Oklahoma Backs QB Bowe Bentley to Build on Spring Game Debut

The true freshman had a tall task battling the Sooners' first-team defense, which will give him plenty of film to study and improve on.

Oklahoma freshman Bowe Bentley made his Spring Game debut on Saturday. | Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images

NORMAN — Bowe Bentley’s first spring game didn’t quite go to plan. 

He completed 5-of-13 passes for 35 yards and threw two picks on Saturday, but he has plenty of supporters in the locker room who know he’ll bounce back. 

“He's a true freshman,” OU offensive coordinator Ben Arbuckle said. “His first time really playing — we had a scrimmage in there like two weeks ago, but his first time with people in the stands playing in front of the palace with Oklahoma's defense just firing at him. You can't replicate that.”

Bentley looked rushed throughout the first half on Saturday, but for good reason. 

At the helm of the White Team, Bentley squared off against the majority of Oklahoma’s first-team defense. 

Defensive ends Taylor Wein and Danny Okoye glided into the backfield with ease, and Bentley had to pick apart a secondary with Courtland Guillory, Peyton and Eli Bowen and Michael Boganowski. 

“You still gotta remember he's 18, right? Eighteen with Boganowski and Danny Okoye coming at him. That's real,” Arbuckle said. 

“I’m just excited for the experience that he got today cause I think it'll really propel him forward, probably in a quicker manner than maybe even he anticipated in the future."

Oklahoma safety Michael Boganowski chases after quarterback Bowe Bentley during the spring game. | Carson Field / Sooners On SI

OU starter John Mateer freely admits that he got a crash course in football when he had to start battling Brent Venables’ complicated defense in practice every day, and that was with him bringing a few years of college football experience to him with Norman. 

“I've seen it enough to kind of be able to pick up on it, but I still get confused sometimes. So I can't imagine,” Mateer said. 

“Like what Bowe’s seen. … Coming out of high school for Bowe, and then it's like, good luck, you know?”

Mateer wasn’t too worried about having to settle Bentley down after the game, as he himself has been able to bounce back from rough spring showings. 

“In the long run, it's good that it happened,” Mateer said. “…  I was so mad after not winning that first spring game and we only scored like two touchdowns and his was worse than that. And it's OK, but he should go home tonight and be mad, and that's OK. 

“It's all about growth and and the process, and that's exactly how he'll approach it. So in the long run, he'll probably say, 'thank you.'"

Whitt Newbauer, the other quarterback of the White Team, finished 7-for-9 passing for 69 yards and he rushed once for six yards. 

He has previous starting experience at Mercer and an extra year in the system, and still Arbuckle remains confident that Bentley will respond and continue to battle with Newbauer for the backup quarterback job. 

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“I think for his growth and his development, there ain't gonna be many moments that are too big for him, just what he gets to go against every day and what he got to do today,” Arbuckle said. 

“But man, you're gonna watch the film, there's gonna be a lot of good from it. He's extremely composed. He's poised out there. He gets everybody on the same page.”