Jeff Lebby: Lebby’s return to past friendships | Page 18 Ted WatchBringingRoof:theBlacktoOU|Page23Brent Venables: Gundy presents test to new culture | Page 12 OU DAILY G U I D E OUDAILY.COMAUGUSTPREVIEWFOOTBALL2022 GABRIEL & the GULCH How a bond forged hiking a Hawaiian ravine proved pivotal in preparing OU for the climb this season poses. ILLUSTRATION BY RAY BAHNER FOR OU DAILY
2 • August 2022 FOOTBALL GUIDE affairs VISITOU.EDU/STUDENTAFFAIRS TO LEARNMORE ABOUT OUR DEPARTMENTS,PROGRAMS, AND SERVICES! ...adding thetothe academic journey.experience experience STAY CONNECTED! FB: OU Student Affairs IG: Twitter:@OU_StudentAffairs@students_OU Contact ou.edu/honorsus! | 405.3 25.52 91 COURSES Small classes with out standing facult y DIVERSITY Every incollegeundergraduateisrepresentedtheHonorsCollege RESEARCH Various programs for undergraduate research opportunities EXTRACURRICULARS Reading Groups, Discussion Groups, Outdoor Adventure RECOGNITION Earn cum laude, magna cum laude, summa cum laude at graduation and on your diploma Top Reasons to JOIN THE Honors College REQUIREMENTS Requirement s for Admitt ance: From High School: • 3.75 GPA or Top 10% of graduating class • 30 ACT or 13 60 SAT • Honors College application and essay With College Credit: • 15 college credit hours with at least a 3.4 GPA • Honors College application and essay Requirement s for Graduation: • 18 total hours of Honors credit including: HON 2973 (Perspectives) – 3 hrs HON 3993 (Colloquium) – 3 hrs Reading and Research – 3 to 7 hrs • Completion of an Honors thesis • ‘C’ or higher in all Honors courses • 3.4 GPA or higher
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A final ride covering Sooners
In addition to written sto ries, we’ll be hosting Twitter Spaces this season follow ing Venables’ Tuesday press conference and before and after games, while main taining our usual studio podcast. You can follow our work at oudaily.com, home or away, all season long. Though this is our third and final preseason football publication, the Daily will continue producing these each year, so be sure to look out for future editions from our other talented re porters.
DAN CODY, former OU defensive lineman
Dear OU Daily readers, Thank you for picking up our 2022 OU Football Preview.Asseniors at the Daily, we’ve covered OU football for a collective three seasons now.It’s been an absolute joy. Each year has brought its own twists and turns, in cluding one we created with a third-floor window and a pair of binoculars. But we can confidently say that we’ve had fun through it all while telling stories that are meaningful to us, the play ers, coaches and families within them and you all, the audience. However, we’re not done yet. Throughout our college careers, we’ve put “both feet” into every event we’ve covered or feature we’ve pursued. The saying, passed down to us from former OU Daily sports editors, keeps us going as we prepare for the next chapter in our careers.Forboth of us, our dream has always been working in sports journalism. Since we arrived in the old news room inside Copeland Hall as wide-eyed freshmen in 2019, we’ve visualized our selves being significant con tributors to this publication while mentoring the gener ation to come after us. Since, we’ve covered OU football games in other states, gone on a food tour in San Antonio during Alamo Bowl week and even broke some big news along the way. We’ve also com pleted sports internships at the Tulsa World and Detroit Free Press, which allowed us to further hone our sto rytelling abilities and serve a broader community of readers in a professional newsroom.We’llstill run on both feet this season as we chron icle the beginning of a Brent Venables era found ed on developing players’ skills and souls, and Dillon Gabriel’s ascension at a pro gram that has a legacy of outstanding quarterbacks. This preview features sto ries on both of OU’s new coordinators — Jeff Lebby on offense and Ted Roof on defense — who aim to con tinue the high level of play Sooners fans have been ac customed to for decades. You’ll also read stories on wide receiver Theo Wease, who is returning from injury with a new perspective on the game and a son to men tor, and Danny Stutsman, the hard-hitting, fun-loving linebacker who Oklahoma faithfuls can see delivering laughable antics on Twitter. This guide is rounded out with a story on L’Damian Washington and the path that turned him into OU’s interim receivers coach after Cale Gundy’s resignation.
FOOTBALL GUIDE August 2022 • 3 NewsEditor-in-chiefmanaging editor Sports NewsroomDesignCopyPhotoCultureeditoreditoreditorchiefeditoradviserCONTACTMASTHEADUS 160 Copeland Hall, 860 Van Vleet Oval, Norman, OK 73019 BUSINESS OFFICE: 405-325-2521 | studentmedia@ou.edu NEWSROOM: 405-325-3666 | dailynews@ou.edu ADVERTISING: 405-325-8964 | dailyads@ou.edu MISSION OU Daily, the independent student voice of the University of Oklahoma since 1916, covers the community and provides a public forum to discuss its issues while providing students on our sta real-world media experiences. OPINIONS & SUBMISSIONS Letters to the editor or guest columns may be submitted to dailyeditor@ou.edu. ey will be edited for accuracy, space and style and run at the discretion of the editor-in-chief. Students must list their major and classi cation; faculty or sta must list their title. Our Views are the view of the Editorial Board. Opinions are not necessarily those of the Editorial Board. LEGAL One free copy is available to members of the community. Extra copies may be purchased. efts are subject to legal action. CORRECTIONS e Daily is committed to accuracy. If you nd an error in our work, submit a correction at oudaily.com/corrections. FIND US ONLINE JILLIAN FRANCISCOMASONALEXIATAYLORASTONYOUNGSILASBALESRAYBAHNERGUTIERREZCONNIEWIGGINSSETHPRINCE @theoudaily@oudailysports@oudailyousoonerscentraloudailyoudaily.com/donateoudaily.com/jobsoudaily.com/archiveoudaily.com/newslettersoudaily.comHOME SPORTSPRINTNEWSLETTERSPAGEARCHIVESJOINUSDONATEFACEBOOKFACEBOOKTWITTERSPORTSTWITTERINSTAGRAM FROM THE EDITORS
QUOTES FROM THE GUIDE
After the USC game, I just remember it being one of the realest moments of my life.
Former Oklahoma coach Bob Stoops put it best: As much as OU foot ball is embodied by its play ers, the writers who rise to tell the best stories about the Sooners are the essence of the Daily’s coverage. Join us for one last ride of the best OU football content in Norman.
Mason Young Austin Curtright Sports
He did a lot to just try to invigorate a culture of toughness, of accountability.
And of course, we have the game-by-game pre views that showcase the key details about the Sooners’ opponents this season.
“ OU DAILY G U I D E
KENNETH STANDFORD, former Duke football player “ “
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4 • August 2022 FOOTBALL GUIDE GABRIEL & the GULCH How a bond forged while hiking a ravine proved pivotal in preparing OU for the climb this season poses. Mason Young | masyoung@ou.edu PHOTOGRAPHS BY RAY BAHNER FOR OU DAILY
Dillon considers himself a “mama’s boy,” and he and Dori
The Gabriels have been planted in Mililani for over 20 years, and Dillon’s aunt, Dori’s twin, lives a street over, while Mililani High and its football field are less than a 10-minute walk. The Gabriels do everything together, from trips to the grocery store to Sunday barbecues after church. Each member of Dillon’s immediate family has played a different role in his life. Garrett was Dillon’s quarterback coach and pushed his son hard early on, understanding Dillon’s dedi cation to greatness. He was dad at home and coach on the field, knowing when to separate the two, Dillon says. He gradually eased his coaching as Dillon matured, but he’s still often sought as wise Garrett,counsel.wholeft the Rainbow Warriors as their career and single-season passing yards leader, didn’t change much of Dillon's fluid throwing motion in his youth, but he prioritized foundational practices, like footwork and reading defenses.
August 2022 • 5FOOTBALL GUIDE steep ravine runs behind the Gabriel household on the island of Oahu.
“The biggest thing was, he had the leadership ability,” Garrett said. “He was so different than I was, in terms of he was a way better quarterback, way better leader. I was a quiet leader. Guys are constantly just flocking to him. I knew from that age that he had that, which was the biggest trait you need as a quarterback, rallying the people, rallying the team.”
Within hours of Williams entering the portal, Dillon in formed UCLA of his withdrawal and announced his commit ment to OU. Since arriving in Norman, he has prioritized com munion with his new teammates via meals and retreats, all with the goal of creating enhanced onfield chemistry come the Sooners’ Sept. 3 season opener against the University of Texas at El Paso, for which around 20 family members will arrive to support Dillon in his first start. That support system is the main reason Dillon remains calm, cool and collected, and his upbringing on the island is the es sence of his strong relationships and love for people. He de lights in simplicity, which is why, summer temperatures aside, he has compared Norman to Mililani and found OU to be the home he was searching for.
The Golden Knights underwent a head coaching change from former OU quarterback Josh Heupel to Gus Malzahn in 2021, then Dillon broke his clavicle on the final play of a 42-35 loss to Louisville in September and missed the rest of the sea son. While Dillon was disappointed in not playing, the time out provided a pause that led to perspective on his situation, and he chose to enter the transfer portal in search of a better fit. Dillon had visited Lebby at Mississippi but was saddened to learn his favorite coach was joining Brent Venables’ staff and returning to OU, his alma mater, which at the time had Caleb Williams as its quarterback. Dillon instead signed with UCLA for great academics, a higher-caliber football team than UCF and living closer to home on the West Coast.
“(Lebby) just said, ‘Things are changing. I know you've made decisions, but I need to lay one more on you,’” Dori said. “By then, I was done. I was like, ‘What? We're reopening this?’”
Venables called Dillon the next morning, Jan. 3, then spent 90 minutes with the family on a pre-dawn Zoom call answer ing their questions. Garrett felt like he was listening to a moti vational speaker and appreciated that Venables trusted Lebby enough to believe in Dillon as he outlined his vision for his first season as head coach and beyond. Dori recalls Venables' em phasis on a relationship between Dillon and OU that would be more emotional than transactional — the missing piece in the commitment to UCLA. Dillon, who grew up in a family that prizes relationships over everything else, was affirmed in seeing Venables’ values align with his “Moreown.than seeing it, I felt it with Coach (Venables) because in the decision to come here there's a lot of faith, there's a lot of trust,” Dillon said. “I was making a decision at the buzzer beater and there had to be a lot of faith and trust. And they knew I was taking a risk, just because of how late it was. But I had so much faith and trust in Coach Lebby, and then once I talked to Coach (Venables), he kind of just solidified it.”
“That's Dillon,” Dori said. “He just has this vision. He wants to connect with people and he loves very deeply. And I think that's why it was so hard for him making transitions and going into the portal, because he loved the players, but the fit just wasn't there. So wherever he goes, he likes to create that chemistry, in still that love, and he's doing it there too.”
“Lebby and Dylan love deep, but they are hard on each other, too,” Dori said, reflecting on the whirlwind of events that has po sitioned her son as Oklahoma’s starting quarterback in Lebby’s offense for this fall. “And that's the type of relationship you need to be able to compete at this level for this heralded program. You need that deep investment and trust in each other.”
“Eight months later, I understand why it happened. (Dillon) wasn't meant to go to UCLA. As much as he made that decision, something was missing. … When Lebby and Dillon talked and this opportunity became available at OU, it made perfect sense. So flights were canceled, plans were changed, and as a parent, as hard as it might be to make these decisions, usually the right decisions are the hardest decisions to make.”
It’s precipitous enough that Dori Gabriel doesn’t venture through it, but she remembers the day she watched her son, Dillon Gabriel, lead Jeff Lebby on a deep hike into it during their first meeting. After two hours, they ascended and the high school quarterback showed the college coach the tortoises he nurtures in his family’s backyard.
Before that, though, Lebby ate lunch at the Gabriels’ Mililani residence, where all questions were asked and answered. His father, Garrett Gabriel, a former University of Hawaii quarter back and island legend, talked through his on-field inquiries with the Central Florida assistant who went to recruit his son. Dori, ever conscious of Dillon’s well-being, asked how educa tion, housing and program support would play out in Orlando, Florida, nearly 5,000 miles from home.
Dillon Gabriel transferred to the University of Oklahoma to reunite with Jeff Lebby, who he once led on a hike in the ravine behind his home in Hawaii. He was also attracted by OU head coach Brent Venables' emphasis on relationships.
When Dillon was around 12, his Manoa Paniolos qualified for a national playoff at ESPN’s Wide World of Sports in Orlando. It was then that Garrett took stock of the competition around Dillon and told Dori: “Our boy can play.” Just a few years later, his son would be back in Florida, beginning his college career.
After the hike, Dillon graduated high school a semester early and moved to Orlando, where he threw for 8,037 yards and 70 touchdowns in three seasons at UCF, but only one was with Lebby after the offensive coordinator departed for the same job at Mississippi. His character, leadership and talent still im pressed those who remained, but it wasn’t the same for Dillon after Lebby left.
A
Then, Lebby reached out on the eve of Dillon’s first class as a Bruin to let the Gabriels know Williams was entering the trans fer portal and that the Sooners needed a quarterback. The en suing hours became the most stressful of the Gabriels’ lives.
Family First
But the teenage passer and the burly coach’s trek through the ravine was the most important part of the visit. They forged a unique trust that day that has since spanned six time zones and four colleges. It all culminated last winter with the duo re uniting in Norman, a city unaccustomed to its football program being left on rocky terrain and thrust into retooling by an abrupt coaching change. Yet, Lebby and Gabriel are now tasked with being two central leaders who’ll define whether the 2022 Oklahoma Sooners rise out of the chasm.
6 • August 2022 FOOTBALL GUIDE
Gabriel has developed rapport with his teammates through team meals and retreats, hoping to reap the benefits both on and off the field with deeper relationships and a sense of trust. are a lot alike. Dori, a former college softball player, is often teased in her house of boys about her football knowledge, spe cifically by her youngest son, Roman, who is Dillon’s biggest fan and knows every OU player’s name, number and position.
Roman, a 6-foot-3 sophomore, plays for Garrett on the Mililani High basketball team. Though Dori and Dillon both attest Roman used to take a beating from his older brothers, Roman contends he’s better than Dillon at one-on-one, mini hoops and video games. But he looks up to Dillon as a role model, and though he chose to be a combo guard instead of a wide receiver, he tries to emulate Dillon’s leadership on the court.And then there’s the oldest Gabriel brother, Garrison, who Dillon considers his best friend. After two years of college in California, Garrison moved back to Hawaii to watch Dillon’s senior year of high school, then to Orlando for three seasons at UCF. Garrison now lives in Norman, where he manages his brother’s business affairs during the season and owns 50 per cent of “DG the Brand” — Dillon’s clothing line named with the play on words “Dedicated to Greatness.”
