Oklahoma
Oklahoma OL Jake Taylor Knocked Off ‘Rust’ in ‘Amazing Experience’ Versus Auburn
NORMAN — Jake Taylor’s return to the lineup against Auburn brought Oklahoma’s offensive line some much-needed stability.
It was just the second time the OU right tackle has been able to take the field this year, and his return meant that the Sooners’ starting unit all rolled out together for the first time in 2024.
Taylor started against Houston, though he exited that game early, but he finished all four quarters in OU’s 27-21 win over the Tigers last Saturday after battling injuries for the first month of the season.
“I was fortunate enough to play in Houston for about a quarter and a half,” Taylor said on Wednesday. “Even that experience was amazing. Was able to play all of Auburn. Great competition, knocked the rust off and stuff like that. It’s been an amazing experience. Definitely been having to be tough through this journey, but almost to the end of the bumps and bruises journey to say the least.”
As a result of Taylor’s return, Bill Bedenbaugh’s offensive line had its best game from a simple communication standpoint, even in the face of Auburn’s rowdy crowd.
“They were much more consistent,” OU coach Brent Venables said. “Our communication was cleaner. Everything was cleaner from how we’re targeting and our protection was really pretty good.”
The Sooners gave up a season-low two sacks, though there are still gains that need to be made in the running game.
Those improvements will come, Oklahoma hopes, as the offensive line continues to build chemistry.
For Taylor, though, Saturday’s win was about knocking off some of the cobwebs because it’s been a long time since he’s played four quarters of football.
“Me and my family talked about — the last time I played a full game was back in senior year of high school (during) one of the four out-of-state games,” Taylor said. “Because (with) Las Vegas competition, you were out at halftime. So it was definitely rough on the body, to say the least. Conditioning wise, you got into the game a little over halfway through, but didn’t really help being out the majority of the start of the year, too.”
Oklahoma’s coaching staff is aware it will take a few weeks for Taylor to fully get back to where he was before the injuries on the conditioning front.
“Obviously there’s some rust for him, the endurance piece,” Venables said. “And some of the limitations that you have when you’re out, so the things that you can’t do — maybe it’s weight room and some of your lower body strength and stuff like that — and when you’re out several weeks, that adds up quick. And you lose — physically you can lose a lot quick.”
But Taylor will have two weeks to work throughout practice to get ready to face off against No. 2 Texas’ talented defensive line. As the physical work to get fully into game shape continues, Venables is pleased with the mental edge Taylor brings every day.
“He’s worked hard to get himself back where he needs to be and it was good to get him back,” Venables said. “He’s a long athletic guy that has been in the system for a while, and so if he does make a mistake, he quickly understands that it’s not real complicated for him.”
Taylor is just excited to continue to work with the starting offensive line, as the unit has faith it can still take a massive step forward as the Sooners enter this key stretch to take on the Longhorns, South Carolina and No. 12 Ole Miss.
“Getting a stable O-line out there is amazing to see,” Taylor said,
“Course, all of us are going through some stuff. When we’re able to get rest up — this bye week is gonna be great for that — we’re just gonna get closer. The chemistry’s gonna get tighter. We’re just gonna be better overall.”
The Oklahoma City Thunder are taking on the Phoenix Suns in Game 2 of their opening-round series. The OKC Thunder are hoping that they can repeat their Sunday afternoon performance in this contest. Game 2 will be an interesting test with the Suns having more time to prepare.
Phoenix was up against a rock and a hard place in the series opener. The Oklahoma City Thunder not only have the talent advantage but the rest advantage as well. Phoenix punched their ticket to the NBA Playoffs on Friday night by staving off the Golden State Warriors on Friday night before landing in Oklahoma City on Saturday and playing on Saturday afternoon to the tune of a 119-84 blowout Thunder victory.
The NBA has seen plenty of upsets already. The Orlando Magic, Philadelphia 76ers and Portland Trail Blazers have all stolen games from the higher seed. The Thunder know they have to keep the foot on the gas in this contest.
