John Williams, from the Locked On Sooners Podcast, tells McElroy & Cubelic where the strengths of Oklahoma will be in 2024 & why Texas might not be their biggest game this season
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We'll talk some Oklahoma here with John Williams in a moment. Evan Watkins tweets in Da Vinci Code. The movie, the book is just so much better than the movie that it's not even close. And I'm not saying it's a bad movie. It's just the book is that much better. I'm not one of those people that's like, oh, the book is so much better. I'm really not trying to be that way. I haven't seen it. I've never seen Da Vinci Code or read it. In that particular case, the book is just so much, so vastly superior to that of –

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Road to Productions is a little slow. Good movie, a little slow, though. Takes a while. All right, 8.01. It is Tuesday, July 9th, right here on JOX 94.5. Listen online at joxfm.com. The app is in your app store, iPhone, Android. You can always download that for free as we welcome in John Williams on the Buyer's Right Hotline. John hosts...

Locked on Sooners podcast. And John, I thought it was interesting when you guys are kind of running through this Oklahoma schedule this upcoming season, talking about the importance of that Auburn game early in the year. I mean, how make or break is that, do you believe, for the Sooners year one in the Southeastern Conference?

Well, it's pretty huge. I mean, it's that first road trip into an environment that you just don't get a lot of in the Big 12. I mean, Jack Trice Stadium up there at Iowa State is about the only other football stadium that can simulate, I would say, I don't even say match, but simulate what they're going to see in the SEC. So you've got that game against Tennessee. You've got to get off to a hot start against a top 15, top 20 volunteers team, and then

yeah, after that, you got Auburn and then you got Texas. I mean, you don't have a whole lot of room for error against any of these teams on the schedule. And that Auburn team is probably going to be better than what the record showed last year. But it's going to be huge, man, especially for a quarterback like Jackson Arnold, who's going to be going into –

arguably the biggest environment he's ever played in. And man, if they can't get off to a good start in that game, it could be a really, really tight one. Cause you weird things happen down there in Auburn and, you know, teams that are expected to be much better than them often find themselves in dogfights and who knows how this one's going to go.

What do you think is keeping Brent Venables up at night right now? I know it's easy to talk about the transition, the challenges that you're going to face on the road and just how many hostile environments you're going to see. And it will be different for sure. As someone that grew up in the Big 12 footprint, it's very different in the SEC. But...

What about the roster do you think has him concerned? And maybe concern is the wrong word because it seems negative. I don't intend it to be. What do you think is an all-points bulletin that's keeping his attention as he enters into fall camp a month from now?

Offensive line. That's the biggest question mark. And I say it's the biggest question mark only because it's had the biggest turnover. You lose the five guys who started the most games for you in 2023, including a guy like Caden Green who went to Missouri who was a freshman All-American. It was a group that had a first-round offensive tackle in Tyler Guyton. So, you know,

you're not easily replacing those guys. But they did some good work in the transfer portal. They've got blue chip offensive player or offensive lineman that Bill Biedenboe has been developing, and you've got arguably the best offensive line coach in college football in Bill Biedenboe. And we've seen them over the last few years with big question marks

going into the offseason, and then them address those question marks in the transfer portal. They added some guys with a lot of experience. Michael Tarkin, who's played some SEC football, Pac-12 football, now is going to potentially be your left tackle. You've got a guy like Fidichu Wihwu, who was, again, a freshman All-American. Yes, it was in Conference USA, but he's been an ascending player over the

first two years of his collegiate career. Branson Hickman was part of a really good SMU offense the last few years, very, very experienced player. Now those guys are going to have to adjust their game and be ready to step up to the level of competition that they'll face. But again, it's an offensive line with good depth, with good experience. It just has to come together. I mean, offensive line play is all about chemistry and continuity. And unless they can get that chemistry part put together pretty quick,

especially when you go on the road into Jordan-Hur Stadium. I mean, that's going to be a difficult challenge. But again, having...