“I love her so much and we always joke around, we always butt heads because we're so alike, but we love each other,” Dillon said. “And she just knows how to play that mother role in terms of, when football is too much, ‘Hey, let's just go do this.’ She knows how to not be all about football. And just having her, I think, is a great balance.”
Dillon particularly admires Dori’s ability to quell the football talk that surfaces at a dinner table of competitive athletes and redirect the conversation to life beyond the field. Instead of discussing play calls or offensive installations, the Gabriels go around the table and say what they’re thankful for.
Dillon’s circle is bigger than family, though. During summers on the island, he and a few close friends made the Mililani field or a local park their playground for relaxed throwing. Then they’d come back to the Gabriel house, lift in the garage gym Dillon built, shower, then nap or relax in the living room before heading to practice or the beach. As hard as Dillon works, he believes relaxing afterward is equally important. The Gabriels would sometimes feed the Mililani football team after games, and that’s not the only time their backyard cookouts extend beyond blood relatives. Garrett describes friends as “Hanai family,” the idea in Hawaiian culture that peo ple are welcomed into a gathering and incorporated like they’ve always been there. In 2019, Dillon persuaded Garrett to start training his Mililani High basketball players in the garage. For two hours, three to four days a week, Dillon worked out with the younger Trojans while demanding they wear the matching tank tops he pur chased. Even kids who didn’t make the team at Mililani showed up to lift, inspired by Dillon to increase their chances of a roster spot.When home from college, Dillon sometimes rides the end of the bench like he’s an assistant coach. Over time, his presence helped create the chemistry that spurred Garrett, Roman and the team to the state championship game during their 2021-22 season.“Hewas there to push us and give us energy,” Roman said of Dillon. “He was just important to have there. Because if a col lege athlete was doing it, why can't we do it? And why can't we win big games? And I thought that period of time when he was pushing us to do weightlifting just started us and gave us a plan for our state championship run.”
Dillon’s investment in Mililani High has only run deeper since he chose it years ago. For middle school, he attended the elite Punahou School, a private college prep academy in Honolulu. However, enrollment was costly and the commute cut into the family time the Gabriels covet. There was also a spirit of individualism there that superseded the team, count er to the Gabriel family values.
In October 2020, with the NCAA set to allow athletes to profit from name, image and likeness the next July, Gabriel approached Smith about becoming his agent. Eventually, Smith reevaluated his place in college football and liked the idea of being paid to assist and give back to athletes. He left his job with the Golden Knights to work for Dreamfield, a startup NIL company, owned by others from UCF.
Gabriel and Farooq recently signed endorsement deals with EvoShield and filmed promotions for the athletic wear com pany at Norman High School’s Harve Collins Stadium. With his platform, Dillon has always wanted to repay the school that shaped him and inspire others to do the same. He contacted Murphy and, after learning Mililani High had no athletic apparel sponsorships, asked if he could pursue one on the school’s behalf. With their approval, Dillon and Smith collaborated with BSN Sports to create a Nike deal that would start with the Trojans’ basketball team and expand to other sports in the future. On May 13, Gabriel unveiled the five-year partnership at a ceremony inside Mililani’s gym. His father’s team will receive new home, away and alternate jerseys, plus shoes, backpacks and pregame sweats for the upcoming season.
In mid-June, Dori was checking bank statements when she noticed a pricey Airbnb rental on Dillon’s account and called him, thinking he’d been hacked. He was en route to meet the Sooners’ skill players for a weekend retreat at a ranch in Lawton, building off the dinners he has treated many teammates to.
Gabriel is the son of Garrett Gabriel, a former University of Hawaii quarterback and island legend. His mother, Dori, is a former collegiate softball player.
“We had more than enough, but Coach Venables kind of changed my thinking of, ‘Best is the standard,’” Dillon said, quoting one of the OU coach’s most prevalent mantras, which led Venables to purchase tailored suits for the entire roster this spring. “If we're going to work our hardest and put this work in to the best of our ability, shoot, you better have the best treatment. You better have the best. You know what I mean? You better have the best everything because it all plays into what you're going to do on that field or what you're gonna do in life.
By the end of his time at Mililani, Gabriel surpassed current Hawaii coach Timmy Chang and Miami Dolphins quarter back Tua Tagovailoa as the state’s all-time high school passing leader. Meanwhile, Milton went on to UCF, where he led a Golden Knights revolution while marketing his former backup to the coaching staff.
“He always listened to those that were around him to just gain more perspective,” Smith said. “That's when I was like, there's something about this young person that I gravitate toward and I respect.”
“Next year, we have big plans, and I don't want to just do this one year. I'm big on seeing the vision, seeing the long term goal. And shoot, we gotta do this every year and see in 10 years how much we've been able to do.”
Inspiring Others
At Mililani, Dillon was inspired by Fred Murphy, the school’s principal, who championed a fierce work ethic and care for extracurriculars. He was mentored by football coach Rod York, who believed in him like Lebby would later. As a freshman, Dillon was first the understudy to McKenzie Milton, before replacing him after an injury. He quickly learned to lead older players, despite his youth, until a shoul der injury ended his season, too.
August 2022 •7FOOTBALL GUIDE
Dillon’s care for those he bonds with beyond immediate family shone in full at a garage sale one afternoon, when he was checking out a pair of $10 used cleats and urged Dori to buy them, despite them not being his size. They were for a Mililani High teammate who didn’t have game shoes.
At the time, Steven Smith was the Golden Knights’ direc tor of player development, having come to Orlando thanks to Lebby, who he’d met and coached with at Southeastern University in 2017. Smith hit it off with Dillon when they met, but his personal belief in the young quarterback was solidified when they crossed paths in the halls of the UCF facilities one day. Dillon was excited to be in Orlando, chasing his dreams and soaking up whatever he could learn from others, includ ing trips to Smith’s office after practice.
Dillon’s other NIL partnerships — Cuts Clothing, Hawaiifounded Waiakea Volcanic Water and a deal with Bob Moore Auto that netted him a new truck, among them — are intentionally crafted to serve him both now and later in life. They’re authentic to his laid-back style, but they also serve as connections to a number of industries for when Dillon’s foot ball career is over. And they provide more opportunities to give back, like when he recently supported Oklahoma Blood Institute drives at area Bob Moore locations.
The group getaway was inspired by the retreats quar terback Russell Wilson organized for his Seattle Seahawks teammates, which included a voyage to Hawaii in 2015. OU’s quarterbacks, running backs, receivers and tight ends studied the offense and held throwing sessions, hit the lake, played some golf, pool and Madden NFL, but most importantly to Gabriel, everyone ate together with no phones allowed.
“He wanted everybody to feel the way he felt, which is pre pared,” Dori said. “It made him sad to see that others may not have as much as he had. I love that because, as a mom, espe cially raising him Catholic, it's not about you. It's about others, right? … He's very much into, if you feel good, you're gonna play well, because it's natural. You're not worrying about anything, you're prepared, you have the equipment you need, you can go do a great job on the field or on the court.”
With Milton injured to begin the 2019 season, Dillon emerged as the Golden Knights’ starter in their second game and never gave back the job, again showing a knack for relat ing to older teammates. His family went from thinking he would redshirt and planning to attend one game to purchas ing season tickets.
Dillon began paying Smith for his assistance in December 2021 and urged him to expand his clientele, not wanting his friend to base his business on one player’s longevity. Smith now lives in Norman and works for Malka Sports, an NIL company that also represents OU wide receiver Jalil Farooq.
One night at the dinner table, where most of the family’s important conversations occur, Dillon proposed that he leave Punahou and attend Mililani for high school. Though he’d have fewer offensive weapons, he’d developed rapport with other kids from the area through an offseason community league that gave him faith in what they could accomplish together. Looking back, Dori says it’s the best decision the Gabriels have made.
When Lebby returned to Orlando from his journey through the Gabriels’ ravine, the buzz around Central Florida’s recruit ment of Dillon was that he desired more than anything to win.
“I think that triggered a bunch of positive things in our life that we didn't know about,” Garrett added. “The time that we saved and the time that we spent together as a family was so much more rewarding than we'd ever thought. We got to eat together, we got to talk together, didn’t have to wake up early, the brothers got to interact more. At that time, I think God just blessed us. That's all we needed to realize: that we can play at this prestigious high school, but that (it) wasn't all what it was cracked up to be. He showed us that this is what's more important, the time you spend together.”
Star OU softball slugger Jocelyn Alo, a Hauula, Hawaii, native, was among those who welcomed Dillon, inviting him and Hawaii transfer defensive end Jonah La’ulu over for a dinner of chicken katsu curry and rice. Alo’s alma mater isn’t far from Mililani High, and she played against one of Dillon’s cousins growing up. In March, Alo was just shy of breaking the NCAA career home run record during an OU road trip to Hawaii. Dori wanted to meet her, so she attended two of the four games at Rainbow Wahine Softball Stadium. All the while, she was astounded by countless Oklahoma fans who weren’t player relatives but nonetheless journeyed to support Alo and the Sooners.Atthe second game, a woman Dori had met the day before approached her with handmade Native American earrings. Dori got goosebumps as the lady presented the gift in her native“Shetongue.said,‘We are so happy that your son is in Norman, and I want to give you this because I want to bless you,’” Dori recalled. “I thought that was so awesome. We're not even in Norman, she didn't know me until the day before, and then
Everyone Cares When Dillon made his official visit to Oklahoma in January with family in tow, someone said “welcome home,” as the Gabriels strolled through the Barry Switzer Center.
“I just wanted to somehow get everyone to communicate, get everyone to just bond and enjoy each other's company, but just in a natural way,” Dillon said. “And I think the best way was putting the phones down, eating meals together and breaking bread. It's the best thing to do when you go out to eat with anyone, and just grub and talk (about your) story.
A month later, Dillon treated the offensive line to breakfast at Neighborhood JAM, then took a party bus to a local lake. While social media has heightened the visibility of such activ ities, it wasn’t done for show. Dillon understood time wasn’t on his side and that the Sooners had a long, steep journey ahead of them. With the season nearing, he took the most precise route to establishing relationships that will be crucial to team “Sometimessuccess.I laugh,because I think people look at that and go, ‘Oh, I wonder if he's doing that (because) he’s the new guy,” Garrett said. “I get a kick because I feel like he's not going out of character at all. That's just who he is. And I always tell him, ‘Hey, you be yourself, regardless of what people think. Your job is to lead and whoever follows you will jump on board. And we can't worry about those that don't jump on board. We just gotta take the guys who want it and lead them. And that's always been my line to him. You don't get every body, but you will get the ones that count, the ones that want to be successful.”
Though Gabriel and Lebby were separated at times after their trek through the gulch behind the Gabriel household, they are continuing their journey together now, part of a larger family in a place that feels like home.
“That's what we did back home. In Hawaii, we would just barbecue in the backyard and chill out there the whole Sunday or the whole weekend, just relaxing with the family or whoever comes over. … And then when we come out here, everything’s natural, it's easy. Everyone knows each other's names, everyone's bonded together.”
8 • August 2022 FOOTBALL GUIDE
August 2022 • 9FOOTBALL GUIDE she's presenting me with this gift. And that's very much what we're like here in Hawaii, too. We want people to feel a type of way, and I got that from this woman. I thought, ‘OK, this just confirms everything.’
were 30 strong at the spring game but still dwarfed by the 75,360 in attendance to christen the Venables era and immortalize former Heisman Trophy winner Baker Mayfield. After giving Roman a postgame tour of the Sooners’ locker room, Dillon answered a question about potentially winning the Heisman himself, confirming just how high the bar is at Oklahoma, even in the offseason.
“It's so him, all this — this experience, this journey. I sit back and I think, ‘Wow, how did this all happen?’ But of course it would happen this way. (Dillon) needed to find a family to be a part of, because that's important to him, so OU was kind of like his Mililani. … It is home, and he sees it that way now. He's happy, and as a mom, that's all that I can ask for is for him to feel safe, to feel loved and valued. He's going to thrive.”Affirmation of Dillon’s decision has only increased since through events his family typically didn’t encounter in sprawl ing Orlando. When Dori ordered birthday flowers for Dillon’s girlfriend, the local florist quickly realized who they were serving. The maintenance man at Dillon’s apartment and a local insurance agent who’s an OU alumnus have become fast friends.TheGabriels
That relational atmosphere at OU is comparable to the Hanai common-cause spirit of the islands. Though Dillon and Lebby were separated at times after their initial trek through the gulch, they’re continuing their journey together now, part of a larger family in a place that feels like home.
“People go that extra mile to go do something. … They all want to be a part of something special. And that's when I really knew this place is different, in a great way. And I can say that, because I've seen different programs, and I was at a dif ferent program. I have had experience in different places.
After the NCAA allowed student-athletes to profit off their name, image and likeness, Gabriel set out to repay his school by facilitating an athletic apparel sponsorship at Mililani High.
“So I understand this place isn't normal, in a good way.”
While Dillon was always the first player in the building at UCF, OU teammates sometimes beat him to the football facili ties in the morning. At a historic institution laden with football success, players are naturally more committed to investing the time and work necessary to play at a higher level.
“There's just so many people that care about this program on another level that I think it naturally brings the family atmosphere to this place,” Dillon said. “These coaches once were here and went to school here, played here. Everyone in the building, knowing that you got those guys that really care about you, I think it elevates us to another level when it comes to putting out a product that we want on the field.
Dillon also senses “a greater care” among staff mem bers like Venables and Jerry Schmidt, who’ve returned to Oklahoma for a second stint. He sees it in Lebby, DeMarco Murray, Joe Jon Finley, Jon Cooper and Phil Loadholt, among other previous Sooner players who came back to coach the next generation. Their nostalgic return after Lincoln Riley and Williams bailed for Southern California, Dori says, had fans “feeling some type of way.”
10 • August 2022 FOOTBALL GUIDE OURJOIOUDAILYNTE AM The OU Daily is the independent student voice of OU since 1916. To get real-world experience and develop your professional portfolio, apply at OUDAILY.COM/JOBS INTERESTED IN: DIGIPRINTVPHOTOGRAPHYSALESMARKETINGADSOCIALPODCEDITINREPORTINGGASTSMEDIAVERTISINGIDEOGRAPHYDESIGNTALDESIGN www.oudaily.com @theoudaily@OUdaily@OUdaily
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12 • August 2022 FOOTBALL GUIDE PHOTOGRAPHS BY RAY BAHNER FOR OU DAILY LawMurphy’ssportsRacism,and Cale Gundy’s actions pose first major test of the culture head coach Brent Venables is building. Mason Young | masyoung@ou.edu
“He may love the person and the coach that he was, during his time, and I get that, but nothing gives anybody the right to use that word, and I don’t care what it is that he did,” Armstrong said. “He’s dedicated his life to OU football, and I know that he’s touched a lot of lives and impacted a lot of lives and made so many lives so much better because he’s there. But the problem is, we’re here now, and so he has to have behaviors that reflect the here and now.
