*** Sooners hire Jacksonville State LB/Defensive Coordinator Zac Alley.

Sources tell me that he not only makes sense but is also the one that several staffers on the Sooners' defensive side of the ball feel is a good hire as well. Alley has a similar background under Venables as Brandon Hall, where he was a student assistant and graduate assistant during his time at Clemson. Those two positions were held from 2011 to 2018 before Alley moved on to Boise State as the inside linebacker coach in 2019. He coached at BSU from 2018 to 2020, holding ILB and OLB coaching positions and being the special teams coordinator. Alley became a hot commodity in the defensive coaching world and was deemed a 'savant' by many who came in contact with him.

After BSU, Alley became the DC/LB coach at Louisiana-Monroe in 2021. He didn't stay long before getting the DC/LB job for Jacksonville State as the DC, starting in 2022 and continuing to the present day (EDIT: now the Sooners' new DC)

Alley has been named on 247Sports "30 under 30" list for the rising stars in the coaching world.

So, why do we feel Alley is a great fit for the Sooners? Well, he has strong relationships with the defensive side of the ball for OU, with him having previous coaching relationships with Todd Bates, Miguel Chavis, and more at Clemson. He also knows and has coaching contacts, in a roundabout way, with Sooners safety coach Brandon Hall. Sources say he and Hall had what some would call "the meeting of the minds" when Hall was DC at Troy.

Moreover, Alley was with BV at Clemson when he started implementing the 30-front in his arsenal of defenses that the Sooners head coach uses. When you add all of that together, along with his strong relationship with the Sooners head man, you can see why we at OUinsider feel Alley is not only the right hire but just the perfect fit for the Sooners as a whole -- staff and program-wise.



*** Side note: I had to rearrange this stinking write-up to explain why he is a fit. I was writing why he was "the leader in the clubhouse and expected to be the hire" when Matt Zenitz broke the news on Alley. But that's why we had this ready.

Love the hire. Love that this was over quickly. Great get by Matt Zenitz. He is good at his job. lol

Can anyone explain why they do this?
Line is -2.5 OU but matchup prediction to lose.

Love ou bball. LNC needs to be flushed. Sorry folks. Traffic sucks, concessions, old seats, bathrooms disgusting.

Please Joe C get this shit done or move on. OU basketball and fans deserves so much better

Live in Tulsa, support 2-3 games per year. But we have to better.

Takeaways, notes from OU's late rally against Iowa State to open conference play.

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Still not getting hopes too high on this one, but I’m told Oklahoma is set to get a visit from Lance Heard, the former five-star lineman who spent his freshman year at LSU. Working to glean more information on the Sooners’ chances here, but the news of the visit is at the very least encouraging. We’ll update as more becomes available.

About a week ago the “flight tracker detectives” noted a charter plane from Alabama (I forget the exact city…… but it fits) to Norman. My initial thought was this is NOT regarding offensive coaches…….. but rather Jacksonville State DC Xac Alley.

Alley is/was the youngest DC in College Football (ULM, Jax State, was on Clemson staff with BV, coaches LB as well as being the coordinator. And Jax State is located within easy driving range of that airport.

Maybe nothing……. maybe something - I will say this: I watch the OU produced “all access OU DNA” program on ESPN plus…… the last one, to end the season highlighted DC/LB coach Ted Roof …….. I was clear as glass from that interview that he is retiring from on field coaching - don’t know if he ascends to the role Seth Litrell or Matt Wells were/are currently in….. but it was obvious that that show was used as a thank you….. and good bye.

If Michigan Wins the CFB NC and Baltimore wins the Super Bowl would that be the first time that brothers have done that? I’d think so.

For our QB room. We are now to the point of taking offensive line transfers from USC. 😂

Based on what we know today, there are 14 scholarship offensive linemen (listed below). OU typically carries 15 on scholarship, so it is logical to think that another Portal Transfer might be incoming. At this point, two lineman use up their eligibility in 2024. Both of these "Grads" listed below will be playing their sixth (6th) year of college football.

The following list shows the ELIGIBILITY REMAINING for players on the 2024 offensive line.
(*Players with 1 year left listed first*) = (*1*)
PORTAL = New Player Added from the 2024 Transfer Portal

2024 OFFENSIVE LINE (2024 Classification Listed)
** - Michael Tarquin USC (6-5; 320; Grad) Ocala, Fla / Florida / USC (*1*) .. PORTAL
** - Spencer Brown (6-6; 315; Grad) Canton, Michigan / Michigan State (*1*) .. PORTAL
** - Febechi Nwaiwu; (6-4; 316; R-Jr) Coppell, Texas) . North Texas (*2*) .. PORTAL
52 - Troy Everett (6-3; 297; R-Jr) Roanoke, Virginia / Appalachian State (*2*)
76 - Jacob Sexton (6-6; 327; Jr) Edmond, Okla. / Deer Creek HS (*2*)
79 - Jake Taylor (6-6; 312; R-So) Las Vegas, Nev. / Bishop Gorman HS (*3*)

