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NORMAN — Zac Alley didn’t really want to do it.
He didn’t have a choice.
After OU coach Brent Venables presented the new Sooners’ defensive coordinator with a game ball after a 51-3 win over Temple, Alley took a ride.
OU players hoisted him in the air and Alley thought for sure he was about to take a header.
“I thought I was going to flip on my head about halfway through,” Alley said after his Sooners’ debut. “They were trying to lower me down, I was vertical backwards for a minute, but I think Bauer Sharp caught me, lowered me back to the ground.
“So it was good. It was fun.”
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Oklahoma defensive coordinator Zac Alley walks on the field before a University of Oklahoma (OU) Sooners spring football game at Gaylord Family-Oklahoma Memorial Stadium in Norman, Okla., Saturday, April 20, 2024.
OU’s defense was supposed to be its strength this season, with depth like the Sooners haven’t seen in quite some time.
But it would’ve been hard to imagine a better debut for Alley.
If it wasn’t for Robert Spears-Jennings’ third-quarter personal foul penalty, OU might’ve secured the shutout.
They allowed just 197 total yards, the fewest surrendered by the Sooners since holding Western Carolina to 178 in 2021. It was the fewest yards surrendered by OU against an FBS team since 2017.
“I feel like we played a game where, man, no matter who it was that got in had an opportunity and they played hard,” Alley said. “They tried to play disciplines, and we did a really good job attacking the ball.”
The Sooners forced six turnovers, their most in more than 20 years.
Four of those came on fumble recoveries. OU recovered six fumbles all of last season.
They had six sacks, 1.5 by Gracen Halton.
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Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/why-zac-alleys-ou-football-104539781.html
Author : The Oklahoman
Publish date : 2024-09-01 10:45:39
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