“No matter what he did, no matter how he elevated the lives of his former student-athletes, he doesn’t have a right to use that word. Nothing gives him permission to use that word,Formerperiod.”Sooners linebacker Rufus Alexander, who is now an OU defensive analyst and player development assistant, provided among the most nuanced perspectives former players have shared.
In the years since, he watched Swinney not immediately ad dress Pearman’s actions, Venables — like all in sports and soci ety — has watched a racial reckoning unfold in the wake of the deaths of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and other Black people across the “Thingsnation.thatcoaches could’ve said years and years ago and got away with it, those days are long gone,” said Ketra Armstrong, director of the Center for Race and Ethnicity in Sport at the University of Michigan. “Those types of behaviors and the language associated with racism and misogyny and xe nophobia, you know, that has often kind of gone unchecked in some sport locker rooms. That’s not OK.
While not diminishing the impact Gundy had at the uni versity, Armstrong disagrees with Broyles.
“So we’re in a new day, it’s a new game, we have new rules. Coaches are going to have to realize that it is a new game, and new rules are required. A new understanding is required, and they’re going to be held accountable.”
Karlos Hill, an associate professor in OU’s African and African American Studies department, hopes to speak with Venables in the future about the intersection of race and sports, as he did with previous coaches Bob Stoops and Lincoln Riley. For now, he’s impressed with how the matter was handled, as opposed to times where Black students had to push those in power to act.
I feel like it had to be nipped in the bud the way it was, because it’s an expectation.
When former OU quarterback Rhett Bomar accepted pay ment for work he didn’t do in 2006, Venables, then the Sooners’ defensive coordinator, wanted to extend grace. But Stoops stood firm after Bomar had lied to him three times about the situation and kicked him off the team. At Clemson, despite Venables’ apprehension, Dabo Swinney suspended wide re ceiver Sammy Watkins for the Tigers’ 2012 season opener against Auburn following an off-field incident, and Clemson won the game without Watkins.
“For them, that’s not the Coach Gundy that they knew, and that they love,” Hill said. “And so, I can understand how, even though they’ve heard the news, and they’re perhaps in disbe lief, they have a relationship with him that is deep and special and meaningful that they’re not just going to overreact and just delete his number from their phone.
“You only get one opportunity, one chance to be a first-time head coach, to do things right the first time,” Venables said at Big 12 Media Days in July. “We’ve been very patient and have tried to nurture through the process, foundationally, of building our program the right way — through relationships, through accountability, through structure, through discipline.”
More similar to Venables’ test in recent days, though, is Swinney’s failure — despite his notable efforts to holistically develop players into men of character, which Venables is now trying to emulate — to take decisive action in 2017 when tight ends coach Danny Pearman repeated the N-word to a player who said the slur during practice.
Pearman remained on staff and the incident was kept under wraps for nearly three years. When it leaked via for mer Clemson players and the player involved, tight end D.J. Greenlee, recounted the event to a local newspaper, the Tigers’ efforts to keep it out of the public eye garnered as much, or more, attention than what originally happened.
Eventually, a spokesperson for the university at large said in a statement it was Venables’ decision to accept Gundy’s resigna tion but that “key university administrators were informed of its developments as appropriate,” including leaders in the depart ment of diversity, equity and inclusion.
“We all love the man but dislike the mistake that was made,” Alexander tweeted Tuesday. “A mistake like that can’t be made or swept under (the) rug as much as we love and understand the intention behind it. It’s not about eye “
Gundy, who is 50 and was the sixth highest-paid receivers coach at a public university, announced his resignation late Sunday, three days after players reported for fall camp. The move sent shockwaves through an OU community that’s seen flashpoints of racial reckoning in recent years. It also demon strates how sports at large are changing as conversations about raceCurrentevolve.and former players close to Gundy have taken to so cial media to express their support. One advocated for Gundy to get his job back, while another condoned his former coach’s actions. Meanwhile, Venables lamented but also upheld Gundy’s decision to resign, while announcing offensive analyst L’Damian Washington as interim receivers coach.
rent Venables said he was waiting for Murphy’s Law to take effect. During his first spring camp as Oklahoma’s head coach, he spoke of preparing his team for the reality that “anything that can go wrong will go wrong.” Exactly that happened last week at the outset of fall camp. It came to light less than 30 days before OU’s season open er that wide receivers coach Cale Gundy, a Sooners assistant since 1999 and the longest-tenured Big 12 assistant, had read a “shameful and hurtful” word off a player’s iPad during a film session. The word has since been confirmed as “racially charged,” and it was revealed Gundy repeated it multiple times in front of his players.
“It seems that all parties involved saw this as a serious issue and immediately addressed it, and when that happens, that’s all you can really ask for,” Hill said. “And so, from that van tage point, I’m glad that it was dealt with expeditiously, be cause what President Harroz has made clear, what Dr. Belinda Hyppolite has made clear, is that kind of behavior just is not OU behavior, is not the OU experience that we want for our stu dents, faculty and staff.”
“They’re going to talk to him. They’re going to try to figure out what happened, they’re going to try to figure out how he’s going to make it right, and they’re going to try to help him make it right because that’s what they do. They’re a family. They’re a team.”Former OU running back Joe Mixon tweeted he “will be ex tremely disappointed,” if Gundy, who he wrote doesn’t have “a racist bone in his body,” is not allowed to continue with the Sooners.Former Oklahoma receiver Ryan Broyles went further.
Athletes from preps to college to pros are increasingly using their platforms to address racial violence and prejudice, said Armstrong, who first learned of the Gundy debacle via an ESPN alert while on a plane Monday.
B
August 2022 • 13FOOTBALL GUIDE
“It’s just so unfortunate, but coming from Coach Gundy, I feel like it had to be nipped in the bud the way it was, because it’s an expectation,” said former OU receiver Mykel Jones, who played for Gundy from 2016-19 and, as many of his former teammates did, addressed matters beyond football during his time on campus. “You expect your coach to have that aware ness for something like that to not even take place, and that’s why I kind of stand with Coach Venables and the way he came out of “That’sit. a real stand-up-guy move because he really stood up for his Seekingplayers.”context beyond Venables’ two statements about the university’s handling of the situation, the Daily contacted OU marketing and communications but was redirected to the athletic department. Upon separately reaching out to Belinda Higgs Hyppolite, OU’s vice president for diversity, equity and inclusion, the Daily’s inquiry was turned not to athletics but back to marketing and communications.
OU has combatted numerous incidents of racism in re cent years, from Sigma Alpha Epsilon members chanting the N-word on video in 2015 to individuals donning blackface in Snapchat videos and on campus in 2019, and two professors using the N-word in class just days apart in 2020. Venables’ de cision reinforced the perspective he has repeatedly noted on of setting the correct tone in his first season. It also aligns with the university’s broader mission to make diversity, equity and inclusion a cultural strength on campus.
‘Nothing gives him permission to use that word’ Venables’ decision not only speaks to the accountability driv en culture he’s fostering, but the swiftness with which he han dled it shows his continuing evolution as a leader.
“He’s coached black kids for 3 decades. If anyone can read the N word, it’s him,” Broyles commented on the foot ball team’s Instagram post of Venables’ initial statement.
Still, many former OU players have shared words of support for their old coach, including NFL All-Pro running back Adrian Peterson and Biletnikoff Award winner Dede Westbrook, which speaks to the complexity of the situation and conflicting feelings those involved can have.
MYKEL JONES, former OU receiver “
The former recently completed a master’s degree at Tulane and continues to use his platform as a former stu dent-athlete to promote racial equality while beginning a career in business. The latter is an accomplished scholar who has written three books on racism against Black peo ple in America, but both agree OU is handling the situation correctly.“It’scamp, you’re getting ready for a season, and guys are expecting Coach Gundy to be their coach. And now, all of a sudden, this is a sudden change, and, sadly, it’s a huge deal,” Jones said. “It’s tough, like I keep mentioning, (for) the players, because that’s what it’s really ultimately all about — them and their production and their development. I just think they’re going about it the right way. And I also think Coach Gundy understands the magnitude of that mistake.”
‘You cannot allow this behavior to persist’ Jones, the retired player, and Hill, the professor, reside at two different stages in life.
Hill added: “I think that’s a great sign for the fall program early on, when it would have been easier, perhaps, to just ignore this or to try to minimize it, given athletes aren’t in protest and rebellion about it. They still want the coach to be there. But that kind of attitude and carelessness just couldn’t be tolerated any more. I just think we’re staying consistent with what we’ve said, the kind of institution we want it to Stoops,be.”Oklahoma’s coach from 1999-2016, has been one of the program’s mainstays amid recent turmoil, such as Lincoln Riley’s sudden departure for Southern California, after which he declared it’s the players who give OU football its identity, not any coach.
It seems that all parties involved saw this as a serious issue and immediately addressed it.
-KARLOS HILL, associate professor at OU “
“Sadly, in a moment of whether it be poor judgment or awareness, he created an incident that has led to these con sequences,” Stoops said of Gundy. “That being said, that “
After Cale Gundy repeated a “shameful and hurtful” word during a film session, OU head football coach Brent Venables ultimately decided to accept the wide receivers coach’s resignation. for eye, or (what) the other person should get. It’s about the responsibility of our mentors and the environment that they create. We are building something special and I stand in that circle with Coach V and the decision he made.”
Despite his long friendship with Gundy, whom he hired, Stoops endorsed Venables’ decision during a Tuesday radio appearance on Norman’s KREF.
14 • August 2022 FOOTBALL GUIDE
“ Nothing gives him permission to use that word, period.
August 2022 • 15FOOTBALL GUIDE
“Being in a leadership role, you have to make decisions, and sometimes you have to save people from themselves,” Armstrong said. “Sometimes there are bigger issues than what they see at play. This is a larger issue, particularly when you’re trying to change the organizational culture, or you’re trying to impress an organizational culture. And (if) you’re trying to impress an organizational culture that’s free of racism, one that’s truly respectful and inclusive, you can not allow this behavior to persist.
“But then you have to look at Coach Venables’ position. I’ve been in this position. … Brent didn’t create the situa tion, but he’s charged with leading the program forward, and I know what that’s like, developing a team identity, a team culture … that isn’t easy. And if he feels that this inci dent doesn’t align with that culture or diminishes from it, and feels that this is the best path forward for the program, then we have to trust his judgment.”
“And so I think Coach Venables had to do that. Otherwise, he’s preaching one type of culture and he’s allowing anoth er type of culture to fester.”
Gundy’s departure was met with mixed reactions among the OU community. While some said his resignation was necessary, others expressed disappointment in the situation.
Former OU center and current radio sideline analyst Gabe Ikard tweeted he talked to some players Sunday and that after the team had discussed the matter, the majority wanted Gundy to stay. But still, he chose to walk away and, Venables accepted that.
-KETRA ARMSTRONG, director of the Center for Race and Ethnicity in sport at the University of Michigan “
one moment doesn’t define Cale as a person or his charac ter and heart. Cale’s character and heart have always been for his players and for OU, and nothing but the best. And (he) should always be appreciated for his hard work here and should always be a part of the OU family.
KENT STATE, SEPT. 10 Oklahoma will face Kent State for the rst time in pro gram history at 6 p.m. on Sept. 10. e Golden Flashes nished last season ranked No. 5 in total o ense while recording a 7-7 record, including a 52-38 loss to Wyoming in the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl. ey were 0-3 against Power 5 opponents Iowa, Mary land and Texas A&M last season, with the bulk of their wins coming in conference play. e departure of quarterback Dustin Crum, an NFL undrafted rookie who signed with Kansas City, was a major loss for the program. He was the guiding force for the Golden Flashes’ option attack, posting 3,187 passing yards, 703 rushing yards and 32 total touchdowns in 2021.With redshirt junior quarterback Collin Schlee in line as Crum’s replacement, the Sooners will look to make quick work of the Golden Flashes in Norman.
Nebraska is led by coach Scott Frost, an alumnus who was brought on after leading Central Florida to an unde feated season in 2017. Since accepting the Nebraska job in 2017, Frost has led the Cornhuskers to a subpar 15-29 record. Nebraska nished with a 3-9 record in 2021 and su ered eight one-possession losses. Its ninth loss was by nine points to Ohio State.
Nebraska’s top two quarterbacks, Casey ompson and Chubba Purdy, should be familiar to Sooners fans. ompson played at Texas and against Oklahoma before transferring to Nebraska after the 2021 season.
OU should again face a tough test in its historical rivalry match. e Sooners last played in Lincoln in 2009, losing 10-3.
OU faces its toughest test of nonconference play when it takes on Nebraska at 11 a.m. on Sept. 17 in Lincoln. Oklahoma’s 2021 contest with the Cornhuskers on the 50th anniversary of the “Game of the Century” resulted in its narrow 23-16 win highlighted by a one-handed interception from cornerback D.J. Graham.
Game-by-game previews
@ NEBRASKA, SEPT. 17
e Oklahoma City native is also the son of former OU quarterback Charles ompson. Purdy, the younger brother of former Iowa State standout Brock Purdy, also transferred to Nebraska from Florida State following the 2021 season. e Sooners also pursued Purdy heavily as a potential backup for Gabriel after he left FSU.
KANSAS STATE, SEPT. 24 e Wildcats have given Oklahoma trouble each of the three years since Chris Klieman became their head coach.Last season, the Sooners defeated KSU 37-31 in Man hattan, avenging their back-to-back losses in 2019 and 2020. e nal score was closer than the actual game play, which at the time marked OU’s most complete performance of the season in the conference opener. At one point, OU led 27-10 after Spencer Rattler’s 14yard touchdown pass to Mike Woods with three minutes and 19 seconds remaining in the third quarter. e Wildcats went on to outscore Oklahoma 21-10 in the remaining time, highlighted by a 93-yard kicko return touchdown from Malik Knowles with one minute and 20 seconds remaining. e Sooners went on to sur vive, but not without a slight scare. Returning to Norman with 13 starters and Nebraska transfer quarterback Adrian Martinez, who tested OU a season ago with the Cornhuskers, the Wildcats could be another tough out for Oklahoma in 2022.
16 • August 2022 FOOTBALL GUIDE JASON BATACAO and LOUIS RASER jason.f.batacao-1@ou.edu // louis.d.raser-1@ou.edu
Former OU football players gather on Owen Field at Gaylord-Family Oklahoma Memorial Stadium before the Spring Game.
e Miners will be OU’s rst matchup with head coach Brent Venables and transfer quarterback Dillon Gabriel following the departures of Lincoln Riley and Caleb Williams to Southern California.
