Last year when the Sooners took the field to play Arizona in the Alamo Bowl, those in command of the offense had taken control only weeks before. It was a lot of change between the regular-season finale and bowl season. 

Quarterback Jackson Arnold got the nod to make his first career start as a freshman after Dillon Gabriel entered the transfer portal. Seth Littrell and Joe Jon Finley were promoted to co-offensive coordinators after Jeff Lebby left the program to become the head coach at Mississippi State. 

All that wasn’t for a one-game stint, though. Since, Arnold has been given the reins of the offense as QB1 as a redshirt freshman for the upcoming 2024 season. Littrell and Finley were permanently named co-offensive coordinators, with Littrell getting play calling duties while also serving as quarterbacks coach. 

All that change, though, it still doesn’t seem as if much is new for OU’s offense. 

“I wouldn’t say there’s a big learning curve for Coach Littrell, but obviously he’s a different person than (Lebby), different personality,” Arnold said. “Maybe calls some things different than Lebby, focuses more on certain things than Lebby would. So I wouldn’t say it’s a learning curve, but, you know, just kind of getting to know Coach Littrell and seeing what he likes, and seeing how he likes to call a game has been big for me this fall camp.”

After playing fullback for the Sooners in 1997-2000 and winning a national championship as a senior, Littrell started his coaching career as a graduate assistant in 2002 at Kansas. He was eventually an offensive coordinator at Arizona, Indiana and North Carolina before getting his first head coaching gig at North Texas, where he led the Mean Green for seven seasons. Ultimately, before the 2023 season, he returned to Norman as an offensive analyst before getting promoted within the year. 

“We’re running a lot of the same stuff and it’s just good to be back with him and kind of just picked up right where we left off,” said tight end Jake Roberts, who played under Littrell at UNT for three seasons before transferring to Baylor after Littrell was dismissed. 

“Some of the same stuff, similar concepts, a lot of different verbiage. Some similar stuff, some different stuff, but it’s all good.” 

The last time Littrell was an OC in 2015 for North Carolina, the Tar Heels averaged 40.7 points a game. This is when you see Littrell’s fullback roots shine through. Most of UNC’s production that season came on the ground with 3,142 rushing yards on the season, averaging 224.4 a game. Just over 55% of the Tar Heels’ offensive plays that season were runs. For comparison, the 2023 Sooners ran the ball about 53% of the time, still having a balanced attack that leaned just slightly on the run. 

“It’s not anything crazy,” running back Jovntae Barnes said. “This team has been together for a couple of years. It’s making sure everyone is on the same page. The No. 1 thing is that and he’s been doing a good job with that.

In his first season back as an offensive coordinator with a redshirt freshman quarterback leading his offense, Littrell so far hasn’t reinvented the wheel during OU’s fall camp. He was part of last year’s offense that averaged 41.69 points a game and returns talent like Barnes and Gavin Sawchuk at running back. Although, that was in the Big 12, not the SEC, and only four starters of more than six games return for 2024. 

“They’re new, but it’s not the normal new,” OU coach Brent Venables said. “They’re not unfamiliar. These are guys that have been there offensively, systematically and there’s a natural cohesion there. The relationships are real with coach (Bill) Bedenbaugh, coach (DeMarco) Murray and coach (Emmett) Jones. So it’s not like you’re having to gel that, if you will. Don’t ever take that for granted. But that’s a group of guys that have, in many ways, grown up in the profession together.”

NORMAN — Kip Lewis’ breakthrough into the starting lineup was a revelation for Oklahoma’s defense in 2023. 

The then-redshirt freshman was a little light for the ideal linebacker, but it didn’t hamper his production. 

Lewis, who was described as a “ball magnet” by OU head coach Brent Venables, ended last year with 66 total tackles, 3.5 tackles for loss, one sack and a fumble recovery. 

He blew up multiple plays on the goal line against Texas to help the Sooners get a key stop, which propelled him into a starting role down the final stretch of the year. 

Now, as he enters his third year with the Sooners, he’s over 220 pounds and is ready to take on the SEC.

“I feel like it’s a good weight, being able to go fly around, hit people, knock people back,” Lewis said after Oklahoma’s practice concluded on Saturday night. “So it’ll be fun.”

Lewis brought stability alongside Danny Stutsman a year ago, and the duo is back again. 

Though he performed well alongside the veteran linebacker, Lewis and the entire unit struggled to replace Stutsman’s production when he exited the second half against Kansas and then missed Bedlam due to an injury. 

Venables brought Zac Alley in over the offseason to serve as the defensive coordinator and linebackers coach in place of Ted Roof, and Alley’s introduction helped Lewis digest the defense to get even more comfortable in Year 3 of the system.

“We call [Alley] like the mini BV. He’s got tendencies of V,” Lewis said. “So he’s amazing. He really brings out the best in us.

“…  Just learning, getting, schematically wise, the defense down. It’s been amazing.”

Though Lewis is more comfortable in the defense, he won’t have to digest opposing offenses by himself. 

Stutsman spurned the NFL Draft to return for another year under Venables, and his experience is crucial for his fellow linebackers as well as the entire defense. 

“He brings that leader mentality, that pushing, that edge that pushed,” Lewis said. “He will bring out the best in you, and that’s the best thing about Danny, is your gonna get his best and he’s gonna motivate you to do your best.”

Lewis is looking to take another step forward, too. 

Though he’s not always been the loudest guy behind the scenes, Lewis said he gained confidence from last year’s game experience and it’s helped him take on a larger leadership role in the locker room. 

“Getting snaps in general, it just helps you grow as a player,” Lewis said. “Game-speed wise, you can’t replicate that in practice. I was grateful enough to be put in that position and have the opportunity to go out and play and get experience underneath my belt.

“… Now [I’m] starting to step into trying to be vocal. Trying to become better and better at that every day.”

Like the rest of the defense, Lewis is ready to show just how much he’s improved this offseason once the season starts. 

But in the meantime, he’s focused on making the most of every practice in fall camp leading up to the Aug. 30 opener against Temple in Norman. 

“It’s really good to get back,” he said. 

We asked people of all faiths to send devotionals for the start of the school year. State schools Superintendent Ryan Walters has directed the Bible be taught in all school districts in Oklahoma.

Here are the prayers readers put forth for Oklahoma students and educators for the 2024-25 school year:

A welcoming prayer

May our students’ voices be heard, their questions welcomed,

And space held for silence when no answers are adequate.

May our students see light in those who lead.

May they be met with open doors and inviting rooms.

May they find laughter and learning in equal measure,

Delight and discovery in each new day. 

May their smiles be mirrored.

May their wounds be tended.

May we who lift the lamp of learning offer plenty of heart and plenty of hope,

And continue to walk on the way of wisdom with one another.

Karla Winslow, of Edmond, is in her 38th year as an educator. She is a member of the Oklahoma City First Church of the Nazarene.

‘You must teach them all’

I pray that Ryan Walters will be replaced so that schools may focus on teaching children all of the information they need to know that will prepare them for the next year.

The Supreme Court will end up telling him, “If you teach one religion, you must teach them all.”

Gene Stewart, 94, is a Baptist in Oklahoma City.

A Methodist’s prayer

God, please talk to me directly, in a way I can fully understand your words, without an interpretation from others.

Richard Prawdzienski, of Edmond, is a Methodist.