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The comparisons to Lamar Jackson were inevitable. Once Jalen Hurts arrived at Oklahoma last year and started putting up video game numbers in head coach Lincoln Riley's offense, the race to put it all into context was on. Sooners predecessors Baker Mayfield and Kyler Murray were obvious comps. Both won the Heisman Trophy and were selected with the No. 1 overall pick. LSU's Joe Burrow took the Heisman out of the picture with one of the most impressive college seasons of all time. He'll also almost certainly be the No. 1 pick when the Cincinnati Bengals go on the clock next month. And that's where Jackson creeps into the picture.

His career was longer and more consistent at Louisville, but there were many of the same doubts about him coming out of college. The athleticism was readily apparent - and nearly impossible to stop - but did he have the arm to stress NFL defenses? Could he make enough plays from the pocket to allow him to take full advantage of his speed, strength and vision in the running game? General managers and head coaches looking to replicate even a fraction of that success could well turn to Hurts as a developmental talent with a pedigree of great success. "I don't put a ceiling on my ability in terms of how great I can be," Hurts said last month at the NFL Scouting Combine. "I'm definitely a student of the game and been able to adjust to all the different coaches I've been a part of. For me, it's about steps every day and being the best I can be." - Herald Bulletin

(DS#7 QB) Sr/2020

QB Jalen Hurts, Oklahoma
News Source: Herald Bulletin
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03/29/20 - Kenneth Murray, Jr/2020, Oklahoma, 6-2, 241 (DS#1 ILB) + More +

Kenneth Murray knows his early departure for the NFL leaves OU with one less playmaker on defense and one more hole at linebacker. But he wants to give the Sooners something to make up for that. He hopes to be the first OU defender picked in the first round of the NFL Draft since 2010, and while that'd be a huge deal for him personally, it would also give his coaches a huge selling point on the recruiting trail. "No doubt," Murray said at OU Pro Day. "Go sell it." If Murray gets picked on the first night of the draft, if Gallimore and Motley get taken the next night in the second or third rounds, those would be huge feathers in OU's cap. It would be validation of the difference these new defensive coaches can make in a player. It would be proof defenders have a path to the NFL through Norman.

Not in three or four years either. "It's happening right in front of us right now," Riley said. Kenneth Murray would like nothing more than to be the first Sooner defender since Gerald McCoy in 2010 and the first OU linebacker since Jackie Shipp in 1984 to be taken in the first round. But more than anything, Murray hopes he and his teammates reestablish a standard. "It's Oklahoma; that's an expectation," he said of getting defenders drafted. "Getting back to that expectation is definitely something that I'm looking forward to." - Daily Oklahoman

(DS#1 ILB) Jr/2020

ILB Kenneth Murray, Oklahoma
News Source: Daily Oklahoman
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03/23/20 - *CeeDee Lamb, Jr/2020, Oklahoma, 6-2, 198 (DS#1 WR) + More +

This year's draft is full of strong receivers, including Alabama's Jerry Jeudy and Henry Ruggs, Clemson's Tee Higgins, LSU's Justin Jefferson and Colorado's Laviska Shenault Jr. Lamb has still found a way to stand out. "He has an elite feel for space, for setting people up, getting separation on routes and also kind of that same feel of when he gets the ball in his hands of setting people up," OU coach Lincoln Riley said after observing Lamb's workout with former Sooner quarterback Jalen Hurts. "Combined with the body physically that he's been able to build here. He's really made himself really exceptional after the catch. I mean, he really has."

Lamb found the face-to-face interview part of the draft process "different." But it hasn't kept him from staying loose throughout. Being back at OU was even more comforting. His former quarterback, Kyler Murray, watched from the sidelines. Murray has advocated for the Arizona Cardinals to select Lamb so the two can reunite. "That option's out there, but I can't pick," Lamb said. "If I get to play with him I'd definitely be happy for sure." - Norman Transcript

(DS#1 WR) Jr/2020

WR *CeeDee Lamb, Oklahoma
News Source: Norman Transcript
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03/17/20 - Parnell Motley, Sr/2020, Oklahoma, 6-0, 183 (DS#28 CB) + More +

Parnell Motley admitted to a cluster of reporters that he didn't really even like combine-style testing. But he didn't have a choice. "I just did it because that was a big question mark for me," the former Oklahoma cornerback said. "I'm just a football guy … [I'm] glad this is over and I can push this to the side and can get back to the basics." All indications are Motley took big strides his senior year at OU. That didn't do him much good when he was left empty-handed after NFL Combine invitations were mailed out. There was one remaining chance to impress scouts, and for Motley, Oklahoma's pro day last week arrived just in the nick of time. "That's why there are days like this," he said, "for people like us." A few hours after he finished his workout at OU's Everest Indoor Training Center, concerns over the COVID-19 pandemic began casting sports into its current dormancy. Two days later, pro days at universities across the country were being canceled. The NFL has banned in-person scouting. When and how the league draft takes place isn't totally certain, but scouts have a bigger file on Motley now.

