The Sooners have officially been in the SEC for a few days, but Monday marks their first significant event as members.
The Sooners, along with the other 15 teams in the SEC, travel to Dallas, Texas on Monday for SEC Media Days. The annual event will have plenty of compelling storylines, but OU and Texas joining the conference will surely be at the top of the list.
The event begins on Monday, with the Sooners making their appearance on Tuesday. As we gear up for the four-day event, OUInsider's Jesse Crittenden and Bryan Clinton answer some of the intriguing questions:
1. The Sooners are bringing Brent Venables, Danny Stutsman, Billy Bowman and Jackson Arnold. What stands out about the Sooners’ contingency?
Jesse: Jackson Arnold. That’s the easy answer, for a lot of reasons.
Here are the player representatives for conference media days the last three years.
2023 — Dillon Gabriel, Drake Stoops, Jonah Laulu, Stutsman
2022 — Ethan Downs, Marvin Mims, Woodi Washington, Gabriel
2021 — Jeremiah Hall, Nik Bonitto
Notice anything? There are no underclassmen on that list. Lincoln Riley famously didn’t bring Spencer Rattler, then a true sophomore and the returning starter, to 2021 Big 12 Media Days.
But Venables is pulling no punches. Stutsman and Bowman are prototypical Media-Days attendees. But bringing Arnold, while seemingly obvious, to the Sooners’ first trip to SEC Media Days sends a clear message that the true sophomore is one of the faces of the team.
Bryan: Jackson Arnold is the obvious answer here, but another thing that stands out is where Oklahoma's identity is found heading into the SEC.
Danny Stutsman and Billy Bowman are the veteran presence of this team, and heading into Brent Venables' third season, the defensive side of the ball is what folks in Norman are most confident about.
Imagine hearing someone tell you that when OU found out that it was SEC-bound in 2024.
The contingent that Oklahoma is sending to media days is a great synopsis of their respective units heading into the year. Stutsman and Bowman represent a defense that has tons of experience and sky-high expectations.
Meanwhile, Arnold represents an offense that has tremendous upside but is unproven entering the season thanks to a plethora of new faces.
2. There’s a billion storylines ahead of the Sooners’ inaugural SEC season. What’s the biggest storyline?
Jesse: Again, another easy answer. Can the Sooners be successful right away in the SEC?
Maybe the better question is: What would be considered a successful season?
You can find different expectations and predictions from various outlets out there, but Vegas oddsmakers have set OU’s win-loss over-under at 7.5. They’ll likely be picked sixth or lower in the SEC preseason poll.
It’s not hard to see the thinking there. The Sooners are joining the toughest conference in college football and their transition isn’t exactly going to be easy. They have one of the toughest schedules in the country, and they’ll be led by a true sophomore quarterback with one career start and a patchwork offensive line that’s hard to project.
But there’s still going to be pressure for the Sooners to stamp their mark in the SEC. They certainly have the talent to do it, and there’s no reason to think OU can’t compete (possibly for an SEC title) right away. But things could go sideways pretty quickly, too. Anything fewer than eight wins, even with a schedule like this, would feel like a massive step back after finishing 10-3 last year.
Bryan: Where does Oklahoma stack up in the SEC in Year 1? How the Sooners answer that question will likely determine the narrative around the program for years to come.
If OU marches into the SEC with an absolute gauntlet of a schedule and turns in a 10-2 campaign, there won't be any noise about them not belonging in the conference or that things are about to change in Norman.
However, if the Sooners struggle to win close games and go, say, 7-5, the narrative of them being a middling program in the SEC will only grow louder.
There is so much on the line for Oklahoma in its first year in the conference, and in a lot of ways, it might be the most important season in recent school history, dating back to 1999 when Bob Stoops took the program over.
Additionally, Oklahoma's fan base only has one chance to make a first impression. If the environment at home games is lackluster and there are no Sooner fans hitting the road in SEC country, it will paint the wrong picture of where this program ranks when it certainly deserves to be among the SEC's best.
3. There are a ton of other teams/coaches in attendance who have ties to OU. Which attendee should be most interesting?
There’s a ton of great options. I'm personally really interested in hearing Jeff Lebby.
The new Mississippi State head coach departed Norman after two seasons as the Sooners’ offensive coordinator. There were some great offensive moments the last two seasons, and there’s no denying the stats that show OU had one of the best offenses in the country with Lebby calling the shots. But there were plenty of head-scratching moments, too, and it ended with him unceremoniously leaving for Starkville before the Sooners’ bowl game.
It’s honestly a pretty bold move for the Bulldogs, and Lebby, who’s never been a head coach, faces an uphill battle. They’ve had two winning seasons in the last five years and went 5-7 in 2023. It should be pretty interesting to see how the Bulldogs fare in 2024.
Lebby isn’t exactly the most interesting person in media sessions. But it should be interesting nonetheless.
Bryan: There are so many Oklahoma ties in the SEC right now, but I'm going to go with Tennessee head coach Josh Heupel.
Not only will Heupel make his first return trip to Norman since serving as the offensive coordinator under Stoops, but his visiting Vols will also represent the first-ever SEC conference game in OU history.
Heupel is the last Sooner quarterback to bring a national championship to Norman, and the program has erected four statues in Heisman park since then. The Volunteers are expected to be a contender in the SEC, too, so it's not like the intrigue is only about Heupel's ties.
Tennessee at Oklahoma is going to be one of the most important games on the SEC schedule this season, and could be one of the games that ultimately ends up deciding which of these teams could be a Playoff contender, and which one isn't.
4. Which non-OU team will interest you the most in Arlington?
Jesse: I’m not sure if this is a hot take… But I’ll say Ole Miss.
The Rebels are a popular dark horse candidate to win the SEC (they are for me) after going 11-2 last season. Their only losses came to Georgia and Alabama, and they only play Georgia this season. They signed the 20th-best recruiting class, per Rivals, and added a ton of impact players via the transfer portal. Plus, quarterback Jaxson Dart returns after a very good 2023 campaign.
They have the third-best odds to win the SEC in 2024 behind Georgia and Texas. There’s real expectations for the Rebels. And of course, Lane Kiffen is always an interesting
Bryan: I'm gonna go with Alabama here, and my reason is pretty simple.
How does the program go about replacing the best coach in college football history?
I mean no disrespect to Kalen DeBoer — and I think he's one heck of a ball coach — but he's not Nick Saban. We're talking about a defensive mind that transcended the game for nearly two decades as he sat atop the CFB world as its pseudo-ruler. Since the inception of the College Football Playoff in 2014, every national champion (excluding 2022-23 Georgia) that was crowned was either Alabama, or had to beat Saban's Tide to get there.
That's dominance.
I believe DeBoer will have success in Tuscaloosa, but expecting him to maintain that level of excellence is setting him up for failure. When he takes the podium this week in Dallas, he'll officially be stepping into Saban's shoes, and that will be a monumental moment.
