Oklahoma

Oklahoma’s Dillon Gabriel, Marvin Mims Working on Deep Shots in Season of Inconsistency

Published

2 years ago

November 8, 2022

Oklahoma’s Dillon Gabriel, Marvin Mims Working on Deep Shots in Season of Inconsistency

NORMAN — Oklahoma’s offense has left loads of factors on the board by 9 video games.

The Sooners nonetheless mission as one of many higher offenses within the convention, sitting at No. 24 within the NCAA’s whole offense rankings, however uncharacteristic errors have plagued Brent Venables’ first season as head coach.

Many various components have contributed to Oklahoma’s stunning 5-4 document, like undisciplined penalties, crushing accidents and a struggling defensive unit. Even when the Sooners are totally wholesome, although, it’s merely been an inconsistent product on the sector.

One shaky facet of Oklahoma’s offense has been the shortage of house run performs. The Sooners have tried to air it out loads, however there have been missed deep passes everywhere in the subject. The difficulty appears to lastly be fixing itself, because the connection between Dillon Gabriel and Marvin Mims got here alive towards Baylor.

After weeks of lacking on lengthy go-routes down the sector, lots of which Mims was open, it needed to be a sigh of aid for the pair to lastly join on a 63-yard landing within the first quarter.

“We missed a pair deep pictures early on within the season,” Mims stated when requested about his chemistry with Gabriel. “Dillon acquired harm for a game-and-a-half, in order that harm us too. Only for that final one to hit in Baylor, it felt nice to get that again open.”

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After Mims began the season with a number of huge performances, the quarterback harm and the overthrows price the Sooners plenty of explosive performs and factors on the board. As soon as Gabriel had settled again in, and Mims had a powerful outing towards Kansas, the star broad receiver had an out-of-character recreation towards Iowa State. He recorded a number of drops, even when the ball was in the suitable spot, and completed the afternoon with two catches for 16 yards in Oklahoma’s win.

Mims responded in a giant method on Saturday, reeling in 4 catches for 120 yards and a landing. Extra importantly, the broad receiver lastly linked on a deep shot down subject together with his quarterback.

“The man has been wonderful all 12 months,” Venables stated following Oklahoma’s loss to Baylor. “You’ve got a few drops, it’s not an indictment, generally it’s the sport of soccer. Typically you execute and generally you don’t. We are able to’t count on anyone to play excellent. I believe he, for probably the most half, is as near excellent as you might be. So now the bars by the roof, unfairly, everybody deserves some grace. So once more, Marvin in the present day was who he’s been nearly for all the season.”

By the ups-and-downs of an inconsistent season, it looks like the connection between Gabriel and Mims is in a great place heading into the essential stretch of video games left on Oklahoma’s schedule.

The inflow of losses have been deflating, however there’s loads of room to make it a lot better or a lot worse over the past three video games. It’s an excellent time to have the deep ball firing on all cylinders.

“I really feel prefer it pumps up the entire staff, you realize, particularly the offense,” Mims stated in regards to the explosive performs. “It offers them just a few life, truthfully, and I believe we’re feeling good proper now going into West Virginia.”

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Oklahoma

Navy Midshipmen Seek Victory Over Oklahoma in Armed Forces Bowl

Published

39 minutes ago

December 23, 2024

Press Room

Navy Midshipmen Seek Victory Over Oklahoma in Armed Forces Bowl

Navy won its rivalry game with Army West Point, but there’s one more game left on the schedule and one more shot at some history for the Midshipmen.

Navy is preparing to face Oklahoma in the Armed Forces Bowl on Friday, their first appearance in a bowl game under second-year head coach Brian Newberry. Kickoff is set for noon eastern.

If the Midshipmen (9-3) are able to beat the Sooners (6-6), it would mark the sixth time in school history that they won at least 10 games in a season, joining the teams from 1905 (10-1-1), 2004 (10-2), 2009 (10-4), 2015 (11-2) and 2019 (11-2).

Navy needs to put its blowout win over Army out of its minds. The Sooners, while not the OU that most are used to, will still be a formidable opponent. But there will be change under center after the transfer of quarterback Jackson Arnold.

No such issues with Navy quarterback Blake Horvath, as he looks to cap off the season with an incredible performance in the postseason.

Here is a preview of the game.

Armed Forces Bowl

Amon G. Carter Stadium, Fort Worth, Texas

Time: noon, ET, Friday

TV: ESPN

Radio: WBAL 1090 AM / 101.5 FM (flagship), Navy Football Radio Network.

Coaches: Navy: Brian Newberry (14-10 at Navy, overall); Oklahoma: Brent Venables (22-16 at Oklahoma, overall).

Fun fact: Newberry played high school football at WestMoore High School in Oklahoma City, about an hour and a half away from Oklahoma’s campus in Norman.

All-Times Series: Navy leads series, 1-0.

Last meeting: Navy 10, Oklahoma 0 (1965 in Norman, Okla.).

Series notes: This is Navy’s first bowl game against OU, but not its first bowl game against an SEC school. The Midshipmen played Ole Miss in the 1955 Sugar Bowl. Navy has played Missouri and Texas, but neither was in the SEC at the time.

Last Week: Navy def. Army, 31-13 (Dec. 14); Oklahoma lost to LSU, 37-13 (Nov. 30).

