Oklahoma

SEC Media Days 2024: Alabama’s Kalen DeBoer debuts, Oklahoma and Texas joining league lead storylines to watch

Published

2 years ago

July 12, 2024

SEC Media Days 2024: Alabama’s Kalen DeBoer debuts, Oklahoma and Texas joining league lead storylines to watch

SEC Media Days begins Monday on a new frontier, as the freshly expanded conference gathers in Dallas to usher in a new era for a league that now includes Oklahoma and Texas. The arrival of the Sooners and Longhorns makes the SEC a 16-team super conference replete with an even greater share of college football’s top brands.

That’s only the beginning of the changes for the league entering the 2024 season. Gone from the sidelines — and from the speaking podium — is Nick Saban. The absence of Alabama’s retired legend and his annual headline-grabbing address to the college football world will leave a void that no single coach can fill.

But as Saban departs, fresh blood enters. In addition to the arrivals of OU’s Brent Venables and Texas’ Steve Sarkisian to the league’s coaching vanguard, three schools are welcoming new head coaches. Among them is Alabama’s Kalen DeBoer, who will take the podium on Wednesday during the event’s third day.

The other new coaches are Mike Elko of Texas A&M and Jeff Lebby of Mississippi State. While both are familiar with the SEC from their time as coordinators in the conference, they’ll be making their SEC Media Days debuts and establishing the narratives surrounding their teams for the upcoming season.

It’s a new day in college football and in the SEC. Here’s a deeper dive into what to watch for at SEC Media Days which begins Monday and concludes Thursday.

A new frontier

Oklahoma and Texas grew accustomed to being the top attractions at Big 12 Media Days. They were the standard-bearers of their old league, combining to win seven of the last nine Big 12 championships. Now, the Sooners and Longhorns have something to prove as they embark on Year 1 in the SEC.

OU won 10 or more games 19 times in the first 24 seasons of the millennium while members of the Big 12. Will they be able to maintain that elite standard in the SEC? The Sooners took a big step forward last season in Venables’ second season by finishing 10-3. But Venables is replacing both coordinators and his starting quarterback while preparing to face a daunting schedule. Will he try to moderate expectations?

Texas is entering the SEC fresh off its first Big 12 title since 2009. The Longhorns reached the College Football Playoff and return a Heisman Trophy contender at quarterback in Quinn Ewers. The Longhorns have also drawn a favorable conference slate for their first season in the league, and it will be interesting to see how much bravado they project as SEC Media Days rolls through their home state.

DeBoer’s debut

Three years ago, DeBoer was heading to Mountain West media days as Fresno State’s head coach. The lights are a bit brighter now as DeBoer’s rapid rise through the coaching ranks reaches its zenith at Alabama. DeBoer just led Washington to a 25-3 mark over a remarkable two-year stint and has amassed a 104-12 record across nine seasons as a head coach at the NAIA, Group of Five and power conference levels.

But DeBoer has never worked in the SEC in any capacity, and following Saban places him under a level of scrutiny unlike anything he’s experienced. His first SEC Media Days appearance is a meaningful milestone that offers DeBoer a chance to steer the national conversation around his tenure and Alabama’s 2024 team.

Stars in the making

A handful of SEC quarterbacks who have bided their time as backups in the conference will get the chance to shine in 2024. Among them are Oklahoma’s Jackson Arnold and LSU’s Garrett Nussmeier, who will be on hand for SEC Media Days.

Arnold, a sophomore, is a former five-star prospect who started OU’s Alamo Bowl loss to Arizona in December after playing sparingly in mop-up duty behind Dillon Gabriel as a freshman. With Gabriel gone to Oregon, the job is his. Venables’ decision to bring Arnold as the lone player representative from Oklahoma’s offense illustrates how important he’ll be to the Sooners’ hopes of early success in the SEC.

Nussmeier, a redshirt junior, brings more experience to the table but has even bigger shoes to fill than Arnold. His job is to replace Heisman Trophy winner Jayden Daniels, who accounted for 50 touchdowns and nearly 5,000 total yards in 12 games last season. He’s waited his turn. Now, before he faces the onslaught of pass rushers, he’ll face an onslaught of questions as one of LSU’s three player representatives at media days.

