Oklahoma
Oklahoma QB Casey Thompson ‘Has Been Good’ Since Returning From Knee Injury
NORMAN — More good news for Oklahoma on the quarterback front:
Casey Thompson is back.
A sixth year senior who transferred to OU from Florida Atlantic after a knee injury ended his 2023 season, Thompson missed all of spring practice while rehabbing the knee.
Thompson might never play at OU — Jackson Arnold is the starter, and freshman Michael Hawkins seems to be the leader as his backup — or he might use his advantage as the Sooners’ most experienced quarterback (by far) and fill in for Arnold and play well enough to keep the job all season. That can’t be known beyond a preseason prediction or forecast.
But if he’s called on, Thompson has the savvy to step into just about any situation — he saw it all during his time at Texas and Nebraska — and now it seems he’ll be ready.
“Yeah he’s done good,” head coach Brent Venables said on Saturday. “He had a good couple of series, some third downs yesterday. Some of our first-down plays, second-down scenarios and getting the drive started off the right way.”
That’s probably more than good news for the Sooners and offensive coordinator Seth Littrell’s quarterback room. Arnold is a former 5-star prospect, but he got all of 181 offensive snaps as a true freshman last season. The future seems bright with Arnold as the so-called “face of the program,” but he’s still young and inexperienced. Hawkins comes from OU DNA, but he’s yet to take a college snap.
Thompson, a 6-foot, 192-pound senior from Moore, could become an x-factor for Venables’ third OU team as the program transitions into the Southeastern Conference.
Stranger things have happened.
Another reason Thompson might be more important than a normal third-team QB: he’s been emotionally and mentally ready for this moment for years.
Thompson also has OU DNA. His dad is wishbone whiz Charles Thompson, and growing up in Norman and being around the program as a child was something deep in Casey’s blood.
In March, he proudly said so.
“I grew up here, so no one has to sell me on the OU brand,” Thompson said. “No one has to sell me on the importance of Oklahoma football or what it means to this community and this fanbase.”
After spending two months at his dream school — even though he was just rehabbing his knee, attending meetings and watching workouts — he refused to temper his admiration for the place.
“This is one of the best cultures and the best teams I’ve been on my whole life,” he said.
There’s still plenty of work to do, whether he stays third team or starts to move up the depth chart. For instance, star wideout Nic Anderson said he’s “gotten a couple of balls from him just outside the facility” but hasn’t really worked with him yet at practice.
And new center Branson Hickman, who’s gotten plenty of starter reps since the Sooners opened practice last Wednesday, said “all the centers work with everyone” in the QB room and “it’s pretty standard, but all the quarterbacks do a great job of communicating. There’s no lapse between guys. Everyone’s pretty much on the same page.”
His opportunities with the 1s may have been limited during the opening week, but Venables sounds impressed so far — especially considering Thompson hasn’t truly played the position for 11 months.
“Showed some of his experience, making decisions quickly,” Venables said. “He’s been doing good.”
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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