I’ll have more later on, but wanted these few notes up here real quickly on off-season:
*** First — and it’s on the not so good news side of things — we are hearing that freshman TE Kaden Helms is expected to miss the 2023 season as things sit right now.
Why, you ask?
Well, sources have indicated to OUinsider that he has had some “significant setback’s” on his recovery from knee surgery to repair some cartilage issues, and now they have to go in and repair quite a bit more.
Sources asked us not to be too descriptive in our update for you all, but the crux of the situation is that Helms is now expected to miss the 2023 season and is having to repair some issues in a knee that was previously worked on.
As for what’s left at TE, you obviously have senior and former All-Big 12 standout Austin Stogner, Texas A&M transfer Blake Smith, freshman Kade McIntyre and RS freshman Jason Llewellyn as well.
If you’re OU and Joe Jon Finley, you just hope Austin Stogner stays healthy, from the looks of things in early June.
*** Speaking of Jason Llewellyn, I spoke with him a bit during the Sooners elite camp last Thursday and was told, “I’m down 15 or so pounds. Just trying to tone up and get to a good weight for the season.”
This is the least amount of weight I have seen Llewellyn hold so far and he really does look good and in the best shape I’ve seen him.
*** I spoke to another source on Sooners’ off-season, and also asked the teams mentality so far, and was told, “It’s night and day different than last year. The expectations are different. The staff and Schmitty was just introducing (the players) to the culture and how things would go last off-season,” the source told me. “This year the leaders and returning players know what to expect, and frankly, they expect way more than that. So, Schmitty has kind of upped the intensity while the leaders are holding everyone accountable for the smallest of things.”
That last sentence had me asking what “the smallest of things” might be. The source dove in and said, “When (the players) line shoes up, the shoes better be exactly on the line and in perfectly straight order. If they aren’t, the leaders and elder guys are all over the players that sloppily placed their shoes down,” the source said.
“You will be five to ten minutes early or you’re late, and weights are to be stacked in the precise order they were when you got them. You aren’t leaving it for the trainers and S&C staff to fix. Same goes with trash or stuff not in use. Or even your locker and other things. It’s the small things that lost it for us in 2022 and 6-7 isn’t happening again. That is what (the players) are about this summer. (The players) read and hear everything. Plenty of ammo been shot our way after last season. Lots expect us to continue to fall as a program. That just won’t and can’t happen at Oklahoma.”
*** I’ll have more later this week, but did want to talk about the young defensive linemen a bit:
First, freshman DL Derrick LeBlanc. The former four-star DL showed up on campus weighing just under 260lbs and stands at 6-4. However, as of last week, I was told LeBlanc came in weighing a solid 294lbs. The staff hopes he puts on five to ten more pounds this off-season to go along with his long frame.
A source told OUinsider the light is now coming on for LeBlanc but he had his ups and downs this spring, adding, “To be honest, Ashton Sanders has looked the best so far, but LeBlanc is starting to pick things up and become who everyone thought he might be,” the source noted on LeBlanc and Sanders. “Both guys have huge expectations from the staff and LeBlanc looks like he’s 270lbs and is over 290 right now. With how twitchy he is, there is high hopes for him down the line.”
The source said Sanders could be a player to watch in the rotation if he grows more on the mental side of things in fall camp.
*** I’ll have more in-depth stuff later on this week, but wanted to get this stuff out there to you all. We are grabbing daily info on the team and going to accumulate it in a nice piece on the off-season.
Stay tuned.
*** First — and it’s on the not so good news side of things — we are hearing that freshman TE Kaden Helms is expected to miss the 2023 season as things sit right now.
Why, you ask?
Well, sources have indicated to OUinsider that he has had some “significant setback’s” on his recovery from knee surgery to repair some cartilage issues, and now they have to go in and repair quite a bit more.
Sources asked us not to be too descriptive in our update for you all, but the crux of the situation is that Helms is now expected to miss the 2023 season and is having to repair some issues in a knee that was previously worked on.
As for what’s left at TE, you obviously have senior and former All-Big 12 standout Austin Stogner, Texas A&M transfer Blake Smith, freshman Kade McIntyre and RS freshman Jason Llewellyn as well.
If you’re OU and Joe Jon Finley, you just hope Austin Stogner stays healthy, from the looks of things in early June.
*** Speaking of Jason Llewellyn, I spoke with him a bit during the Sooners elite camp last Thursday and was told, “I’m down 15 or so pounds. Just trying to tone up and get to a good weight for the season.”
This is the least amount of weight I have seen Llewellyn hold so far and he really does look good and in the best shape I’ve seen him.
*** I spoke to another source on Sooners’ off-season, and also asked the teams mentality so far, and was told, “It’s night and day different than last year. The expectations are different. The staff and Schmitty was just introducing (the players) to the culture and how things would go last off-season,” the source told me. “This year the leaders and returning players know what to expect, and frankly, they expect way more than that. So, Schmitty has kind of upped the intensity while the leaders are holding everyone accountable for the smallest of things.”
That last sentence had me asking what “the smallest of things” might be. The source dove in and said, “When (the players) line shoes up, the shoes better be exactly on the line and in perfectly straight order. If they aren’t, the leaders and elder guys are all over the players that sloppily placed their shoes down,” the source said.
“You will be five to ten minutes early or you’re late, and weights are to be stacked in the precise order they were when you got them. You aren’t leaving it for the trainers and S&C staff to fix. Same goes with trash or stuff not in use. Or even your locker and other things. It’s the small things that lost it for us in 2022 and 6-7 isn’t happening again. That is what (the players) are about this summer. (The players) read and hear everything. Plenty of ammo been shot our way after last season. Lots expect us to continue to fall as a program. That just won’t and can’t happen at Oklahoma.”
*** I’ll have more later this week, but did want to talk about the young defensive linemen a bit:
First, freshman DL Derrick LeBlanc. The former four-star DL showed up on campus weighing just under 260lbs and stands at 6-4. However, as of last week, I was told LeBlanc came in weighing a solid 294lbs. The staff hopes he puts on five to ten more pounds this off-season to go along with his long frame.
A source told OUinsider the light is now coming on for LeBlanc but he had his ups and downs this spring, adding, “To be honest, Ashton Sanders has looked the best so far, but LeBlanc is starting to pick things up and become who everyone thought he might be,” the source noted on LeBlanc and Sanders. “Both guys have huge expectations from the staff and LeBlanc looks like he’s 270lbs and is over 290 right now. With how twitchy he is, there is high hopes for him down the line.”
The source said Sanders could be a player to watch in the rotation if he grows more on the mental side of things in fall camp.
*** I’ll have more in-depth stuff later on this week, but wanted to get this stuff out there to you all. We are grabbing daily info on the team and going to accumulate it in a nice piece on the off-season.
Stay tuned.
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