Redemption narrative?

Georgia completed a third consecutive unbeaten regular season in league play last season but was denied the opportunity at a national title three-peat because of a loss to Alabama in the SEC Championship Game. Are the Bulldogs using the frustration of that missed opportunity as fuel? Or have they put it behind them to focus exclusively on what’s ahead in 2024?

Georgia coach Kirby Smart is a master motivator and is clearly sitting atop college football’s coaching pyramid now amid the departures of Saban and Jim Harbaugh from Michigan. It will be interesting to learn what tactics he’s using to fuel a program that is 42-2 over the past three seasons.

Back for more

Ole Miss and Missouri each enjoyed banner years in 2023, finishing 11-2 with New Year’s Six bowl victories. It was the best win total in program history for the Rebels and the best season in a decade for the Tigers. Coaches Lane Kiffin (Ole Miss) and Eli Drinkwitz (Missouri) are among the league’s more entertaining characters. Now, they have some significant success to tout as they prepare for College Football Playoff runs in the season ahead.

Both teams have enough continuity in key spots to realistically compete at the highest level in the SEC and for CFP access. Will Kiffin and Drinkwitz play it cool? Or are they going to put their cards on the table and declare their grand ambitions for the 2024 season?

Feeling the pressure

A handful of SEC coaches are feeling the pressure entering the season, perhaps none more than Arkansas’ Sam Pittman. On the heels of a 4-8 campaign, Pittman registered as the only “5” in Dennis Dodd’s 2024 hot seat rankings. Category 5 is for those in the position of “win or be fired.” Winning won’t be easy for the Razorbacks, who travel to Oklahoma State in Week 2, in addition to facing the usual SEC gauntlet. Expect one of the top talking points during Pittman’s appearance on Thursday to be his hiring of former Arkansas coach Bobby Petrino as offensive coordinator. Desperate times call for desperate measures.

Pittman isn’t alone on the hot seat. Vanderbilt’s Clark Lea and Florida’s Billy Napier each registered at “4” in Dodd’s hot seat rankings, meaning they need to “start improving now.”

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Oklahoma

Jack Van Dorselaer: ‘No-Brainer’ to Follow Jason Witten to Oklahoma

Published

9 hours ago

March 11, 2026

Press Room

Jack Van Dorselaer: ‘No-Brainer’ to Follow Jason Witten to Oklahoma

NORMAN — Located just 190 miles from Norman, Southlake, TX, sits comfortably within Oklahoma’s recruiting footprint. Many Dallas–Fort Worth prospects grow up viewing OU as either a favorite destination or a local option thanks to its close proximity.

New Oklahoma tight end Jack Van Dorselaer, however, had a different perspective during his recruitment at Southlake Carroll High School.

“Honestly, growing up, I wasn’t the biggest OU fan,” Van Dorselaer said Monday during Oklahoma’s Spring Media Day. “When I was getting recruited, I was really into Tennessee and going to Tennessee.”

He wasn’t exaggerating — his recruiting profile backs it up. Oklahoma extended an offer to Van Dorselaer on March 25, 2023, never took a visit. At the time, former tight ends coach Joe Jon Finley’s track record probably didn’t do much to boost confidence in a highly-touted tight end’s development.

Tennessee Volunteers tight end Jack Van Dorselaer dives for a touchdown against East Tennessee State Buccaneers. | Randy Sartin-Imagn Images

Van Dorselaer would go on to pledge to the Volunteers, playing in all 13 games — an experience where he “learned some things as the season went on,” — before entering the transfer portal.

If Oklahoma’s previous tight ends coach left doubts lingering, one phone call changed everything. Ironically, it came from a Tennessee alum — now tabbed to coach that same position in Norman. For Van Dorselaer, it was the pitch that finally landed.

“I guess that was kind of a funny coincidence (getting a call from Jason Witten), but once he got the job, it was kind of a no‑brainer for me,” Van Dorselaer said. “To not pass that up and also to come back home and play in the SEC and play for Oklahoma.

“And I just felt like this offense was better for me and a better opportunity for me to succeed at the next level,” he added.

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The irony ran deeper than Van Dorselaer’s plan to leave Tennessee — only to get recruited by a Tennessee legend for Oklahoma.