a center like Branson Hickman with over 2,400 snaps under his belt, that's going to help things a lot more. But it's the question I think keeping everybody up at night. Sooner fans, the sooner coaching staff, but I think most people are pretty confident that it will come together at some point. It's a matter of at what point does it come together? Does it come together against Tennessee, the first SEC game that they're

they're welcoming the Vols into Norman or does it come together, you know, later on down the road? That's, that's the biggest question mark right now. John Williams joining us on the buyer's right hotline, not the conductor of all star Wars and Raiders of the lost Ark soundtracks, but yet covers Oklahoma football host of the lockdown Sooners podcast at John nine Williams. You can follow him on Twitter at,

So offensive line, a concern that I think a lot of people are aware of. It feels to me like defensive line was also a big concern for a lot of the offseason. And then all of a sudden, Demonic Williams commits, signs, and all of the concerns have gone away. Is he enough to make that front not be a concern for Oklahoma this year anymore?

There's still a little bit of a concern. The pass rush in Oklahoma's first couple years with Brent Venables has been inconsistent at times. Some of that due to the way offenses were scheming them, trying to get the ball out quick, using a lot of max protect. But there were times where you just weren't getting enough pass rush productivity, especially out of the defensive end groups. Now you've got an experienced guy, Ethan Downs, who continues to get better and better each year. And you've got some guys with juice on

off the edge as well. And, and Adepo Jadaboware and R Mason Thomas. Now it's for those guys, it's for R Mason Thomas. It's a matter of just staying healthy. He's shown big flashes every time he's gotten a chance to be on the field and be on the field consistently, but he just hasn't been able to stay on the field consistently. And, and with PJ Adepo Jadaboware, I mean, a five-star guy out of the 2023 cycle, it's,

He just needs to develop both physically, mentally, just developing the game. And he's got all the tools to be really, really productive. But it's the interior that has been the biggest question mark since Brent Venables arrived. But they got Dejan Terry to return, who was a big part of helping transform Oklahoma's run defense last year. And especially in short yardage situations, Oklahoma got really, really good last year. And so he comes back to help you at the nose tackle. Adding Dominic Williams was huge. It was an absolutely huge pickup for them.

And he can play the three technique, he can play nose tackle, and it gives you a lot more depth at defensive tackle that you didn't really have. You know, going into spring ball, it was looking like you might have to rely on your true freshman, Jaden Jackson, David Stone out of IMG Academy to be significant players for you. And

you guys know that's never a great recipe for success. At least you can have true freshmen that stand out early on in their careers at defensive tackle, but you don't want to go into a banking on that, right? Because it's just a hard position to transition to. But they've added good depth. They've got guys that have developed. They've developed physically a lot more guys up over 300 pounds than they've had in the previous two years under Brent Venables. And so that's going to help them be

a little bit more secure at defensive tackle. So, you know, defensive line, it still has a lot to prove, I think, in the minds of a lot of people, but it's, it's got to a point where, okay, we've got talent, we've got depth. It's a lot better situation right now than it was when the season ended in December.

As you assess the quarterback play, I know everyone is really optimistic about Jackson Arnold, understandably so. And I'm not saying this in intention to be negative. I just feel like there are things that we tend to overlook because it relates to five-star quarterbacks that we probably shouldn't overlook. Like Cade Klubnick is a good example. Going into last year, all the hopes of the world were on his shoulders that didn't work out very well. Hopefully, he'll bounce back this season. So,

Is the buzz surrounding Jackson Arnold justified with where they're at right now?

I think so. Obviously, he's going to be a kid that's got a lot to prove, too. But he's got the right head on his shoulders. He's got the right mentality. He's got the right work ethic. And he's got the tools to go and be successful. Now, will he be successful? That's what we watch the games for, right? I mean, everybody thought that a guy like Spencer Rattler was going to come in and set the world on fire. And he was okay, and he was pretty good at times. But obviously, it didn't ever translate to success.

