Berry Tramel, sports columnist for the Tulsa World, tells McElroy & Cubelic where the biggest questions are for Oklahoma in 2024 & why 9-wins for the Sooners isn't worthy of a parade
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The question is, as you said, it's got to go from four to eight. I think they can do that. It would be hard not to get better considering how bad they were on the offensive line last year. Now, their schedule actually feels harder this year than it was last year. Search for the Rich Eisen Show on YouTube or wherever you listen. This Jocks 94.5 podcast is brought to you by Millennium Satellite and Video. Log on to MSBnow.com. TV excellence everywhere. That's Millennium. McElroy and Kubelik in the morning starts now.

Welcome back in. McIlroy and Kubelik in the morning, Wednesday, July 31st, 7.30 a.m. Right here on JOX 94.5. Chicago wide receiver DJ Moore gets a four-year extension, $110 million. And also, quarter their head coach, G-Mac, no starters Thursday night. Not going to happen. Shocked. Was Caleb Williams going to play? First-year starting quarterback. No, he's not going to go Thursday. Well, how do we know he's a starter? I was told...

He's not going to go. So I would assume that that means he's probably that guy. How mad is whoever's broadcasting that? Peacock, whatever channel it's on. I think they're happy with what else is going on right now. Not the channel that it's on right now, by the way. No, no. Prime? A little closer to home. WWE. A little closer to home. Netflix. For you and I. Amazon.

That's a 7 o'clock ESPN kick and on ABC for the folks trying to keep up with the Hall of Fame game. Why is that closer to home there in Bristol? Well, the game actually in Canton. Ah, Canton closer than Bristol. Can confirm. Yeah, closer to the home team for us. Oh, yeah. But yes, we'll be on ESPN. The Bill Smith Buick GMC jocks kickoff party is Wednesday, August 14, two weeks from today at Regents Field. And the only way to go is by winning a pair of tickets. To win...

for your chance to win, excuse me, text the keyword jocks and your full name to 2 0 5 8 3 4 9 4 5 0. That's the keyword jocks and your full name to 2 0 5 8 3 4 9 4 5 0. Winners are drawn daily. For more information, log on to jocksfm.com. All right, Barry Trammell covers Oklahoma and the Sooners are going to get underway today. Wanted to kind of preview fall camp, Barry. We appreciate you taking some time with us. Uh, the offensive line has been one of the biggest questions about this team for months now. Uh,

What do we know more about with that group? More concerns, less concerns maybe as we begin fall camp? Well, we really don't know much. I mean, it's a totally remade line. A lot of portal guys, a couple of holdovers, but not necessarily the best guys on the line. Last year in fourth school that historically has a really good offensive line year after year, won a Joe Moore award, was in contention for a couple others. This is foreign territory. They don't really know how to function here.

with an offensive line sort of in disarray. So they've got a hit on the portal with some of these guys, and so we won't know. We won't even know when the games start because they really won't be tested, I don't think, by a defensive front until Tennessee. That's pretty early in the year, though, obviously, against Tennessee, and I know that's a game that means a lot to the Oklahoma faithful, given who's the head coach there.

of the Tennessee Volunteers. But as you assess just where they've had issues this offseason with the offensive line, that being a huge question mark, do you think they've adequately addressed those problems? Well, they did a pretty good job, and I thought they got a post-spring addition in Branson Hickman from SMU, who's a three-year starter down in Dallas and is coming up to Norman, and that was a big help.

That seemed, in my mind, to really sort of stabilize at least the depth. You've got a veteran center, you know, centers are sort of the foundation of an offensive line. And if you're weak there, you're not strong anywhere. So I think that really helped. Now, playing in the American Conference is not the same as playing in the SEC. So we'll see how he does. But that really was a nice addition there.

that was late in the process. Most of these guys come in in December or January. So Branson Hickman, I think, is sort of a key element to this offense.

I just appreciated what you said about centers being the foundation of the offensive line. I would go more of the team, Barry, but that's okay. We'll move on there. The quarterback situation we know is going to be Jackson Arnold. We know the talent is there. The ability is there. A little bit of change in offensive philosophy with Seth Luttrell now taking over for Jeff Lebby, but do you expect it to look much different? Is there a portion of the offense that you're anxious to see because it might be different or maybe even more capable of something than they were a season ago?

Well, I have no idea if it'll be better or worse, but it probably will look different. You know, Jeff Levy's from the Baylor family, literally and figuratively. He's Art Briles' son-in-law. And Seth Luttrell is from the Air Raid. Now, to novices, it's not a big deal. But if you put them side by side, you can see the big differences that

The air raid sort of spreads the ball around and does a lot of things with receiver routes, flooding zones, those kinds of things. The Baylor is the super spread. Guys lined up three blocks from the stadium out wide and creating running lanes and trying to beef up the running game. So it conceivably could look different. Whether it will be more or less effective, we'll have to see. I mean,

The Baylor offense has a pretty good history, and the Air Raid's got a glorious history. So both work. It's just whichever one is suited for this Oklahoma offense. Some of that's the offensive line, some of that's Jackson Arnold, and some of that's just how you adjust to the SEC. How do you think the defense will be able to hold up? I think they'll be able to score. I think most of us are encouraged by that possibility.

Defensively, you love their personnel. I do have a couple questions about them being big enough, stout enough in the trenches, a little different league than the one that they just departed. I think they'll be fine. I just don't know if they're going to be a top-flight group. So how do you anticipate this transition going for the defense in a group that should have aspirations of being one of the best in the league? Yeah, you know, I agree with you that they're probably not as big as they want to be.

