How Oklahoma Players Graded Out the First Half of the Season, per Pro Football Focus

Oklahoma’s open date comes at an ideal time for the Sooners.

No. 5-ranked OU is 6-0 and now has six games remaining in Big 12 Conference play. The Sooners are banged up, but a light week has allowed people to heal. They beat Texas, and now can approach the back half of the schedule with an accurate measurement of who they really are in Year Two under Brent Venables, starting with next Saturday’s home game with Big 12 newcomer UCF.

At the halfway point of the regular season, here are some notes and numbers on Sooners, as compiled by Pro Football Focus.

Offensive line snaps

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Senior center Andrew Raym (423) leads the offense in total snaps, while right guard McKade Mettauer (414) and, right tackle Tyler Guyton (411) and left tackle Walter Rouse (374 are right behind. It’s a testament to two things: Bill Bedenbaugh’s belief in that starting five (and his strong desire to build their chemistry no matter what) and a little bit of a dropoff or lack of depth behind them.

Appalachian State transfer Troy Everett (297), true freshman Cayden Green (141) and junior left guard Savion Byrd (91) have either rotated or gotten the bulk of the relief snaps, or filled in as starters (Everett) or finishers (Green). Everett (guard and center) and Green (guard and tackle) have shown their value by being versatile enough to play at a high level at multiple positions.

Other o-linemen who’ve played this season: tackle Jacob Sexton (61 snaps), guard Caleb Shaffer (55), guard Jake Taylor (46), guard Nate Anderson (36) have been the most frequent fill-ins. Tackle Aaryn Parks (20) leads the rest, which includes very limited duty for three true freshmen: guard Heath Ozaeta, tackle Logan Howland, center Joshua Bates, and redshirt freshman center Gunnar Allen (four snaps each).

Quarterback snaps

A total of 45 players have gotten snaps on the offensive side of the football.

After Raym, senior quarterback Dillon Gabriel is second on the offense with 415 snaps.

True freshman QB Jackson Arnold has gotten almost all of the backup QB snaps (62), but that includes his short-yardage run package, which has quieted down since Gabriel has emerged as a runner in Big 12 play.

Davis Beville and General Booty each have received two snaps this season.

Running back snaps

The position that has most confounded OU observers is running back, and the snap counts bear that out.

Senior Marcus Major leads the unit with 178 snaps, but sophomore walk-on Tawee Walker has been the most effective and is next with 153.

Sophomore Jovantae Barnes, apparently still battling an offseason foot procedure, has played 65 snaps, and redshirt freshman Gavin Sawchuk has 50.

True freshmen Daylan Smothers (19) and Kalib Hicks (6) wrap up that group.

Wide receiver snaps

Coming into the season, Jalil Farooq and Drake Stoops were the Sooners’ most experienced wideouts, and that’s been the case through the first half of the season as well.

Farooq leads the receivers and ranks sixth on the offense with 355 snaps, and Stoops is next (eighth overall) with 301 snaps.

Andrel Anthony, who was lost for the season with a knee injury against Texas, is next among wideouts with 290 snaps, 10th overall on the offense. After that are sophomores Nic Anderson (164), Jayden Gibson (92) and Gavin Freeman (77).

Junior LV Bunkley-Shelton (56) freshman Jaquaize Pettaway (51) round out the top eight. Walk-ons Eli Merck (20) and Major Melson (20) are next, and sophomore Texas transfer Brenen Thompson (10) and junior J.J. Hester (4) close out the group.

Tight end snaps

Arguably still the Sooners’ thinnest position on offense, Joe Jon Finley has done everything in his power to squeeze quality snaps out of this group.

Senior Austin Stogner is seventh on the team and dominates playing time in his group with 329 snaps.

Junior Texas A&M transfer Blake Smith is next with 78 snaps, while walk-on Josh Fanuiel (28), freshman Kade McIntyre (19), sophomore Jason Llewellyn (10) and Michigan State transfer Hamp Fay (2) have played sparingly.