being the five-star quarterback, top quarterback in the class kind of production or kind of play. But Jackson Arnold, he's got everything going for him from the intangibles to the arm strength, to the accuracy, the mobility, the athleticism. He can do a lot of really, really nice things on the football field. It's just a matter of it coming together. And a lot of how well it comes together for him this season is going to be dependent upon how well the offensive line comes together. Greg, you know that, hey,

the quarterback can only be as good as his offensive line a lot of times. And it doesn't matter how athletic you are, what kind of arm you've got, if you don't get the good protection and you don't have it early in your career, it can kind of create some, some,

some yips a little bit. You can start losing faith in the protection and bailing early and not seeing things the way you need to see them. So there's a lot that has to go right for him around Jackson Arnold for things to go well. I think that's true for every quarterback. You've got to have good offensive line play. But he's got great skill players at the wide receiver position, guys like Nick Anderson who had a huge year last year with 10 touchdowns, 800 yards.

A guy like Deion Burks, who blew up in the spring game, but comes over from Purdue after a really, really nice season there, but can make big plays after the catch. He's got great speed. And they just have a lot of good wide receiver depth that is going to stack them up against some of the best teams in the country. So he's got a lot going for him, but again, he just has to show it on the field at this point. John Williams covers Oklahoma football, joining us on the Buyers Right Hotline now. One last position I want to get your thoughts on. It may not be as important for Seth Luttrell,

as it was for the previous offensive regime in Jeff Levy. But the tight end position also feels like a little bit of a concern for Oklahoma. And it's a position that under Levy, I know when it's really good, that's when that offense sort of reaches its peak. Maybe not as big a deal for Seth, but I know he wants to get the tight ends more involved. Do they have enough there to be able to make that happen?

That is a fantastic question. I think it's the other position group that everybody's just kind of waiting to see how this is all going to turn out. Bauer Sharp, he's coming over from southeastern Louisiana. He's got a lot of athleticism. He's a former quarterback in his own right, but he's got good athleticism. He's a tough player. We'll see how that turns out. They got Jake Roberts from Baylor in the transfer portal. He's an experienced guy with four years of collegiate experience, and it's going to be a tough game.

He's going to at least give them a solid floor at the position. Now, he's not going to be a Mark Andrews type that is going to just take the top off of defense and make all kinds of plays in the passing game, but he can do it all for you. He can block really, really well, and he can make a few plays in the passing game. And then they've got some really nice blue-chip prospects that –

you know, are on the depth chart. They just need to develop. Caden Helms is a guy that has just had the injury bug. He's not never really been able to stay healthy, stay on the field consistently to have a chance to develop. And then Davin Mitchell, who was a guy that was supposed to be in the 2025 recruiting class, reclassified to 2024 and is going to be a big time playmaker at some point in his career. But like defensive tackle tight end can be a hard position to transition in. So if he can,

make the necessary steps this offseason and take that jump, he can be a factor in the offense as well. But they've got some solid pieces, but I don't think it's anything that is going to excite people or cause defensive coordinators to stay up at night trying to game plan for it. Now, they could prove me wrong. A guy like Bauer Sharp with the athleticism that he has, he can come in

and be that big time difference maker. But they've got to find somebody. Last year, they were playing 10 on 11 a little bit too much where the tight end just wasn't giving them much of anything. But I think this year they've got some better pieces and they've got better depth to have a better answer at that position. Finally, when you look at

Well, I think most of the time,

Most are looking forward to welcoming Alabama to Norman. I think that's one of those games that, despite the retirement of Nick Saban, you're excited because it's Alabama. It's one of the biggest brands in college football. It's the Crimson Tide coming with all their national titles. And hey, let's not sleep on Caelan DeBoer. That guy's a really, really good coach who's had a lot of success at every step of the way.

