Skip Johnson Wants Oklahoma to Know 'Yesterday is Dead' but 2022 Still Echoes

NORMAN — "Yesterday is dead" read the black t-shirts worn by the Oklahoma Sooners at Thursday's practice. Complete with a skull and bats in place of cross bones, the message was clear — what happened in Atlanta is now the past.

OU has a date with an old foe for the chance to head back to Omaha for the first time since 2022.

For everyone else, it's perfectly natural to look back and enjoy what OU did to get here. Dayton Tockey's 450-rocket has his team feeling great about their chances in Lawrence this weekend. The formerly up-and-down Sooners are traveling north with a swagger not seen since that 2022 run.

Skip Johnson isn't shy about making comparisons.

Oklahoma Sooners, Skip Johnson — Oklahoma coach Skip Johnson | Carson Field, Sooners On SI

"There's no doubt, there's a lot of similarities," Johnson said on Thursday. "The camaraderie, the stuff they do with each other. Whether it's Jaxon Willits, Deiten LaChance or Dayton Tockey — it's pretty fun to watch these guys interact with each other.

"It's not the winning for me. Do I want to win? Absolutley. I love watching these guys be happy," Johnson added.

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That 2022 team also had a weather delay in a Regional match against a higher-seeded team in the south. That year it was Florida that OU beat for the right to keep playing. Beyond the outcomes, the team's energy also has a similar vibe.

Doesn't hurt to have Sooner born players like Willits — the unsung hero of Oklahoma's clinching win against Georgia Tech — whose RBI tied the game and forced extra innings.

"I've dreamed about being an Oklahoma baseball player since I was three or four years old," Willits said. "To come up in a spot like that and deliver meant everything to me. To be able to pick my teammates up and put them in a spot for Tockey to go out and get the big swing and us to advance.

"That’s what we’ve worked for for the last three years and what I’ve dreamed of my whole life,” Willits added.

Oklahoma Sooners, Jaxon Willits — Oklahoma infielder Jaxon Willits | Carson Field, Sooners On SI

Johnson's message of "Yesterday is dead" makes sense. He doesn't want his team thinking that they've reached their ceiling, basking in the glory of an upset win over the No. 2 team in the country.

But the message isn't absolute. Johnson has already looked back to yesterday — four years ago — and found similarities to his current squad. Similarities that he hopes help propel Oklahoma back to the College World Series.

Has that stopped the Sooners skipper from refocusing his group?

"We've got to get to the next pitch," Johnson said. "We've got to get to the next game this coming weekend."

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