About Navy: Navy’s win over Army allowed the Midshipmen to claim the Commander in Chief’s trophy and you can’t doubt the accomplishment. Navy won the two service academy games by a combined 45 points. That’s just domination.

Last week, Midshipmen defensive back Rayuan Lane III accepted an invitation to the Senior Bowl, just the fifth Navy player to accomplish that feat. He’ll play in this game and then take his shot at getting drafted into the NFL.

Along with chasing 10 wins, Horvath is chasing the single-season touchdown pass record at Navy. He’s tied it with 13, putting him in the company of Ricky Dobbs. He tossed two touchdowns against Army.

About Oklahoma: Even though OU only finished .500, this game marks a rare chance for Navy to measure itself against one of the game’s historic programs.

Oklahoma is the sixth-winningest program in FBS history with 950 wins and is playing in a bowl game for the 26th straight season, with a record of 31-25-1. OU’s 58 bowl appearances are the fourth-most in FBS.

The first year in the SEC was a gauntlet for the Sooners, who faced eight ranked opponents during the season. But, their win over No. 7 Alabama probably robbed the Crimson Tide of a chance to play in the College Football Playoff.

Next Up: The season concludes for both teams.

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Oklahoma

Oklahoma Ford Sports Blitz: December 22

Published

9 hours ago

December 23, 2024

Press Room

Join News 9 Sports Director Dean Blevins, News On 6 Sports Director John Holcomb, and Toby Rowland for this week’s edition of the Oklahoma Ford Sports Blitz.

Sunday, December 22nd 2024, 11:25 pm

By:

News On 6,

News 9

OKLAHOMA CITY –

This week on the Oklahoma Ford Sports Blitz, Dean Blevins, John Holcomb, and Toby Rowland begin the show with their opening takes.

Toby’s Top 3

OU, OSU, TU Recap

Viewer Question

Thunder Update: Caruso 4-Year Contract Extension, No Christmas Game

OU, OSU, TU, ORU Basketball Recap

OSU Wrestling Beats Virginia Tech

Play The Percentages

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Oklahoma

Oklahoma transfer LB Dasan McCullough commits to Nebraska

Published

16 hours ago

December 22, 2024

Press Room

Oklahoma transfer LB Dasan McCullough commits to Nebraska

Oklahoma transfer linebacker Dasan McCullough has committed to Nebraska, he confirmed on Instagram Sunday afternoon.

The 6-foot-5, 235-pound McCullough spent the past two seasons in Norman with the Sooners. He began his college football career in 2022 at Indiana, where he earned Freshman All-American status.

McCullough will come to Nebraska with one season of eligibility remaining.

McCullough, who played Oklahoma’s versatile hybrid linebacker/safety position called the Cheetah, suffered an injury before the start of Oklahoma’s fall camp this season and missed the first five games. He returned to the field in October and played in the final seven games, the last five of which he started. He recorded 17 tackles and 2.5 tackles for loss in 2024.

In 2023 at Oklahoma, McCullough played in 10 games and started seven while making 30 tackles with 3.5 TFLs and three pass deflections.

McCullough, who was a star recruit and ranked No. 61 nationally in the 2022 class, comes from a football family. His dad, Deland McCullough, played running back in the NFL and is currently Notre Dame’s associate head coach and running backs coach.

While Deland spent three seasons as the Kansas City Chiefs’ running backs coach from 2018-20, Dasan played his high school ball at Blue Valley North High School in Overland Park, Kansas. Deland became Indiana’s associate head coach and running backs coach in 2021, and Dasan, then an Ohio State verbal commit, flipped to Indiana not long after.

Dasan followed his father to Bloomington and made an impact right away. He played in all 12 games with four starts and racked up 51 tackles, 6.5 TFLs, four sacks and four pass deflections. He gained Freshman All-American honors and a Big Ten honorable mention selection.

— Steve Marik, Inside Nebraska staff writer,

Analysis

McCullough is a versatile backend defender that can play a variety of roles in Nebraska’s defense.

A rare blend of size and athleticism at 6-5, McCullough shows good speed and change-of-direction ability for his size. Has high-end instincts and IQ, which shows up in zone coverage and reacting against the run. Has had some intriguing flashes as a pass-rusher, but largely relies on athleticism to get into the backfield, still developing consistent pass rush moves.

Technically sound tackler, though lean he’s got wiry body strength. Consistent aggression could improve as could hip fluidity. Athletic enough to hold his own in man coverage, technique can continue to improve, better in zone at this point in his career.

In Nebraska’s scheme, McCullough can play all three linebacker positions, rover or even safety if needed. He’s likely best at inside linebacker with a few pass-rush opportunities.

This addition provides Nebraska defensive coordinator John Butler something of a chess piece to move around his defense.

— Tim Verghese, Inside Nebraska recruiting analyst

Additional analysis

McCullough is a versatile and sizable defender who played both a traditional linebacker position and Oklahoma’s “cheetah” spot, which is roughly equivalent to the nickel. He also saw some periodic snaps as an edge rusher for the Sooners during his two years in Norman.

McCullough at his best against the run, as he takes good pursuit angles, fills gaps responsibly and is a reliable tackler. That said, he’s intelligent and instinctive in zone coverage and can generally be trusted to hold his own in man-to-man matchups against tight ends and running backs.

McCullough ought to be quite the chess piece in John Butler’s defense, and could truly thrive in Lincoln depending on the Huskers’ specific vision for his diverse skill set.

— OUInsider writer Parker Thune