Oklahoma Sooners Football: Five biggest questions for 2015 season
By Joshua Lea
Dec 6, 2014; Norman, OK, USA; Oklahoma Sooners running back Samaje Perine (32) runs for a touchdown against the Oklahoma State Cowboys during the second quarter at Gaylord Family – Oklahoma Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark D. Smith-USA TODAY Sports
4. The Lincoln Riley Effect
Last season, Samaje Perine was a huge bright spot. The Sooners freshman running back rushed for 1,713 yards and 21 touchdowns with Joe Mixon suspended for an off-the-field incident, Perine commanded the Oklahoma running game. He set the single-game rushing record with 427 yards against Kansas and is in position to contend for the Heisman as a sophomore.
Sterling Shepard also made noise at the wide receiver position with 975 yards and five touchdowns to give the Sooners offense plenty of talent at the skill positions to compete in the Big 12.
Perine, Shepard and now Mixon are going to make the Oklahoma offense a three-headed monster capable of bringing that “Sooner Magic” back to the Big 12. But before that can happen, Stoops had to address the offensive coordinator position by firing Josh Heupel and bringing in Lincoln Riley, a former quarterback at Texas Tech who was the offensive coordinator at East Carolina.
Related: Top 5 Candidates to Win Big 12 Offensive Player of the Year
The spring football game left fans and writers alike with a good feeling, notably with tight end Mark Andrews. Andrews is a four-star recruit from Scottsdale, Arizona, and very much looks the part of being the real deal. At 6-6 and 247 pounds he has the body type for a tight end who can be successful right away. You would have to go back to 2011 with James Hanna and Jermaine Gresham before him to have a tight end who was a difference-maker on the Sooner offense.
He along with Mixon, Perine, and Shepard could be the start of a team on a championship run. Perine and Mixon could be an absolutely lethal combo in the Big 12. There’s plenty of hype about Mixon who was a five-star recruit in last year’s class and should be anxious to make up for lost time and repair his reputation in Norman
Bob Stoops has been known to use multiple backs in the past; and, under Riley’s system Mixon’s speed is going to cause a lot of teams’ problems. The Sooners aren’t lacking in offensive skill players. The running back group should be the deepest, most talented unit in the Big 12.
Next: Who wins the QB competition?