64 - Joshua Bates (6-3; 312; R-Fr) Durango, Colo / Durango HS (*4*)
71 - Logan Howland (6-6; 288; R-Fr) Princeton, NJ / Hun School (*4*)
77 - Heath Ozaeta (6-5; 304; R-Fr) Snoqualmie, WA / Mount Si HS (*4*)

Recruiting - Class of 2024
** - Eugene Brooks (6-4; 320; Fr) Sierra Canyon, Chatsworth, Califoria (*4*)
** - Isaiah Autry (6-7; 300; Fr) Itawamba Agricultural, Fulton, Misssissippi (*4*)
** - Daniel Akinkunmi (6-4; 310) NFL Academy; London, England (*4*)
** - Josh Aisosa (6-3; 305; Fr) Edmond Sante Fe, Oklahoma (*4*)
** - Eddy Pierre-Louis (6-4; 320; Fr) Tampa Catholic; Tampa, FL (*4*)

What sooners are participating in the game other than Zion Ragins?

How did Oklahoma's interior defensive linemen perform over the course of the 2023 season? Well, there was a vast improvement from what we saw even just a season ago, but there's still something left to be desired heading into the SEC. https://oklahoma.rivals.com/news/ou-2023-season-review-defensive-tackles

College football is so so broken. Dude just put up 2 amazing seasons and is a top RB for next years draft. Also on a team that is primed to make a Natty run next year, but he leaves? Only thing I can think of is if Ole miss allocated too much NIL to their new transfers

*** My phone has been blowing up over the last 12 or so hours on a few staff rumors—one in particular regarding former Texas A&M safety and corners coach TJ Rushing.

I have spoken to sources within Rushing's camp and was told that no contact with Brent Venables has not made any recent contact with him. At least not yet. Now, I am not saying that it won't happen and that Rushing won't be on staff before the start of the spring or the 2024 football season, but as of now, there hasn't been any real contact that would make you think that it is moving in the direction of Rushing being on staff, in Norman, just yet.

Again, we aren't shutting it down and saying it won't happen, but we are also just relaying what sources told OUinsider around 10 am this morning.

I will add that if Rushing was to get a job offer in Norman, the source said he would jump at it. He and his wife still have a home in Pauls Valley that they stay at during holidays and time off with family. So, the state means a ton to Rushing and his family. The fit does make sense. A ton of sense, actually. Now, there just needs to be an opening for him to hop on and come help the university that the former OKPreps star grew up idolizing.

We will be pretty dialed into Rushing and his next job venture, so stay tuned to OUinsider.

Visiting OU on January 6th!. Let's get this kid.

Just focusing on the Alamo Bowl and the difference in the receivers' ability to get open.
UA's receivers usually had a reasonable amount of space when a ball was thrown to them, whereas it seemed that for the most part, OU's receivers were more closely covered.
Is the difference due to the type of coverage each team runs, or is it due to a difference in the defensive backs' ability to cover?

*** First, I know some have pointed out that there have been reports that Alabama transfer center Seth McLaughlin was on campus yesterday. I can confirm that isn't and wasn't the case. As a matter of fact, we spoke with sources about that topic last night and were told that OU was in meetings most of the day and that no visitors outside of new Sooners transfer DE commit Caiden Woullard leaving were being shown around.

*** That said, we have been told that OU should be expecting Kansas transfer OL Armaj Reed-Adams on campus this weekend. Sources say that OU feels good about their chances with Reed-Adams "as long as he makes it to campus."

We have heard Tennessee is a program worth watching for Reed-Adams services. That said, he has a longstanding relationship with Sooners WR coach Emmett Jones. That relationship has put the Sooners in a decent position as long as the visit takes place.

We will keep you updated on that front, but we are also watching out for Bama transfer OL Terrance Ferguson and LSU transfer Lance Heard. Those two are some other names that were brought to OUinsider's attention over the last 48 hours or so.


*** Finally, things have been moving much more smoothly with the Sooners and FAU transfer QB Casey Thompson. It feels like a decision could be coming anytime in the next week, with a few other P5 programs coming after the experienced QB with 5300+ yards passing and 52 TDs in his career.

We will have that one covered for you all on OUinsider if it does finalize for the Sooners in the near future, so stay tuned for more info on Thompson and all of the transfers listed above. We will have you covered.

"The things I've learned from this team is, the things we set out to be — longer, more athletic — to impact the game is moving in the right direction."

The Sooners are 12-1 and have shown a lot of improvement. But the real season begins Saturday.

Just from watching this clip

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… I guess

This year as just a casual NFL fan I’ve watched more games than I have in the past. Why does every WR and RB feel the need after every first down to jump up and signal first down(even in cases they were wide open)? What happened to players making a play and just going back to the huddle? Idk it’s just hard to stomach.

When I'm wrong I'll own it. I've gave the man a large amount of shit this recruiting cycle. This class looks to be pretty elite. I apologize BB great job!

The program announced today that Ted Roof is gone as the team's DC.

Wikipedia has already made the change. Now that's fast.

I love the hire. Let's improve and or do something different with the defensive backfield coverage.