It also sprang from his Southlake roots, where he grew up idolizing hometown hero Witten through his Hall of Fame Cowboys career — an opportunity Van Dorselaer sees as being able to make him a more complete tight end.

“I think last year at Tennessee, I was really utilized in the run game,” Van Dorselaer said “I feel like I have the ability to do everything — not just run block, not just pass catch, but to do everything. A lot of tight ends just want to catch and not block. I think coach Witten offers that coaching that really helped me in the pass game.”

Jason Witten watches from the sidelines | Brianna Paciorka/News Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Van Dorselaer joins fellow transfer tight ends Hayden Hansen and Rocky Beers — all tasked, as general manager Jim Nagy put it, with “flipping the room” from last year under Witten. Each brings a unique skill set that Ben Arbuckle will channel his inner Dr. Frankenstein to stitch together.

If Hansen is the bigger body that can help open lanes for Sooner ball carries and Beers is the field-stretching tight end, Van Dorselaer already seems him as a bridge between then two.

“I think (Arbuckle) sees me more as like a hybrid guy — not just blocking, not just pass catching, but doing everything,” he said. “I think that’s kind of also what drew me to Oklahoma, was that aspect of it.”

For that vision to be fully realized, Van Dorselaer will have to use this spring and summer as the time to build chemistry with his new quarterback, John Mateer, who appealed to the tight end during his transfer portal recruitment.

“I think his mindset is a big thing for me,” Van Dorselaer said. “But I mean, just being around him more, I think his mindset is something that’s cool for me to be a part of. He holds me to a standard that is going to make me a better football player and a better person.”

Van Dorselaer enters spring ball with a clean slate, syncing his hybrid skill set alongside Mateer’s winning mindset and under coach Witten’s complete-tight-end blueprint.

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Oklahoma

Christian Coleman ‘motored up’ as Oklahoma State basketball advances in Big 12 Tournament

Published

21 hours ago

March 11, 2026

Press Room

Christian Coleman ‘motored up’ as Oklahoma State basketball advances in Big 12 Tournament

KANSAS CITY, MO — Christian Coleman reached high but couldn’t grab the alley-oop pass from Jaylen Curry.

But it glanced off his fingertips, hit the backboard, then the rim and fell in the basket.

It wasn’t the prettiest clutch play by the Oklahoma State forward, but it was as important as any of them.

Coleman’s alley-oops layup with just over two minutes remaining helped the 14th-seeded Cowboys stretch their lead on the way to a 92-83 win over No. 11 Colorado in the first round of the Big 12 Tournament on Tuesday at T-Mobile Center.

Had Coleman gotten his hands on the ball, it would have been a massive exclamation-point jam, yet as he rose for it, he could tell it was out of his reach.

“But God had his hands around it and it kinda fell in for me,” Coleman said with a laugh. “So we count it.”

Coleman finished with 17 points and a season-high 14 rebounds, backing guard Anthony Roy, who had 17 of his game-high 24 points in the second half. Curry added 15 points, five rebounds and four assists.

Late in the game, the lanky 6-foot-8 Coleman moved to center as coach Steve Lutz was forced to put a small lineup on the floor.

The Cowboys were without their two most-used bigs, Parsa Fallah and Andrija Vukovic, because of injuries. Their freshman replacements, Benjamin Ahmed and Mekhi Ragland, found themselves in foul trouble.

“He’s versatile,” said OSU point guard Kanye Clary, who had seven points, six assists and five rebounds. “He can guard the 1-5. He switches and plays hard.

“When he’s motored up, I don’t really think there’s nobody who can stop him. He’s the only person who can stop himself. And tonight, he went out there and showed how impactful he is.”

The Cowboys (19-13) will take on sixth-seeded TCU at 8:30 p.m. Wednesday as they try to once again keep their NCAA Tournament hopes alive.

“Our mentality has been the same every game in the Big 12, because the league is so darn hard,” Lutz said. “If you look forward, you have no chance.

“I’m proud of the guys for sticking together and banding together, because we’ve had some key people, teammates, go down and we had to piece it together. I’m just happy for them and excited to face TCU tomorrow night.”

