6.
That streak?
Another Sooners’ winning streak in the series, which included pre-Saban wins in 2002 and 2003 and the Trevor Knight-led Sugar Bowl win as part of the 2013 season.
In the last 65 seasons, the Sooners were only the second non-conference team to knock off Alabama in three consecutive meetings, joining Texas, which beat the Crimson Tide in 1981, 1972 and 1964.
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Now, OU has a chance to repeat the streak, but this time as part of the SEC and in a do-or-die situation.
The other most recent three-game winning streaks against the Tide were Auburn (six consecutive from 2002-07), LSU (five straight from 2003-07) and Georgia (three straight in 2003-03 and 2007).
Alabama had won 10 or more games every season since that 2007 season before last year’s team finished 9-4.
OU is 5-2-1 against the Crimson Tide all-time.
Only a handful of other programs that have played Alabama more than once have a winning record against the Tide.
Texas is 8-2-1 vs. the Crimson Tide, while Notre Dame is 5-3 and Michigan is 4-3.
The only other programs with a winning record against Alabama in more than one meeting are the Birmingham Athletic Club (3-2), Boston College (3-1), Louisiana Tech (3-2), Rice (3-0), TCU (3-2) and UCLA (2-1).
Alabama is, by any measure, one of the most successful programs in college football history, claiming 18 national championships and four Heisman Trophy winners.
Of course, the Sooners are one of the few programs that can measure up to that, with several national titles and seven Heisman winners.
No team has beaten Alabama twice in the same season.
“Obviously we have tendencies. They have tendencies,” Sooners coach Brent Venables said. “They have certain matchups they like. We have certain matchups we like. At the end of the day, you can throw all that out. It’s time to start completely over. All that matters is what you do here moving forward.
The Oklahoma City Thunder are taking on the San Antonio Spurs in the Semi Final of the 2025 NBA Cup tournament. This is the third year of the event and second straight trip for the OKC Thunder to the Semi Final.
This is set to be a barn burner, as the Oklahoma City Thunder enter this contest 24-1 and the San Antonio Spurs sit at 17-7. Though, the even better news for both sides is the injury report. The Spurs get back generational talent Victor Wembanyama from his multi-week stint on the injured list and the Isaiah Hartenstein returns for Oklahoma City after missing the Thunder’s last five games.
With Oklahoma City only missing Isaiah Joe (knee contusion) in this contest, it gives them a rare treat. The Thunder for the first time all season will have their fully healthy starting five at their disposal. Many believe Mark Daigneault will deploy superstar Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Defensive ace Lu Dort, All NBA swingman Jalen Williams, Rising star Chet Holmgren and Hartenstein.
This was the first time all season the Thunder have had the chance to prove that thought process right. It can be hard to navigate such a talent filled roster especially as well as Cason Wallace played as a spot starter and leading the league in steals.
In the end, the Oklahoma City Thunder weren’t the ones to throw a curveball with the starting lineup. It was the San Antonio Spurs who will bring Victor Wembanyama off the bench according to the official injury report submitted to the league before tip off.
This makes sense as Wembanyama has missed three weeks of action with a calf strain. San Antonio head coach Mitch Johnson revealed that his star center was going to be restricted in his first game back, especially against this historically great defense.
OKC Thunder vs. San Antonio Spurs Starting Lineups
OKC Thunder Starters
- Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, G
- Lu Dort, G
- Jalen Williams, F
- Chet Holmgren, F
- Isaiah Hartenstein, C
San Antonio Spurs Starters
- De’Aaron Fox, G
- Steph Castle, G
- Devin Vassell, F
- Harrison Barnes, F
- Luke Kornet, C
The Oklahoma City Thunder will have to be mindful of their rotations to counter Wembanyama off the bench and stagger the likes of Holmgren and Hartenstein to counter it.
Up next, the Oklahoma City Thunder will either take on the New York Knicks on Tuesday in the NBA Cup Championship game with a win or resume their regular season with a loss. Falling to the Spurs would snap the Thunder’s 16 game winning streak, but issue Oklahoma City four days off leading into Thursday’s clash with the L.A. Clippers.
Catch up on Oklahoma’s top headlines of the week for Dec. 12, 2025
Here are Oklahoma’s top headlines of the week for Dec. 12, 2025
A Pawnee native who died in a Japanese prison during World War II is headed back to Oklahoma after officials identified his body 82 years later.
James M. Walker was an infantry corporal stationed on the Philippine Islands when Japan invaded in December 1941. U.S. forces battled the Japanese in intense fighting for months, but ultimately surrendered to the invaders in April 1942.
After being taken prisoner, Walker and thousands of other prisoners of war were forced to travel 65 miles to a prison camp on the notorious Bataan Death March. More than 2,500 POWs are reported to have died at the camp.
Prison camp records showed he died on Jan. 1, 1943 at the age of 46, but he was buried in a common grave with other deceased prisoners. After the war, the American Graves Registration Service exhumed the bodies, collected samples for identification analysis and reburied the remains in a memorial cemetery in Manila.
To identify Walker’s remains, scientists used dental and anthropological analysis, as well as circumstantial evidence. The Armed Forces Medical Examiner System also used mitochondrial DNA analysis and mitochondrial genome sequencing data.
Although interred as an “unknown” for decades, Walker’s grave was meticulously cared for by the American Battle Monuments Commission. His name is listed on the Walls of the Missing at the Manila American Cemetery and Memorial in the Philippines. A rosette will be placed next to his name to indicate his remains have been identified.
Upon his return to the United States, Walker will be buried in Maramec, Oklahoma in January 2026.
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