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Oklahoma-Cincinnati GameDay: Under the Radar

Andrew Raym ... Kip Lewis ... Rondell Bothroyd ... Key Lawrence ... Isaiah Coe
John E. Hoover|
Oklahoma-Cincinnati GameDay: Under the Radar
Oklahoma-Cincinnati GameDay: Under the Radar

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Oklahoma Sooners

Andrew Raym

Whether it’s regular starter Savion Byrd, backup Troy Everett, or emergency freshman Cayden Green, Oklahoma’s left guard is going to need lots of help with All-American noseguard Dontay Corleone. That task will fall to Andrew Raym, Oklahoma’s three-year starting center and the Sooners’ most experienced offensive lineman in the crimson and cream. Raym will need to be at his best as he’ll frequently team up against Corleone for double-teams and combo blocks. But he’ll also need to be extra sharp as he diagnoses the protections and calls out blocking schemes for whoever’s lining up next to him.

— John Hoover

Kip Lewis

As one player steps back into the lineup, another exits. Cheetah linebacker Dasan McCullough is expected to play on Saturday, but it’s starting to appear unlikely that safety Reggie Pearson suits up. This means true freshman Peyton Bowen will be needed on the back end of the defense, potentially limiting his snaps at cheetah. Without Justin Harrington and Bowen, Kip Lewis could again be in line for snaps at cheetah in reserve of McCullough. Lewis is second on the team with 15 tackles despite rotating in, and Brent Venables has described the redshirt freshman linebacker as a “ball magnet”. Lewis simply makes plays when he’s on the field, and his ability to work sideline to sideline could make him even more valuable at cheetah as pieces of the OU defense work back toward getting healthy.

— Ryan Chapman

Rondell Bothroyd

Against a mobile quarterback like Emory Jones, Oklahoma’s edge players will face a new test this weekend in Cincinnati. For players like Rondell Bothroyd, it will be crucial to keep contain on the outside to stop Jones and the Bearcats from finding easy running lanes on scrambles or outside run concepts. Cincinnati’s offense is very dependent on their rushing attack, meaning that Bothroyd, who is a solid run defender, will be tested repeatedly.If the Wake Forest transfer can hold up against the Bearcats' offensive line and keep Jones from gashing the Sooners on the ground, OU’s defense should be in for another good outing.

— Randall Sweet

Key Lawrence

With all the new talent flooded into the secondary, Key Lawrence has been the forgotten guy for the Oklahoma Sooners. He struggled at times a season ago, but through three games looks much improved. Against Tulsa, the former Tennessee transfer snagged an interception and played with serious confidence. Now, with Justin Harrington’s status in question for the foreseeable future, Oklahoma’s secondary will need players to step up at different spots. There could very well be some shuffling at the backend of the defense. If Lawrence can be a consistent contributor for the Sooners, it will help the flow of the defense tremendously. Against a run-heavy Cincinnati attack, Lawrence will have a chance to play his brand of football and impose physical hits in the ground game. A forced fumble or two would help turn the momentum in a hurry.

— Ross Lovelace

Isaiah Coe

Look for Isaiah Coe, the Sooners' 6-foot-2, 311-pound defensive tackle and leader up front, to play his best game of the season against the Bearcats after talking up himself and the defensive line after practice this week. Coe and his teammates will be tasked with slowing Cincinnati's rushing attack, which averages 239.3 yards per game, good enough for eighth nationally. Additionally, Coe and the defensive line will spend the day trying to contain Cincinnati' dual-threat quarterback Emory Jones, who passed for 265 yards and rushed for 101 yards in the Bearcats' overtime loss to Miami (OH) last week.

— Tim Willert

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John E. Hoover
JOHN E. HOOVER

John is an award-winning journalist whose work spans five decades in Oklahoma, with multiple state, regional and national awards as a sportswriter at various newspapers. During his newspaper career, John covered the Dallas Cowboys, the Kansas City Chiefs, the Oklahoma Sooners, the Oklahoma State Cowboys, the Arkansas Razorbacks and much more. In 2016, John changed careers, migrating into radio and launching a YouTube channel, and has built a successful independent media company, DanCam Media. From there, John has written under the banners of Sporting News, Sports Illustrated, Fan Nation and a handful of local and national magazines while hosting daily sports talk radio shows in Oklahoma City, Tulsa and statewide. John has also spoken on Capitol Hill in Oklahoma City in a successful effort to put more certified athletic trainers in Oklahoma public high schools. Among the dozens of awards he has won, John most cherishes his national "Beat Writer of the Year" from the Associated Press Sports Editors, Oklahoma's "Best Sports Column" from the Society of Professional Journalists, and Two "Excellence in Sports Medicine Reporting" Awards from the National Athletic Trainers Association. John holds a bachelor's degree in Mass Communications from East Central University in Ada, OK. Born and raised in North Pole, Alaska, John played football and wrote for the school paper at Ada High School in Ada, OK. He enjoys books, movies and travel, and lives in Broken Arrow, OK, with his wife and two kids.

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