Oklahoma
Next Man Up: Oklahoma’s Defensive Line Will Lean on Youth Without Ethan Downs
The emergence of R Mason Thomas last year paired nicely with the steady presence of Ethan Downs on the other end of Oklahoma’s defensive line.
And while Thomas will be back in 2025 to terrorize SEC quarterbacks, the Sooners will have to replace Downs’ work, especially to set the edge and stop the run.
Downs played 496 snaps lack year per Pro Football Focus, which ranked sixth on the defense and second amongst defensive lineman behind Thomas’ 529 snaps.
The Weatherford, OK, product totaled 29 tackles, including nine tackles for loss and three sacks, and Downs also forced a fumble, recovered a fumble and tipped a pair of passes.
Downs started 37 games over the last three years, and he’s been a constant along the defensive line under Brent Venables and defensive ends coach Miguel Chavis.
The Sooners have a pair of incredibly athletic options who studied under Downs last year waiting for a larger role, but for different reasons, they didn’t see too much of the field in 2024.
Adepoju Adebawore, a former 5-star recruit, had the start of his season derailed by a fluke ankle injury in 2024.
He sustained an injury during a walkthrough, which meant he had a slow start instead of building immediately on his freshman season.
Adebawore logged three tackles for loss, 1.5 sacks and four quarterback hurries as a freshman in 2023, but he was only able to follow that up with 1.5 tackles for loss and one sack last year, and he played just 119 snaps.
He was able to enter winter workouts feeling much more like himself, and Adebawore said he had gained 15 pounds from the end of last season to the end of March.
Adebawore hopes that extra mass will allow him to continue to take steps forward, as he feels more and more comfortable in the defense now than he ever has before.
“I’ve improved my knowledge of the game, awareness, situationally, physicality—all of the above when it comes to D-line play,” Adebawore said. “… (I’m) stronger, faster… It’s easier to shed a block. It’s easier to get knock back.”
Another piece who hopes to pair with Adebawore in Downs’ absence is redshirt freshman Danny Okoye.
The 6-foot-3, 250-pound edge rusher from Tulsa played in just two games last year, but is one of the fastest linemen on Oklahoma’s roster.
“Danny’s a beast,” Thomas said. “He’s always been athletic, but for him to get the calls and the plays down, know what he’s doing, he’s gonna be an even better player.”
Redshirt sophomore Taylor Wein also turned heads during spring practice after the 6-foot-4, 269-pounder played in 12 games a year ago.
OU also hit the portal to bring in some experience to help offset the loss of Downs.
Marvin Jones Jr. transferred to Norman after stops at Georgia and Florida State throughout his career.
Jones initially committed to the Bulldogs as a 5-star recruit as rated by 247Sports, and he has 41 career tackles and five sacks in 36 career appearances.
“I love that guy,” Thomas said.
The Sooners have plenty of options opposite of Thomas, and when paired with the interior of Oklahoma’s offensive line, OU’s front should be formidable again in 2025.
Oklahoma
Did Oklahoma Stay Atop the Polls After Tumultuous Week?
NORMAN — After an up-and down week that saw Oklahoma drop the lone Bedlam match of the season, and then split two tight games with Arkansas before blowing out the Razorbacks on Sunday, the Sooners remained No. 1 in the NFCA/Go Rout coaches’ poll released Tuesday.
But there’s far from a consensus.
Oklahoma received 12 first-place votes — the same total they had last week — but five other teams received first-place votes.
Texas Tech remained No. 2 with four four-place votes and Alabama No. 3 with seven. Nebraska moved up two spots to No. 4 with four first-place votes, followed by Florida with two and UCLA with two.
Texas is No. 7, followed by Tennessee, Arkansas and Florida State.
Texas A&M, the Sooners’ opponent for the final regular-season weekend in two weeks, comes in at No. 11.
Other SEC teams include Georgia at No. 15, Mississippi State at No. 17 and LSU at No. 20.
OU hosts the Georgia Bulldogs in a three-game series beginning Friday.
Other Sooners’ opponents this season in the polls include No. 14 Duke, No. 18 Oklahoma State, No. 19 Arizona, No. 24 Arizona State and No. 25 Washington.
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Oklahoma also remained in the top spot in the D1Softball poll, with Alabama No. 2 there followed by Texas Tech, Nebraska at Texas.
The Sooners dropped a spot in the Softball America poll, with Nebraska elevating to No. 1 behind the two-way stardom of former OU standout Jordy Frahm (formerly Jordy Bahl).
