Lincoln Riley on Tre Brown: 'Next man up'

For the first time under Lincoln Riley, the Oklahoma Sooners is dealing with players opting out of the bowl game.

Monday evening, senior cornerback Tre Brown announced in a statement on twitter that he would not participate in the Cotton Bowl to prepare for the NFL Draft.

Brown has improved this season and become more consistent, Riley said.

“Tre’s gonna have a good opportunity, I think he’s made himself a better player,” Riley said. “[Brown’s] become much better with his technique. I think a big part of him was just consistency and technique and I think that’s improved.”

“Like all our guys, when they get a chance to take that next step we’re always excited for them and Tre’s no different,” Riley said.

Coming off one of his most productive days as a Sooner, Brown accounted for a pair of 43-yard kickoff returns to set Oklahoma up in the short field against Iowa State. The Sooners cashed in Brown’s returns for 10 points, and then he iced the game with an interception to end Iowa State’s game winning drive aspirations.

“I guess it’s kind of like a walk off home run for Tre, which is great for him and obviously great for us,” defensive coordinator Alex Grinch said. “Wish him the best of luck and sure glad he made that play on Saturday.”

Riley and Grinch both said it'll be a “next man up” mentality when trying to replace Brown’s production.

“I mean that’s in any year, you got to do that,” Riley said of the next man up mentality. “Especially if we hadn’t learned that by this point this year then we’re in trouble.”

“We’ve played a lot of guys defensively and we don’t expect to miss a beat.”

Grinch said this will present a great opportunity for the guys behind Brown to play a bigger role.

“It’s not coach speak when you say ‘next man up’, that’s been our reality and will continue to be,” Grinch said. “Tremendous opportunity for the guys in the secondary to step up and we certainly expect them to.”

Riley said the other players missing the Cotton Bowl due to opt outs will be those who have entered their names in the transfer portal, most notably being backup quarterback Tanner Mordecai and second string running back T.J. Pledger.

“Those guys don't leave with any bad blood,” Riley said. “A huge amount of respect and appreciation for them. [I] understand their need to find a better opportunity.”

Mordecai steadied the Oklahoma offense just before half against Texas this past season, replacing Rattler for three drives before the redshirt freshman took back over and led the Sooners to a victory. He will finish his Oklahoma career 639 passing yards, four touchdowns and one interception.

The return of Rhamondre Steveson saw Pledger’s role diminish midway through the season. Pledger will depart with 695 rushing yards and six rushing touchdowns, as well as 89 career receiving yards.

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