Before, his 40-yard dash was the biggest question mark among his tests. Motley ran a 4.50 that was as good or better than 12 of the 29 defensive backs who ran 40s at the NFL Combine. "That's what I wanted. I hit it," Motley said, giving himself a "B or B+" grade overall. "I'm a press-man corner. I love to press, love to challenge the guy in front of me," he said. "Anybody can play zone and just sit there. It's hard to press that guy right in front of you. That's what I worked the most on. "That's mostly what teams are going to be looking for is press-man corners that are aggressive. If you're looking for them, I'm here." - Norman Transcript

(DS#28 CB) Sr/2020

CB Parnell Motley, Oklahoma
News Source: Norman Transcript
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03/13/20 - Jalen Hurts, Sr/2020, Oklahoma, 6-1, 222 (DS#7 QB) + More +

A few passes sailed out of reach, but they didn't concern Nick Basquine much. Out of more than 70 throws, former Oklahoma quarterback Jalen Hurts was mostly on the mark. He and Basquine had rehearsed the workout for Oklahoma's Pro Day, but only briefly days earlier. What Basquine saw Wednesday was a much improved thrower, even since the end of last season. "Our first session throwing [was Sunday]. You could just see a lot of improvement," he said. "From his training and just the confidence he has in himself and his throwing mechanics, everything like that, you can see an improved player. Just how he's spinning the ball, the conviction how he's throwing the ball. "He was sure of himself, I think that was the big thing."

Hurts completed 70 percent of his passes last season at OU, his one and only campaign with the program after transferring from Alabama. He ranked ninth nationally in passing yards and second in passing efficiency. Questions about Hurts' accuracy, however, have followed him at both stops. He wanted this appearance - his first in Norman since the 2019-20 season ended - to help provide some answers. "I think it went well. Could've done some things better … You get nitpicky, you talk about certain ball placements, right? I want to hit the guy in the nose every time," Hurts said. "I want to allow him to put the biscuit in the basket, as the guy says on TV." - Norman Transcript

(DS#7 QB) Sr/2020

QB Jalen Hurts, Oklahoma
News Source: Norman Transcript
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03/09/20 - Baker Mayfield, rSr/2018, Oklahoma, 6-1, 215 (DS#2 QB) + More +

Oklahoma will unveil a statue of 2017 Heisman Trophy winner Baker Mayfield at its spring game April 18. Oklahoma coach Lincoln Riley said the statue will be unveiled inside Gaylord Family Memorial Stadium before being placed in the Heisman Park outside the stadium. Oklahoma has seven Heisman winners. Five of them - Billy Vessels, Steve Owens, Billy Sims, Jason White and Sam Bradford - already have statues in the park. Kyler Murray, the 2018 Heisman winner, does not have a statue yet. Mayfield, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2018 NFL draft, is the starting quarterback for the Cleveland Browns. He left Oklahoma as one of the most efficient passers in college football history. During his Heisman season, he passed for 4,627 yards and 43 touchdowns with just six interceptions and led the Sooners to the College Football Playoff. - AP College Football

(DS#2 QB) rSr/2018

QB Baker Mayfield, Oklahoma
News Source: AP College Football
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03/07/20 - Kennedy Brooks, rSr/2022, Oklahoma, 5-11, 209 (DS#12 RB) + More +

Oklahoma's run game is critical to its Air Raid offense, however incongruent that might sound. Lincoln Riley has made it a priority since he arrived in Norman. Running backs are among football's most injured positions, and the Sooners haven't been exempt from that. Rodney Anderson, Trey Sermon, T.J. Pledger and Kennedy Brooks - practically every meaningful scholarship back the past three seasons - has missed time. This fall, OU must work around the potential absence of Rhamondre Stevenson, a productive junior-college transfer who was suspended for the Peach Bowl and could miss more time in 2020.

