In a flurry of recent moves, several prominent Oklahoma high school football programs have seen significant changes in their coaching staffs.

Graham Leaves Owasso

One of the most notable changes involves the swap of head coaches between Owasso and Union. Antonio Graham, who had been the head coach at Owasso for just one year, is now taking over the reins at Union.

Graham previously served as an assistant under Bill Blankenship at Union and Owasso, before Blankenship stepped away last year to allow Graham to become the Owasso head coach.

Why Did Antonio Graham Leave For Union?

As for the situation involving Owasso and Union, new Redhawks head coach Antonio Graham chose to take over at Union for a variety of reasons. 

Graham and his family continue to live in the school district, in fact just down the road from former Union head coach Kirk Fridrich, and Graham’s wife has been an administrator at a Union elementary school for a while. Graham played at Union, winning a state championship under Bill Blankenship in 2005.

1. Union Head Football Coach Kirk Fridrich Resigns From Position

Blankenship retired from Owasso last year, welcoming Graham as the new head coach of the Rams. Now Blankenship returns to the Owasso sidelines as head coach, helping stabilize a program that went undefeated in the regular season, losing by one point to Bixby in the 6A-1 title game.

Blankenship Returns to Owasso

Now, Blankenship, a coaching icon with six state championships to his name, is returning to Owasso after a year of retirement.

Holcomb says that Blankenship’s return is about making sure you have your staff members and keeping momentum in the program in place, drawing a parallel to the stability often sought in college football programs.

1. Owasso Rehires Bill Blankenship As Head Coach Following Graham’s Resignation

Jenks Sees New Leadership

Another significant change occurred at Jenks, where Adam Gaylor is taking over as head coach, replacing Keith Riggs. Riggs had a successful tenure at Jenks, following in the footsteps of the legendary Allan Trimble. Gaylor, who previously served as Jenks’ defensive coordinator, is now tasked with maintaining the program’s high standards.

1. New Jenks Head Coach Adam Gaylor Introduces Himself

Broken Arrow Hires Travis Hill

The coaching carousel also reached Broken Arrow, as the program has hired Travis Hill as its new head coach. Hill comes from Muskogee, where he led the team to a state championship last year and came within a missed field goal of another title. Holcomb said Hill’s previous success and ability to unify the team will be crucial for Broken Arrow, which is the largest high school in the state and carries high expectations.

With these coaching changes coinciding with some of the most exciting playoff and championship finishes in recent memory, the upcoming high school football season in Oklahoma promises to be filled with intrigue and anticipation.

1. Broken Arrow Announces Travis Hill As Next Head Football Coach

Oklahoma is set to lose another wide receiver to the transfer portal. 

Andrel Anthony, who missed virtually the entire 2024 season while still recovering from an ACL injury, will enter the transfer portal, per Hayes Fawcett of On3.

Anthony caught 27 passes for 429 yards and a touchdown in 2023 for the Sooners before he injured his knee against Texas. 

He battled setbacks, but he was only able to play eight snaps for the Sooners this year per Pro Football Focus and caught one pass for four yards. 

Anthony appeared on the SEC Availability Report multiple times throughout the season as “questionable”, but he never made an impact in 2024. 

Before arriving at Oklahoma, Anthony played two seasons at Michigan. 

He caught 19 passes for 328 yards and four scores for the Wolverines, and his two-year totals for Oklahoma ended at 28 receptions for 433 yards.

Anthony isn’t the only OU pass catcher who battled injuries who will look for a fresh start in the portal. 

Thursday it was reported that Nic Anderson is also on the hunt for a new team as he tests the portal waters. 

Receivers Jaquaize Pettaway, J.J. Hester and Jalil Farooq are also all entering their names into the transfer portal as well. 

Anderson caught 38 passes for 798 yards and 10 touchdowns in 2023, but was only able to play a handful of snaps against Tennessee this year. 

Oklahoma’s offense will look for plenty of new faces at receiver in the transfer portal this offseason. 

Brent Venables officially announced the hiring of Washington State offensive coordinator Ben Arbuckle on Monday, and receivers coach Emmett Jones was retained as the Sooners head into 2025. 

After only signing a pair of receivers in the 2025 recruiting class, Arbuckle and Jones are expected to hit the portal hard to find established production to help transform OU’s offense in the program’s second season in the SEC. 

The winter transfer portal window will be open from Dec. 9-28.

Players do not have to know their destination by Dec. 28, they just have to be in the portal when the window closes to retain immediate eligibility. 

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 39 points for the Oklahoma City Thunder while Giannis Antetokounmpo sank 37 points for Milwaukee Bucks as they inspired their sides to reach the NBA Cup semi-finals.

Gilgeous-Alexander notched five of his side’s season-high 20 three pointers in their 118-104 victory against the visiting Dallas Mavericks in their Western Conference quarter-final.

He also contributed eight rebounds, five assists and three steals, with the Thunder pulling away in the third quarter when they turned a three point half-time advantage into a 90-73 lead.

Klay Thompson and Naji Marshall top scored with 19 points for the Mavericks, while team-mate Luka Doncic was limited to 16 points.

They will play either the Golden State Warriors or the Houston Rockets in the Western Conference semi-final when the competition moves to Las Vegas for the final stages.

In Milwaukee, Antetokounmpo’s exploits helped the Bucks to a hard-fought 114-109 win against the Orlando Magic in their Eastern Conference quarter-final.

Damian Lillard was also key for Milwaukee as he sank a step-back three-pointer to tie the game at 106 apiece with 52.2 seconds left before adding a lay-up and four free throws.

Lillard scored 15 of his 28 points in the fourth quarter and also contributed nine assists.

The Bucks, who will play the Atlanta Hawks or the New York Knicks in the last four, reached the semi-finals of the inaugural in-season NBA Cup last season before being beaten by the Indiana Pacers in Las Vegas.

“We didn’t have the greatest experience there last year,” said Lillard.

“So I think all of us are thinking [about] going back and finishing what we started last year and doing it right this time.”