Oklahoma's Drake Stoops 'Felt Good' About Cones, Shuttle, Routes At Pro Day
NORMAN — All eyes in Norman were on Drake Stoops on Tuesday.
One of 12 Sooners to participate in the team’s Pro Day inside Everest Training Center, the 5-foot-10, 190-pound receiver and twin son of legendary Sooners coach Bob Stoops participated in the vertical, bench press, 40-yard dash, shuttle and three-cone drill in front of several NFL scouts.
He also ran 15 routes, 14 of which resulted in a successful catch.
“I was excited to get out here, you know, it kind of becomes a waiting game," Stoops said. "You can only train so long and you’re as prepared as you’re going to get."
Stoops, a senior, came on for the Sooners in his final two years of eligibility. He caught 84 passes for 962 yards and 10 touchdowns — all team-highs — in 2023. For his career, Stoops tallied 17 touchdowns and nearly 2,000 yards from scrimmage.
Stoops clocked an unofficial 4.67 40-yard dash Tuesday. His first 40 produced an unofficial time of 4.71.
“I feel like my 40 time, it’s always room for improvement,” Stoops said. “I feel like I would like to improve there, but when you cut on the tape or you watch me run routes, I have good football speed. I show good speed there, which I think matters the most.
© BRYAN TERRY/THE OKLAHOMAN / USA TODAY NETWORK
"And then I felt good about my change-of-direction [in] the three-cone and the short shuttle. I felt good about my times kind of showing how I can get in and out of my breaks and how that transitions to my route-running,” Stoops said.
Stoops, along with teammate Austin Stogner, caught passes from OU assistant director of player personnel JP Losman, who played quarterback in the NFL from 2004-09 and 2011. They watched tape from receivers like Hunter Renfrow, Danny Amendola and Julian Edelman to prepare for the combine.
“We took some routes from NFL schemes and NFL players that I modeled my game after and we kind of just came out here as the weeks went on and put a script together,” Stoops said.
Stoops, arguably whose greatest strength is finding gaps in defenses, wasn’t worried about not being able to display his best skills against unmanned turf.
“You can see things I’m doing at the top of my routes that simulate there’s someone on my hip, under my hip, on top of my hip. . . You can see that there’s almost an imaginary person right there, and the way I’m breaking, the way I’m cutting, the way I’m even standing, everything shows that I’m very aware of what routes can look like based on how the defender wants to play me,” Stoops said.
Stoops’ father coached Oklahoma to a college football national championship in 2000, months after the births of Drake and his twin brother, Isaac Stoops. Stoops retired from his role as head coach after guiding the Sooners to a program all-time best 191 wins and a .799 win percentage in 18 years. He’s now the coach of the XFL’s Arlington Renegades and won the league title in 2023.
Offensive linemen Tyler Guyton, McKade Mettauer, Andrew Raym, Walter Rouse and Caleb Shaffer; defensive linemen Rondell Bothroyd, Jonah Laulu and Marcus Stripling; defensive back Reggie Pearson; and tight end Austin Stogner also participated in pro day.
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