3, 2, 1: No sleep 'til Houston

Students are on campus, the town of Norman is buzzing, and the energy is palpable.

Oklahoma football is just 11 days away from kicking off the 2016 season at NRG Stadium against No. 8 Houston.

In this "3, 2, 1" feature, we will give a comprehensive look at what was learned about the 2016 Sooners football team that day.

1. Tim Kish thinks this linebacker corps is more athletic than a year ago

“Well, we had a lot more experience a year ago, but that isn’t always the answer. We knew going forward that we’d have to fill three pretty huge holes. The big thing for us was developing the depth, making sure that we had enough people in there that could help us this year and we certainly did that. I think we upgraded our athleticism across the board with all the new incoming freshmen and the two new junior colleges kids. We’re right where we think we should be right now.”

This is high praise considering the Sooners are forced to replace three of four starters, all of which are on NFL rosters right now (Eric Striker, Devante Bond, Dominique Alexander). However, the Oklahoma linebacker coach is confident that whatever hiccups and growing pains may happen in the transition - it won't be due to the talent level. Obo Okoronkwo will finally have his opportunity to live up to the hype that has been building around his skillset for quite some time, and newcomers like JUCO transfers Emmanuel Beal and Kapri Doucet, along with highly touted freshmen like Caleb Kelly, Mark Jackson, and Jon-Michael Terry have infused a sense of belief in the unit's athletic abilities.

2. Matt Dimon is a fan of playing next to Matthew Romar and Charles Walker

"Romar's a pitbull. I feel comfortable with him and Charles (Walker) out there. I just know they're going to bring it."

It won't be a shock if this is the base trio for Oklahoma's three-man defensive front and if you are to believe Dimon, it will be a tenacious group. If the green linebacking unit mentioned before is to exceed expectations, it may end up being in large part due to the attention paid to the havoc creators in the trenches.

3. Kerry Cooks believes in his young talent

Whether it was his group of sophomore safeties or talented crop of incoming freshmen cornerbacks, Cooks could not contain his happiness when describing the underclassmen in his secondary.

“Here’s what I will tell you, Dakota has fought his tail off and when he was in there he played very well for us. He hasn’t had any drop-off, if anything, his game has increased. It would be very hard, basically a week out from camp, to see somebody surpassing him. But that doesn’t mean other guys aren’t gonna come, because I’m telling you, Parrish Cobb and Parnell Motley are guys that are coming. They’re being very competitive right now, along with P.J. (Mbanasor) and Antoine Stephens, but the freshmen have jumped out with their athletic ability and ability to pick-up defenses.”

It's quite unbelievable that Cobb and Motley have already seemed to surpass more experienced guys like Mbanasor, Stephens, or even Michiah Quick, but that exactly seems to be what's taking place. All of this goes without mentioning Jordan Parker, who was the No. 4 cornerback in the state of California a year ago.

Cooks also hasn't forgotten about his special group of sophomore safeties, that just haven't found their opening in the starting lineup yet.

“Kahlil (Haughton) was in our dime package last year, so his role will be expanded going forward. He would be the third safety right now coming in, so he’s going to get a lot of reps. Will Sunderland is an unbelievable cover guy, so we have different packages to get him in. But when you have two All-Big 12 players in Steven (Parker) and Ahmad (Thomas), it’s hard to get those opportunities, but their time will come.”

1. Dakota Austin knows he's a different corner than his brother

While Dakota Austin had to wait until after his senior season before receiving an Oklahoma offer, his younger brother, Jordon Austin, is already a commitment in the Sooners 2018 class. Growing up, Dakota and Jordon competed like any brothers would - including many late night video game sessions - but it was apparent pretty early on that their body types forced them to play different styles on the football field.

“It’s crazy that we’re brothers and it’s like this, but it’s almost night and day. I’m almost a nickel-ish kind of guy – quick-twitch, smaller guy. He’s more of a long-rangy guy with a bigger punch.”

There's also no jealousy from the older brother about how much earlier the younger brother received his OU offer.

“What else could you ask for? Just to have your little brother already have that out the way. It’s great."

2. Samaje Perine is stronger than linemen

A few weeks ago, I posted a few players' thoughts on who would win the gold, silver, and bronze from the Oklahoma football team in a team-wide 100-meter dash. Today, I asked Matt Dimon to answer a similar question - except this time I wanted to know who would win a strength competition. The first name out of his mouth wasn't a defensive tackle or offensive guard. It was running back Samaje Perine.

"Gold - Samaje Perine. Silver - Jordan Wade. Bronze - Alex Dalton."

For those of you keeping score at home, that's a tailback being listed ahead of a nose tackle and interior offensive linemen.

1. The Oklahoma defense will leave their corners on an island

Maybe not every down, but you can count on defensive backs coach Kerry Cooks expecting his defensive backs to be able to handle the pressure of being isolated in one-on-one coverage.

"I want those guys to have as much pressure in practice as I can put on them so that when they go out there on gameday, I can feel confident that they’ve seen everything they need to see."