Oklahoma Sooners

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Oklahoma Sooners: Brandon Williams

A glimpse at the attrition rate at the University of Oklahoma removes the fog hovering over some of the major question marks the Sooners face heading into 2013. OU has had some ill-timed departures, forcing the Sooners to rework their recruiting game plan with the hope of having a balanced roster heading into the upcoming season.


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Wide receiver Kameel Jackson, who started for the Sooners in the Insight Bowl, says he's transferring to Texas A&M. Jackson broke the news via Twitter Sunday evening.

"Embracing my last week as a Sooner; as I've chose to transfer and further my education and football career at Texas A&M," he tweeted.

Jackson is the second Sooner to transfer to A&M. In December, running back Brandon Williams also left OU to play for first-year A&M head coach Kevin Sumlin, who was once the Sooners' wide receivers coach.

Jackson played in 11 games last season as a true freshmen and started late in the season against Baylor and in the Insight Bowl against Iowa. On the season, Jackson caught 12 passes for 165 yards, playing well down the stretch after the Sooners lost Ryan Broyles to a season-ending knee injury.

But Jackson faded into the background this spring, in part due to the emergence of true freshman Trey Metoyer, and did not participate in the Red-White spring game.

ESPN rated Jackson the No. 39 wide receiver in the country coming out of Arlington (Texas) Sam Houston High School.

Loss impact: RB Brandon Williams 

March, 1, 2012
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“Loss Impact” analyzes each outgoing starter or rotation player to assess how much his departure will impact Oklahoma next season.

What Oklahoma loses: Its top prospect from the class of 2011. Brandon Williams, a former 5-star running back from Brookshire, Texas, elected to transfer to Texas A&M after last season to be closer to his infant daughter.

After working through some fumble issues, Williams emerged late last season, rushing for 116 yards in OU’s final three games.

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Juco RB Damien Williams signs with OU 

February, 1, 2012
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For all the star ratings and target boards, recruiting can simply be a matter of timing, and the timing couldn’t have worked out better for Oklahoma and junior college running back Damien Williams (San Diego/Arizona Western College).

Williams became yet another California native to sign with Oklahoma, sending in his national letter of intent to the Sooners on Wednesday.

Williams was set, committed to Arizona State until the Sun Devils underwent coaching changes. OU was set at running back, had good depth at the spot until Jermie Calhoun and Jonathon Miller left the team in the middle of the season.

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2013 WR Ricky Seals-Jones 'wide open' 

January, 25, 2012
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Ricky Seals-Jones (Sealy, Texas/Sealy) is a special talent.

The Class of 2013 prospect already has earned offers from LSU, Baylor, Texas Tech and SMU while several other schools including Texas, Texas A&M and Notre Dame.

One school not on the list? Oklahoma.

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Oklahoma position grades: Running back 

January, 24, 2012
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Before the Sooners' 31-14 win over Iowa in the Insight Bowl, Jake Trotter and Brandon Chatmon analyzed each Oklahoma position group. Now, the SoonerNation staff is giving each position a grade for its performance in 2011.

Grade: B+
No group experienced as much turmoil over the course of the season as the running backs did. Jonathon Miller and Jermie Calhoun transferred early in the year, Brennan Clay was hampered by injuries most of the season, and starter Dominique Whaley suffered a season-ending ankle injury. Still, this was a unit that managed to perform to expectations as a whole. Whaley was spectacular the first half of the season, then Roy Finch carried the load late. The grade probably would have been lower had it not been for all-conference fullback Trey Millard and Belldozer specialist Aaron Ripkowski, who were both solid all season.
- Jake Trotter

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It is easy to get lost in the shuffle at a junior college. Recruits can go about their business and not be bothered at school.

But if you’re coming to Oklahoma, you better be ready to be the center of attention. For juco running back Damien Williams (San Diego/Arizona Western College), he learned all about the OU experience last weekend on his official visit.

“The fans, wow, I love the fans out there,” Williams said. “Everybody knew who I was. In San Diego and Yuma [Ariz.], it’s not like that at all. I can tell that Sooner fans really take their football seriously.

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Running back depth was not a concern for Oklahoma entering the 2011 season. Because of that, recruiting running backs wasn’t a top priority for the Sooners coaching staff.

The Sooners landed their top target early in the process, when fourth-ranked back Alex Ross (Jenks, Okla./Jenks) committed, and three-star prospect Daniel Brooks (Port Lavaca, Texas/Calhoun) came on board before the spring game. No other backs were necessary.

That all changed as the 2011 season progressed, and it gave three-star running back David Smith (Midlothian, Ill./Bremen) a chance to realize a dream as he committed to OU in a special ceremony Tuesday afternoon at Bremen High.

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Trotter's Mailbag: Mike Stoops' impact

January, 13, 2012
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Jake Trotter answers readers' questions about Oklahoma football in his mailbag every Friday. Got a question for Jake? Submit it here.

Matt in Soonerville, U.S.A., writes: Would [defensive backs coach Willie] Martinez have been cut even if he didn't accept another job? Were they unhappy with his job performance? Am I right in thinking he did a much better job in 2010 than 2011?

Jake Trotter: Probably. Once Bob Stoops made the decision to bring his brother back that was it for Martinez. I agree that Martinez was solid in ’10. But his unit was nowhere good enough in ’11 to persuade Stoops from hiring Mike back.


Tosh in Dallas writes: Could the Mike Stoops hiring cause big-time defensive recruits to second guess their original commitments and put OU on the radar?

Jake Trotter: This late in the process I doubt it. OU fans hold Mike Stoops in much higher regard than 17-year-old kids do. Mike could make an impact on uncommitted recruits. And he certainly will make an impact in 2013. But I would be surprised if he got a big-time committed prospect to flip this close to signing day.