Linebacker snaps

Pro Football Focus lists 47 defensive players who have received snaps this season, and it’s no surprise who leads the whole defense.

Junior linebacker Danny Stutsman paces the unit with 354 snaps. Stutsman, who played more than 900 snaps last year, isn’t on that pace, but he’s been busy.

Sophomore Jaren Kanak is third on the defense with 337 snaps. Sophomore Indiana transfer Dasan McCullough, who’s listed as a safety but plays cheetah linebacker, has played 131 snaps, while Justin Harrington — out for the year with a knee injury — accumulated 91 snaps in his two games.

Sophomore Kip Lewis, who Brent Venables calls a “ball magnet,” has been remarkably efficient with his limited snaps (76). Sophomore Kobie McKinzie (43), freshman Sammy Omosigho (36), senior Shane Whitter (21), freshman Lewis Carter (19), senior Ferris State transfer Konnor Near (17) and sophomore walk-on Owen Heinecke (5) conclude the group.

Cornerback snaps

As expected, senior and three-year starter Woodi Washington ranks behind only Stutsman among defensive players, with 349.

Sophomore Gentry Williams is next among corners (and ninth on the defense) with 195 snaps, while junior Kani Walker — expected to be back in the lineup after missing the Texas game with an undisclosed injury — has played 156. Junior college transfer Kendel Dolby also has been productive with his 109 total defensive snaps.

Freshmen Jacobe Johnson (50) has gotten plenty of experience in his five games, and Makari Vickers (38) has stayed busy in his four. Jasiah Wagoner has played 14, and Jayden Rowe (out for the year after knee surgery) just 9. Walk-ons Gabriel McDaniel (4) and Pierce Hudgens (2) finish the CB corps.

Safety snaps

Possibly the Sooners’ most crowded position has been manned by a handful of promising players.

Junior Billy Bowman leads the group with 309 snaps, which ranks fourth on the team. Seniors Key Lawrence (233) and Reggie Pearson (199) and freshman Peyton Bowen (191) show how competitive the Sooners’ three safety spots (sans cheetah) have been this season. Robert Spears-Jennings has played 77 snaps.

Walk-on Reed DeQuasie (7) and freshman Daeh McCullough (4) wrap up the safeties.

Defensive tackle snaps

The Sooners have settled on a rotation of 5-6 interior defensive linemen, and the rotation has been fruitful.

Sixth-year senior Jordan Kelley leads the group — but not by much. Kelley has played 151 snaps, while senior Notre Dame transfer Jacob Lacey has played 148, senior Jonah Laulu 135, senior Isaiah Coe 133 and senior Tennessee transfer Da’Jon Terry (120).

Sophomore Gracen Halton (70), senior Kelvin Gilliam (37), freshman Ashton Sanders (19) and Texas State transfer Davon Sears (11) have received all the reserve snaps.

Defensive end snaps

Ethan Downs is coming off his best game, and the junior seems to be just getting better and better each week.

Downs is fifth on the team and leads the defensive end room with 233 snaps, while senior Wake Forest transfer Rondell Bothroyd has played 221. Senior Oklahoma State transfer Trace Ford (130) also has been busy.

True freshman P.J. Adebawore continues to come along and is now up to 106 snaps, while senior Marcus Stripling (88) has made some significant contributions, and senior Reggie Grimes (49) and sophomore R Mason Thomas (46) have been in and out of the rotation.

Freshmen Taylor Wein (4) and Markus Strong (2) have each gotten limited plays.

PFF Grades

It’s no wonder that Gabriel is Oklahoma’s runaway leader with his overall PFF offensive grade of 90.0 (86.4 on pass plays).
Among players with 150 snaps or more, Tawee Walker tops the list with an 80.4, while Anthony is next at 78.6 and Anderson has posted a 77.0.
Farooq (73.9), Major (73.6), Stoops (72.7) and Rouse (71.3) have posted strong grades through six games.
On defense, Kani Walker leads the way with a grade of 81.2. Bowen is next at 79.7, and Williams (78.9) and Stutsman (78.5) are next.
Downs (76.4), Coe (76.1), Dasan McCullough (75.9), Laulu (73.3), Kelley (71.7), Terry (71.2) and Lacey (70.9) also posted strong grades.

