SoonerNation: Oklahoma Sooners

The worst kept secret in college football was revealed this week when Oklahoma head coach Lincoln Riley announced Jalen Hurts as the starting quarterback. It wasn't his announcement that caught our attention, everyone saw that coming, it was what he said about the competition itself. Speaking of competitions...the most important competition for the offense has always been along the offensive line. We'll share some thoughts on that. We've also got the most important player for the success of the offense and defense. You'd better believe that we've got some thoughts on Baker Mayfield's insincere apology to Ohio State. Finally, we're making our Big 12 predictions. We'll tell you who'll be in Dallas for the conference championship game. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

A day after Alex Grinch said the Sooners were set at safety a new grad transfer appears on the roster. Spencer Rattler is turning heads but he's still looking at 2020. With Trey Norwood out for 2019 Brendan Radley-Hiles is the guy at nickleback. It is almost the perfect position for him. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Beginning fall camp, the Oklahoma Sooners experience a setback specifically in the secondary. What does it mean for the defense and how with the program adjust to life with the likes of Tre Norwood on the field. Also, Lincoln Riley refuses to name a starting quarterback. However, there is still an argument playing out for QB2 on the depth chart. Let's make a case for Tanner Mordecai as well as Spencer Rattler to assume the role. Speaking of quarterbacks, Kyler Murray made his debut for the Arizona Cardinals on Thursday night. Matt weighs in at the very end of the podcast to share his thoughts on the reigning Heisman winner's performance. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The initial Coaches Poll is out. We'll share some thoughts about Oklahoma's #4 ranking and then tell you which Big 12 teams currently not ranked will be by the end of the season. Also, can Alex Grinch turn around the defense as quickly as Lincoln Riley did Oklahoma's offense? We'll discuss why that is a bigger chore than what Riley inherited when he arrived to Norman. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

As the release of the first preseason AP poll approaches we'll discuss whether the College Football Rankings have cheapened the polls a little or not. Speaking of polls. Is Texas actually worth a preseason Top 25 ranking this season? We think yes, but will discuss where they should be ranked. There are four Oklahoma football players (2 offensively and 2 defensively) that we think people may be overlooking for 2019. We'll give you our players flying under the radar. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

We're back with another off-season episode of the Sooner Nation Podcast. Here are this week's discussion topics. - Is there a chance that Jalen Hurts is flying under the national radar a bit? - Nothing is guaranteed for the defense right now. Guys must earn a spot on the field. Is that good or bad? - Marcus Major is super talented but will he be able to find time on the field this season? - Who will be the next unquestioned leader of the defense and why that answer maybe more difficult than you would expect. - Texas complaining about the horns down sign proves the program has gone soft. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Kennedy Brooks gave Oklahoma fans a scare this week when it was revealed that he had not been with the team since June. As it turns out the star running back was under a Title IX investigation and not able to be with the team for summer workouts. That investigation has ended and Brooks is back with the team but the entire ordeal caused us to take a deep look at Oklahoma's talent at the running back position. We'll go four deep in our explanation of the value the Sooners have at the position, and then we'll give you one more name you should familiarize yourself with...like right now. Also, Sam Ehlinger gets the nod over Jalen Hurts on the preseason All Big 12 team. I'll explain why that makes sense. We don't necessarily have to agree with it to understand it. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

If I told you three Oklahoma players were going to enter the transfer portal at the end of the season who would you guess them to be? Matt and Rich take that challenge and give their three answers to the question. We'll also go in-depth with the UCLA Bruins, discuss if they will be a more dangerous match-up for the Sooners than Houston will be. We'll also throw in some NBA free agent talk at the very end. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Oklahoma Softball added a transfer from Alabama as three other players have entered the portal. We'll tell you everything you need to know about that. USA Today released a ridiculous list of the Top 10 quarterbacks in college football for the 2019 season. You won't believe where they have Jalen Hurts ranked! Speaking of Jalen Hurts, he's among a group of football players who have the second best odds of winning the Heisman. We'll tell you why he may actually have a slight advantage over everyone else. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The success of spring sports left us without the opportunity to devote an entire episode to Oklahoma Football but spring sports are over and Summer Speculation has begun. What is the value of Lincoln Riley to the University of Oklahoma? It's a lot more than the $6 million dollars he's going to get paid! The Big 12 is a deep conference for receivers but is CeeDee Lamb going to lead the way when it comes to being a Belitnikoff finalist? Which of Oklahoma's true road games should fans really be worried about? Is the phrase "true road game" even fair? Matt and Rich each share their top concern as the summer begins. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Mariah Lopez rocked the Oklahoma softball world a little bit when she entered her name into the NCAA transfer portal. We'll discuss our thoughts on the reason she's leaving and some potential landing places for her. September 1st can't get here fast enough so let's pass the time by talking Oklahoma's 2019 football opponents. We'll start with the Houston Cougars who have the potential to make this an extremely interesting season opener. Finally we'll conclude our Big 12 offensive position group previews by ranking the offensive lines of the conference from worst to first. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

