Big 12 Conference Week 1: What to expect from the Booming Sooners
Norman, Oklahoma - Entering Week 1 as the best team in the Big 12 Conference, the Oklahoma Sooners are ready to show fans they're unbothered by their offseason adversities and ready to win.
Sooner football has gone through quite some unprecedented changes heading into the preseason this year.
Last year, Oklahoma had nine players named to the preseason all-Big 12 team, while this year, the program only garners one honor with punter Michael Turk.
Still, for a team that has the most conference titles (14), with six won consecutively from 2014-2020, the Oklahoma Boomer Sooners know what it takes to get back to top contention for championship level stages.
Cracking in the top-10 best teams in the nation at No. 9, the Sooners only rank one spot ahead of reigning conference champions Baylor, which means the rivalry should be even more competitive this season.
Just days away from their first kickoff, here is what to expect from the top team in the Big 12 Conference.
Sooners pick up new quarterback and defensive coordinator
After last season, the Sooners football program was hit by the abrupt departure of head coach Lincoln Riley for USC and, more devastatingly, the exodus of field talent that fled too.
Luckily, former Clemson defensive coordinator Brent Venables came back to Norman where he once led the program as an associate head coach. He will now serve as head coach.
Once Venables jumped on board, the ship kept afloat, and the luck didn't stop there.
In the midst of losing a number of notable players and two of its quarterbacks to USC and South Carolina, the offense picked up UCF transfer quarterback Dillon Gabriel.
Gabriel comes to Oklahoma with 61% completed throws for 8,037 passing yards and 70 touchdowns in his career thus far.
The former Florida star quarterback was matched with the return of sophomore Marvin Mims, the Sooners' leading receiver. They will be key offensive players for Oklahoma heading into their first game of the season.
As for defense, Venables brings successful veteran coach and new Oklahoma defensive coordinator Ted Roof from Clemson. Linebacker DaShaun White, who returns as the bridge that connects Oklahoma's past and present, just might be the key defensive player for the Sooners. He ended last season third for the program with 66 tackles.
The No. 9 Sooners will start their season hosting the University of Texas-El Paso on September 3 at 3:30 PM.
Cover photo: BRIAN BAHR / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / GETTY IMAGES VIA AFP