Big 12 Leaders

Gabriel also leads all Big 12 quarterbacks in offensive grade (90.0), ranks second (behind Kansas’ Jalon Daniels on limited snaps) on pass plays and leads the league in adjusted completion percentage (80.6; Jackson Arnold is at 93.3 in limited action).
Anthony’s absence will be felt. He ranks fourth among Big 12 wideouts in receiver grade (77.5) and leads conference receivers in total offensive grade at 78.6.
Farooq ranks 10th among Big 12 receivers in total offensive grade (73.9) and 13th in receiver grade (72.5).
Stoops ranks 12th in receiver grade (72.7) and 14th in overall offensive grade (72.7).
Tawee Walker ranks sixth among Big 12 running backs with an overall offensive grade of 80.4, and is fourth as a runner at 84.6.
Rouse grades out as Oklahoma’s top performer on the offensive line with an overall grade of 71.4, which ranks 15th among Big 12 offensive linemen. He’s 21st in the league in run blocking and 40th in pass blocking.
On the right side, Guyton ranks 34th overall in the Big 12 (65.5), 41st in run blocking (61.9) and 35th in pass blocking (73.4).
Everett leads OU in pass blocking grade and ranks 12th in the Big 12 80.8.
How much has Oklahoma’s defense improved in 2023? Here’s how much:
Oklahoma has five players ranked among the Big 12’s top 25 graded defenders, according to PFF: Kani Walker (81.2) ranks ninth, Bowen (79.7) ranks 15th, Gentry Williams (78.9) ranks 17th, Stutsman (78.5) ranks 21st and Downs (76.4) ranks 24th.
Extend that out to the top 50 and the Sooners have nine players ranked (Coe at 27th, McCullough at 30th, Laulu at 38th and Kelley at 48th).
Stutsman’s grade of 87.0 on running plays ranks sixth among all Big 12 defenders and third among linebackers. Stutsman is also OU’s top-graded pass rusher with a grade of 74.5.
Bowen’s overall defensive grade of 81.8 ranks 14th in the Big 12 and is fourth among safeties. Bowen’s tackling grade of 89.6 ranks third in the Big 12 and leads all defensive backs.
Woodi Washington’s tackling grade of 86.9 ranks sixth in the league and ranks second among cornerbacks.
Laulu’s pass rush grade of 74.2 ranks 25th among all defenders in the conference and is fifth among interior defensive linemen.
McCullough’s PFF grade of 82.4 in pass coverage is fifth overall in the league (Trace Ford’s 86.2 is second but he’s been in coverage only a handful of times).
Three OU defensive backs rank among the league’s leaders in pass coverage grades: Williams (80.5), Walker (79.7) and Bowen (78.8). Along with McCullough, that’s four OU defenders in the Big 12’s top 13 graded players in pass coverage.

Redshirt report

On defense, P.J. Adebawore (6), Peyton Bowen (6), Sammy Omosigho (5) and Jacobe Johnson (5) all have played more than four games and won’t redshirt (so has juco transfer Kendel Dolby, 5).

Makari Vickers (4) and Lewis Carter (4) won’t redshirt if they play in one more game.

Ashton Sanders (3), Jasiah Wagoner (2), Reed DeQuasie (2), Taylor Wein (1), Markus Strong (1) and Daeh McCullough (1) are other freshmen who have played in games this year.

On offense, only Cayden Green (5) has passed the four-game redshirt rule. Jackson Arnold (4) will break it with his next appearance.

Daylan Smothers (2), Jaquaize Pettaway (2), Heath Ozaeta (1), Kade McIntyre (1), Logan Howland (1), Kalib Hicks (1), Joshua Bates (1) have played this season as well. (Brenen Thompson played in nine games last year at Texas and is a sophomore, but has only played in one game and could still redshirt.)

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