recruiting and next years team

[lasooner123]

Lets assess next years team and look at recruiting a little.

OFFENSE

QB: Landry/ Drew/Bell.

Should be a strong point of team. Really need Landry to step up on
the road. Two solids backups.

Recruiting- giving the strength of the position any recruit is going to
redshirt. I would love to see Archie Bradley make it
to our team but pro baseball probably wins out.

RB/FB: Finch/Millard/clay//Miller

Should be a strong point of team-assuming Finch stays healthy.
A lot of potential as well as the backfield is very young.
Millard will improve-which is saying alot.

Recruiting- Amongst our strength this year. As I see it Brandon
Williams has a chance to see some playing time.
If Danzel Williams is a rb (vs db) I think he could
be a Quenton Griffin/Barry Sanders type back.
This is one guy most recruiters have underated.

WR: Broyles/Miller/Franks/Stills

If Broyles comes back then this will be another strength of
the team. If Broyles does not come back then we definately
take a huge step back and we have to say we are average
with 'potential' to be good.

Recruiting- Getting Metoyer is a big plus. He could see playing time
even if broyles stays. If Broyles goes and M is as good
as advertised we could still be good here.
I dont get why K Jackson doesnt get more love here.
He does well at camps. So I reserving opinion here.

TE: Hannah/Ratz/Haywood

Got to be honest here. Even though production improved
as the year went on this was definately a weak spot on our
team. We need these guys to make big strides here.

Recruiting- Stevenson/Tapko. Cant say much here. Both
are highly rated. Would love to see one or both
really step. Would love to steal Texas Techs TE
recruit.

OL: All come Back except for Mensik.

This group was better this year than last. However run
blocking continues to be a problem. This group has potential
to be great. I believe hard work and desire are the key
(almost always at this position) to this squad. Add in a good
recruiting class from last year and I look for
this position to be the strength of the offense next year.

Recruiting- Two mid level recruits. Again hard work and desire are key.
A plus (for team and recruits) is we dont need them to
contribute this year so they can focus on development.


DEFENSE

DT: Walker/McGee/McFarland/Noble

This basically is returning everyone. Adrian Taylor was one
of the greatest Sooners ever, but he was not himself
physically this year so we lose his emotion from this
year. A lot of good recruits last year who could help
next year. This should be a strength for our team next
year.

Recruiting-This is probably the strength of our class this year.
I think it will difficult for a new recruit to see much
playing time. If they do then they are really good.

DE: Alexander/King/Washington/R Lewis

Losing Beal hurts. However with the DT improvement
next year I think that will make this position better.
Depth could be a problem here. A couple of freshman
(J brown/Chuka) from this year could see some time if
they gain size and strength. Look for one or the other
to see significant playing time.

Recruiting-A couple of nice recruits here. However I dont see
them having an impact this year.

LB: Lewis/Box?/Wort/Nelson

Alright we have some problems here. Lewis could go pro.
I have to admit I dont know if Box is a senior or junior.
If we lose Lewis and Box this will be a MAJOR problem.
We will not have a playmaker at this position. Maybe
Ronnell moves back if needed. We need some major
stepping up at this position. Wort needs to improve
his tackling and Nelson needs to gain a lot of strength
and weight. We recruited a lot of speed at this position
last year but a definate unknown here. Maybe Ibo/Jefferson
steps in here

Recruiting- I dont see anyone we have coming in and being
a playmaker. I would love to see a late addition to
this class at this position.

DB: Colvin/Hearst/Fleming/Jefferson/Ibo

I would say this will be the strength of the team. Offense
or defense. We do lose carter and nelson, but, wow the
guys coming back have the potential to be Dominant. Could
be the best 3 corners to play together at OU at one time.
Need the safetys to step up. With Jefferson here it will not
be as difficult. We also have a lot of talent in the wings.
Look for J Harris to really have an impact as well of others

Recruiting-Not much here. Only because we are so stacked it wasnt
necessary. D Williams is a stud but I would love
to see him at RB.


SPECIAL TEAMS


I would have thought this would be a real weakness except
that J Stevens seems to be stepping up. If he continues to
improve this group could go from weakness to strength.


COACHING

We lose Wilson and maybe others. I would like to see a little
more 'fire' out of our staff. I would also like to see a hire
two from outside our staff. We seem to hire mainly from within.. I get a little concerned that this could make us a little 'stale'.


