The Oklahoma Sooners’ football fall training camp is now in full swing. How the Sooners practice together in the fall training camp is one of the best indicators for the season ahead. Head coach Brent Venables has had a rocky few seasons but expects this one to be the best to date. However, given the mix of green and veteran talent, is it shaping up to be the season Sooners fans dream of?
Sooners Fall Training Camp
Sooners Fall Training Camp: The Beginning of the End
Fall training camp serves two purposes. It is the capstone of the off-season; a proving ground for players and coaches alike to showcase their hard work. And at the same time, it is the prep work for the upcoming season. The best of the SEC is preparing for another grueling season, and the Sooners are no different. While some, such as Kentucky, are enjoying a less-than-spectacular start, the Sooners are coming together in great fashion. Like most of what they do, the Sooners’ Fall training camp has been amazing to watch unfold.
Big Time Football
During post-practice interviews, Branson Hickman, the veteran transfer from SMU, said of the Sooners football, “This is the big time, real college football right here.” It’s hard to disagree with him. All the pieces are coming together, and the team is on watchlists for college football’s numerous awards. Hickman, in particular, is already on the watch list for the Outland trophy. Venables, not one to offer praise lightly, said of the team, “We really like how the group is coming along, we’ve got good depth there in regards to guys that we feel like can play winning football,” he said when meeting with the media late last week.
Observing practices from afar has been just as eye-opening. The leap in performance from the Sooners’ spring training to the Sooners’ fall training is incredible to watch. In some cases, it’s hard to imagine that some of these players are the same ones who laced up in the spring. The difference has been night and day, and the optimism is flowing freely in Norman. When listening to veterans like Hickman talk about the atmosphere, it’s not hard to see why, “We’ve built a really good bond and relationship during the summer. They brought me in like I was one of their own.”
Future of the Game
Another big positive comes from the Sooners’ new starting quarterback, Jackson Arnold. His career debut during the Alamo Bowl didn’t exactly impress everyone. In the midst of a 300+ passing game, he threw three interceptions against Arizona. While not unexpected for a young quarterback, it was cause for concern. The SEC is known for destroying lesser offenses, and if Arnold couldn’t rise to that level the Sooners would have serious problems. Venables seems to have changed that.
Venables threw plenty of complicated coverage looks at Arnold during the spring and fall to prepare him for the SEC. One of these even allowed Peyton Bowen, the sophomore safety, a chance to shine. Showcasing the type of deceptive fundamentals necessary to a great safety, Bowen made a one-handed interception that impressed teammates and coaches alike. It, undoubtedly, also helped Arnold.
When asked about Arnold’s performance by reporters on Saturday, Venables said, “I think we’re executing at a really high level right now. Decision making is even better than it was. The guys around him are playing better. He’s led these guys all summer and spring and so it’s a little more natural now.”
The few, if any, doubts remaining about Arnold’s ability to lead the Sooners into the future will be answered come game day.
Backing him up on the offensive line, Hickman and others agree that Arnold is one of the team’s greatest strengths for the future. If injuries rack up for the Oklahoma Sooners, like they did last year, it won’t be nearly as disastrous though. While some areas remain lacking in depth, its clear that Venables took the lessons from last year to heart. The key positions all have guys, from starter to third-string, who can take the game to the next level.
Best of the Rest from the Sooners’ Fall Training Camp
Even players such as Jalil Farooq and Andrel Anthony, who both suffered injuries, have made it onto the practice squads. Venables reported that Farooq is “at about 90 percent” but that they weren’t putting any limitations on him. Anthony, who underwent season-ending surgery last year, is also up and running again. Casey Thompson, who spent time at Texas, Nebraska, and finally Florida Atlantic, is also getting practice time. Although only a third-string quarterback for the Sooners, Thompson could easily be the starter for any number of schools. Thompson’s level of talent that far down the depth chart shows just how much Venables has prepared for another worst-case-scenario season.
As usual, there’s little concern for the Sooners’ defense. The mix of veteran and fresh talent means the only test left for them to face is going to happen come game day. With Jayden Jackson, Damonic Williams, and David Stone on the roster, there’s no doubt just how stacked with talent the Sooners’ defense is.
What’s Next?
This is certain to be the most exciting college football season in years. The PAC-12 has collapsed, the Big Ten has become the Big Eighteen, and Sooners football joining the SEC are just some of the biggest stories. Colleges nationwide are preparing for a different type of season. Sooners football is no different. Venables has a lot of work to do to get his team ready for SEC play. Fall camp is a step in that process. As Venables put it, “At the end of the day it’s for us to live up to our own standards and fight, and compete for those standards every day.”