@ TCU, OCT. 1 Texas Christian coach Sonny Dykes is coming o his rst full o season since being hired and he’s ready to turn the Horned Frogs around. Dykes will have a tall task facing Venables and the Sooners in 2022, however. TCU is on an eight-game losing streak against Oklahoma, with its most recent win coming in 2014. e trend continued last year when the
RAY BAHNER/OU DAILY
UTEP, SEPT. 3 Oklahoma begins its 2022 campaign against the University of Texas at El Paso at 2:30 p.m. on Sept. 3 in Norman.UTEPwent 7-6 in 2021 while competing in Conference USA last season. e Miners were 5-1 at home, but just 2-4 on the road and 0-1 in neutral site contests. UTEP re turns the majority of its o ensive playmakers from 2021. e Miners return quarterback Gavin Hardison, run ning backs Ronald Awatt and Deion Hankins, and three of their ve leading receivers in Tyrin Smith, Reynaldo Flores and Trent ompson. e only major departures on UTEP’s o ense are lead ing receiver Jacob Cowing, who transferred to Arizona, and Justin Garrett, a receiver who is now UTEP’s director of player personnel.
Unanimous 2021 Big 12 Defensive Freshman of the Year Collin Oliver returns for his sophomore season after posting 11.5 sacks, which ranked No. 7 nationally.
KANSAS, OCT. 15
August 2022 • 17FOOTBALL GUIDE
BAYLOR, NOV. 5 For the rst time in six years, the Sooners weren’t cho sen to win the Big 12 in the conference’s annual presea son media poll. Taking their spot: reigning Big 12 Champion Baylor, led by coach Dave Aranda. e Bears ended last season with a 12-2 record, defeating Oklahoma State, which placed third in 2022 preseason voting, in a 21-16 thriller for the conference title and later blowing out Mississippi 21-7 in the Sugar Bowl. It was the rst time the Sooners hadn’t secured the Big 12 title since 2014, when the Bears and TCU tied for the conference crown. Not only did Baylor take the conference title from the Sooners last season — it dashed their College Football Playo hopes with a dominating 27-14 win in Waco on Nov. 13. Aranda’s defense forced two turnovers and piled on 17 points in the fourth quarter to hand OU its rst loss.With an o ense led by quarterback Blake Shapen and a defense captained by defensive tackle Siaki Ika, the Bears remain a formidable challenge to the Sooners’ climb back to the top of the Big 12 next season. OU’s new-look o ense, led by coordinator Je Lebby and Gabriel, and a resurgent defensive identity instilled by Venables will add to the potential for another highstakes, top-25 matchup on Nov. 5.
@ IOWA STATE, OCT. 29 Iowa State took a step back in 2021 after nishing run ner-up for the Big 12 title in 2020. e Cyclones ended the season with a 7-6 record, giving coach Matt Campbell and the program their fth-straight winning season. After losing running back Breece Hall and quarterback Brock Purdy to the 2022 NFL Draft, Campbell will have big shoes to ll on the o ensive side of the ball.
TEXAS, OCT. 8
Opposite Oliver, fellow defensive end Brock Martin was an All-Big 12 second-team selection last season.
Redshirt senior Spencer Sanders returns for his fourth season as the Cowboys’ starting quarterback after lead ing the conference in total yards in 2021. e 2022 pre season All-Big 12 nominee will look to Brennan Presley as his No. 1 receiving option. Oklahoma State head coach Mike Gundy and others’ acknowledgement that Bedlam only has a few years left due to the Sooners’ impending move to the SEC adds additional intrigue to likely one of the rivalry’s last iterations. With conference championship and Col lege Football Playo hopes potentially on the line, this mid-November matchup could prove an instant classic.
OU tallied a season-high 469 passing yards and seven touchdowns in its rout of Texas Tech. e Red Raiders lost leading tackler Colin Schooler and standout defen sive back DaMarcus Fields during the o season. Despite rotating between three quarterbacks, the Red Raiders ranked No. 3 in the Big 12 in passing yards. New coach Joey McGuire nds himself deciding between Donovan Smith and Oregon transfer Tyler Shough as his starting quarterback for 2022. Smith completed 17 of 22 passes for 192 yards and one touchdown against OU on Oct. 30 to add to his season total of 1,181 yards and seven touchdowns. Shough began the year starting for Texas Tech but had his season cut short by a shoulder injury sustained in just his fourth game.Whoever is named the starter will look forward to the return of running back Tahj Brooks, who tallied over 100 yards three times despite appearing in just nine games in 2021. Brooks will play a pivotal role in a back eld that led the Big 12 in touchdowns last season.
e Mountaineers nished the 2021 campaign with just 1,601 rushing yards, which ranked last in the Big 12. e air attack fared better last season and is expected to maintain its upward trend with Georgia transfer JT Daniels at the helm.
Leipold’s team proved tricky for Oklahoma in 2021. e Jayhawks led 10-0 at halftime in a historic shutout of Riley’s o ense. Later, Kansas was down only four points with eight minutes and three seconds left in the fourth quarter before Caleb Williams scampered to the end zone for a 40-yard touchdown. Ultimately, the Sooners stormed back in the second half to secure a 35-23 win. While Oklahoma has seen massive personnel turnover this o season, Leipold is returning nine starters on o ense, which means the Jayhawks could provide another formidable challenge for the Sooners in Norman. Oklahoma still holds a lofty advantage over the Jayhawks, especially after Kansas nished with a 2-10 record and the worst o ense in the Big 12 in total yards, scoring, passing and third down conversions.
Sooners defeated the Horned Frogs 52-31 in Norman. Despite the loss, Dykes should be able to maintain and improve TCU’s o ense, which already had the strength of being No. 1 in the Big 12 with the most converted third downs last season. Wide receiver Quentin Johnston is back for the Horned Frogs, and he’ll have a solid passer in either incumbent Max Duggan or former OU quarter back Chandler Morris. e Horned Frogs lost running back Zach Evans who transferred to Mississippi during the o season, but beating OU would’ve been a tough task for Dykes’ squad even with him.
Defensively, Iowa State is returning one of the best units in the entire conference with defensive tackle Will McDonald spearheading the defensive line. e Cyclones will have to go up against a high-powered Sooners o ense led by Gabriel, running back Eric Gray and wide receiver Marvin Mims. Oklahoma pulled out a 28-21 win over Iowa State in Norman last season. With a 6.5 average margin of victory in the past three contests between both teams, another close contest could play out in Ames this season.
e Pokes ranked rst in the Big 12 in total defense in 2021 and No. 5 in the NCAA in yards allowed, but are expected to regress following the departures of rstteam All-Big 12 defenders Malcolm Rodriguez, Jarrick Bernard-Converse and Kolby Harvell-Peel.
Daniels, who threw for 722 yards and seven touch downs for the national champion Bulldogs, will be with out Winston Wright, the Mountaineers’ leading receiver in 2021, who transferred to Florida State. Daniels will need his new playmakers to get open early, as West Vir ginia conceded 38 sacks in 2021, the most in the Big 12. A couple of new faces with Daniels at the forefront could make for an exhilarating matchup when the Soon ers make their Nov. 12 hike to Morgantown.
Kansas coach Lance Leipold is entering his second season with the Jayhawks. e Sooners have won 17-straight games against Kansas, dating back to 2000 when coach Bob Stoops and quarterback Josh Heupel captured OU’s seventh national championship.
It’s the game every Oklahoma fan has circled on their calendar.Eachseason the Sooners make the short trip from Norman to Dallas to take on their historic foe, Texas, in the Red River Showdown. From blowouts, comebacks and tight contests, this rivalry is the epitome of college football.Lastseason, Riley and Williams, who both left for USC during the o season, spurred a 55-48 comeback victory. e game was the highest-scoring matchup in the teams’ 117 contests and the second-largest comeback in OU history.eLonghorns went on to nish the season 5-7 and headed into the o season looking to revamp their of fense. Texas coach Steve Sarkisian added former ve-star recruit and Ohio State transfer quarterback Quinn Ewers to the roster to replace Casey ompson. With both teams having undergone massive chang es this o season, another rollercoaster game could be underway this season.
OKLAHOMA STATE, NOV. 19 Oklahoma State nished with a 12-2 record including a victory over Notre Dame in the Fiesta Bowl in 2021. e Cowboys were inches away from their rst Big 12 title since 2011 and potentially rst-ever College Football Playo season. Despite the subsequent missed oppor tunities, Oklahoma State claimed a 37-33 victory in the Bedlam rivalry.
@ WEST VIRGINIA, NOV. 12 West Virginia ranked No. 8 in the Big 12 Preseason Poll following a 6-7 showing in 2021, including a 16-13 loss to OU via a last-second eld goal in Norman. Oklahoma’s last trip to Morgantown in 2018 included a combined 115 points, with the Sooners taking a 59-56 victory to clinch a spot in the Big 12 Championship Game.West Virginia’s defense is headlined by defensive lineman Dante Stills, who sits at No. 3 in program history with 43.5 career tackles for loss.
@ TEXAS TECH, NOV. 26
A season removed from su ering a 52-21 loss in Nor man, Texas Tech ranks No. 9 in the Big 12 Preseason Poll.
18 • August 2022 FOOTBALL GUIDE
“It was always easy,” Dunn said of his relationship with Lebby, who would become his college roommate. “It was like driving a car.”
AUSTIN CURTRIGHT austincurtright@ou.edu
‘It was like driving a car’ Lebby and Dunn first met through J.D. Runnels, who was a fellow member of OU’s 2002 recruiting class. Dunn and Runnels were high school teammates and friends at Carl Albert in Midwest City. Lebby and Runnels connected as incoming freshmen at Oklahoma, and while they are still close, it’s Dunn who later became more than a best friend — more like family.
Jeff Lebby, offensive coordinator at the University of Oklahoma, moved closer to many of the frienships he made through football along the way.
The legendary Red Dirt band was getting back together for its first shows after a nearly three-year hiatus to work out personal issues. The trio — Jeff Lebby, Kendal Briles and Mike Dunn — had traveled from Norman, Fayetteville and Midwest City, re spectively, to break from the football jobs that position them all within an hour-and-a-half of Oklahoma’s second-largest city.
As Jeff Lebby returns to Norman as offensive coordinator, he rediscovers relationships made through football
The opportunity to rejoin the Sooners this season was the best of both worlds for the 38-year-old assistant known as one of college football’s brightest offensive minds due to his suc cesses at Central Florida and Mississippi. The move puts him closer to some of the friendships he has garnered through football along the way.
Return to OU, friendships
“Life is a funny thing,” Dunn said. “And I think we were both put in these positions for a reason. We always talked about our paths crossing again. … I took the Carl Albert job, a year later he took the offensive coordinator job, and I think it was just all meant to be.”
PHOTOGRAPHSpastBYRAYBAHNERFOROUDAILY
Dunn knew Lebby needed help coming to grips with the end
They, too, were reuniting in a way after some respective trials andLebby’stribulations.return
Dunn has been with Lebby through every step of his adult life, whether helping Lebby through a career-ending back inju ry, navigating the start of his coaching path or traveling to con certs around the country, one of their favorite pastimes, from Pearl Jam to Radiohead to Robert Earl Keen.
to his alma mater as Oklahoma’s offensive co ordinator in December has brought him closer to some of his best friends, such as Dunn, the head coach and athletic director at Carl Albert High School, and Briles, the offensive coordinator at Arkansas. He’s also just a two-and-a-half hour drive from the Fort Worth area, where his mom, Kathy, lives.
Lebby presides over a football staff of 12 former Oklahoma players and coaches, most of whom he built trust with, wheth er it was coming up as a recruit from Andrews, Texas, or when he was a student assistant at OU from 2002-06. He also takes on the challenge of leading the Sooners’ offense, which under Lincoln Riley was one of the nation’s most prolific for the past seven“Theyears.added bonuses for my family and life outside of football is special,” Lebby said. “They’re unique and, in this profession, you don’t get that often. There’s very few that get the opportuni ty to do what I’m doing right now. And I’m humbled and grate ful for it. And man, I don’t take it for granted at all.”
Three old friends reunited in April at a Turnpike Troubadours concert at Cain’s Ballroom in Tulsa.
While they particularly love Red Dirt country music, their bond goes back to when Dunn and Lebby were college fresh men. Lebby was living at the since-demolished Bud Wilkinson athletic dorms and Dunn attended the University of Central Oklahoma in Edmond. During Lebby’s first semester in Norman, he called Dunn in forming him he’d reaggravated an old high school back injury.
“He wants (people) to feel like they’re at their best before he worries about himself. I think that’s kind of how he sees life.”
Cody, a two-time All-Big 12 selection who became a sec ond-round pick of the Baltimore Ravens in 2005, established a strong bond with Lebby despite the two-year age difference as Lastteammates.April,Cody traveled from Ada to Norman and caught up with his old friend Lebby and old coach Venables at the Sooners’ facilities.
Lebby’s senior year, Mike moved jobs to Granbury High — just outside of Fort Worth — to be closer to Norman. Mike’s relocation also stationed him closer to his other son, Kyle, who died in 2020 and was living in College Station at the time.Lebby’s gig at Oklahoma would have been even more special if Mike was still present to make that short drive to Norman and watch his son choreograph the Sooners’ offense.
Later, as Lebby remained on the Bears staff in 2016 after Art Briles had already been fired, Lebby defended his father-in-law by wearing T-shirts that read “#CAB,” or “Coach Art Briles,” de spite being directly involved in one of college football’s biggest blackButeyes.when Lebby was hired by Oklahoma Athletic Director Joe Castiglione in December, he went through a vetting pro cess, like he did at UCF and Mississippi, and passed.
Castiglione later added that there were consistent reports from Lebby’s previous employers that spoke highly of his char acter. Those closest to Lebby concurred.
“Like with all potential coaching staff, we vetted him from every angle, on and off the field,” Castiglione said. “We under stand why additional questions have been raised around his candidacy, which is why we did our due diligence, completed a thorough review and background check, and spoke to his pre vious employers throughout the process.”
“It was as close of a relationship as you could ever find,” Dunn said. “They were tight. They were two peas in a pod. The way they acted when they’d get together was a lot of fun. And now that Jeff has two younger kids, it’s funny because when we were in college, Mike treated us like little kids. “So, you see it now with Jeff and his style with his kids. It’s uncanny and it’s exact. But when it was time to talk football, it was like something flipped. They’d go from joking and playing around, but when it was time to talk business, they would get realOnceserious.”Dunn graduated in 2007, his first job was as an assis tant for Mike at Saginaw High outside Fort Worth. During Lebby’s senior year at Andrews High, his dad, the head coach at the time, left in the spring to take a job at Granbury High, just southwest of Fort Worth forcing him to medically redshirt before eventually becoming a student assistant.Twoyears after graduating, Lebby joined Briles on the staff of his father, Art Briles, at Baylor in 2008. The Briles and Lebbys go back to when Jeff’s dad, Mike, and Art were on staff together at Sweetwater High School from 1982-84. Lebby even married Art’s daughter, Staley. “Friday night lights is (in Lebby’s) blood,” former Oklahoma defensive lineman Dan Cody said. “That’s who he is and where he came from. He and his dad were cut from the same cloth. Big, happy guys, loved football. They have a healthy obsession withDuringit.”
‘The realest moment I’ve had in my life’
The student also reportedly shared text messages with Lebby about the incident, and Lebby said he would talk to the player.
“I don’t think he gets a second chance the way he does if peo ple don’t know him to be a genuine, good person the way he is,” Barefield Jr. said. “If there was something sketchy about him, he’d have stayed in the outskirts of the business for a lot longer, at minimum, if not still.
“If they only knew back then. I just can’t believe they gave this guy the keys to this place,” Cody said with a laugh. “Twenty years ago we were there cutting class, waiting for practice or let ting the electricity run out, and now here he’s in the suites over there.”Lebby was there for Cody when he came to grips with know ing he had played his final collegiate game after the Sooners were defeated 55-19 in the 2005 national championship against Southern California.
“It wasn’t the coaching world that knew him that wouldn’t hire him, it was the higher ups that didn’t want to take a risk at the time. And you can’t blame them for it.”
‘Jeff is going to be completely honest’ Lebby was on top of the world as a young offensive assistant learning under some of the greatest minds in the sport. Until he wasn’t. In 2017, Lebby started working at Southeastern University, a small NAIA school in Lakeland, Florida, after Baylor had mul tiple athletes convicted or accused of sexual assault from 201216. His name was mentioned in a lawsuit against the university by a student in 2016 for failing to report one of his running backs who allegedly assaulted her, according to Title IX court docu ments provided to ESPN.
The two spent so much time together that Dunn had an idea based on the fact that Lebby’s would-be freshman roommate never arrived in Norman.
Keith Barefield Jr., whose father, Keith Barefield Sr., hired Lebby at Southeastern, says players gravitated toward Lebby during the 2017 season in Lakeland.
Though Mike died in July 2019, Lebby manages to keep a happy-go-lucky persona that has assisted him through some of his relationships today.
Cody and Lebby reminisced about hanging out at Lebby’s “beat down” rent house near the stadium, which has since been torn down when new-Oklahoma athletic dorms Headington Hall debuted in 2013. Lebby’s house on Jenkins Avenue became his teammates’ go-to spot whether they needed a place to park or hangout in between classes. It also had an “open-door” policy.
“He had a pretty good outlook as far as what he wanted to do next, and he always wanted to be a football coach,” Dunn said. “Jeff made that decision then that he was going to be a college football coach and go all in on being a student assistant.”
Whenever the trio of Cody, Dunn and Lebby had time, they used to travel to Cody’s ranch in Centrahoma to fish, hunt or go offroading. That’s still one of Cody’s favorite memories from college.“Wehad so many great times,” Lebby said. “And now it has restarted for us. We’re at a completely different point in our life but it’s just as special.”
It’s unclear whether the player, who disputed the claims, was ever the topic of a Title IX investigation, according to ESPN. However, the lawsuit states the student informed Baylor offi cials about the incident.
“I would go and I’d stay the whole weekend in Norman,” Dunn said. “I finally just said, ‘You know what? I’m hanging out here all the time, so I might as well just go to OU.’ … That’s where it allDunnstarted.”transferred to OU that spring and negotiated to be come Lebby’s roommate at the athletic dorms. That spring break, the duo traveled to Austin to hang out with Briles, Lebby’s lifelong family friend, who was then a quarterback at the University of Texas. Dunn has become closer with both sides over the years. He’s seen the Briles family’s influence on Lebby, with whom he worked in various roles at Baylor from 2008-16. And he’s seen the source of his friend’s extroverted personality from Mike, who’s Lebby’s football role model.
of his playing days. Dunn drove down the next morning and spent the November weekend with Lebby, sharing tears and working through what Lebby would do next. That weekend, they decided they would both be football coaches and forged a friendship that has lasted over 20 years.
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“Jeff has never felt sorry for himself in any situation,” Dunn said. “Not with losing his dad or his brother. … He’s a glass-halffull guy. He’s an optimist. And I guess Jeff does that because he puts others on his shoulders. I think he’s the type to want peo ple to see him happy and wants to make people feel like they’re the guy in the room.
“To me, it’s people who don’t have to fake it to make it,” Lebby
Lebby later punished the player with extra work after practice.
“He’s told his truth,” Dunn said. “He has talked about what happened when he was there. And, at the end of the day, when you have that many people that have vetted that, it shows to me that there was nothing there, really.”
“After the USC game, I just remember it being one of the real est moments of my life,” said Cody, recalling a massive bear hug from his friend. “I had that sensation of not wanting things to be over. But just the genuineness of our embrace and what it meant, It was the culmination of a few years there of our friend ship. … It wasn’t particularly sad, it wasn’t particularly emo tional, but just the intensity of it. That’s my favorite moment. The realest moment I’ve had in my life.” The moment speaks to Lebby’s coaching. In February, he stated he and the coaching staff like to bring “genuine juice” to motivate their players. That sentiment is encapsulated with his continued relationship with Cody, who still holds OU close to his“Youheart.don’t really see that guy ever get stirred up,” said Cody, who recalls Lebby being one of few teammates who attended his NFL Draft party at a Dallas hotel in 2005. “Or at least I never have. And it doesn’t mean he’s not ultracompetitive. But I think that’s part of what makes him so good. I think the guy’s pret ty cool and calm. He’s kind of like Buddha. He kind of just sits there and does his thing.”
Venables has known Lebby, since he was defensive coor dinator during Lebby’s tenure, as a student assistant with the Sooners. The first-year head coach also felt good about Lebby’s hiring process, stating the program was getting “somebody of highSinceintegrity.”Lebby’s arrival, he has shared a sentiment about having “genuine juice” in OU’s facilities. Since being hired in December, Lebby mentioned being aligned with the culture Venables has created, which is based around holistically devel oping the program’s student athletes.
“The reason why he’s been able to get through that stuff is because at the end of the day, Jeff Lebby has been the same per son since I met him in 2001.” ‘A method to the madness’
Barefield Jr., Southeastern’s offensive coordinator in 2016, had the chance to learn some of Lebby’s magic after Lebby re placed him in 2017. He has applied some of those lessons to his own
“To me, Jeff is the most genuine, authentic, good person,” Barefield Jr. said. “He’s one of the good people in this coaching business that you can sit down with and talk to him and know you’re not being sold a used car.
After his single season at Southeastern, Lebby received a coaching lifeline from former Oklahoma All-American Josh Heupel, who hired him as quarterbacks coach at UCF and later made him offensive coordinator.
Barefield Jr. remembers clearly how the players at Victoria gravitated toward Lebby despite the offensive assistant being there for just one season. He remembers the same from watch ing Lebby’s only season at Southeastern, too.
Barefield Jr. has experienced Lebby’s offensive expertise since he was a player at Victoria High in 2007, where Lebby spent one season as an offensive assistant. Barefield Jr., a quar terback, fullback and tight end, remembered watching Lebby, then 23, draw up a play just days before a game that allowed Barefield Jr. to be wide open for a 50-yard touchdown.
It was a testament to Lebby’s relatability as a coach.
The up-tempo ideology became a staple of the high-pow ered offenses Briles deployed during his tenure with the Bears. Some of the spread concepts Briles developed were so revolu tionary at the time that everyone wanted a piece of that puzzle, including coaches approaching Barefield Jr.
The move put Lebby back in high-level Division I football, where he then established himself as one of the brightest minds in the sport. However, according to those closest, Lebby still doesn’t shy away from his tenure in Waco, despite earning an eventual opportunity.“Jeffisgoing to be completely honest, 100, percent about what happened with all that stuff,” Dunn said. “At the end of the day, he’s not going to shy away from being Art Briles’ sonin-law. He’s not going to shy away from being married to Art Briles’ daughter. He’s not even going to shy away from the time he spent there at Baylor.
“Theplaycalling.biggestthing I took from him was not running tempo just for the sake of tempo,” Barefield Jr. said. “He had a rhyme and a reason for it. There was a method to the madness. … I kind of became known as a tempo guy because of what I picked up from him.”
Oklahoma Athletics Director Joe Castiglione vetted Lebby when he hired the offensive coordinator, saying, “We vetted him from every angle, on and off the field.” said of “genuine juice.” “... There’s genuine energy in our build ing every day. And I truly believe it’s because of great alignment with with the great culture that’s been set in place with Coach V. “ It’s not forced. It’s when you walk in the door being humble and being grateful just for being in the building.”
“I was in Florida last year,” said Barefield Jr., who was the head coach at Lake Gibson High in 2021, “and there were FBS schools in that region that were reaching out because they re cruited some of my players. And they’d come by the office and sit down and try to nail down (some information) from me.”
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“I remember how football knowledgeable he was as far as Xs and Os go,” Barefield Jr. said. “Looking back, you could see he had the signs of making a great coach early on because the players loved him, the coaches loved him and he knew what he was doing without a doubt.”
“That’s honestly what I appreciate about him. I can tell you, I’ve seen him in places where he’s been just one year and the impact he’s had on players’ lives in just that one year, and I’m not talking just football-wise either, just personally how close they felt to him. I think that’s what makes him so successful. …
His offense is his offense, but because his players love him and
Since arriving at Oklahoma, Lebby has conditioned his of fense to prepare for working fast like his prior units did. Last season, Mississippi ranked fourth nationally in average plays per game at 80.5.
For Wimbush, it makes sense that former UCF standouts such as Gabriel and running back Bentavious Thompson would follow Lebby to Norman. As one of Lebby’s many pupils, he said he’s excited to watch Lebby and Gabriel hit the gridiron in Norman this season.
“He’s as cool as the other side of the pillow,” Wimbush said. “I came to him and we had a good conversation about (me taking a backseat), and he understood. But he was more worried about my mental health and made sure I was in a good place mentally before anything. I think that’s him being personable and being a player’s coach that guys can come to at any point.”
“He was the most personable guy I could relate to as I was going through the process,” Wimbush said. “A guy like Lebby is a guy you want to go play for. And I was able to see that all within a couple of months of being on campus.”
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Wimbush, who’s now the chief athletic officer at MOGL, a name, image and likeness company, passed for 2,606 yards and rushed for 1,155 while totaling 36 touchdowns in 20 ap pearances with the Fighting Irish from 2015-18.
“You put up historical numbers together at one school, you’re gonna try to do the same thing at another if you can, if you have the opportunity to do that,” Wimbush said. “I think those guys were always connected. … They had a good relationship.”
Wimbush watched from the sidelines as Gabriel and Lebby fortified a trust that has them working together again at Oklahoma now. Despite being benched for his final year of college football, Wimbush maintains a strong relationship with Lebby, who says Wimbush’s maturity aided his conversations about the decision.
“I remember one of the first things we talked about when this opportunity came along was at this point he doesn’t have to chase a job,” Dunn said. “He doesn’t feel like he needs to do that. He’s at the point in his career where he can be patient, be cause he’s at the place he wants to be at.
In 2022, Lebby hopes to keep Oklahoma’s dynamic offense rolling after Riley commanded it to record-breaking num bers before leaving for USC. With Gabriel as quarterback, and weapons like wide receiver Marvin Mims and running back Eric Gray, OU should remain one of the top-scoring teams in the Big 12 in 2022.
Even though Wimbush was named the starter for the Golden Knights’ week one matchup due to McKenzie Milton and Darriel Mack Jr. suffering injuries, he was still battling for the job.The following week, freshman Dillon Gabriel received a chance and didn’t look back, starting the next 12 games.
“He’s at a place that he can be at forever if he was never a head coach, and I think he’d still be happy.”
‘He’s at the place he wants to be at’ After Heupel was hired as Tennessee’s head coach before the 2021 season, the UCF opening came down to former Auburn coach Gus Malzahn and Lebby, according to Dunn.
Although UCF eventually went with the former, Lebby’s name has emerged as a head coaching candidate, though he’s only in his fourth season as a Power Five coordinator. However, Dunn says Lebby has found his home for the fore seeable future in Norman.
“When Jeff was in the mix for the job, we’re crossing our fin gers, and we kept talking about things coming full circle,” Dunn said. “It came there from when we were kids in the dorms to where we’re both at now. … This was always a dream job for me. OU was always a dream job for Jeff, and it just worked out.”
Almost 20 years since his career-ending injury, Lebby has made it back to the place where his college career started. It’s where he always wanted to be.
Lebby’s name was mentioned in a lawsuit by a baylor student for failing to report physical assault allegations against one of his running backs. believe in him, they’d run through a wall for him, and I can see why.”Former UCF quarterback Brandon Wimbush was recruited by Lebby for his final season of eligibility after spending four seasons at Notre Dame. He joined the Golden Knights in 2019 despite receiving calls from Ohio State’s Ryan Day and UCLA’s Chip Kelly, because of how quickly he gained trust in Lebby.
22 • August 2022 FOOTBALL GUIDE Sunday Worship: We are in person for 8:40 and 10:45 a.m. & livestreaming on YouTube for 10:45 a.m. fccnorman.org A community joined together in a reverent, thoughtful, loving quest for faith. 3010 Classen Blvd. Norman, OK 73071
August 2022 • 23FOOTBALL GUIDE toBlackBringingWatchOklahoma Veteran defensive coordinator carries years of experience and a relentless defensive system COLTON SULLEY | colton.m.sulley-1@ou.edu PHOTOGRAPHS BY RAY BAHNER FOR OU DAILY
“Because of the history of Oklahoma, there’s a responsibility that goes with it and it’s one I’m ready to embrace.”
early 1980s under coach Bill Curry, Tech’s unique defensive system tormented opposing offenses. Yellowjacket defenders had to earn the Black Watch designation as they were not automatically in the club. If initiated, a black stripe was drawn in the center of the white and gold helmets. Roof, a former All-American linebacker, chose who was in the Black Watch and who wasn’t. Some opportunities, like joining the inner circle of a night marish defense, cannot be declined. Similarly, Roof couldn’t decline the job offer he received when his phone rang last December. On the other line was Brent Venables, Oklahoma’s recently-hired head coach, asking Roof to join him in Norman as defensive coordinator. Venables once held the position him self from 1999-2011. Roof, a 35-year veteran coach, has been at 13 different places, including Duke, where he was head coach from 2004-7, and Auburn, where he won a national championship as defensive coordinator in 2010. But he had never set foot in Norman. In fact, Roof’s only connections to OU were meeting Barry Switzer many years ago. Watching Bob Stoops’ menacing de fenses at Florida and being friends with Jay Wilkinson, son of legendary Sooners coach Bud Wilkinson, from Jay’s time play ing at However,Duke.
“If I come to Georgia Tech,” Roof said, “are we going to win? That’s all I care about.”
“I have so much respect for the coaches and the players that have come through here before,” Roof said of OU back in April. “Wherever you go and whatever you do, you want to make an impact and you want to leave it better than you found it.
‘He played every down like it was going to be the last play in the world’ Bill Curry still remembers recruiting Roof in his family living room in Lawrenceville, Georgia. The standout linebacker at nearby Central Gwinnett High School had one question for his potential future coach.
Roof knows the defensive struggles that have plagued the Sooners for the last decade. The 58-year-old jour neyman is ready for the challenge of getting the Oklahoma de fense back to what it used to be, perhaps even to the heights of his vaunted Black Watch alongside Venables, who he served under as an analyst at Clemson in 2021. After achieving great success as a defensive coordinator for multiple teams across the country, while also enduring some tough times, including going 0-9 during a short stint at Vanderbilt in 2020, Roof is ready to prove he can lead a defense at a storied program once again.
Nowadays, Ted Roof rocks a black leather jacket, but not so long ago, he was keeper of Georgia Tech’s imposing “Black Watch.”Inthe
The Georgia Tech coach stated the importance of attending Ted Roof, the defensive coordinator at the University of Oklahoma, was inspired to name his defensive system “Black Watch” while on a trip to Edinburgh Castle in Scotland.
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August 2022 • 25FOOTBALL GUIDE class and how graduating with a degree from the highly-re spected school would pay off for Roof.
Roof was just the second freshman to start a game for legend ary coach Tally Johnson, whose career in Georgia high school football spanned 30-plus years.
At the time, the Yellowjackets’ calling card was their academ ics, as they had accumulated just two total wins in the first two seasons of the Curry regime from 1980-81. However, he was building something he believed to be unique and knew he needed Roof, the 1982 Gwinnett County Defensive Player of the Year, who earned 13 varsity letters while at Central.
“I would say this about Ted: He’s only got one speed and that’s wide open,” said Johnson, who was inducted into the Gwinnett County Sports Hall of Fame in 2015. “He never did take a play off. He never did rest a play. When he played, he played every down like it was going to be the last play in the world.”
Johnson recalled a game during Roof’s ninth grade season in 1978 where the Black Knights trailed 27-7 at halftime. Thinking the contest was out of hand, most parents emptied the stands and went home early. But no game was over with Roof coming off the edge.
Roof’s first two seasons were disappointments, as the Yellowjackets finished a combined 9-13. Prior to the 1984 sea son, Curry hired Don Lindsey as defensive coordinator, and the two had a new defensive system they were excited about. There was just one problem: What were they going to call it? Before the rigorous season began, Curry took his family on a vacation to the United Kingdom. One of the attractions they visited was Edinburgh Castle, an 11th-century military base in Scotland.Asthey approached the monument, Curry vividly remem bered seeing a man dressed in black standing on a hill near the castle. According to the retired coach, the shadowy figure had calves the size of milk jugs and was built like a bodybuilder.
In the second half, Roof, who was at the time a defensive end, scored on a fumble recovery for a touchdown to lead his team to a 28-27 Johnsonvictory.remembers parents approaching him the next morning at church and asking to see the game film so they could relive the miraculous comeback they abandoned. He told them he would have to charge them since they decided to leave“(Roof)early.had a big part in that game as a freshman,” Johnson said. “That was the start of his career and he got better and better.”Ultimately, Roof trusted the vision for the program Curry led and decided to attend Georgia Tech after high school. It didn’t take him long after arriving on campus in Atlanta to become the leader on defense.
The Black Watch was the name of the Scottish military forces in the Curry1700s.picked up the phone and called Lindsey with the title Ted Roof’s only previous connections to Oklahoma were through meeting Barry Switzer, watching Bob Stoops and knowing Jay Wilkinson.
Curry asked someone, “Who is that?” They responded, “Him? That’s the Black Watch.”
“I wanted a special group within the group,” Lindsey said. “It was going to be chosen by the players, not the coaches.”
Georgia Tech’s hotel in Knoxville caught fire, forcing all the players and coaches into the cold October night in their boxer shorts.“We had to get our whole team out of their rooms and out of the hotel into the parking lot, and they were standing there in their skimpies. I’m serious,” Curry said. “It was really cold so it had been a traumatic trip before we ever took the field.”
“Ted was smart, he was aggressive and he wanted to know everything he could about linebacker play,” Lindsey said. “He was just everything that a coach could wish for. He was a stu dent of the game.”
“We’llfather’s.lookat what all the options are,” Venables said. “He’s been through a lot, been at multiple schools and nothing’s been easy for him, so we’ll see. We’ll give him all kinds of op portunities based on where his heart is. … And so we’ll give him another day or two before we figure all that out.”
“Venables and Roof on the same staff with the great athletes that Oklahoma has, it’s really not fair to anybody else,” Curry said. “And maybe that’s raising expectations too much, but you know what that does to an old jock like me? It doesn’t make me want to coach, it makes me want to play linebacker for those two guys. It’s going to be great fun to play on that defense.”
Roof powered through the sleepless night to deliver the best performance of his playing career. The lessons he learned throughout his high school and college days, with the knowl edge he gained from two hall of fame coaches, positions Roof to become the right person to lead Oklahoma’s defense in its new era.
One of the ways Roof related to his players at Duke was by bringing a speaker to practice. What probably seemed like a small gesture to Roof meant something more to the players. Before he arrived, music wasn’t played during Duke football workouts or practices.
The Black Watch defense completely transformed Georgia Tech for the next two seasons, making the Yellowjackets a national championship contender.
While Duke still finished with a losing season every year Roof was there, the team became more competitive and won more games. One of the things that stood out to Stanford then about Roof was how he created a family environment and how he treated his two young sons, twins Terrance Davis and Michael.“Youcould just see them soaking it in as his sons, but also, you could see that it was just a part of who he was as a person,” Stanford said. “The things that he was trying to instill in us as young men, you can see he preached the same thing with his boys.“It wasn’t an act. It wasn’t a show he was putting on just in front of us. That was who he was as a person, and I think that’s why he came off as genuine. And it was something that reso nated with the team as a whole.”
“He’s a caring guy, but he is an old-school guy,” Stanford said. “He’s got that old-school linebacker, hard-nosed way about him, but I think what allows him to do that is that it’s gen uine, therefore it resonates with the guys. But I think he’s also found a way to connect with the younger generation.”
Roof has fully unleashed the energy and toughness he’s known for during Sooners’ fall camp.
The former Black Watch captain often hopped into drills, working up a sweat and showing he still has it while his white hair flowed from his signature fitted OU baseball cap. Players seem to feed off the enthusiasm he brings to practice on a daily basis, while still being pushed to the limit.
At the outset of camp, Roof said Oklahoma’s defense was “lightyears ahead” of where it was in the spring after summer workouts, but it still had some work to do with pads on during preseason practices.
“I think it just goes back to maximizing your teaching,” Roof said. “When you have meetings, to be prepared, to be orga nized, to be detailed and know exactly what you want to get done. Because every defensive call has a strength and every defensive call (has) a stress point to it.”
While the situation in Happy Valley was more unharmoni ous than any situation Roof had been through before or has been through since, it’s telling he took the job in the first place.
“He was open enough to understand that he needed to make sure he bought a connection with us as individuals but also as a team,” Stanford said. “And for me, he and I were close when I was there. We would talk about life. We would talk about football. He invested in me as a person beyond just the Xs and Os, and I think that’s why I still have a fondness towards himStanfordtoday.”has watched Roof go on to coach at various schools, including joining Bill O’Brien’s staff at Penn State in 2012 fol lowing the termination of Joe Paterno amid the school’s child sexual abuse scandal.
He also recorded a whopping 25 tackles against rival thenNo. 16 Tennessee on the road.
Roof was hired as the defensive coordinator at Duke in 2002 before being promoted to head coach in 2003. But things were bleak in Durham when he arrived, as the team finished winless the year prior. Roof received the task of not only putting together a new game plan on the field, but trying to establish a better culture.
The Sooners’ defensive coordinator also laid out some im portant position battles prior to camp, which included T.D., a journeyman much like his old man who was trying to make his mark at his fourth school in six years. However, Venables announced on Aug. 16 that the Appalachian State transfer suf fered a season-ending biceps injury that will require surgery.
Although the contest ended in a 6-6 tie, Roof’s performance against the Volunteers remains one of the best individually in Tech history and ranks second in single-game tackles. What made the showing more impressive was the scare Roof’s team experienced the night before.
‘He invested in me as a person beyond just the Xs and Os’ After graduating from Georgia Tech in 1986 and briefly pur suing an NFL career with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Roof en tered the coaching ranks. When Curry was named head coach at Alabama in 1987, he gave Roof his first job as a graduate assistant for the Crimson Tide. The then-23-year-old was surrounded by familiarity in his first job, as he also worked under Lindsey, whom Curry brought with him from Atlanta to be his defensive coordinator.
The short time Roof spent in Tuscaloosa with Curry and Lindsey paid dividends for his career moving forward, and the two coaches knew Roof would get his shot to lead a defense eventually.Sixjobslater,
Kenneth Stanford, a Blue Devils player from 2001-04, bought into Roof from the moment he stepped foot on campus.“Hedid a lot to just try to invigorate a culture of toughness, of accountability,” Stanford said. “He just was really big on us being accountable and responsible for our assignments and just having a strong camaraderie within the group. That was really what he preached, was effort.”
“He’s been in situations where there has been turmoil,” Stanford said. “He’s demonstrated an ability to handle those situations and I think he’s prepared. That will allow him to take that burden of uncertainty and change on himself and in re turn, he’ll exude confidence and structure within the team.”
“It looked like he was making every tackle,” Curry said. “We should’ve won the game. I just hated it for all of us, but espe cially for Ted. We played our guts out and it was all led by him.”
Stanford believes the experience helped prepare Roof for what lies ahead of him with a new coaching staff and roster at OU that are attempting to go from good to great following Lincoln Riley’s departure for Southern California.
While the father-son duo were looking forward to a new adventure together, T.D. will now be forced to watch from the sidelines. A possible medical redshirt would allow T.D. anoth er year with his father at Oklahoma, but it’ll be up to T.D., who has taken a physical toll everywhere he’s been via effort not un like his
‘It’s going to be great fun to play on that defense’
26 • August 2022 FOOTBALL GUIDE of their new system.
Now, almost 20 years later, Terrance Davis Roof, who goes by “T.D.,” is a linebacker at OU under his father, while Michael Roof, a former quarterback at Charlotte nicknamed “Mic,” is also an OU student.
The players voted overwhelmingly for Roof to be keeper of the black stripe and lead the defense. Under the guidance of Lindsey, Roof broke out in 1985, earning a First Team All-ACC selection and leading the Yellowjackets to a 9-2-1 record with a win over Michigan State in the Hall of Fame Classic.
Through all the successes and failures in Ted Roof’s career, the one constant has been relationships and family, some thing he has emphasized since he arrived in Norman. To this day, Johnson and his wife have a picture at their house of former Georgia star Herschel Walker leaping over defenders while Roof steadies to engage the hall of fame run ning back. Roof even signed it and penned a meaningful note to Johnson’s wife that reads: “To a lovely lady and a beautiful person.”Roofstill keeps in touch with all those who shaped him into the person and coach he is today. Even as he’s busy getting the Sooners ready to take on UTEP Sept. 3, he takes the time to text his old Unquestionably,coaches. the people closest to him will be tuned in and rooting for him to have success at the highest level of college football once again. Curry, in particular, let out a loud chuckle as he pondered what OU’s defense might be capable of under Venables and Roof.
Having played football in the ‘70s and ‘80s, Roof has earned a reputation as an old-school football coach. Nevertheless, he’s also revered as a coach, a combination that rarely goes hand in hand. Few people can own a rugged personality and get the most out of players while still being encouraging, something Stanford notices Roof excels at to this day.
August 2022 • 27FOOTBALL GUIDE PHOTOGRAPHS BY RAY BAHNER FOR OU DAILY Wide reciever returns for a fresh start with the Sooners after an injury and becoming a father THE WILL OF THEO WEASE Colton Sulley | colton.m.sulley-1@ou.edu
After a successful sophomore season in 2020 that saw Wease record 530 receiving yards and four touchdowns, the former five-star recruit from Allen, Texas, suited up for just one game in 2021. He was sidelined for most of the year due to an ankle injury in what was supposed to be his breakout season with the Sooners.Given the ups and downs of his career, the turmoil in Norman and the ever-changing landscape of the sport, Wease had plenty to ponder. While Wease’s father, Theo Wease Sr., has his son’s back in every situation, he was disappointed when he entered the transfer portal on Nov. 29. “I supported him,” Wease Sr. said. “First of all, I’ll support him on whatever decision that he chooses to make whether I like it or not. I’m going to support my son and I’m going to re spect that. So when he got into the transfer portal I wasn’t too happy with it, but that was something that he felt like he want ed to Weasedo.”
This fall, Wease and junior wide receiver Marvin Mims are expected to be Oklahoma’s dynamic duo at their posi tion, which also returns redshirt senior Drake Stoops. The hype has remained astronomical for Wease despite past tribulations.Puttingthe past behind him, finally feeling “120 percent” and armed with Lebby and Venables’ belief in him, Wease is primed for a monster season in 2022.
“I chose to come to Oklahoma,” Wease said. “I made that commitment four years ago and I just felt like I had to stay true to it and finish the mission.
“I’m super excited (for this season). Honestly, I get chills just thinking about it.”
28 • August 2022 FOOTBALL GUIDE
Theo Wease felt he needed to keep his options open.
Once Oklahoma coach Lincoln Riley left for Southern California on Nov. 28 and several Sooners entered the trans fer portal, Wease wanted to reevaluate where he’d play his re maining college career.
“Lebby, outside of football, that’s my guy,” Wease said. “We’re cool. He could literally be one of my best friends if he wasn’t so old. He’s one of the greatest offensive minds in college football right now. He’s known for his explosive plays and wide receiver development. … Why wouldn’t you want to play for a guy like that?”
‘A five-star kid on the field and off the field’
initially fixated on Mississippi, which had just made the Sugar Bowl with an electric offense ranked No. 6 nationally in yards per game and No. 4 in points scored, led by coordina tor Jeff Lebby.
On Dec. 23, 2017, Allen High School faced defending 6A Texas state champion Lake Travis at AT&T Stadium in Arlington. The Eagles were led by Wease, who was clos ing out his junior season as a unanimous First-Team AllDistrict selection. Theo Wease and Marvin Mims, who are both wide receivers at the University of Oklahoma, are expected to be the team's dynamic duo this upcoming season.