We had to say goodbye to OU Softball this week but the loss to UCLA in the championship series in no way diminishes the accomplishments of the team, and particularly the senior class. Speaking of accomplishments, Lincoln Riley is on a roll when it comes to football recruiting. Oklahoma picked up two more 2020 commitments this week and they are pretty big. Every fan has those moments of frustration. Matt will share is Top 5 most frustrating moments as an Oklahoma Football fan. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Big 12 bowl projections, Oklahoma Softball play-by-play voice, and Big 12 receiver rankings highlight a jam packed episode of the Sooner Nation Podcast. The Sporting News released their 2019 bowl projections and they do not have Oklahoma winning the Big 12 championship. We'll tell you how many conference teams they have projected to go bowling and where they're supposedly going. Oklahoma Softball play-by-play voice Chris Plank breaks down the Women's College World Series with us. Was Jon Gruden honest when he said the Raiders didn't consider drafting a quarterback? We'll rank the Big 12 receiving corps from worst to first. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Athlon released their projections for the final Top 25 of the 2019 college football season and obviously we've got some thoughts on that. We'll also rank the Big 12 running backs from worst to first and we've got some serious disagreements in the top five. Oklahoma Baseball is heading to the Big 12 Tournament. Do they have a berth in the NCAA Tournament locked up yet? The Softball team won the Norman Regional and is hosting Northwestern in the Super Regional. Here's what we like and don't like about that situation. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Oklahoma Sooners enter the NCAA Softball Tournament as the #1 team in the nation and the top overall seed. They'll host the Norman Regional and a Super Regional, assuming they survive the opening weekend of the tournament. We'll preview the three teams coming to Norman for the regional as well who the possibilities are for the next round. On the football front the Sooners picked up a big commitment along the offensive line. We'll tell you where the 2020 class stands and some of our expectations moving forward. Also, six teams in the Big 12 are replacing quarterbacks in 2019 with Oklahoma being the only one of those schools settled at the position. We'll rank the starting quarterbacks from worst to first and tell you why we feel that way. Oklahoma Baseball has a huge final weekend at Texas. Is it possible the Sooners could miss the Big 12 Tournament and the postseason altogether? The Oklahoma City Thunder have some big decisions to make. We'll discuss why they must make a change and also why they can't. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Spring football has come and gone and fans are left facing the long drought until their teams take the field in late August. In this episode of the podcast we'll look at each Big 12 team and where they rank, within the conference, following spring ball. We'll tell you what we like and don't like about each team, as well as the reason why we have them ranked where they are. In addition, we'll also look at how Oklahoma's 2020 recruiting class is shaping up right now and some areas that we think would be needs for the Sooners. The Big 12 Softball Tournament is set to get underway and we could have a Bedlam finale on Saturday night. Plus, the reason why OU Baseball could be in some trouble. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Kyler Murray did what many critics said couldn't be done when he became the first player to ever be selected in the first round of the MLB and NFL drafts. Here's how the top overall pick, Josh Rosen, and the Miami Dolphins will forever be linked together as they owned the 2019 NFL Draft. We'll also talk about... - Our draft surprises when it comes to Oklahoma players. - Biggest draft surprise involving a Sooners player. - What we got right about the draft. - What we got wrong about the draft. - How Oklahoma could equal or exceed the number of players drafted in 2020. - Baseball got a big series win in Manhattan, Kansas. Are they a lock for the NCAA Tournament? - With one series left in the season, will softball roll through the Big 12 undefeated again this year? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Kyler Murray will undoubtedly be the first Oklahoma player to here his name called during the first round of the NFL Draft Thursday night but who gets their name called after him? We'll break down how many OU players go in the first round and in what order. We'll also tell you how many players go overall in the draft, and in which round we project, as well as some undrafted free agents. After our draft talk we get into an unscripted debate on the Oklahoma City Thunder where we take very opposite sides. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Oklahoma wrapped up spring football with more than 50,000 fans in attendance at the annual Red/White game. In this episode of the Sooner Nation Podcast Matt discusses the top five storylines for the Sooners as they exit spring ball. In addition to the storylines we'll discuss players arriving on campus in the summer that could shake things up a bit. We've also got some updates on baseball and softball, as well as some thoughts on Oklahoma City's playoff series with Portland. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Joey Helmer of Oklahoma 247Sports joins us to discuss Oklahoma's spring game. We'll get his opinion on the impact of Caleb Kelly's injury, the quarterback competition between Jalen Hurts and Tanner Mordecai, top storylines for Friday night and much more. Matt and Rich will preview every position ahead of the spring game and also provide a quick update on baseball and softball. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Not everyone is sold on Kyler Murray going to the Arizona Cardinals. Beat writer Bob McManaman joins us to discuss the Cardinals, NFL Draft, and the plethora of options that may not include the Heisman winner. Sticking with the current teams, last year's defensive failures are motivating this year's defense, but is it going to be enough to change the mindset. Alex Grinch knows who his starting safeties would be if the season started right now and Caleb Kelly at weakside linebacker. Two Oklahoma basketball players have entered the transfer portal. We'll talk about why it isn't a big deal. Baseball drops a series at WVU. It's a crucial loss for where they want to be but they're still light years ahead of where they were predicted to be. Softball has produced four consecutive run-rules. We'll debate ranking the top three pitchers on the staff. The Oklahoma City Thunder are tanking. Do they have a chance to win a playoff series? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Oklahoma basketball season officially came to a close in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. Now, as we look towards this season, we discuss weather Lon Kruger and the Sooners will be building off this season or rebuilding in the aftermath of it? Alex Grinch has found a way to motivate his defense with candy bars but spring practice and fall games are often very different. As the Sooners vow to become more aggressive on the defensive side of the ball, fans should prepare themselves for some failures and possible frustrations in the first season. That said, there are some pretty telling signs that the guys have bought in on what Grinch is preaching to them. Kliff Kingsbury is still talking about Kyler Murray but what is he saying to Josh Rosen? Skip Johnson has Oklahoma Baseball with the best record in the Big 12 and he's doing it by revamping his pitching staff. Softball continues to roll as Big 12 play started. The Sooners swept Texas Tech in a three-game series and potentially have the best pitching/hitting combo since winning the national championship in 2017. Have the Oklahoma City Thunder hit rock bottom? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

