Oklahoma football: Sooners’ 2023 class lands another 5-star WR

August 23, 2021

You win some and you lose some on the recruiting trail, and on Sunday the Oklahoma football program won another big one. Five-Star wide receiver Brandon Iniss committed to the Sooners and becomes the sixth member of Oklahoma’s 2023 recruiting class. Iniss, from Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, is the No. 1 wide receiver in the 2023 […]

Oklahoma football: Sooners’ 2023 class lands another 5-star WRStormin in NormanStormin in Norman – An Oklahoma Sooners blog

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BOOM! 2023 WR Brandon Inniss commits to Oklahoma

August 22, 2021
COLLEGE FOOTBALL: SEP 16 Tulane at Oklahoma
Photo by David Stacy/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

Oklahoma has experienced some struggles on the 2022 WR front, but 2023 has been kind the the Sooners thus far.

It’s awfully early, but the 2023 recruiting class is shaping up to be something special. Today, the Oklahoma Sooners secured the commitment of Brandon Inniss, who comes from the Florida recruiting pipeline that Lincoln Riley has been trying to establish. The five-star wide receiver out of American Heritage in Ft. Lauderdale has offers from the who’s who of college football and chose the Sooners over schools such as Alabama, Clemson, Ohio State and many more.

Inniss, the nation’s No. 1 WR in the 2023 class, is an elite athlete with incredible route-running abilities going into just his junior year of high school. He stands at a frame of 6’0” and 190lbs, and aggressively catches the ball in order to run downhill. He’s also a physical player who routinely beats double teams with the capabilities of becoming another gamebreaker— somebody that can simply take over games. Oklahoma has had its fair share of finesse receivers who make business decisions on the field (and I have zero issue with that!), but the opposite can be said for Inniss. The five-star recruit is probably ready for Power 5 football right now, but Lincoln Riley will have to wait two more years.

Inniss is Oklahoma’s sixth commitment for the 2023 recruiting class cycle. According to 247Sports Composite Rankings, he is the No. 1 receiver in the country, the No. 3 overall player from the state of Florida, and the No. 9 player overall in 2023. Needless to say, Dennis Simmons is a happy man right now. Although this seems like a broken record, it remains clear, the Oklahoma Sooners are loading themselves up with future NFL talent, not just D1 athletes.

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Oklahoma football: Five ways 2021 will be national championship year

The Oklahoma football programs ranks fourth all-time with seven national championships in what is considered the modern era of college football (end of World War to the present). But the Sooners have not added a national championship trophy to the trophy case in the Barry Switzer Center in 21 years. OU has come close a […]

Oklahoma football: Five ways 2021 will be national championship yearStormin in NormanStormin in Norman – An Oklahoma Sooners blog

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Oklahoma football: Pods are next generation of conference alignment

August 21, 2021

We are entering an entirely new era of Oklahoma football. The first thing that came to mind after rumor became reality that Oklahoma would be changing conferences for just the second time in its 127-year history is where the Sooners would be placed in the SEC structure. Let’s begin with a short history lesson. Oklahoma’s […]

Oklahoma football: Pods are next generation of conference alignmentStormin in NormanStormin in Norman – An Oklahoma Sooners blog

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PODCAST: Preseason hype, recruiting, Nebraska and more!

Syndication: The Oklahoman
Bryan Terry/The Oklahoman via Imagn Content Services, LLC

Kamiar, Stephen and Brady also give us their gamely rituals.

In this week’s podcast, Kamiar and Stephen are joined by Brady Trantham to discuss the Oklahoma Sooners’ preseason hype, recruiting storylines, the Nebraska game, Spencer Rattler and much, much more.

Make sure to subscribe to the podcast on your platform of choice! We’re now on ITunes, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Google Play and Stitcher. If you enjoy the podcast, make sure to give us a five-star rating on ITunes, as it will help it reach more listeners. You can also catch the episodes live each week on Facebook and Twitter.

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Oklahoma Football: Power 5 conference projections for 2021

August 20, 2021
Oklahoma Spring Game
Photo by Brian Bahr/Getty Images

Is this OU’s year? Can Georgia get over the Alabama hump?

Let’s skip the chit chat. Here’s a quick rundown of projections for the Power Five conference standings at the end of the year and predictions for the College Football Playoff.

For entertainment purposes only…

ACC


Championship: Clemson (12-1) over Miami (10-3)

*I’ll include Notre Dame here. I have the Fighting Irish going 9-3.