“OU is his home. … As a family, we all sat down and we talk ed about it, and OU was the decision. We all agreed to the deci sion that he stay at OU.” After deciding to stay in Norman, Wease sampled play ing in Lebby’s offense during the Sooners’ spring game, when he caught a 48-yard bullet from quarterback Dillon Gabriel on an early play.
Wease was smitten with Lebby’s recent development of NFL talents, including quarterback Matt Corral, a 2022 third-round pick, and wide receiver Elijah Moore, a 2021 second-round pick.Nine days later, when new Oklahoma coach Brent Venables announced he was hiring Lebby, the Wease family decided re turning to Norman for Theo’s redshirt junior season was best for his Wease’sfuture.standing relationship with longtime assistant Cale Gundy was also a factor, although the coach who recruited him in high school resigned Aug. 7 after uttering a “racially charged” word during a team film session. “(Theo) leaving OU (at the time) was a blow to me,” Wease Sr. said. “I was surprised because we don’t pack up and move. We stay for the long haul. That’s another thing that has im pressed me about the man he has become. No matter how he felt about the situation with OU at the time, he stayed there. He gave (Lebby and Venables) the opportunity to coach him. We don’t just move around just to be moving around.
Gambill remembers Gundy effectively outlining to the young prospect what was possible for him as a student-ath lete at OU. His attitude and ability to be coached, the effort he put into studying video and leading his teammates, coupled with his abilities on the field, made him a dominant force in 6A Texas high school football.
“He was no different than any other player on the team. He wanted the ball,” said Terry Gambill, Wease’s head coach at Allen. “But there were games that we couldn’t get the ball to him because he was being double covered, or the play was not there, or protection may have broken down.
“He was our guy,” Gambill said. “He was a guy that showed what we had to do in practice to be successful for each game. All you had to do was watch him in practice and how he practiced and the importance of being prepared every week. He led by example and he made sure that the team was ready to go.
“He knew that he was targeted X number of times in a ball game, but he was never selfish. … He put the team first. He wanted to win and he wanted to win big.”
Lake Travis was forced to double team Wease, which enabled its running game to take over in the victory while Wease, the team’s highest-rated recruit, finished with a mere four catches and 27 yards.
The young pass catcher was watching videos on his phone from the previous week’s games and flooding Dozier’s messages with questions about how he could im prove specific techniques.
August 2022 • 29FOOTBALL GUIDE
But Wease couldn’t care less about his stats because he and his teammates were state champions.
Wease, who was a team captain, also made an impact in the community with his involvement in the Peer Assistance and Leadership program and by visiting elementary schools to mentor younger students.
“He attributed a lot of stuff that he did to his brother,” Dozier said. “He had a great internal passion. … He wanted to be the best high school receiver. He wants to be the best college receiver and he wants to be the best NFL receiver.
To this day, Dozier’s daughter Savannah wears Wease’s No. 10 on her basketball and softball teams.
Dozier remembers meeting with Alabama’s Nick Saban, then-Ohio State coach Urban Meyer and then-Oklaho ma coach Bob Stoops about Wease. But it was Gundy who made the difference in Wease’s commitment to Oklahoma.
While Wease keeps Pennerman in his heart on the field, he has also taken to social media to honor him, including in “ He was a very business-oriented person. Everything he did off the feld was a direct refection of what he did on the feld. ... He took such a mature approach to the game of football that most high school kids did not take. When he had an off period, he was watching videos while other kids were in the gym shooting baskets, playing ping-pong, roaming the halls or whatever. He was one-track minded. He wanted to be the best at what he was doing on and off the feld, but it was all geared towards football. ... He was a fve-star kid on the feld and off the feld.
JUSTEN DOZIER, Allen High School receivers coach
The Wease family decided returning to Norman was best for Theo's future after OU head coach Brent Venables announced he was hiring Jeff Lebby as offensive coordinator.
“He was one-track minded. He wanted to be the best at what he was doing on and off the field, but it was all geared towards football. … He was a five-star kid on the field and off the Thatfield.”determination translated to Wease compiling over 1,000 receiving yards and 16 touchdowns during his senior season and becoming the No. 4 ranked player in Texas and the third highest-rated wide receiver in the country.
“Anytime that we needed big plays, if (then-quarterback Grant Tisdale) could get him the ball, or even get it close to him, Theo was going to make the catch. I mean that there were so many times that he knew that, ‘OK, if I turn it loose and I can get it in the general area, Theo’s going to win the battle.’”Some of that motivation stems from Wease’s brother Michael Pennerman, another high school standout with NFL aspirations, who collapsed in a 2004 game and died at age 16. Wease was 3.
“It’s all geared towards not only setting himself up for success. He truly wants to be able to take care of people, that’s just a trait he has. He wants to be the best.”
Wease’s hunger to win carried off the field, too. His po sition coach at Allen, Justin Dozier, recalls receiving text screenshots from Wease during breaks at school.
“He was a very business-oriented person,” Dozier said. “Everything he did off the field was a direct reflection of what he did on the field. … He took such a mature approach to the game of football that most high school kids did not take. When he had an off period, he was watching videos while other kids were in the gym shooting baskets, playing ping-pong, roaming the halls or whatever.
“
“Marvin helped me a lot through the injury,” Wease said. “We went to high school about 20 minutes apart, and so I’d seen some of his high school games and I’m pretty sure he’d seen some of my high school games. We’re pretty tight.”
Having gone through the injury, having a new sense of responsibility with his son and being coached by Lebby, Wease is more prepared to hit the field than ever this season.Wease even said he found meaning in the ups and downs that have characterized his first three college seasons. Everyone in his tight-knit circle knows he’s ready to show in full what they all know he’s capable of.
to Wease, and it became even more so after the birth of his son, Tre, who was born a few weeks before his injury and granted Wease a new responsibility in his However,life. it’s one Wease hasn’t backed down from. In fact, he’s welcomed it, just like he met the double coverage in high school and how he’s handled his latest injury.
“There’s no doubt in my mind that he can handle that,” Dozier said. “He’s got a great personality, a great drive, great balance. He would be able to go home and put football aside for a minute and put his dad hat on. I don’t have any question whatsoever that he’s not gonna be able to handle that. That’s just who he is. “He comes from a great family. His mom and dad are great, and I guarantee you, they’re going to be there every step of the way helping out where they need to help out, and (Theo is) not going to miss a beat.”
“Theo is Theo. He’s been a man-child forever. He’s always been responsible, so I can’t see a significant difference from who he was before this child was born to who he is now. But, I told him I hold him to a higher standard as far as the type of dad that I was with him, and we agreed that he was going to hold that standard and be a better father to his son than I was to him.”
“I was like, ‘Damn,’” Dozier said. “Last year was going to be his breakout season. … I just felt so bad for him. He’s never really gone through anything like that in his career. That’s tough for a guy to go through.” Dozier and Gambill could tell the injury wore on Wease as they communicated through the season. His inability to help his team was difficult for him.
“I’m impressed,” Wease Sr. said. “Just one word, ‘im pressed,’ on how he’s stepped up and been a father. He takes good care of his son. We talk about his plans for his son and they’re good plans. He’s a great father.
30 • August 2022 FOOTBALL GUIDE a story collection on Instagram titled “LLM,” which stands for “Long Live Michael.” ‘That’s tough for a guy to go through’ Five days before the Sooners’ 2021 season opener at Tulane, Hurricane Ida devastated Southern Louisiana, forcing the game to be moved to Norman. It turns out that wasn’t the only hitch in OU’s plans. Dozier texted Wease that week to encourage him before the season, but Wease told his former coach he suffered an other foot injury that would sideline him for most of the fall. He injured his foot the previous spring.
“It was pretty tough. The first couple weeks were pretty hard. I was hard on myself,” Wease said. “But I have a great support system. My family and my teammates helped bring me up all the time and they made it way easier than what it wasFamily(before).”isimportant
Dozier echoed that sentiment and said he’s not surprised Wease has been a hands-on dad even while juggling school, football and recovering from injury.
As he juggled recovery and fatherhood, Wease relied heavily last season on Mims to keep his spirits up on the sideline. Wease would tell Mims before every game to go out and make plays for him.
“It’s just adversity,” Wease said. “Adversity comes every day in life. You’ve just got to attack it and put your front foot forward.”WhenWease announced his decision to stay in Norman in December, his tweet read, “Unfinished business.” After a rollercoaster start at OU, time is ticking for Wease to pro duce before interested NFL scouts. Wease initially entered the transfer portal on Nov. 29, 2021, but he decided to return when Jeff Lebby was hired as defensive coordi nator.
August 2022 • 31FOOTBALL GUIDE
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The UCF transfer prioritized getting to know his team mates as best he could before the season to create team chemistry. Through team events organized by Gabriel, like the “Dimetime Retreat,” when he rented a house in Lawton for a July weekend getaway, Wease believes he has accom plished just that and that their synergy will show in games.
“It’s just good to see Theo healthy,” Lebby said. “I think he feels better than he’s ever felt. I think he’s in the best shape he’s been in since he’s been here, so that’s going to allow him to go play at a high level. Again, (we're) giving him every chance that we can to make sure we’re pushing the envelope and getting him ready to have a great year.”
August 2022 • 33FOOTBALL GUIDE
“Huge player, probably one of my favorite teammates to play with. … It’s just great to be back out there with him.”
The redshirt junior also has to endure an entire sea son without Gundy, who has been a mainstay for Wease since he arrived in Norman. While Gundy’s no longer with the team, he saw Wease’s progress through rehab and his growth over the summer.
Wease’s relationship with Gabriel is also critical to his success. The Hawaii native has impressed Wease on the field with his play and off it with his personality.
Mims said he could tell there was something unique about Wease’s approach during the summer, almost as if he had a chip on his shoulder.
“I feel like I’ve got something to prove to myself,” Wease said. “Not to nobody else, just to myself because I know my full potential. I know what I’m capable of doing, so I feel like I’m going to go out there and prove it to myself.”
Lebby seconded Gundy’s endorsement, adding Wease is at his best physically since he’s been at Oklahoma — a cred it to summer workouts with strength coach Jerry Schmidt.
“I think he’s one of those guys that’s not maybe the flashi est of some of them, but when it comes to being productive and being on the field and being a good football player and a great teammate, he’s as good as any other.”
Wease led the team in catches in 2020, but he missed the majority of the 2021 season due to injury. He is the last remaining five-star recruit from the highly touted 2019 recruiting class.
Now, Wease is the only player remaining on OU’s roster from the highly touted 2019 recruiting class. Bridges was dismissed from the program in the spring of 2021 after an alleged armed robbery incident, while both Rattler and Haselwood transferred during the offseason to South Carolina and Arkansas, respectively.
“That’s big,” Wease said. “Just building that brotherhood, building that bond outside of the facility, outside of just playing ball is big because once you create that bond, you’re going to want to play harder for your brother, so it’s going to translate.”Whilehe has changed since arriving on campus since the birth of his son, since his injury and since he entered the transfer portal and came back, Wease is the same in many ways, and most of all, he’s just ready to play football again.
When Wease chose to attend OU after an expansive recruiting process, the expectations were enormous along side three other five-star recruits — quarterback Spencer Rattler and receivers Jadon Haselwood and Trejan Bridges — and the Sooners’ highest-ranked recruiting class since 2010.That core group from the 2019 class was heralded as ca pable of bringing a national championship back to Norman.
“I expect him to have a great year,” Gundy said at OU Media Day, five days before resigning. “He’s a guy that’s been around here for a few years. When he’s been healthy and he’s played, he’s been a very successful player.
“Being out there, you can tell his mentality is different,” Mims said. “He’s older, he has more on the table, he has fewer years to lose. I mean, he wants it and he’s working like it.
34 • August 2022 FOOTBALL GUIDE RAY BAHNER/OU Off-fieldDAILY antics balance with on-field intensity Danny Stutsman garners a cult following with skill and charisma Mason Young | masyoung@ou.edu
Like many student athletes in 2020, Stutsman felt the bur dens of the COVID-19 pandemic. During his senior season, one of Foundation Academy’s opponents, Orlando Christian Prep, backed out of a game due to the coronavirus outbreak. But Stutsman wanted to make the most of time, instead of the team spending its regularly-booked Friday nights at home.
Even with his relative youth on OU’s roster, Stutsman re mains a mentor for younger players, which isn’t surprising to Lord — nor is the immediate success he had during his fresh man season of 2021. Stutsman set the pace with a senior year of high school that included 78 tackles, five sacks and two inter ceptions, plus 1,000 yards and 17 touchdowns on offense.
As the program’s group chat creator and team leader, he en couraged his teammates to meet at a local park to go over plays and get a practice in.
“When I came back, I had to reorganize my whole bag. And I still think (Danny) did it on purpose.”
“Well, guess I’m going to USC,” Steve remembers Stutsman telling him. But Steve told him to relax, wait and see what opportunity to stay in Norman might unfold. Steve speculated Venables, the former Sooners defensive coordinator and linebackers coach, might be Riley’s replacement. If so, a linebacker would be fool ish to leave with Venables’ expertise in the position.
When Venables was officially announced as head coach Dec. 5, Stutsman confirmed he was staying in Norman hours later.
“They always say you can’t coach speed,” Steve said. “Well, you can’t coach the ability to have heart. ... It’s just his attitude.”
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“I think he gets it from me,” he said. “My personality (is) I like to make people laugh. Life is serious enough as it is, and you have to make light in certain situations.”
“He was like having a coach. He would back me up on that,” Lord said. “He’d say, ‘Hey guys, come spread out. Let’s get out of the locker room. Get your stuff and put your shoulder pads and helmets on outside.’ And he was like having an assistant head coach, not just an assistant coach.”
“As an 18-year-old, you can easily make a snap decision or snap judgment if you don’t gather the facts or let things unfold,” Steve said. “I’m glad he came to talk to me about that because he was open minded. … He could’ve easily gone to USC, but I’m one of those guys that looks at the facts. And at the end of the day, you’re still at the University of Oklahoma. That’s not a bad place to be no matter who’s there.”
Sutsman had some rapport with Venables as a high school recruit, after attending one of Clemson’s three-day camps where he worked closely with his now-head coach, who he feels blessed to be around.
“He was the best high school football player in all of Central Florida,” Lord said. “All-around player? Yeah, it was Danny Stutsman. Whether he was a three-star or what, it didn’t matter.”
“Those are my three kids,” Stutsman said. “We’re all in the dorms and there’s not one day I’m not with them laughing. Kip will just be on my couch sleeping. It was 12 o’clock one night and I just came out and he was watching WWE. I said, ‘What are you doing Kip? Go to your room. This is my room.’”
“Coach Venables says college is supposed to be fun,” Stutsman said. “It’s the best time of your life and I just want to do it. I’m not afraid to step out of my comfort zone.”
