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Nine Oklahoma Players Named to Reese's Senior Bowl Watch List

The Reese's Senior Bowl released its annual preseason watch list on Wednesday morning with nine current Sooners' making the cut.
Randall Sweet|
Nine Oklahoma Players Named to Reese's Senior Bowl Watch List
Nine Oklahoma Players Named to Reese's Senior Bowl Watch List

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Oklahoma Sooners

Nine seniors on the Oklahoma football team were named to the Reese's Senior Bowl watch list on Wednesday morning. 

The Senior Bowl is a collegiate all-star game where the top college football players who are seniors or who have earned their degree are able to compete in front of NFL coaches, scouts and executives. The two teams that are fielded for the Senior Bowl game and practice week are even coached by two NFL coaching staffs, giving the teams a hands on look at plenty of talented prospects.

Per NFL scouts, the players who perform well at the Senior Bowl usually go on to have a decent career in the NFL.

This year, Dillon Gabriel, Walter Rouse, Rondell Bothroyd, Austin Stogner, Andrew Raym, Reggie Pearson, McKade Mettauer, Tyler Guyton and Trace Ford have all been named to the Reese's Senior Bowl preseason watch list.

Of the nine players selected, Broken Arrow (OK) High School product Andrew Raym is the only Sooner representative that has spent his entire collegiate career in Norman. Aside from Raym, Stogner is the only other athlete on the list who started their collegiate career at OU.

In his first year as a Power 5 signal caller last season, Gabriel threw for 3,168 yards and 25 touchdowns, adding 315 yards and six touchdowns on the ground. While 2022 was a decent season for the UCF transfer, Gabriel recorded the lowest quarterback rating of his four-year college career.

If Gabriel is able to replicate the production from his first two seasons of college football, the 6-foot QB will have a much better chance at earning an invitation to the Senior Bowl.

As a true freshman with the Golden Knights, Gabriel threw for 3,653 yards and 29 touchdowns, following up an outstanding first campaign with an even better sophomore season. In 2020, Gabriel recorded 3,570 yards and 32 touchdowns through the air in just 10 games, throwing only four interceptions all season.

Lacking the ideal size for an NFL quarterback, Gabriel may need to have a season similar to his early years in order for professional teams to seriously have an interest in the dual-threat passer.

Rouse, a transfer from Stanford, reportedly received interest from NFL teams following his final year with the Cardinal, but came to Norman to learn under the tutelage of renowned offensive line coach Bill Bedenbaugh.  

Listed at 6-foot-6 and 322 pounds, Rouse would have had a good chance at getting drafted after last season, but the talented offensive tackle wanted to improve his draft stock before declaring for the NFL draft.

In four years at Stanford, Rouse started 39 games and was named All-Pac-12 Honorable Mention, second-team Freshman All-American and a two-time Pac-12 Academic Honor Roll selection.

Mettauer, another Pac-12 transfer, also provides a wealth of experience on the offensive line. 

The former California Golden Bear has made 42 career starts and has only given up one sack in 930 pass blocking snaps over the pass three seasons. In 2022, Mettauer was the only OU offensive lineman to start all 13 contests. 

Guyton, who transferred to Norman from TCU prior to the 2022 season, has the highest upside of any Sooner listed on the Senior Bowl watch list. Standing at 6-foot-7 and 327 pounds, Guyton has a world of untapped potential at the offensive tackle position. 

Playing mostly tight end, defensive end and basketball before arriving at Oklahoma, Guyton has quickly picked up on how to play offensive line and was very impressive in his five starts last season. With the Manor, TX, native's size and athleticism, Guyton could easily develop into an impressive offensive lineman that NFL teams are fighting to select on draft day.

Raym, a former 4-star recruit, caught the eye of NFL scouts with his performance last season. One national scout even told AllSooners that Raym's performance stuck out to him when watching the Sooners' offensive line.

Listed at 6-foot-4 and 309 pounds, Raym was named All-Big 12 honorable mention following the 2022 season. In his 17 career starts at center, Raym has allowed only three sacks on 699 pass-blocking snaps. 

Bothroyd, a defensive line transfer from Wake Forest, looks poised to continue filling up the stat sheet after two productive seasons with the Demon Deacons. Over the past two years, the 6-foot-3, 280-pound edge rusher has notched 93 tackles, 24.5 tackles for loss, 13 sacks, four forced fumbles, three fumble recoveries and three pass breakups. 

Throughout OU's fall camp over the past few weeks, Bothroyd has earned rave reviews, and seems to be on track to have another solid season.

Ford, another edge rusher who moved to Norman over the offseason, also made the Senior Bowl watch list. Formerly at Oklahoma State, Ford is a different style of edge rusher than Bothroyd. 

Listed at 6-foot-2 and 257 pounds, Ford uses his surprising speed and quickness to get around would-be blockers. Unfortunately, the Edmond, OK, native has missed plenty of time throughout his college career due to injuries, but still managed to record 11.5 tackles for loss, 8.5 sacks and six pass breakups during his time in Stillwater.

Pearson, a former Wisconsin and Texas Tech defensive back, will also have a good shot at participating in the Senior Bowl if he is able to help anchor an improved Oklahoma defense this season. 

Listed at 5-foot-10 and 198 pounds, Sooner fans may remember Pearson for the hit he laid on Gabriel when OU traveled to Lubbock last season. 

While Pearson is known as a hard hitter, he can also cover on the back end as well. As a redshirt senior at Texas Tech, the Detroit native tallied 55 tackles, four pass breakups, two interceptions and one fumble recovery. 

While these skills will all benefit Pearson, he will likely endear himself to OU fans with his willingness to deliver a hard hit to ball carriers.

Stogner, a former Sooner and South Carolina Gamecock, rounds out the OU representatives on the Senior Bowl watch list. A big-bodied tight end who looks to be in better shape this season than his previous years in Norman, Stogner has a chance to earn a spot in the NFL with a solid performance in 2023. 

Listed at 6-foot-6 and 255 pounds, Stogner has the ideal body style for a professional tight end. Last season at South Carolina, the Plano, TX, native caught 20 passes for 210 yards and a touchdown. 

Stogner's most productive season, however, came in 2020, when former 4-star recruit caught 26 passes for 422 yards and three touchdowns. If Stogner is able to return to a similar level of production this year with Gabriel, Oklahoma's offense should be in good shape.

Former Sooners' Tanner Mordecai, Spencer Rattler, Jaden Davis, David Ugwoegbu, Jalin Conyers and Theo Wease also made the Reese's Senior Bowl watch list.

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Randall Sweet
RANDALL SWEET

Randall is a recruiting analyst and staff writer at AllSooners focusing primarily on OU Football and the recruiting trail. Working as a journalist, Randall has covered the Oklahoma Sooners, the Oklahoma City Thunder, and high school sports across the state. A 2022 University of Oklahoma graduate, Randall hails from Lubbock, TX. While in college, Sweet wrote for the OU Daily in addition to working with Sooner Sports Pad and OU Nightly. Following his time at OU, Sweet served as the Communications Coordinator at Visit Oklahoma City before leaving to join the team at AllSooners. The West Texas native has bylines in the Norman Transcript and is a Staff Writer for Inside the Thunder. Randall holds a bachelor’s degree in Journalism from the University of Oklahoma in Norman, OK. 

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