OU's running backs totaled 2,506 yards and 30 touchdowns in 2018. They ran for 435 fewer yards and 13 fewer touchdowns in 2019, when the run game focused more on Jalen Hurts at quarterback. Hurts ran for a team-high 1,487 yards and 20 touchdowns. He is a rare breed in terms of what he can handle physically, so don't expect that kind of offensive focus this season. With redshirt freshman Spencer Rattler likely to take over at quarterback, the Sooners won't have the option, and they can afford to lean on running backs again. - Norman Transcript

(DS#12 RB) rSr/2022

RB Kennedy Brooks, Oklahoma
News Source: Norman Transcript
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02/23/20 - Michael Turk, rSr/2023, Oklahoma, 6-0, 227 (DS#4 P) + More +

2020 NFL COMBINE INVITE: Michael Turk, P, Arizona State,...A semifinalist for the Ray Guy Award, Michael Turk's 46.0 yards per punt average on 59 punts was 11th in the FBS and led the Pac-12...He pinned 32 of those 59 punts inside the opponent 20-yard line (54.2 percent), a total that was secondin the nation...Turk has 21 punts out of 59 (35.6 percent) punts over 50 yards this season, six more than any other player in the Pac-12...Turk holds the top mark in the FBS this season for max hang time on a punt with a mark of 5.51 seconds in generally unfavorable conditions in Week 8 against Utah. - Arizona State Football

(DS#4 P) rSr/2023

P Michael Turk, Oklahoma
News Source: Arizona State Football
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01/27/20 - Kennedy Brooks, rSr/2022, Oklahoma, 5-11, 209 (DS#12 RB) + More +

Oklahoma hired DeMarco Murray as its running backs coach Monday, bringing back the school's career leader in all-purpose yards, career touchdowns and kickoff return average. Murray starred at Oklahoma from the 2007 through 2010 seasons. The Sooners won three Big 12 championships during that run. Murray helped the Sooners reach the BCS national championship game after the 2008 season. Murray had a seven-year NFL career that included three Pro Bowl selections. He rushed for 7,174 yards and 49 touchdowns and racked up 2,165 receiving yards and six more scores as a pro. Murray was the running backs coach at Arizona last season. He replaces Jay Boulware, who left for a coaching job at Texas, his alma mater. - AP College Football

(DS#12 RB) rSr/2022

RB Kennedy Brooks, Oklahoma
News Source: AP College Football
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01/24/20 - *Nik Bonitto, rJr/2022, Oklahoma, 6-3, 248 (DS#2 OLB) + More +

Ruffin McNeill is stepping down as Oklahoma's assistant head coach and outside linebackers coach to help care for his 85-year-old father in North Carolina. The school made the announcement Thursday. Oklahoma coach Lincoln Riley hired McNeill in 2017. He coached defensive tackles that season and at the start of the 2018 season before being named interim co-defensive coordinator for the final eight games of 2018. Riley and McNeill have coached together in some capacity for 15 of the past 17 years. McNeill said stepping away was one of the hardest decisions he's had to make. He said he is not retiring and plans to return to coaching someday. - AP College Football

(DS#2 OLB) rJr/2022

OLB *Nik Bonitto, Oklahoma
News Source: AP College Football
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01/21/20 - Jalen Hurts, Sr/2020, Oklahoma, 6-1, 222 (DS#7 QB) + More +

Jalen Hurts' Senior Bowl helmet gives a snapshot of his college career, an OU on the right side and his old Alabama No. 2 on the left. Now, the quarterback who led two elite programs to the College Football Playoffs is trying to prove himself again, as an NFL prospect, back in the state where he began his college career. Hurts officially began his audition for NFL teams this week with practices and meetings ahead of Saturday's Senior Bowl. His biggest selling point: "I win." Indeed last season's Heisman Trophy runner-up did a lot of winning for both Oklahoma and the Crimson Tide, putting up big numbers both passing and rushing. But questions remain about his passing accuracy and consistency, leading to an uncertain draft status.

LSU Heisman winner Joe Burrow is the likely No. 1 overall pick by the Cincinnati Bengals, whose staff is coaching Hurts and the South team. Tua Tagovailoa, who replaced Hurts as the starter, is also regarded as a likely first-round draft pick despite recovering from hip surgery. Hurts' Senior Bowl teammate Justin Herbert of Oregon is projected as a high first-rounder. Then there's the 6-foot-1, 218-pound Hurts, who has a stellar resume but still some questions. "I don't want to get into comparisons," he said Tuesday before the teams' first practices. "That's kind of like the kiss of death. I try to be the best version of myself. Go out there and try to win, try to lead my guys, build relationships with my guys. Win ball games." - AP College Football

(DS#7 QB) Sr/2020

QB Jalen Hurts, Oklahoma
News Source: AP College Football
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01/03/20 - Eric Gray, Sr/2023, Oklahoma, 5-10, 205 (DS#13 RB) + More +

Tennessee sure knows how to get out of a huge hole. The Volunteers scored twice in a 30-second span late, using an onside kick to help escape a 13-point deficit, and then held on to stun Indiana 23-22 in the Gator Bowl on Thursday night. The rally was indicative of Tennessee's season, which started 1-4 and ended with six consecutive wins. "Everybody in the country had given up on these guys," second-year coach Jeremy Pruitt said. Pruitt was talking about the season. He could have been talking about the game.