Here are three takeaways from the OSU victory:

Anthony Roy settles in for big game

In an odd twist, Colorado was hit with a technical foul for not submitting its lineup in time prior to the game, and that put Roy on the free throw line before the tipoff.

He missed the attempt, but it was the only one he’d miss all night, hitting the next 10.

Roy hit some rough patches throughout the first half, at one point getting quickly subbed out after missing an awkward 3-pointer from the corner.

But in the second half, he found his rhythm, going 5 of 6 from the floor with a pair of 3-pointers and a couple tough drives for layups.

“He got to the free-throw line and made 10 of 11,” Lutz said. “I thought he did a good job with that. And we tease him a bunch about his defense, but I thought at the end of the game when it mattered, he played good defense. And he rebounded the basketball.”

Freshmen Benjamin Ahmed, Mekhi Ragland play key minutes

With the Cowboys thin in the frontcourt, Ahmed made his third straight start, and Ragland was the first center off the bench.

Ahmed went to the bench after getting his fourth foul with 7:20 to play and didn’t return, but still played his second-most minutes in a game this season at 21. He finished with seven points, six rebounds and a blocked shot.

“Parsa going down, he spoke to me about it that I have a big role to fill,” Ahmed said. “It’s a learning process for me. I’m just excited to see what the future holds for me.”

Ragland had four points, a rebound and an assist in eight minutes — his most against a Big 12 opponent.

“It felt good being able to step up,” Ragland said. “I’ve wanted to show myself and show what I can do all year.

“The first couple up-and-downs, you’re a little nervous, but that goes away fast. It’s just basketball at the end of the day, so I was ready for the moment.”

OSU by the numbers

∎ The Cowboys are now 29-1 under Steve Lutz when scoring at least 81 points. The only loss came to TCU earlier this year, 95-92 in overtime at Gallagher-Iba Arena.

∎ The 92 points scored Tuesday are the most by OSU in the Big 12 Tournament. The previous high was 87, scored against Colorado in 2005.

∎ Coleman’s 14 rebounds were his season high and tied his career high.

∎ Adding a new combination Tuesday, OSU has used 19 different starting lineups this season.

∎ Clary led the team in plus-minus at 17, followed by Vyctorius Miller at 14.

Scott Wright covers Oklahoma State athletics for The Oklahoman. Have a story idea for Scott? He can be reached at swright@oklahoman.com or on X at @ScottWrightOK. Sign up for the Oklahoma State Cowboys newsletter to access more OSU coverage. Support Scott’s work and that of other Oklahoman journalists by purchasing a digital subscription today at subscribe.oklahoman.com or by using the link at the top of this page.

Oklahoma State vs. TCU

TIPOFF: 8:30 p.m. Wednesday at T-Mobile Center in Kansas City, Mo. (ESPNU)

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Oklahoma

Severe weather threat increasing for Oklahoma tonight

Published

1 day ago

March 10, 2026

Press Room

Severe weather threat increasing for Oklahoma tonight

OKLAHOMA CITY (KOKH) — Severe weather is still expected tonight across much of our area. In fact, the threats have increased since this morning due to more clearing skies in western Oklahoma. More sunshine means more instability to work with.

SPC Severe Weather Outlook. (KOKH)

Due to this, the Storm Prediction Center has increased all hazards for our part of Oklahoma. The strongest storms could produce winds up to 80 mph, baseball size hail, and a few tornadoes. This would be from essentially now until early Wednesday morning.

SPC Tornado Outlook. (KOKH)

The tornadic potential has increased across much of the area generally along and east of I-44/I-35.

The general thinking is that discrete supercells will form in western North Texas in the 3:00 PM to 5:00 PM window and begin to make their way towards southwest Oklahoma. These storms will then quickly go from being individual cells to more clusters of storms. This would increase the wind potential and make it possible for brief spinup tornadoes to form. These QLCS (quasi-linear convective systems) tornadoes can form and develop quickly.

Once the storms are generally east of I-35, there won’t be any more cells anymore and we’d be looking at a larger squall line. Check out the below model images for a look at the evolution of the storms tonight:

There is also the potential for very heavy rain with these storms too.

A cold front will sweep the storms away to the east tonight. After the front, strong northerly winds are possible. Due to this, there is a Wind Advisory Wednesday for parts of our area.