OVERALL

Next year should be a very good year. The team has the potential to be better than this years team. Easily top ten to start and probably top 5. If the LB's hold up, and Lewis and Broyles return we will be DOMINANT. If not than we still have a top ten team and a chance to be great.
Best hope undefeated and go to MNC
Worst look for a 10-2 record and nice bowl.

[jumperstop]

Too many words to read this early in the morning. I'll sum up, we'll have a great team next year with a lot of people returning from this year.

[Widescreen]

We also have McCay at WR who is redshirting. It sounds like he could be very good.

[LoveDemSooners]

We are going to kick *** next year.

[mightysooner]

We'll start off slow next year on offense, sans Murray and Broyles, until our offense finds it's new identity under a new OC. That's a lot to lose so there'll be some adjustment.

[yankee]

Box is a junior, so he'll be back.

Also, look out for Geneo Grissom at DE in the spring. I think he might make some noise next season if he's healthy.

[SoonerRoy]

Excited about next year and the future. If there are ships left - please give one to Ratterree - then OU could use a very good JC DT, OT or LB. Or maybe the coaching changes will free up someone who OU really likes, and get him to switch their commitment.

[gaylordfan1]

Box is a junior, so he'll be back.

Also, look out for Geneo Grissomat DE in the spring. I think he might make some noise next season if he's healthy.

He would have seen some snaps this year if not for his injury.

[BigJerm7]

Nothing on deep snappers or holders? What a let down.

[SoonerBread]

Nothing on deep snappers or holders? What a let down.

Yeah, what about a kick off specialist?

[sooner59]

We are soooo going 5-7 next season. :(

[sperry]

Broyles coming back would be huge. He and Demarco were the two best receivers on the team this year. Stills is awesome, and Miller will be fine if he recovers, but past that we have nothing proven at all. Returning 120 catches and 1500 yards would be a pretty big deal. If Broyles leaves though, this is probably the biggest weakness on the team.

In terms of running the ball next year we'll be fine, but we are really going to miss Demarco's hands. Demarco wasn't too involved in the passing game as a frosh, so hopefully Finch, Clay, and Miller make big strides in that regard as sophomores.


The line should be better next year. Everyone comes back but Mensik, who was pretty average. Shouldn't be too hard to replace him.


Losing Beal will hurt, but Ronnell was really starting to play well at the end of the year, and I would expect that to continue next year.

DT, we bring everyone back. AT was inspirational, but he just couldn't do it physically this year.


LB, we probably lose Lewis, who's been a great player, but we've had a star at that position literally every year, and I'm confident Cory Nelson is ready to be the next guy.

We're loaded at CB, it will be a major strength of the team

Safety is another big question mark. J Nelson and Q were both solid. We have talented guys behind them, but we've had big time problems with safeties in coverage in the past, so let's hope to avoid that.


All in all, I think the key to the team next year is WR play. If Broyles is back we know it will be great, but if he leaves, things will be interesting. We've had trouble running the ball against good teams since 2007, and that puts you in a lot of 3rd and longs where you need receivers to make big plays. Plus, Landry has seemed to lose confidence after his receivers drop a couple of easy passes in the past.

[Leroy Lizard]

We are soooo going 5-7 next season. :(

You're dreaming. Look at our schedule for next year and kindly point out five teams you think we can beat.

EDIT: Except Texas.

[sooner59]

Tulsa W
at Florida State L
Missouri L
Ball State W
vs Texas W
at Kansas L
Texas Tech L
at Kansas State L
Texas A&M L
Iowa State W
at Baylor L
at Oklahoma State W

:( It is definitely the death of Sooner Nation.

[Leroy Lizard]

Tulsa W
at Florida State L
Missouri L
Ball State W
vs Texas W
at Kansas L
Texas Tech L
at Kansas State L
Texas A&M L
Iowa State W
at Baylor L
at Oklahoma State W

:( It is definitely the death of Sooner Nation.

I think we can beat Kansas and Tech. That should get us into a bowl.

[pappy]

We're gonna be really good...I'm glad KW is gone so we might actually be able to win #8.

[Leroy Lizard]

We're gonna be really good...I'm glad KW is gone so we might actually be able to win #8.

But we still have that crappy head coach who can't win BCS bowl games. Right?

[Caboose]

Not too worried about LB. Even if Lewis leaves we still have Wort, Box, and Nelson... also Ibo has been playing an OLB hybrid when he is in there anyway most of the time. Also look for Favors or A. Franklin to step up.