Two or three years ago, I can't remember, probably two years ago, I was chatting with Texas Athletic Director Chris Del Conte. It was not long after they hired Steve Sarkeesian, and I was talking to him about Big 12 preparation. What are you doing to get ready for the Big 12? I didn't mean necessarily roster adjustments. I was just talking about the entire program, everything. He said the number one thing we need to do is get bigger.

And Sark over the last couple of years has alluded to that pretty often. And the truth is, even though Oklahoma has been better than Texas most of the last 15 years, Texas always seems bigger. So, you know, it seems natural to think OU has farther to go on that point. I would agree with you. But this is a strange year in Oklahoma football in that it's possible that

But the OU defense has finally caught up to the OU offense, which has not been the case probably since 2009. Now, part of that's because the offense doesn't seem to be as good as the OU standard because of the offensive line, new quarterback, the things we talked about. But I do think the defense is pretty good, and they do have a little bit of star power. Last year, OU had its first All-American in four years.

They hadn't had an All-American under Lincoln Riley and Bob Stoops. They had star power every year, often multiple All-Americans. C.D. Lamb in 29 was their last All-American until Billy Bowman made one of the teams last year. First team tied for, I think, the NCAA lead in interceptions. Danny Stutzman's a top-flight linebacker. So they've got star power and they've got depth.

The question is, do they have enough in the interior line? I think they're pretty good on the edge. Do they have enough in the middle? Whether they're going to play the 3-4 or the even front, that may be predicated on how much depth they think they have. But I think they're going to be pretty good on defense. That really was not the plan.

That was not the worry two years ago, three years ago. Will the offense be able to hold up? But I think OU is as confident in its defense as it is its offense, which is strange times around here. Barry Trammell joining us to discuss the Oklahoma Sooners beginning fall camp today. Is there a way to have a feel for

On the other part of a football team, you've been covering them for a long time. The chemistry, the continuity, the togetherness, just the attitude, demeanor. Do you have a feel or a vibe for what this team might be compared to some other Oklahoma teams? No, and I'd be leery of anybody that said they did here or anywhere else because I don't know that you can build programs much anymore. Maybe Kirby Smart has and maybe Ryan Day, although maybe not.

But you can't really build programs. You're just building teams year after year. And the roster turnover is so massive. The Sooners just have so many new players with freshmen and the transfer portal. I think I can't remember the number of new players. 37 maybe, guys who have never played for Oklahoma before.

And that's not terribly out of the ordinary when you sign 20-something and bring in 15 or whatever it is, portal guys. I mean, I think the offseason is more important than ever, not just from a physical standpoint, but from a chemistry thing like you're talking about. We've heard that the strength and conditioning coaches or the offseason head coach, that's probably more true and more important than ever before. So...

We're just going to have to see how it goes. I tend to think that can be a little overrated. Togetherness and chemistry is not going to make the OU defensive line bigger. It's not going to make some of the other deficiencies better, but it does matter. I think it's important if adversity hits, then the Sooners have some chances for adversity. Their first three conference games are

home with Tennessee at Auburn and Texas and Dallas. I personally think Auburn's probably underrated in the SEC, and Auburn is like the second easiest game Oklahoma's got. I mean, an 0-3 start is not off the table. So if adversity hits, if they lose to Tennessee, will they stick together? I think that's a key question.

for what transpires in this maiden SEC season. What does success look like this year for you? I know what the fans are anticipating success looking like. Anything less than 10 wins is no longer good. But with the schedule being what it is and a transition season and there being a lot of unknowns, what does a good year look like for Oklahoma? Well, if OU goes 9-3, I think I wouldn't recommend throwing a parade, but I would throw a party.

I mean, they got six. Who knows how the season will come out, but they play six teams that are in the SEC teams that are ranked in most people's top 15. You know, Texas got the long straw in the schedule. Oh, you've got the short straw. It's a very difficult schedule. And if 9-3 probably won't get them in the playoff, maybe it could. You never know. But if they go 5-3 in the SEC...

With this schedule, I think that's a very positive sign. If they go 8-4, you say, well, you know, it's okay. Less than 8-4, I think, is trouble. So I guess 8-4 is the 38th parallel, the line of demarcation, and see what happens. But the non-conference schedule is weak. Very, very easy. 4-0 should be maybe not automatic, but close to it. So...

And if they can scramble together four and maybe even five wins, to me that's a great sign for OU's future in the SEC. Barry, we really appreciate it. Great stuff. It's getting started today. We're excited about it. I know you are as well, and we look forward to having you back again soon. You bet. Thank you. Barry Trammell, sports columnist for the Tulsa World. Only 46 years covering Oklahoma sports. So, yeah.

Got Anwar Richardson coming up at 8 to talk Texas as they hit the field today as well. So a lot of college football is getting underway, which leads to a lot of conversation that we're going to continue to have right here on Jocks 94.5. Before we go to break, I want to tell you about Gusty Goulas and the Gusty Goulas Group. They've helped family members of mine get into a new home. Not only that, but also sell their previous home with more showings and obviously bringing in more money for the home that we ever thought was going to be

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Or Google Gusty Goulas Group or go to gustygoulasgroup.com for all of your real estate needs. We'll get to our top three when we come back next on Mac and Cube in the morning. Catch up with all things McElroy and Kublik in the morning by subscribing to the podcast. Mythically, he's grown. He's almost like a little bit bigger than a player, right? Like the myth of Bo Jackson. Like, rate, and download the show from the Jock Cup or wherever you get your podcasts. It's time for Bob's Dare to compare. You get styled.

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