Oklahoma
Why Oklahoma DE Marvin Jones Jr. Believes Sooners Have Championship Potential
NORMAN — As Oklahoma makes its final push for the College Football Playoff, defensive end Marvin Jones Jr. knows what it takes to make a run at the national title.
Jones, an edge rusher who transferred to OU before the 2025 season, played for Georgia in 2022, when the Bulldogs won the national championship. Georgia defeated TCU 65-7 in the CFP National Championship Game that year to finish the season 15-0.
The Sooners are fresh off back-to-back road wins against Tennessee and Alabama after a stretch where they lost two of three games. OU is now 8-2 and almost certainly in control of its own CFP destiny.
Jones believes that team togetherness has allowed the Sooners to stay in the mix despite their rough middle-of-the-year stretch.
“It’s just a brotherhood, man,” Jones said. “It’s so special to see. You don’t really have any individuals on the team.”
The long-standing cliche goes that “defense wins championships.” And Jones believes that to be true.
Jones was part of a Georgia defense in 2022 that allowed only 296.8 total yards and 14.3 points per game. The Bulldogs also registered 91 tackles for loss and 35 sacks in their 15 wins.
The defensive end now plays for a similarly stellar defense. Through 10 games, Oklahoma is ninth in scoring defense (14.8 points allowed per game) and 11th in total defense (278.4 yards allowed per game).
Jones draws plenty of parallels between OU’s defensive grit and that of Georgia’s defense when he won a national title.
“The physicality definitely pops off first to me,” Jones said. “In that Georgia defense, that’s something (Georgia coach Kirby Smart) definitely prided the defense on. I think that’s something that we have here.”
Oklahoma’s defense has been brilliant overall. But it hasn’t been perfect.
In the Sooners’ 23-6 loss to Texas on Oct. 11, they allowed the Longhorns to convert on 10 of their 17 third-down tries. Oklahoma allowed Ole Miss to log 431 offensive yards and convert on 11 third and fourth downs, and that helped the Rebels earn their 34-26 win over the Sooners.
The Sooners have one of the best defenses in college football. But they’ll have to be even better to make a run at the College Football Playoff.
From his own first-hand experience, Jones knows that steady growth is necessary for a team to win a national championship.
“None of us graded out 100 on the grade sheet after the (Alabama) game, so there are always things to improve on,” Jones said. “I think that’s it. Our coaches let us know that nobody played a perfect game.”
Oklahoma will host Missouri on Saturday before battling LSU in Norman for the Sooners’ regular-season finale on Nov. 29.
Oklahoma
Iowa State wrestling adds Brayden Thompson from transfer portal
New Iowa State wrestling coach Brent Metcalf outlines vision for team
New Iowa State wrestling coach Brent Metcalf outlines vision for team
Iowa State wrestling’s first commitment of the Brent Metcalf era will be a transfer portal addition.
The Cyclones added Oklahoma State transfer Brayden Thompson, who announced his commitment on April 18 via Instagram. Thompson is a one-time NCAA qualifier at the 2024 NCAA Championships, doing so as a true freshman. He redshirted in 2024-25, but competed in open tournaments at 184 pounds and was 9-0. He did not wrestle a match in 2025-26 and will have at least two years of eligibility remaining.
Out of high school, Thompson was ranked the No. 3 pound-for-pound wrestler and No. 1 at 182 pounds in the 2023 recruiting class by Flowrestling. He also won Powerade and Ironman titles, two of the more prestigious high school tournaments in the nation. Assuming Thompson returns to 184 pounds where he last wrestled, he should fill in nicely as a potential replacement for Isaac Dean after his graduation.
Thompson is Iowa State’s first transfer portal addition after several departures, including Anthony Echemendia and Christian Castillo, who also entered the portal.
Eli McKown covers high school sports and wrestling for the Des Moines Register. Contact him at Emckown@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter at @EMcKown23.
Oklahoma
Oklahoma’s Jahsiear Rogers ‘Knew It Was Time to Showcase’ His Talents In Spring Game
NORMAN — The Oklahoma Sooners liked their wide receiver room a year ago. They want 2026 to be even better.
