It goes without saying it’s the first spring for 2021 mid-year enrollees. Even for the 2020 mid-year enrollees and the rest of the 2020 class, it’s the initial spring practices at Oklahoma.

But take it back even one more year, and for any 2019 class members that didn’t enroll early, it’s their first official spring practice routine.

Amazingly enough, that group includes quarterback Spencer Rattler. The way things worked out meant Rattler couldn’t enroll early, so he arrived in the summer.

It’s a point not lost on Rattler.

“It’s kind of funny because this is my first spring ball, my first official spring ball as a player here,” Rattler said. “That being that, it’s going to give me a lot more time to improve my body, improve my mental game, improve my eating and all that stuff.”

That’s what you hear about for almost every player when it comes to offseason. The mantra is bigger, faster and stronger. That even applies to quarterbacks, too.

“Offseason wise, I’ve been making jumps,” Rattler said. “Feel stronger. Feel faster. Put on some weight. I’m up to 210 now. I lost a couple percent body fat. Still gotta work on that of course. But I got sharpened up in all different places. I still have work to do. I still have goals I need to make.”

You can apply that to his on-field production, too. The more time with head coach Lincoln Riley, the better, obviously.

Sort of thrown into the fire a bit to begin the 2020 season, everybody knows the expectation for Rattler and this offense for 2021. And nobody is backing down.

Finley fitting in

Not a lot of changes among the OU coaches heading into this season, but the big one, of course, is Shane Beamer leaving to be the head coach at South Carolina and being replaced by Joe Jon Finley, the former OU tight end coming back home.

Beamer had built such a strong bond with the guys in his room, but Finley appears to be doing just fine in building that chemistry, too.

“I like him. You can tell that he played tight end personally,” redshirt senior Jeremiah Hall said. “There’s some things he sees in our game that just somebody who, you would have to play the position to like understand what he’s talking about. It’s kind of convenient for him.”

The one thing Finley has going for him more than anything is an absolutely loaded room. Whether it’s Hall or Brayden Willis or Austin Stogner, a lot of talent to go around.

Which leads to a different approach than if you had a bunch of young guys in there.

“He has an older room. It’s kind of, let’s go out there and play,” Hall said. “He’s not micromanaging us. I like him. He’s a cool guy. I’m glad we have him on board.”

Mims asserting himself

That’s how quickly things can change. At this point last year, wide receiver Marvin Mims had one spring practice under his belt before COVID-19 halted everything.

Following an outstanding freshman season, though, Mims is going to be asked to become a leader of some sort as just a sophomore.

“My role is tremendously different than it was last year, you know, even from when the season started until now,” Mims said. “Coach Simmons talked to me about it like midway through the season last year, like, guys are gonna start looking up to you like to be a leader and stuff like that, so it's kind of — it's kind of weird, just how I put myself in this position, especially here at the University of Oklahoma.”

It’ll be a balancing act for Mims because he’s still young himself and learning a lot of things, but he also understands that with so few pieces in the room, he will be someone that will have to take the freshmen under his win.

“It's kind of cool being able to coach those guys up and them come to you and ask questions on something that they're confused about or they're unsure about,” Mims said. “It's kind of like a big brother, little brother role.”

Brooks in the right mindset

Even though we’ve yet to talk to players who opted out in running back Kennedy Brooks, offensive tackle Stacey Wilkins and defensive lineman Jalen Redmond, there are guys who can try to explain what they went through.

Nobody knows Redmond better than Isaiah Thomas and the same can be said regarding Brooks with Jeremiah Hall.

“Kennedy's my best friend. He's my roommate,” Hall said. “So it would only be right for me to tell you guys that he doesn't expect anything less of himself. If anything, he's picking up right back where he's started.”

No reason was ever given by Brooks in a public setting or on social media about why he opted out, but what Hall tried to convey more than anything is that OU fans don’t have to wonder about Brooks being all-in for the 2021 season.

“Physically, he's still there. Mentally, he's still there,” Hall said. “He might've been gone for a year but that doesn't mean he didn't work. He's ready and he expects to compete and put on a show.”

WR chemistry not an issue

It was just camp settings, but you could always tell about the chemistry between Rattler and receiver Trejan Bridges.

That doesn’t go away, but trying to maintain that chemistry with Bridges when his situation was so up in the air for most of the 2020 season could have been a concern.

Rattler says don’t worry, though.

“Me and Trej will always have that chemistry. Me and him have some of the best chemistry on the entire team, in my opinion,” Rattler said. “Just having him back is such a mismatch on that outside, and he’s going to do his job and get open and make those big-time catches.”

With a full spring, not wrong to expect Rattler to build some serious trust in guys like Bridges and Jadon Haselwood. Again, there are zero excuses for that loaded 2019 receiver to start playing at the level everybody has been hoping for.