In 2020, Oklahoma once again was in a position of needing to replace a starter at the quarterback position. This time, it was to replace Jalen Hurts who landed in the NFL with the Philadelphia Eagles. However, the heir apparent was obvious. Fast forward to the spring of 2021, the incoming starter is obvious. But, the depth may not be quite so clear. In our first of nine positional previews, today we take a look at the quarterback in our Oklahoma Sooners spring preview.
Oklahoma Sooners Spring Preview: Quarterbacks
Key Losses
Oklahoma has become accustomed to a lot of movement on the quarterback roster. However, this year the Sooners were hit particularly hard. Both Tanner Mordecai and Chandler Morris transferred leaving the room quite thin. In fact, it left Oklahoma with just one scholarship quarterback until the Spring semester began. In the case of Mordecai, the transfer was no surprise. After completing 32 of 40 passes for 395 yards with two touchdowns in mop-up duty, the Sophomore has moved on to SMU. Now, the transfer of Morris took some as a surprise. After playing sparingly, he is now headed to TCU to remain in the conference. Now, let’s look at some of the additions in the quarterback room in the Sooners spring preview.
Key Additions
With the attrition, Oklahoma knew some additional depth was needed at the position. Help was coming in the form of incoming true freshman, Caleb Williams. That much was a given. What wasn’t a given was how the additional depth would come. The Sooners would have the need for a third scholarship quarterback. And, Oklahoma found that in Penn State transfer Micah Bowens. Bowens, as well as Williams, are in Norman for the Spring to battle for that backup starting quarterback position. Although they won’t challenge, the Sooners have brought in a few preferred walk-on quarterbacks to fill out additional depth and scout team activity.
As we continue looking at the Sooners Spring preview, first, let’s look at Williams. Coming in as the sixth overall player and the number one quarterback in the 2021 recruiting period, he’s one of the best quarterbacks that Oklahoma has brought in at the position. He’s more of a dual-threat in the mold of Kyler Murray or the aforementioned Hurts. Having a Spring season will be invaluable for Williams as the mental aspect of the game should be his biggest obstacle. However, Bowens could be the wildcard. He has made it clear that he has no intentions of coming in and only holding a clipboard. It will be interesting to see how these two shake out through the Spring.
The Starter
Spencer Rattler is the clear starter and beyond something inconceivable, he will remain that way. Rattler was a little inconsistent early on in the season but settled down during the Sooners title run. For the year, Rattler completed 68% of his passes for over 3,000 yards with 28 touchdowns and only seven interceptions. Oklahoma fans will be looking for a Sam Bradford-like improvement from his Freshman to Sophomore season. If that’s the case, don’t be surprised to see Rattler hoisting the Heisman Trophy while leading his Sooners back to the playoffs. In particular, Rattler would be wise to improve his presence in the pocket, refrain from trying to do too much, and protecting the football. If he is able to do that, unlike his former Heisman Trophy-winning quarterbacks of the past, he will have a defense that is equally up to the task.
Projected Depth Chart
- Spencer Rattler
- Caleb Williams
- Micah Bowens
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