Oklahoma will be without four key players when it faces No. 13 Florida State in the Cheez-It Bowl on Dec. 29 in Orlando.
Sooners coach Brent Venables confirmed Sunday that running back Eric Gray, offensive tackles Anton Harrison and Wanya Morris and defensive lineman Jalen Redmond have opted out of the bowl game.
Gray, Morris and Redmond will all begin preparations for the Reese’s Senior Bowl on Feb. 4 in Mobile, Alabama. Harrison declared for the NFL draft on Nov. 28.
OU’s roster turnover has been augmented by seven players who have said they’ll enter the transfer portal when the window officially opens Monday. The Sooners have garnered the commitment of one transfer, former Notre Dame defensive lineman Jacob Lacey, and will look to add more from the portal in the coming weeks.
“Obviously we've been preparing for the end of the season, and this is the last year that you can have the opportunity to sign more than 25 guys,” Venables said. “So building the roster the way we see fit and where our needs are, things that need to transpire transactionally with guys looking for other opportunities, and for us to continue to add value to our roster.
“This is something that, it's complicated in many ways, but something that we as a staff have been working on for several months now in preparation for this opportunity. So we feel like it's going to be great for everybody in regards to guys finding a fresh start, and for us to continue to fill the holes and the needs of our roster and add the depth where we need and see fit.”
Venables said the Sooners have still done drills and hit the weight room with graduate assistants supervising in the days since their regular season finale. Meanwhile, he and his coordinators and position coaches have hit the recruiting trail ahead of Dec. 21 signing day.
He also acknowledged bowl game preparations will be important for developing Oklahoma’s younger players going into the offseason. Venables mentioned running backs Jovantae Barnes and Marcus Major and offensive lineman Tyler Guyton as players who will be “baptized quickly” into more important roles against FSU.
“Playing in the bowl game, what an awesome opportunity that's going to be, really with spring ball, you’re just really several weeks away once we get back,” Venables said. “So for coaches, we're excited. I'm not sure how excited the players will be, but that's the nature of the beast. They'll have, give or take, about six weeks off... and then some rest and recovery. And then we'll get started with our initial spring ball preparations.”
Can familiar bowl springboard Sooners?
The last time Oklahoma played in the Cheez-It Bowl it was called the Russell Athletic Bowl. The Sooners were demolished 40-6 by Clemson and the Tigers’ then-defensive coordinator Venables.
Following the rout, OU made the College Football Playoff in three of the next four seasons and Clemson won national titles in 2016 and 2018. Venables acknowledged the 2022 bowl has the potential to similarly springboard the Sooners’ future in the years ahead.
“We’ll use any type of parallels that you can,” Venables said. “It's like at the end of any season, though. This is an opportunity to continue to build your team, try to create momentum, improve, develop confidence, certainly be on a stage where you can continue to sell your program and the vision to both your current players and certainly recruits that will be watching. Obviously, this will be just a little over a week post-signing day for a good group of guys that’ll be signing in the early signing period, so it'll give them a snapshot of something to look forward to as well as they embark on their careers here in January.
“So, can it be a springboard for both programs? Certainly. Again, Mike's been there for three years now and this is their first bowl game that they're going to, and boy, he's done it the right way. He's used the transfers with the right guys when he's a solid fit. He's developed guys through signing guys out of high school. And then he's had, for the most part, good continuity on his staff and he's had an opportunity to build through his vision what he wants his program to look like. For us, it's a great opportunity, again, just to match up with a team with the speed and the talent, certainly the history, the tradition.”
Redshirt junior quarterback Dillon Gabriel during the game against Texas Tech in Lubbock on Nov. 26.
Norvell provides blueprint for Venables, praises Gabriel
Florida State coach Mike Norvell, who is in his third season in Tallahassee, helped the Seminoles to a 9-3 record this year and their first bowl game since 2019.
Meanwhile, Venables and Oklahoma enter the matchup following a disappointing 6-6 regular season and at a time of roster turnover. Norvell offered the first-year head coach some advice on how to build a culture at a historic program during Sunday’s Cheez-It Bowl press conference.
“Coming in, there had been quite a bit of change around Florida State over the years,” Norvell said. “And it was important that we set those values and really establish an understanding for our players and what to expect because there had been different leaders. Every leader is going to have different languages and different expectations.”
The 41-year-old Norvell long admired Venables when he was first with the Sooners as defensive coordinator and even had the opportunity to coach against him last season when FSU lost at Clemson 30-20. In the year since, Norvell has taken Florida State from 5-7 to 9-3, with two of those three losses coming by one possession.
OU and Venables could look to the job Norvell has done with his program, which has won its last five games, as a blueprint for how to improve next season.
“Trying to establish just that overall mindset of the willingness to work, being able to push to that standard of being your best day in and day out,” Norvell said. “And then being able to do that in all aspects, not just in one area. Maybe on the field, but being able to carry that over into the weight room, into the training room, into the classroom, in the community, and in all things that you do. Pushing yourself to that expectation and it takes time to build trust.”
Norvell said he thinks Venables will ultimately do a “wonderful job” at Oklahoma. Another Sooner who impresses FSU’s coach is quarterback Dillon Gabriel.
The two competed in the American Athletic Conference together in 2019 when Norvell was at Memphis and Gabriel was at UCF. Norvell said he has always been impressed with Gabriel's capabilities.
“He’s an extremely talented quarterback, and you see the way that he's played this year, he just continues to get better,” Norvell said. “His vision, his talent, the things that he can do, it just has that natural playmaking ability that shows up. Throughout the course of the game, I think they do a great job in their offensive scheme and try to utilize their personnel... it's going to be a wonderful challenge for our defense.”
