The Oklahoma Sooners went through a disappointing debut season in the Southeastern Conference in 2024. A 6-7 record overall and a 2-6 record in the SEC was not what OU fans expected last year. As a result of the poor season, head coach Brent Venables is on thin ice heading into 2025.
One of the biggest reasons for last year’s performance was the play of the Oklahoma offense. And while the quarterback position was far from the only problem the Sooners had on offense, it was far from what OU is used to having under center.
This time last year, the Sooners had re-worked their quarterback room after losing offensive coordinator Jeff Lebby to Mississippi State and starting quarterback Dillon Gabriel to Oregon. In addition, the Sooners saw the departures of both assistant QB coach Matt Holecek and QB analyst Tanner Schafer, who joined Lebby in Starkville, and the departure of offensive analyst Matt Wells, who took on a co-OC role at Kansas State.
Only one name from OU’s 2023 QB room remained in the 2024 QB room. Starting quarterback Jackson Arnold returned to take the reins of the offense, while the trio of Davis Beville, General Booty and Jacob Switzer all joined Gabriel in transferring out of Norman.
For the 2024 season, Venables elevated offensive analyst Seth Littrell and tight ends coach Joe Jon Finley to co-offensive coordinators, with Littrell serving as the play-caller. Arnold took over as the starting quarterback, with newcomers Michael Hawkins Jr., Casey Thompson, Brendan Zurbrugg, and Steele Wasel behind him.
On the coaching side, former Duke OC Kevin Johns was hired as an offensive analyst, and the Sooners brought in QB analysts Ty Hatcher and Jack Lowary. That trio would help Littrell and Finley, who had no experience coaching quarterbacks between them.
But Oklahoma’s quarterbacks and their entire offense fell…
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Publish date : 2025-05-20 14:00:00
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