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For the second straight offseason, the Oklahoma Sooners did not see a single player from their roster leave early for the NFL Draft. While the Sooners have 16 players that are eligible to be selected next month, each of those players had exhausted their collegiate eligibility.
Meanwhile, the Sooners had a handful of players who had eligibility left, but that could have gone to the NFL instead of playing their final seasons of college ball. Redshirt juniors such as quarterback John Mateer, wide receiver Isaiah Sategna III, linebacker Kip Lewis, and kicker Tate Sandell all could have jumped to the pros, but all four decided to come back for one more year in Norman.
Part of the secret sauce for the Sooners under head coach Brent Venables has been their ability to retain key players and convince them to stay in school. Primarily on the defensive side of the ball, Oklahoma has benefitted from veteran players who love the culture that Venables has built, and that know the system they are playing in.
Venables and general manager Jim Nagy spoke spoke to the media on Monday about how importantly they viewed retention this offseason, especially in the cases of Sategna and Lewis.
"It was huge, they're obviously experienced players who play at an elite level at times," Venables said. "Isaiah might have been my most favorite football player on our team. I might make somebody mad, hurt somebody's feelings. But, I love Isaiah, his competitive spirit and the way he strains."
"Kip, I love watching Kip play on game day," Venables continued. "His focus and his why to come back was great wisdom. His motives are pure and he's one of the most disruptive linebackers in college football."
Nagy also emphasized retaining the core of last year's roster that made the College Football Playoff. While the Sooners lost a lot of depth pieces and rotational players, they were able to bring back a lot of returning starters or players who will be starters this season. Stacey Ford, a member of Nagy's front office, is OU's Director of Player Personnel and Retainment, and he is a big part of the effort as well.
"Went into the offseason, we had a few objectives, one was retain the core of a College Football Playoff roster," Nagy said. "Then just creating as much competition, increase the competition in every room. I feel like we did well."
Aside from retaining players that could have gone to the draft, the Sooners also kept stars like Xavier Robinson, Tory Blaylock, Jayden Jackson, David Stone, Taylor Wein, Courtland Guillory, Eli Bowen, and Peyton Bowen out of the transfer portal, along with four starters on the offensive line and a handful of young players who will step into starting roles this fall.
While keeping every single player is always going to be impossible, the Sooners have become adept at convincing players to stay at OU, instead of going pro early. With Nagy wrapping up his first year on the job, Oklahoma did a better job this offseason of retaining players from entering the portal.
As the Sooners look to make it two playoff trips in a row, they'll be leaning on the players they worked hard to retain this offseason, led by their dynamic star wide receiver and their ferocious star linebacker.
Contact/Follow us @SoonersWire on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Oklahoma news, notes and opinions. You can also follow Aaron on X@Aaron_Gelvin.
This article originally appeared on Sooners Wire: Oklahoma's ability to retain key players shined this offseason
Continue reading...
Meanwhile, the Sooners had a handful of players who had eligibility left, but that could have gone to the NFL instead of playing their final seasons of college ball. Redshirt juniors such as quarterback John Mateer, wide receiver Isaiah Sategna III, linebacker Kip Lewis, and kicker Tate Sandell all could have jumped to the pros, but all four decided to come back for one more year in Norman.
Part of the secret sauce for the Sooners under head coach Brent Venables has been their ability to retain key players and convince them to stay in school. Primarily on the defensive side of the ball, Oklahoma has benefitted from veteran players who love the culture that Venables has built, and that know the system they are playing in.
Venables and general manager Jim Nagy spoke spoke to the media on Monday about how importantly they viewed retention this offseason, especially in the cases of Sategna and Lewis.
"It was huge, they're obviously experienced players who play at an elite level at times," Venables said. "Isaiah might have been my most favorite football player on our team. I might make somebody mad, hurt somebody's feelings. But, I love Isaiah, his competitive spirit and the way he strains."
"Kip, I love watching Kip play on game day," Venables continued. "His focus and his why to come back was great wisdom. His motives are pure and he's one of the most disruptive linebackers in college football."
Nagy also emphasized retaining the core of last year's roster that made the College Football Playoff. While the Sooners lost a lot of depth pieces and rotational players, they were able to bring back a lot of returning starters or players who will be starters this season. Stacey Ford, a member of Nagy's front office, is OU's Director of Player Personnel and Retainment, and he is a big part of the effort as well.
"Went into the offseason, we had a few objectives, one was retain the core of a College Football Playoff roster," Nagy said. "Then just creating as much competition, increase the competition in every room. I feel like we did well."
Aside from retaining players that could have gone to the draft, the Sooners also kept stars like Xavier Robinson, Tory Blaylock, Jayden Jackson, David Stone, Taylor Wein, Courtland Guillory, Eli Bowen, and Peyton Bowen out of the transfer portal, along with four starters on the offensive line and a handful of young players who will step into starting roles this fall.
While keeping every single player is always going to be impossible, the Sooners have become adept at convincing players to stay at OU, instead of going pro early. With Nagy wrapping up his first year on the job, Oklahoma did a better job this offseason of retaining players from entering the portal.
As the Sooners look to make it two playoff trips in a row, they'll be leaning on the players they worked hard to retain this offseason, led by their dynamic star wide receiver and their ferocious star linebacker.
Contact/Follow us @SoonersWire on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Oklahoma news, notes and opinions. You can also follow Aaron on X@Aaron_Gelvin.
This article originally appeared on Sooners Wire: Oklahoma's ability to retain key players shined this offseason
Continue reading...
