At one point, Okoye and Oklahoma felt impossible. Texas and Tennessee at certain points felt like the more sensible and likely destinations. But as time went on, and the new staff went to work, Okoye reconsidered. Miguel Chavis helped OU and Okoye become realistic again then eventually, after a gameday visit, Okoye committed to the coaching staff. A wild timeline turning into a rewarding ending for Oklahoma’s coaches.
Quotes: “I didn’t get goosebumps anywhere else, so that’s probably a sign. I listened to it. Before I went on the official to OU, Tennessee was leading, I’m not going to lie. But after that visit, I got to talk to a lot of good people. I got to gather a lot of information, and based on that, that’s why I made the decision that I did.”
One of the biggest challenges Oklahoma will present to Arizona in the Alamo Bowl is that of the unknown.
The Sooners enter Thursday’s game against the Wildcats with a new offensive coordinator in Seth Littrell and a new starting quarterback in Jackson Arnold in what will be the former’s first game as an on-field assistant for OU and the latter’s first collegiate start.
“It provides a great challenge because when you look at their offense and you look at statistically where they were with coach (Jeff) Lebby and with Dillon (Gabriel), you see probably one of the best five offenses — not even probably — one of the best five offenses in the country,” Arizona coach Jedd Fisch said. “Now you’re sitting there and trying to make a determination when you’re game-planning the offense with a different quarterback and a different coordinator.”
It’s a situation that could give Oklahoma the upper hand against Arizona, even with it being a first-time scenario for the Sooners and their new-look offense. OU will have all of its key playmakers on that side of the ball, though the offensive line will have a distinctly different look than it did late in the year, with Andrew Raym (and Tyler Guyton) opting out of the game and Cayden Green transferring to Missouri.
Arnold, of course, has his share of experience this year despite not starting a game. The five-star freshman served as Gabriel’s backup throughout the year, appearing in six games and completing 75% of his passes (18-of-24) for 202 yards and two touchdowns.
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