Frahm is 13-4 with a 1.36 ERA and 157 strikeouts in 118 2/3 innings in the circle and hitting .440 with 16 home runs and 42 RBIs. Another former Sooners player, Hannah Coor, is among the Cornhuskers’ regulars as well.
The Sooners have 158 home runs, just three away from tying their own season record in the category, but UCLA has closed the gap in a major way, sitting just four behind Oklahoma.
OU freshman sensation Kendall Wells leads the nation with 34 home runs, three ahead of UCLA’s Megan Grant. Wells tied Jocelyn Alo‘s program record for home runs in a season with her home run in Sunday’s win.
The Sooners host Arkansas-Pine Bluff at 6 p.m. Tuesday in their final non-conference game of the season before opening the series against Georgia at 6:30 p.m. Friday at Love’s FIeld.
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Oklahoma
Putnam City West moves to virtual learning after student incident
Putnam City West High School will shift to virtual learning on Tuesday after an incident involving two students prompted an investigation by the district and Oklahoma City police, according to Putnam City Schools.
District officials said administrators were alerted near the end of the school day Monday to an altercation involving two students in the school’s arena area.
Officials said the students left campus, and the case was turned over to Putnam City Campus Police and the Oklahoma City Police Department for investigation.
District officials said no students or staff were harmed and there is no ongoing safety threat related to the incident.
What we know
Putnam City West sent the following email to all families and staff at the school:
All PCW students and staff will transition to virtual learning for Tuesday, April 21st.
Today, an isolated serious incident involving two students occurred on school grounds. Near the end of the school day, administrators were alerted to an altercation between two students in the arena area. The individuals involved quickly left campus, prompting an initial fact-finding response by school administrators before the matter was turned over to Putnam City Campus Police and the Oklahoma City Police Department for further investigation. Because this is an active investigation involving students, no further information will be released at this time.
We understand this information may be concerning to students, staff, and families. Please know we are committed to maintaining a safe, secure, and positive learning environment for all students. At Putnam City Schools, student and staff safety remains our highest priority. Therefore, out of an abundance of caution and to allow for a thorough investigation, all PCW students and staff will transition to virtual learning for Tuesday, April 21st. Students will need to check Google Classroom for updates from teachers.
Thank you for your understanding and continued support of PC West.
Putnam City Schools
All students and staff at Putnam City West will transition to virtual learning on Tuesday, April 21, while investigators continue their work, according to the district.
Students were told to check Google Classroom for instructions from teachers.
The district said it is withholding additional details because the case involves students and remains under investigation.
School officials have not said what triggered the incident or whether any arrests have been made.
This is a developing story. Updates will be added as more information becomes available.
Oklahoma
Oklahoma launches program letting adults use past credits, test scores to earn diplomas
TULSA, OKLA (KTUL) — A new program in Oklahoma is giving adults another way to finish high school by allowing them to use past credits and test scores to earn a diploma, an option officials say could help thousands of people and strengthen the state’s workforce.
For years, adults in Oklahoma who did not finish high school largely had one main option: earning a GED. Now, Oklahoma CareerTech is rolling out the Career Readiness Diploma, a pathway designed to build on what students have already completed rather than requiring them to start over.
“So in Oklahoma right now, if you look at the demographics, we have about 279,000 people in our state without a high school diploma. So it’s almost 10% of our population doesn’t have a high school diploma,” said Lance Allee, an adult education and family literacy specialist with Oklahoma CareerTech.
Allee said the program allows adults to apply previously earned high school credit and combine different assessment scores into a single record to qualify for a diploma.
“It allows the student to use previously earned high school credit. So, it’s kind of like a portfolio where you can take multiple assessment scores and put them into one portfolio to get your high school diploma,” Allee said.
The program is open to adults 21 and older. In some cases, officials said, participants can finish in just weeks, depending on how many credits they already have.
CareerTech officials say the program is also aimed at improving job prospects for individuals while helping Oklahoma remain competitive when attracting employers.
“When you’re a company and you’re looking at moving into Oklahoma, you look at the demographics and say, is there a workforce there that we can employ? And you say, well, about 10% of the population doesn’t have a diploma, they may start looking at states that surround us. So, we definitely want to get as many diplomas out there as we can,” Allee said.
The program started issuing diplomas in recent weeks, and officials said dozens more people are already in the process. For more information or to sign up click here.
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