“His favorite word is power,” Steve said. “He says, ‘I’ll just power through it,’ ‘this is hurting today’ or ‘this happened to me, but I gotta power through it.’”
The father-son duo sometimes have serious conversations — only when they’re not cracking jokes on Twitter Spaces, of course.Theyounger Stutsman’s foolery dates back to his time in high school, when he used to mess with his athletic gear or even mis place items as a prank.
Playing for Venables has been a dream come true for Stutsman, as he prepares for the upcoming season where he’ll likely start and be a heavy contributor.
“So I bought these soft helmets for the kids to play 7-on-7,” Lord said. “Well, Danny would put his on backward to look like a duck. His father and I play golf at the same country club, and Danny was in town and I was out of town. So, his dad had bor rowed my clubs and all the clubs ended up in the wrong spots.”
The trio, still disgruntled about the loss that held OU out of the Big 12 Championship Game for the first time since 2017, spoke about Stutsman’s future potential, with Odom express ing excitement about helping the young prospect improve.
“When he talks, you listen,” Stutsman said. “He has coached so many great guys and so many players and so many differ ent positions. It’s mesmerizing. He has so much knowledge up there. Any word he says, you’re trying to write it down and keep track of it because no one else is going to be able to say what he canWhilesay.”
Last season, Stutsman used to change his Twitter profile picture to humorous photos of his teammates’ foreheads from warped angles. He once changed his avatar to former OU out side linebacker and now-Denver Broncos rookie Nik Bonitto, and all-called Sooner Nation to copy the picture to their own accounts.Hourslater, Stutsman started a trend as hundreds of fans fol lowed him. For Steve, a Baylor tight end from 1987-91, seeing his son and sophomore defensive lineman Kelvin Gilliam, Stutsman’s roommate, having a blast as teammates brings back memories of his own playing days. Strictly as Stutsman’s dad, he loves to see his son combat the pressures of Power Five football in an innocent and playful way.
August 2022 • 35FOOTBALL GUIDE
During Foundation Academy’s regional championship win in 2020, Stutsman had 25 carries while playing every snap of the game. He later found out he cracked his shoulder in that game, but he still managed to compete in the state semifinals a few weeks later after padding up the injury.
“People deal with stress and things in different ways, and I think Danny deals with it with humor,” Steve said. “And that’s a release that doesn’t hurt anybody. Some people turn to sub stances, or food or something, but, at the end of the day, is it really wrong to have an outlet where you can make somebody laugh or maybe go on Twitter?”
Lord and Steve play golf almost every Friday back in Florida when they aren’t busy. They bonded through watching Stutsman plow through opposing blockers.
Stutsman, who was primarily recruited by Odom out of high school, developed a strong relationship with the Oklahoma native that led to his decision to attend OU, according to Steve. So when Stutsman heard the news, he had an initial reaction.
But the next day, then-head coach Lincoln Riley notorious ly left the program for Southern California, seemingly forcing Odom to join him to maintain job security.
Lord, who watched Stutsman form a mold of his current stat ure throughout high school, watched as he became more like Steve each day. “That apple doesn’t fall far from the tree,” Lord said. Steve agrees.
During Danny Stutsman’s sophomore year of high school at Foundation Academy, he single-handedly made an oppo nent’s coach steer clear of scheduling a game against the Lions until he graduated. The linebacker was so often in Lake Highland Prep’s back field during a spring scrimmage in 2018 that the opposing play ers left the field scared.
“I remember (their) coach saying, ‘My kids had nightmares about Stutsman,’” said Brad Lord, Stutsman’s high school coach.Stutsman dominated at Foundation Academy, a small, pri vate Christian school in Winter Garden, Florida, that competes at the 2A level. He was so skilled beyond his competition that he played quarterback, receiver, running back and on defense during his time there. He once hit an Orange View Christian player so hard that he picked the opponent up off the ground and patted him on the back because “he just knew he wasn’t as good as him,” accord ing to LastLord.season, as a freshman linebacker at Oklahoma, Stutsman recorded 38 total tackles and two forced fumbles in 10 games, while displaying the same on-field tenacity he did in high school. Now a sophomore and with added responsibility in Brent Venables and Ted Roof’s defense, Stutsman is deploy ing that same energy ahead of the 2022 season. On the field, Stutsman is a 6-foot-4, 238-pound colossus. Off it, he’s a goofy college student that enjoys making his team mates laugh. He has also become a Sooners faithful cult hero of sorts, with various Twitter accounts announcing themselves as different military ranks of “The Stutsman Army.” With Danny, fans are going to receive big hits and intense play, but also memorable jokes. He is just “another guy,” his dad, Steve, said.
Stutsman’s leadership has carried to the present. He has taken four-star freshmen linebackers Jaren Kanak, Kip Lewis and Kobie McKinzie under his wing. Whether it was taking them out to dinner or referring to Kanak as “Ivan Drago” from Rocky IV, he tried to serve as the call point like his predecessors — Caleb Kelly, Brian Asamoah and Bonitto — did for him.
remaining lighthearted on Twitter, Stutsman aims to take a leap forward in year two with a revamped defensive scheme under a new coaching staff. The goofy backer hopes to make back-breaking tackles while keeping the locker room laughing along the way.
Following Oklahoma’s regular season loss to Oklahoma State in Stillwater last season, Stutsman, Steve and then-lineback ers coach Brian Odom gathered outside the team’s bus before heading home.
36 • August 2022 FOOTBALL GUIDE PHOTOGRAPHS BY RAY BAHNER/OU DAILY New to the ranks, but ready to lead L’Courtney Washington brings experience from beyond the game Austin Curtright | austincurtright@ou.edu
And that’s what Pinkel would’ve wanted from his former pupil, who he said is like a son to him.
In a group text, L’Damian sent L’Courtney and his two other brothers the statement Sooners head coach Brent Venables re leased late Sunday regarding his promotion following former receivers coach Cale Gundy’s resignation. That’s the only con tact L’Damian’s brothers have had from him since.
L’Damian, 31, is fairly new to the coaching ranks, as he spent six seasons chasing his NFL dreams after graduating from Missouri in 2014. After being cut seven times from NFL rosters and spending time in the CFL, AAF and XFL, he got his start in college coaching as Missouri’s director of player development in 2020. Before that, though, his first job after of his playing career was as head coach at West Middle School in Columbia.
At OU’s fall camp practice on Monday, L’Damian helmed the receivers group by himself for the first time. He com manded players and led drills, at one point using a stick with a boxing glove attached to simulate a defender trying to jar the ball out.
“Every time he’s down he inspires someone else to get back up,” L’Courtney said. “That’s what I love about him.
As L’Courtney’s day at his job near Columbia, Missouri, progressed, he and his other brothers were seeking further details regarding L’Damian’s new role but the messages went unanswered.WhenL’Damian goes silent, L’Courtney isn’t worried. “I know exactly what he’s doing,” L’Courtney told the OU Daily on Monday. “I don’t even have to talk to him. I guar antee right now he’s coming up with something to prepare himself and get ready for the season. I bet he’s getting his mind right and he’s sharpening his brain. I know him like a book, and that’s probably what he’s doing.”
But L’Damian persevered, just as he will in his present sit uation, those who know him best say.
L’Damian inherits a receivers room of mostly players recruited by Gundy, such as Marvin Mims, Theo Wease, Jayden Gibson and Nicholas Anderson. Gundy, who has spent over 30 seasons as either a player or coach at OU, is beloved by former players, too; many of them tweeted sup portive statements following his resignation.
L’Damian also demonstrated his leadership qualities as a student-athlete with the Tigers from 2010-13, where he recorded 1,735 career receiving yards with 15 touchdowns in four seasons. During his senior year, he was voted one of Mizzou’s four captains and his head coach at the time, 2022 College Football Hall of Fame inductee Gary Pinkel, wasn’t surprised.“Iknew he would end up being a part of this and being a leader for us at that highest level,” said Pinkel, who can usually guess who his players will elect as captains, and said L’Damian was an easy choice. “It wasn’t a surprise because L’Damian was a great team player. He’s a great competitor. He gets along with everyone, but yet, he strives for excel lence in everything he does.”
… We’ve been going through it our whole life. When our mother passed, we had our lights off. We never had to go house-to-house or anything like that, but it was terrible. It wasThat’shorrible.”justanother reason why those close to L’Damian think he’s ready for the task at hand. It was proven by his decision to avoid distractions, opting to ignore his phone while he grows comfortable with his new responsibilities.
“Him getting the job, he has no control over that at the end of the day,” Pinkel said. “That’s what he’s gotta focus on is taking care of his business and making those players play the best they can play and helping them.
August 2022 • 37FOOTBALL GUIDE
L’Damian Washington has stepped into the role of coaching OU’s receiving corps in the wake of Cale Gundy’s resignation.
“
When L’Courtney Washington woke up for work on the morning of Aug. 8, he was surprised to see his brother, L’Damian Washington, had been promoted from offensive an alyst to interim receivers coach at Oklahoma.
“He’s got so much going for him. Who knows how far he can go as a coach.”
“ He gets along with everyone, but yet, he strives for excellence in everything he does.
For L’Damian, especially as a first-year assistant for the Sooners, the transition to building belief in the room could prove difficult. However, those who’ve seen him earn trust before believe he can do it again.
L’Damian has been dealt a difficult hand his entire life. When he was 6, his father was murdered in their hometown of Shreveport, Louisiana. Nine years later, his mother died from a stroke at one of his basketball games, the same year his best friend was also killed.
GARY PINKEL, 2022 College Football Hall of Fame Inductee
L’Courtney, who volunteered on the staff to help L’Damian amid limited resources, watched his brother transform a historically weak team into a city champion in 2019.“Iwatched my brother (inherit) a team full of misfits, soccer players, guys that didn’t want to play football, guys that wanted to play football (and) a team that hadn’t won in years,” L’Courtney said. “In his first year, the first two months or so of the season was all about discipline. And then those kids went out and won a city championship. It was almost like a ‘Little Giants’ story. It was crazy.”
“One of his greatest assets is his relationships,” Pinkel said. “First of all with all the other staff, but certainly with his future players, because that’s hugely important. First thing he’s gotta earn is trust. And he understands that.
L’Courtney, 19 at the time and raising his first child, served as L’Damian’s legal guardian for the final three years of high school until L’Damian eventually signed to play at Missouri. The four siblings, led by L’Courtney, struggled to keep the lights on at times.
Quarterback Dillon Gabriel Running Back Eric Gray Tight End Brayden Willis DanielOR Parker X-Wide Receiver Theo Wease JalilOR Farooq Y-Slot Receiver Drake Stoops Z-Wide Receiver Marvin Mims Left Tackle Anton Harrison Left Guard McKade Mettauer Center Andrew Raym Right Guard Chris Murray Right Tackle Wanya Morris Defensive End Reggie Grimes Defensive Tackle Jalen Redmond Defensive Tackle Jordan Kelley JeffreyOR Johnson Defensive End Ethan Downs MarcusOR Stripling MIKE Linebacker David Ugwoegbu WILL Linebacker Danny Stutsman SAM Linebacker DaShaun White Cornerback D.J. Graham Strong Safety Key Lawrence Free Safety Justin Broiles BillyOR Bowman Cornerback Woodi Washington Kicker Zach Schmidt Punter Michael Turk 38 • August 2022 FOOTBALL GUIDE ACROSS 1 countryLima’s 5 symbolsAngelic 10 Teen’s blemishesfacial 14 Elegant swimmerlake 15 hubMidwestBusy 16 With decibelsmany 17 alreadyEmailed 18 inCliffs”“WhitecityEngland 19 Village kin 20 JacksonbyencouragedstrategyNBAPhil 23 Requires 24 Measure 18-Acrossin 25 andEastwoodBlack 28 accessoryBarbecue 30 passedStories on thethroughages 31 Take five 33 pronounFeminine 36 takeprofessorsWhereshape? 40 andHither___ 41 One of 12 thingslengthy 42 Pile 43 featureAugust 44 Fatal 46 Home of poles and hides 49 masterDutch Jan 51 forfeatures,maleAttractivemany 57 Jan. 1 song title word 58 Mel voicedwhoFudd 59 party?Pig-out 60 ___ to occasionthe 61 Slow river boat 62 Border lake or canal 63 Hurried 64 Cheese type 65 catchersLightning DOWN 1 Sound that turns headssome 2 pitcherFancy 3 princessIndian 4 someNeedingcolor? 5 Gil greatDodgersthe 6 Get ___ of (obtain) 7 Washes up 8 cookielayeredThree9 ofPeasantyore 10 Even though 11 Down for the ___ 12 wardMaternityVIP 13 toolLandscaper’s 21 Tennis court feature 22 travelertype“Frequent”of 25 oftenhandful,Modeler’s 26 Crazy 27 Where diners use dinars 28 “___ is life!” 29 onLetterstires 31 16 ouncesfluid 32 Have a role to play 33 sometimestoy,Christmas 34 ___“Physician,thyself” 35 Cable sports award 37 nobleKuwait(var.) 38 Bird extinctlong 39 friend“Friends” 43 Chaired 44 They can be wild on tables 45 slithererAquatic 46 rulersRussianFormer 47 withProvidegear 48 Vital beat 49 Belafonte or Lewis entertainmentof 50 Ice grabberscube 52 Falls back at the beach? 53 sidePicnicdish 54 replacementMark 55 incursionSudden 56 Drags to court Universal Crossword Edited by Timothy Parker , 20 © 20 Andrews McMeel www.upuzzles.comSyndication SHAPELY By Timothy E. Parker FillInstructions:inthegrid so that every row, every column and every 3x3 box contains the digits 1 through 9. That means that no number is repeated in any row, column or box. V.EASY#1 2671 6879 1945 8214 4629 5328 9374 4536 7318V.EASY#2 6472 92451 2386 758 1654 932 5867 47589 2318 Solution
farewell reminiscent of previous departure
departed for
in 1946, was
“I didn’t know it took this long to resign,” said Tatum, who became the head football coach and athletic director at the University of Maryland shortly after.The OU Daily reported that Oklahoma assistant coach Bud Wilkinson was a likely candidate for Tatum’s job. Wilkinson, who now has a statue on OU’s Norman campus, won three national champi
1947.
Head coach’s Jim Tatum, who coached the Sooners the last head coach to leave Oklahoma ent college program until Lincoln Riley Southern California in 2021. Although his exit wasn’t made offcial day after his resignation was accepted, Tatum shared his intentions with reporters, including a Daily staffer, inside former President George Lynn Cross’ offce while waiting for the fnal word in January
for a differ
until the
75 YEARS AGO AT OU OU DAILY’S 2022 LINE-UP PREDICTIONS
August 2022 • 39FOOTBALL GUIDE
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