It looks like we're another week closer to Kyler Murray giving Oklahoma the top overall pick in the NFL Draft two years in a row. No team has ever had a former quarterback selected number one overall in back-to-back years in the history of the draft. That said, there are two different ways Murray can do that, and it doesn't necessarily mean he's going to end up at Arizona. The Sooners are going dancing again, entering the NCAA Tournament as the #9 seed. That means one of us was wrong about the state of this team heading into the Big 12 Tournament last week in Kansas City. Can Oklahoma bust the bracket? We'll talk about it. There's talk coming out of spring practice that Tanner Mordecai is looking solid. That absolutely doesn't mean there's a quarterback competition between him and Jalen Hurts though. We'll tell you why. Oklahoma baseball is back in the Top 25 and their pitching staff is a key reason why. On the softball field the Sooners are getting it done with both hitting and pitching. They're rolling as they head into Big 12 play. The Oklahoma City Thunder are slumping at exactly the wrong time. We'll talk about a crucial stretch of games coming up. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

We typically don't lead with OKC Thunder talk but Russell Westbrook has been dominating the headlines since his fan altercation on Monday night. The Thunder Guys (Zack and Craig) join us to discuss the fallout from the incident in Utah. Was it a worse reflection on the fan or a worse reflection on the player? We'll give you our answers. Oklahoma got some huge news on the graduate transfer front. We'll tell you why that was crucial for success in 2019. We'll also discuss who has the most to prove at Oklahoma's Pro Day. It may not surprise you that we're going to disagree. How critical is it for Oklahoma to beat West Virginia in their opener of the Big 12 Tournament? We'll discuss that and then give some baseball and softball updates. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices