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Oklahoma Football: Will Sooners overcome national semifinal woes in 2019?

By Kyle Grondin

FORT WORTH, TX - OCTOBER 20: CeeDee Lamb #2 of the Oklahoma Sooners celebrates after scoring a touchdown against the TCU Horned Frogs in the first half at Amon G. Carter Stadium on October 20, 2018 in Fort Worth, Texas. (Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images)
FORT WORTH, TX - OCTOBER 20: CeeDee Lamb #2 of the Oklahoma Sooners celebrates after scoring a touchdown against the TCU Horned Frogs in the first half at Amon G. Carter Stadium on October 20, 2018 in Fort Worth, Texas. (Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images) /
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MIAMI, FL – DECEMBER 29: Kyler Murray #1 of the Oklahoma Sooners congratulates Jalen Hurts #2 of the Alabama Crimson Tide after Alabama Crimson Tide defeat the Oklahoma Sooners 45-34 to win the College Football Playoff Semifinal at the Capital One Orange Bowl at Hard Rock Stadium on December 29, 2018 in Miami, Florida. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images)
MIAMI, FL – DECEMBER 29: Kyler Murray #1 of the Oklahoma Sooners congratulates Jalen Hurts #2 of the Alabama Crimson Tide after Alabama Crimson Tide defeat the Oklahoma Sooners 45-34 to win the College Football Playoff Semifinal at the Capital One Orange Bowl at Hard Rock Stadium on December 29, 2018 in Miami, Florida. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images) /

Can Jalen Hurts be third straight Sooner Heisman winner?

All eyes are on the quarterback at Oklahoma as Jalen Hurts unites with Lincoln Riley. Can he live up to the hype of Baker Mayfield and Kyler Murray?

I think a lot of people have underrated him after being benched in for Tua Tagovailoa. He was in legitimate Heisman conversations for half of 2017, before tailing off and eventually losing his job. He can make all the throws on the field and is a great pick to be the best quarterback in the conference when it’s all said and done.

Although Riley has kept his cards close to his chest, QB1 will be Hurts for the season. He’s that talented and has the pedigree to win big games.

Hurts is also blessed with an absurd amount of talent around him. CeeDee Lamb had only 10 less catches than Marquise Brown last season, who was a first-round draft pick. Lamb headlines a talented receiving corps.

One thing that is often overlooked with the amount of great quarterbacks out of Oklahoma is how many great running backs they have had over the years. Trey Sermon and Kennedy Brooks rival any running back group in the country. Last season, Sermon led all Oklahoma players with 13 touchdowns on the season.

Meanwhile, Brooks wasn’t bad either, rushing for 1,056 yards and 12 touchdowns as a Freshman All-American last season. Even their third running back, sophomore TJ Pledger, could start for most teams, and he’ll barely get any touches. This group has talent.

The one question mark for the Sooners is an offensive line which lost four starters and has a fifth, Creed Humphrey, who hasn’t practiced all offseason due to injury. But Humphrey is an NFL level talent at center, and star recruit Stacey Wilkins joins a group of backup upperclassmen who have spent time learning behind the best offensive line in the country last season. I think this unit will be strong again this season.

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