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Chat Leftovers: OU secondary in 2012

January, 3, 2012
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SoonerNation writer Jake Trotter chatted with readers Monday. Here's the full transcript. If you didn't get your question answered, send it to Jake's mailbag to be published on Friday.

Here are a few highlights from his chat:


Jack (Dallas): How do you see the secondary shaping up next year? The secondary seemed to be much more consistent with Tony Jefferson at safety above Javon Harris and Sam Proctor.

Jake Trotter: OU would love to put Jefferson back at nickelback, but I'm not so sure they can afford to. If I had to predict, the start DBs next year would be Everett/Hurst at CB, Jefferson/Colvin at safety, Ibiloye at NB. But don't write off Harris yet. I see him getting another chance down the line.

Ben (Iowa): Do you think Mike Stoops will be back? How soon if so?

Jake Trotter: Nothing new on the Mike Stoops front, and I don't think we'll hear much until if/when an OU assistant leaves. That will be the sign that something is about to happen. I will say Mike was pretty chummy with the OU coaches/players/admins during the Insight Bowl. Nothing I saw in Phoenix made me believe Mike to OU wouldn't happen.

OUFlyer (Denver): Can you give us your take on Mario Edwards' comments from his visit?

Jake Trotter: I think it reflected poorly on OU. It's a very bad sign when players on your own team are doing the negative recruiting. Better believe, coaches from other schools are going to be using Edwards' comments against the Sooners with other players.

Scott (Austin): Do you think if Landry Jones goes pro that Blake Bell will beat out Drew Allen for the starter?

Jake Trotter: Not necessarily. I got the impression this week there are many people on this team who believe Drew Allen would win the competition if it were held now. Bell is a special runner, but Allen has a firmer grasp of the offense and is the better passer right now. The upside to starting Allen is that you could still play Bell with the Belldozer, too. Bell is capable of winning the job. But right now, Allen might have the edge.

Drake Plotter (Oklahoma): What person transferring away impacts the team most next season?

Jake Trotter: Assuming no one else transfers, Brandon Williams. There was a reason why OU tried to talk him out of transferring. Austin Haywood is a big loss, too, because OU has no one else returning at tight end.

Trotter's Mailbag: O-Line will improve

December, 23, 2011
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Jake Trotter answers readers' questions about Oklahoma football in his mailbag every Friday. Got a question for Jake? Submit it here.

Michael in Long Beach, Calif., writes: Was Brandon Williams’ departure a two-way thing? Was he not what OU thought he was going to be? Or would the Sooners have liked to keep him?

Jake Trotter: No, the Sooners didn’t want him to leave and actually tried to talk him into staying. Ultimately, Williams wanted to be closer to his family in Brookshire, Texas. That’s why leaving OU and going to Texas A&M made sense.

(Read full post)

Analysis: Life without Brandon Williams 

December, 20, 2011
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Oklahoma entered the 2011 season with so many running backs some wondered if the Sooners had enough carries to go around.

Suffice to say, that’s no longer an issue.

Bob Stoops confirmed Monday that Brandon Williams, the gem of OU's 2011 recruiting class, will transfer (to Texas A&M, sources say), making him the third running back to leave the program since August.

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RB Brandon Williams to transfer from OU

December, 19, 2011
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Freshman running back Brandon Williams, the gem of Oklahoma’s 2011 recruiting class, has been granted a release to transfer, coach Bob Stoops confirmed Monday.

Stoops said he didn’t know where Williams would transfer, but sources at OU have indicated Williams is likely to end up at Texas A&M, which is an hour drive away from his hometown of Brookshire, Texas.

Williams, who enrolled in the spring, was OU’s top-rated recruit according to ESPNU, which ranked him the No. 5 running back in the country. Because of fumbling issues in practice, Williams played sparingly at the beginning of season. But an injury to starter Dominique Whaley allowed Williams to become a bigger part of the offense late in the season. As a backup, Williams rushed for 116 yards in the Sooners’ final three games and averaged 5.5 yards per carry.

Williams suffered a neck injury in the season finale against Oklahoma State that required him to wear a brace, but he is expected to make a full recovery.

Williams is the third running back to leave OU this year alone. Earlier in the season, Jermie Calhoun and Jonathan Miller also were granted releases to transfer.

With Williams gone and Whaley still recovering from a fractured ankle, the Sooners will be down to just two running backs -- Roy Finch and Brennan Clay -- for the Dec. 30 Insight Bowl against Iowa.

Position Analysis: Running backs 

December, 13, 2011
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Deep and talented.

Those two words perfectly describe Oklahoma’s running back corps at the beginning of preseason camp.

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Numbers tell most of the Bedlam story

December, 3, 2011
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STILLWATER, Okla. -- Sometimes, this game is pretty simple. So far, Bedlam fits the bill. Oklahoma State is dominating.

All you need to do is glance at the stat sheet to see why the Cowboys lead, 10-0.

Brandon Weeden has completed 8 of 10 passes for 115 yards, and the Cowboys offense has been as sharp as ever. The running game is rolling too. Jeremy Smith and Joseph Randle have run for 53 yards and a touchdown on 10 carries. Everything Oklahoma State has wanted to do offensively is working.

Meanwhile, Oklahoma has made moving the ball on Oklahoma State look pretty difficult. Landry Jones has completed just 9 of his 18 passes for 84 yards and an interception deep downfield in the end zone.

The running game? Nonexistent. Brandon Williams has three carries for nine yards and Trey Franks added four on an end around.

Analyze it all you want. This doesn't take much.

Oklahoma State has sprinted out front and the reasons are obvious.

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