The Hoosiers (8-5) looked to be in control in the second half after scoring two touchdowns in a 1:03 span, the second one coming on Jamar Johnson's 63-yard interception return, and later adding a pair of field goals. Indiana was up 22-9 before Tennessee (8-5) shocked most of the nearly 62,000 fans on hand. Quavaris Crouch scored on a 1-yard plunge and then fellow running back Eric Gray recovered a surprise onside kick that barely went the mandatory 10 yards. Gray scored from 16 yards out a few plays later to put the Vols on top for good. "Obviously, very very disappointing to have a fourth-quarter lead and let it slip away," said Indiana coach Tom Allen, whose team was seeking its first nine-win season since 1967. "I'm not going to sit here and point fingers and blame. At the end of the day, it's my responsibility for us to find a way to win the game. We didn't do that." Gray was named the game's Most Valuable Player. - AP College Football

(DS#13 RB) Sr/2023

RB Eric Gray, Oklahoma
News Source: AP College Football
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12/13/19 - Jalen Hurts, Sr/2020, Oklahoma, 6-1, 222 (DS#7 QB) + More +

2019 ASSOCIATED PRESS NEWCOMER OF THE YEAR: Jalen Hurts, QB, Oklahoma,...When the AP All-Big 12 team and individual awards were announced Friday, it was the first time in Oklahoma's run of five consecutive conference titles that the league's top offensive player wasn't from the Sooners. Oklahoma quarterback Jalen Hurts, the graduate transfer from Alabama, was the unanimous pick as first-team quarterback and also got all 20 votes as the conference's top newcomer. He was one of a league-high six first-team picks from the Sooners, who are in the College Football Playoff for the fourth time in five seasons. Hurts is the Big 12 leader with 376.1 total yards per game and has accounted for 50 touchdowns (32 passing, 18 rushing). He is the league's second-leading rusher at 96.5 yards per game. - AP College Football

(DS#7 QB) Sr/2020

QB Jalen Hurts, Oklahoma
News Source: AP College Football
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12/11/19 - Michael Turk, rSr/2023, Oklahoma, 6-0, 227 (DS#4 P) + More +

2019 ALL-PAC-12 FIRST TEAM (COACHES): P Michael Turk, R-So., Arizona State,...A semifinalist for the Ray Guy Award, Michael Turk's 46.0 yards per punt average on 59 punts was 11th in the FBS and led the Pac-12...He pinned 32 of those 59 punts inside the opponent 20-yard line (54.2 percent), a total that was secondin the nation...Turk has 21 punts out of 59 (35.6 percent) punts over 50 yards this season, six more than any other player in the Pac-12. - Arizona State Football

(DS#4 P) rSr/2023

P Michael Turk, Oklahoma
News Source: Arizona State Football
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12/09/19 - Jalen Hurts, Sr/2020, Oklahoma, 6-1, 222 (DS#7 QB) + More +

2019 HEISMAN TROPHY FINALIST: Hurts, a fifth-year senior, marks the fourth straight year Oklahoma has featured a Heisman Trophy finalist, including 2017 winner Baker Mayfield and 2018 winner Kyler Murray. He is the Sooners' ninth different finalist and their 11th finalist overall while he tries to become Okahoma's eighth winner of the award. Hurts, who transferred to Oklahoma in 2019 from Alabama, led the Sooners to a 12-1 record, a Big 12 title, and a spot in the College Football Playoff. He has thrown for 3,634 yards on 222-of-309 passing with 32 TDs to go with 1,255 yards rushing on 219 carries (5.7 yards per carry) with 18 TDs. Hurts also has one receiving TD. He averaged 279.5 passing yards and 96.5 rushing yards and accounted for 51 touchdowns, tied for the national lead.

His 71.8% completion percentage is on pace to break Mayfield's 2016 school record (70.9) and his 200.3 passing efficiency is behind only Burrow of quarterbacks who have played in at least 10 games. He has helped Oklahoma's offense lead the country in yards per play (8.2) while the Sooners are second nationally in yards per game (554.2). Hurts is also first in the country in yards per pass attempt (11.8) and yards per completion (16.4). His total offense of 376.1 yards per game is third in the country. - Heisman Memorial Trophy

(DS#7 QB) Sr/2020

QB Jalen Hurts, Oklahoma
News Source: Heisman Memorial Trophy
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