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.”