Jalen Milrow is going to be a really, really good quarterback again this year. This is going to be a really good team. And that game could have some college football playoff implications if we get to November and things are going well for Oklahoma. So that's going to be a big one. And then I think everybody's excited about LSU.

that game just screams night game in Baton Rouge. It just, it does. And that's going to be a huge, huge test for this team, but it's going to be an exciting atmosphere and an exciting environment. There's so many great matchups on the schedule. I mean, you talked about the Auburn game early in the season. That's going to be a really fun matchup. You know, I think you could go down the list and there's about five or six on the schedule that,

everybody's really excited to see for one reason or another, whether it's going to the Grove and being a part of the tailgate experience that they have there in Oxford or, you know, again, welcoming Josh Heupel in Tennessee to Norman for that first SEC game. Just a lot of fun, and I think that's the part of joining the SEC that everybody's most excited about is, yes, the schedule is daunting and it's going to be tough, but, man, look at the matchups. As a college football fan, like, these are dream matchups that you –

that you'd hope to get in bowl season every once in a while, but you're going to get this on a regular basis now moving forward. John, we've had some compelling discussions with multiple Oklahoma folks on this station that that Tennessee game could be in the discussion for the most important, biggest, most dynamic, however you want to describe it, regular season game in Oklahoma football history. And when you start to peel back the layers, there's a lot of that that makes sense, actually.

It is. I mean, it's the one that kickstarts your tenure in the SEC. And what you do in that game is going to say a lot about who you are as a program in this conference. You know, this is, and I've made the comparison that these are kind of some parallel programs right now. You know, Tennessee's got a developing defense that's been really, really good the last couple of years. They've got a five-star quarterback that's taking over in his first year as a starter in Nico Iannolaava. And, you know,

a really, really good offensive line in Josh Heupel. We feel like we've got a really good line in Seth Luttrell. What they do in that game is going to say a lot about who they are this year. John, we appreciate the time. Great stuff, man. It was great having you on. Glad to have you guys in the league. I'm sure we'll catch up again soon.

Yeah. Hey, it's my pleasure. And this, this is a kind of a funny full circle moment. So I actually grew up in North Texas, went to Haltom high school and got to witness the menace that Greg McElroy and the Southlake Carol dragons were to North Texas and really Texas high school football for like a decade plus. So, uh, man, I don't think Alabama fans truly understand what a menace Greg and his Southlake Carol dragon teams were in the, uh, 2000. I threw a pick six against Haltom, uh,

On a squat corner to the right, I tried to throw a little out route, and he squatted on me, and it was to the house. I think that made the final score like 63-7.

Yeah, that gave us one moment, and we appreciate that, Greg. Otherwise, it was a really, really hard day to be in the black hole that day. Yeah, that was tough, buddy. But it was fun playing against you and competing against you. There's nothing better than high school football in, say, Texas. Pretty good as it gets. And those Southlake teams, man, they were incredible to watch. Just the efficiency in which they moved the football was ridiculous.

Well, John, you're trying to bring up the greatness of Greg McElroy as a high school football player. I want to congratulate you. You've canceled yourself from ever appearing on the show again. So well done by you. It's all right. It's been real. Us North Texas guys got to stick together. Going out on top. Going out on top. All these guys down here think they can handle it. We would have rolled Homewood right out of the gym. It would have been very easy. Power clean record. Oh, yeah.

We've got to be careful with that nose tackle that's on a roid rage. Other than him, we'll be fine. We didn't have a nose. We played four down. All right, John, great stuff. Seriously, thank you so much. We'll do it again soon.

Hey, my pleasure, gentlemen. Have a great day. Great stuff. John Williams there covers the Oklahoma Sooners Locked on Sooners podcast. Really good thoughts and just kind of vision of where Oklahoma may go this year. And like you said, there are so many games on that schedule that just have a lot of meaning, intriguing for different reasons. It's going to be interesting to see just both Texas and Oklahoma, how things go for them this year in the Southeastern Conference.

When we come back, I want to go a little bit further, not just with Oklahoma, but some of the other teams in the SEC this upcoming season. I have some more questions about our thoughts on where a certain team or two may go. We'll discuss that next on McElroy and Kubrick in the morning. Catch up with all things McElroy and Kubrick in the morning by subscribing to the podcast. Mythically, he's grown. He's almost like a little bit bigger than a player, right? Like the myth of Bo Jackson. Like, rate, and download the show from the Jock Gap or wherever you get your podcasts.

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