Isaiah Sategna’s return helps that desire. Earning experienced pass catchers Trell Harris and Parker Livingstone via the transfer portal gives you added play makers. But after the Sooners Spring Game on Saturday, an unlikely hero emerged.
When Jahsiear Rogers flipped from Penn State to Oklahoma last December, he drew the usual excitement that comes with a new commitment. But few expected him to climb the depth chart this quickly, even with the injuries that hit Emmett Jones’ room.
Rogers did just that and more on Saturday. He led all pass catchers with five receptions for 70 yards in Oklahoma’s annual Red/White game.
“I knew it was time to showcase,” Rogers said after the game. “It was amazing to see the fans and get used to the OU way. I’m a playmaker. They really want to put the ball in playmakers hands. I pretty much knew I had to lead the white team.”
Rogers got the ball rolling early. On the second offensive play for the white team, backup quarterback Whitt Newbauer rolled to his right wide, then stopped and looked towards the middle of the field where he saw Rogers running open. Newbauer connected with Rogers for a 39-yard gain.
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With Rogers on the white team, he is running against (most of) Oklahoma’s starting defense. As fate would have it, on that 39-yard reception, Rogers beat his favorite teammate to compete against — Reggie Powers.
“He is just a leader, good guy,” Rogers said of Powers. “Me and him go after it every day in practice. Reggie is strong. When I come at him, I have to really come at him.”
Rogers’ big play over Powers was the second-longest catch of the spring game — Sategna’s 50-yard reception that appeared to be a touchdown before coaches pulled it back to set up a red-zone rep. The other four catches weren’t flashy, but they were important in their own way, and Rogers looked like he belonged on the field.
“I love it. As long as I can get the ball, I can be me. I love it,” Rogers said. “When I am on the field, I am ready to go. I am ready to be a playmaker.”
The season is still months away, and Rogers hasn’t earned a spot high on the depth chart yet. A strong spring and an encouraging Red/White Game can only lead to early playing time if he carries that momentum into summer and fall camp.
More experienced players will return from injury and receivers who’ve been in the program for a few years will have an extra leg-up.
But Rogers is taking everything in stride and leaving no stone unturned in his development.
“Just learning from the older guys,” Rogers said. “Manny Choice, Isaiah Sategna, Trell Harris, Mackenzie Alleyne. Really all of them. We lean on each other, learn from each other. That is kind of how our room is.”
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Oklahoma
Oklahoma knocks off Missouri in series opener
The Oklahoma baseball team is back in the mix and trending upward.
After a rough few weeks in Southeastern Conference play, the 14th-ranked Sooners have won three of their last four games to get to .500 at just beyond the halfway point of the league slate. Friday’s 9-6 win over Missouri allowed Oklahoma to move to 8-8, tied with three other teams for eighth in the standings.
Friday’s win wasn’t truly that close, even. OU took a 9-3 lead into the ninth before Mizzou made it somewhat interesting with three runs in the frame. Two of them came with two outs, though, and Mason Bixby induced a groundout with the bases empty to hold on.
The large edge came via a home run-happy night. The Sooners popped four over the wall at Kimrey Family Stadium, including three in a four-run seventh inning that gave OU a four-run lead.
Jason Walk, who hit one of the four homers, had the best day at the plate. He went 2 for 5 with the shot, three RBIs and a run. Camden Johnson, who also homered, went 2 for 3 with a walk, a double and two runs, and Dasan Harris went 2 for 4 with a home run, two RBIs, and three runs. Trey Gambill hit the Sooners’ other jack.
Oklahoma jumped out to a four-run lead in the second behind four hits and a walk. Missouri helped the Sooners out with an error that resulted in a bases-loaded situation and three unearned runs registered to Tigers starter Josh McDevitt.
The runs were more than enough for Oklahoma’s LJ Mercurius, who pitched six strong innings, giving up three runs on six hits with no walks and nine strikeouts.
Game 2 in the series is set for 4 p.m. Saturday and the finale will be played Sunday at 2 p.m., weather permitting.
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