Head coach Brent Venables said the Sooners have three quarterbacks getting snaps this week — Davis Beville, General Booty and Nick Evers — with Dillon Gabriel’s availability in flux after he suffered a head injury against TCU last Saturday.
Beville completed 7-of-16 passes for a pedestrian 50 yards after relieving Gabriel in the second quarter, and Booty, a redshirt freshman junior college transfer, entered for Oklahoma’s final drive but didn’t attempt a pass. Evers, a former four-star recruit who early enrolled last spring, also has a chance to contribute.
Venables didn’t explicitly state who would start Saturday against Texas, but noted Beville was the first to enter against the Horned Frogs.
“We’ll have three quarterbacks taking reps this week just in case and see how the week goes,” he said. “And then by game time we’ll have that figured out. And I would assume even before then.”
Evers suited up for his first road game against TCU last Saturday after not traveling to Nebraska on Sept. 17. The 6-foot-3 signal caller from Flower Mound, Texas, has made strides since he first came to Norman, according to Venables.
“He’s done really well,” Venables said of Evers. “Thursdays, we scrimmage for a few series. We go live, all of our young guys… and he’s done incredibly well all season. Matter of fact, he’s done better being a part of those than he did in fall camp. He made improvement in fall camp, but he did really well.
“We saw all of that potential throwing, running, decision making, really come to fruition over the last several weeks. (Offensive coordinator Jeff Lebby) would probably get up and tell you he’s not near ready, all of the things he needs to do better. I’m just standing back watching him play football. He’s done a really nice job.”
Meanwhile, the Longhorns may have their starter, redshirt freshman Quinn Ewers, back against OU. Ewers hasn’t played since hurting his shoulder against Alabama on Sept. 10. Sophomore Hudson Card has started three games in Ewers’ place and would likely play if Ewers isn’t ready.
Fifth-year senior linebacker DaShaun White during the game against TCU in Fort Worth, TX on Oct. 1.
Venables confident Sooners’ defense will improve
Venables expressed confidence his defense can turn its play around after consecutive weeks allowing over 500 yards, and continues to extract positive notes from otherwise ugly results.
“There's countless examples, for the first part of the season, certainly fall camp or even in the two defeats the last couple of weeks where our guys are doing things well,” Venables said. “We’ve just gotta get them to do it well consistently.
“And it's a very frustrating thing. The work and the buy-in, the desire, the effort, none of it's been perfect, just like the coaching, but those things have been there. But without the details and, again, the discipline, you’re gonna get inconsistent results.”
Venables expressed frustration that his players’ hard work in practice is going unrewarded by game results, but said if they’ll keep their heads and efforts up and block the outside noise, improvement will come.
Explosive plays have become an evident problem for OU, as only six FBS teams have allowed more plays of over 50 yards than the Sooners. The struggles were obvious against TCU as coordinator Ted Roof’s defense surrendered four touchdowns over 60 yards.
Roof and Venables both maintain no adjustment in scheme is going to fix the busts in coverage. Nor can OU just desert the defensive gameplan Venables has established in his first year as head coach for something simpler.
“We’ve got to build a foundation of what we want to be,” Venables said. “We're going to be a multiple defense and utilize our personnel. Every year it’s going to be a little bit different. Utilize the strengths… protect their weaknesses, put players in position to be successful. And you're always evaluating and never afraid to do things that maybe someone else wouldn't do or doesn't do because you're worried about the result, or being criticized or whatnot.
“It’s not rip the bandaid off. It’s build a program. And so with that comes your schemes in all three phases. So, there's a lot of intricacies from the schemes, the verbiage, the language, the fundamentals that go along with it.”
Freshman defensive back Billy Bowman tackles Texas running back Bijan Robinson during the Red River Showdown at the Cotton Bowl on Oct. 9.
Texas 'playing disciplined' ahead of Red River Showdown
When Oklahoma’s buses roll through the State Fair of Texas to the Cotton Bowl on Saturday, it’ll be the 14th time Venables has experienced the Red River Showdown.
However, in his first rivalry game as head coach, Venables has his work cut out for him. The Sooners have lost consecutive games while Texas almost escaped with a win against No. 1 Alabama on Sept. 10 and lost an overtime thriller to Texas Tech on Sept. 24 in Lubbock.
“They’re an incredibly talented team,” Venables said. “They’re really well-coached, have explosive players on every level, both sides of the ball. It sounds like they're a pretty healthy football team as well. So our players are excited about the opportunity. We had a great Monday practice and meetings.
“We’ve got a lot to get better, we haven't played well the last couple of weeks and our guys are anxious to move forward and have an opportunity to play, again, against a really good Texas football team that we're going to have to play well. And I think that goes without saying. If you have a chance to win this game, you’ve got to play well, and so that's what we're focused on doing right now.”
Instead of discussing OU’s struggles during the last two weeks, Venables said he’s more focused on facing the Longhorns and not only the challenge they present, but also the opportunity his team has to bounce back.
Texas’ roster is filled with dynamic offensive players, including the former consensus No. 1 overall recruit Ewers, first-team All-Big 12 running back Bijan Robinson and receiver Xavier Worthy.
Second-year defensive coordinator Pete Kwiatkowski has also transformed the Longhorns’ defense, which ranked No. 99 nationally last season, into an aggressive unit that caused problems for Alabama and reigning Heisman Trophy winner Bryce Young.
“They're playing disciplined,” Venables said. “They're playing really well together as a unit. Giving up just over 20 points a game has given them an opportunity to play really well against Alabama and is giving them an opportunity to win every game. They’ve got some excellent football players… and so, again, we’re going to have to execute at a really high level.”