*If you put two and two together, I projected Clemson to lose its opening game to Georgia. I made that call prior to learning the Bulldogs will likely be facing the Tigers without defensive back Tykee Smith and receiving targets Darnell Washington and Arik Gilbert. I’ll stick with it, however, as I think CU takes a very slight step back this season.

Otherwise, I envision Dabo Swinney’s team rolling through the conference slate. As of now, the Tigers’ toughest ACC game in the regular season looks like a visit to North Carolina State, and I have them as 17-point favorites there.

*I don’t share the general sense of excitement over North Carolina. The Tar Heels took some enormous hits at the offensive skill positions, losing thousand-yard rushers in Michael Carter and Javonte Williams along with thousand-yard receivers Dyami Brown and Dazz Newsome. Look for the Tar Heels drop their home date with Miami and at least one more league game.

*We’re probably looking at the end of the road for David Cutcliffe at Duke and Dino Babers at Syracuse.

Big Ten


Championship: Ohio State (13-0) over Wisconsin (11-2)

*Much like the case with Clemson in the ACC, Ohio State is miles ahead of the rest of the Big Ten. This Buckeyes should slice through the conference slate with ease this year.

*In the West, Wisconsin couldn’t ask for a more favorable schedule. Penn State, Michigan and Iowa all play in Madison this year. The Badgers close the year at Minnesota, which is their toughest road game of the season.

This sounds like one of those scenarios where Wisky has a shot at the College Football Playoff going into the conference title game – which no one takes seriously.

*The latest news out of Lincoln doesn’t bode well for Nebraska coach Scott Frost. A .500 record this season wouldn’t either.

*At some point, we should start talking about the wisdom of that massive contract Purdue handed Jeff Brohm.

*Rutgers may not go winless, but even with all those players coming back, it’s tough to find victories on the schedule. The Scarlet Knights may take down Michigan State in Piscataway or get a win over Illinois. For now, I think they get the donut.

Big 12


Championship: Oklahoma (13-0) over TCU (9-4)

*Why TCU and not Iowa State? Good question.

Frankly, the head-to-head matchup between the two teams sets up well for the Horned Frogs, even though they’re playing in Ames in the regular season finale. ISU will be coming off its biggest game of the season versus the Oklahoma Sooners – and a physical one at that. TCU plays Kansas the week before, which should allow Gary Patterson and his staff to get in some early preparation for the Cyclones.

Advantage: TCU.

*If Texas wins more than eight games this season, new coach Steve Sarkisian has done a stellar job.

*Would 7-5 mean Matt Wells is safe at Texas Tech?

*The toughest team to figure: West Virginia. The Mountaineers have a tremendous coaching staff, but the roster looks so thin. Losing Tykee Smith to the transfer portal feels especially significant this year.

Pac-12


Championship: Utah (11-2) over Washington (11-2)

*Washington could end up as one of the most surprising teams in the country. I have the Huskies favored in eight of nine Pac-12 games. A trip to Michigan doesn’t look that daunting, either.

*On the other hand, wouldn’t it be very Pac-12 for UW to remove itself from contention for the final four by losing the conference championship game? Give me the Utes there for the sake of the narrative.

*Stanford’s decline under David Shaw is flying under the radar, it seems. To be fair, the Cardinal play all 12 of their games this year versus teams from Power 5 conferences. That’s a tall order.

*UCLA feels like the most likely sleeper candidate out west. I’ll take the Bruins to upset LSU in week one.

SEC


Championship: Georgia (13-0) over Alabama (12-1)

*The recent personnel issues have curbed my enthusiasm for the Bulldogs a touch, but you can’t deny how much talent Kirby Smart has assembled in Athens. Time for UGA to get over the hump.

*I’ve said it before, but only playing eight conference games really changes our perceptions of teams. Winning 10 games versus nine greatly affects how we might evaluate Florida, for example.

*Jimbo Fisher has stocked the A&M roster, but the Aggies still seem light on explosiveness. A&M needs to build up its capacity for big plays on offense if it wants to compete for conference titles.

*Feels like ex-OU assistant Shane Beamer has a steep hill to climb to get the Gamecocks back to respectability.

*Seeing as half of the league has turned over head coaches in the last two years, it makes sense that everyone’s job status appears secure this season.

College Football Playoff

Cotton Bowl: No. 1 Georgia over No. 4 Clemson

Orange Bowl: No. 3 Oklahoma over No. 2 Ohio State

Championship: No. 3 Oklahoma over No. 1 Georgia

Why not?

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