“These series are unpredictable. No 2 games are the same. The minute you make an assumption, you are overconfident, or the minute you go down and you’re overly urgent, that can impact your ability to be present in the next game,” Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault said pregame on Wednesday night.
The Oklahoma City Thunder are seeing the Suns make an adjustment with their starting lineup by inserting Collin Gillespie to give Phoenix a trio of ball handling scoring options alongside Devin Booker and Jalen Green. This gives the Suns hope to be able to find better shot quality against this stifling Thunder defensive unit.
Oklahoma City is healthier now than they have been all season. The Thunder only are missing rookie Thomas Sorber (ACL) who is out for the year. This allows the Bricktown Ballers to roll out their traditional first five in this contest.
Oklahoma City Thunder vs. Phoenix Suns, Game 2 Starting Lineup
Oklahoma City Thunder Starting Lineup
- Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, G
- Lu Dort, G
- Jalen Williams, F
- Chet Holmgren, F
- Isaiah Hartenstein, C
Phoenix Suns Starting Lineup
- Devin Booker, G
- Jalen Green, G
- Collin Gillespie, G
- Dillon Brooks, F
- Oso Ighodaro, C
The series will shift to Phoenix this weekend as the Oklahoma City Thunder hope to head into Saturday afternoon’s Game 3 with a 2-0 advantage in the series.
Stay tuned to Thunder on SI for complete coverage of the NBA Playoff run for the Oklahoma City Thunder.
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OKLAHOMA CITY, OKLA (KOKH) — The Oklahoma City Fire Department responded to a home fire late Tuesday evening, around 10:42 p.m.
According to OKCFD, fire could be seen from a window of the home located in the 4200 block of N. Phillips Avenue.
Firefighters were able to rescue an adult female from inside the home. No injuries were reported in connection with the fire.
Investigators believe that the fire may have originated from an outlet near the refrigerator that had a power strip plugged in that was supplying multiple appliances.
There was also no smoke detector present within the home.
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NORMAN — The Sooners were behind the eight ball for much of Tuesday’s game against Oral Roberts.
But one swing of the bat got them in a more favorable position.
Shortstop Jaxon Willits blasted a grand slam in the sixth inning to give No. 14 Oklahoma its first lead before eventually winning 7-6.
The Sooners trailed by as many as five runs before they rallied late.
In the first inning, Oral Roberts’ Cooper Combs hit a two-out grand slam to give the Golden Eagles a comfortable cushion. OU infielder Deiten Lachance got the Sooners on the board in the second inning with a solo home run, but ORU responded with a solo shot of its own in the next frame.
The Golden Eagles made it a 6-1 run game in the top of the fourth, and they appeared to be on cruise control. But in the bottom of that frame, OU’s rally began.
Dasan Harris made it a four-run game again with a sacrifice fly in the bottom of the fourth before Camden Johnson hit a sacrifice fly of his own in the fifth.
Then, in the sixth, the Sooners took their first lead of the game.
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Harris singled before Kyle Branch and Connor Larkin walked to load the bases. Willits then swung at the first pitch he saw, sending it well over the right-center field fence.
Neither team scored after Willits’ home run, as OU relief pitcher Xander Mercurius retired nine ORU batters in a row to seal the Sooners’ one-run win.
Michael Catalano started on the mound for Oklahoma, but his outing was short-lived — he gave up four earned runs on two hits and five walks in 1 ⅓ innings.
After coach Skip Johnson relieved Catalano in the second inning, six different OU arms entered the game. Reid Hensley collected the win, while Mercurius got the save.
OU improved to 28-12 overall with the win, while Oral Roberts dropped to 23-15. The Sooners are 7-3 in midweek games this season, and they clinched the season sweep of the Golden Eagles on Tuesday.
Next, the Sooners will hit the road for a three-game series against Auburn. The Tigers, ranked No. 11 by D1Baseball, are 10-8 in SEC play and took two of three games against Florida over the weekend.
The series will open on Friday, and first pitch is scheduled for 6 p.m.
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