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Oklahoma Coach Lincoln Riley Names No. 3 QB

Ralph Rucker, a preferred walk-on from Lucas, TX, will back up Spencer Rattler and Caleb Williams.
John E. Hoover|
Oklahoma Coach Lincoln Riley Names No. 3 QB
Oklahoma Coach Lincoln Riley Names No. 3 QB

Finally heading toward game week, Oklahoma coach Lincoln Riley made a quarterback announcement on Tuesday.

Ralph Rucker, a preferred walk-on from Lovejoy High School in Lucas, TX, will start the 2021 season as the Sooners' No. 3 quarterback.

"He's separated himself from the rest of the group right there pretty clearly and established himself as the third guy," Riley said, "so he's done a nice job. You know, he didn't have spring ball (at OU), but he's done a good job coming in and learning our stuff and just playing a little bit more consistently than those other guys.

"As always, competition will evolve and continue."

Rucker announced in January that he was joining the OU quarterback room as a walk-on. 

Rucker is a dual-threat QB who was named one of four finalists for the Tom Landry Award recognizing the top high school football player in North Texas who demonstrates leadership both on and off the field.

The Landry Award was launched in 2010, and past winners include former Oklahoma quarterback Kyler Murray and current Sooners running back Kennedy Brooks. 

Rucker joins incoming Washington, D.C. freshman Caleb Williams, Penn State transfer Micah Bowens and Carl Albert freshman Ben Harris in the quarterback room behind 2020 starter Spencer Rattler.

During his senior year, the 6-foot, 195-pound Rucker threw for 3,423 yards and 47 touchdowns with just three interceptions. He also rushed for 1,044 yards and 12 TDs.

As a junior, Rucker completed 63.6 percent of his passes for 1,957 yards, 28 touchdowns and 10 interceptions.Rucker also plays baseball and wrestles. He has reportedly received preferred walk-on offers from Texas Tech and Oklahoma State as well.

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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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