OU football: Five key topics to watch during the Sooners' run at Big 12 Media Days

ARLINGTON, Texas — OU has made AT&T Stadium a home away from home in recent years.

Though after failing to win the Big 12 Championship Game — or even make the matchup — for the first time since the game was reinstated ahead of the 2017 season, there’s a different feeling around the Sooners as Big 12 Media Days arrives this week at Jerry World.

The Sooners have a new coach, in Brent Venables, new looks on both sides of the football under Jeff Lebby and Ted Roof, and plenty of question marks — though plenty of optimism — entering the season.

Oklahoma State, Baylor, Kansas, Kansas State and West Virginia kick off media days on Wednesday, with the Sooners joining Texas, TCU, Texas Tech and Iowa State in Thursday’s second and final day.

OU will be represented by Venables, quarterback Dillon Gabriel, wide receiver Marvin Mims, defensive end Ethan Downs and cornerback Woodi Washington.

Here’s a look at five key topics, questions and things to watch for during the Sooners’ turn through the annual event:

How will the Sooners handle being the ‘underdog’?

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OU being thought of as the underdog in the Big 12 is a bit laughable, even as the Sooners were picked second — the first time in seven seasons they weren’t picked to win the league in the preseason media poll.

Five teams received first-place votes and the top three picks — Baylor, OU and Oklahoma State — were separated by just 23 points.

But there’s no doubt that at least some Sooners will use that pick as motivation.

It’ll be interesting to hear what the OU players have to say about the external expectations, which they no doubt will be asked about plenty.

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Will Venables get more than one question?

During the Thursday morning coaches’ press conference portion, each coach is allotted 20 minutes.

Since taking over for Lincoln Riley, Venables has been plenty loquacious during his media sessions.

He hasn’t, though, been brief.

Venables has given multiple answers stretching longer than 20 minutes during his media sessions so far.

Venables will have more time during the afternoon breakout to answer more questions — and expound plenty on his answers — but with an opening statement kicking off the Thursday morning session, it might be difficult to get a second question in during Venables’ media days unveiling.

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Gabriel in the spotlight

For the first time since 2017, the Sooners will have a quarterback representative at media days.

Neither Kyler Murray, Jalen Hurts, nor Spencer Rattler made an appearance at the event in 2018-20 as Lincoln Riley kept up the assertion that he’d not yet named a starting quarterback, then opted to bring Jeremiah Hall instead of Rattler to last season’s event.

Venables and new offensive coordinator Jeff Lebby didn’t carry out any similar charade this season, with Lebby quickly declaring Gabriel the starter after his transfer from Central Florida.

Gabriel’s knowledge of Lebby’s offense, combined with the way he quickly ingratiated himself with his teammates — especially the wide receivers — cemented his place as one of the faces of the 2022 Sooners.

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Downs’ emergence

The selection of Ethan Downs to represent the Sooners at the event was a bit of a surprise.

The Weatherford product showed plenty of promise last season, with 14 tackles, an assisted sack and a forced fumble in 13 games last season, but he was just a freshman.

The event is usually reserved for experienced upperclassmen.

Of the 38 players scheduled to take part in the event, only Downs and Kansas running back Devin Neal are sophomores.

Downs’ inclusion — especially over several more experienced players on the defensive side — speaks to Venables’ trust in Downs, both in how Downs will perform on the field and in how Downs will handle a day of questioning in Arlington.

Downs figures to take a big step forward this season, and how big of a leap he’ll make could start becoming apparent at media days.

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Where are the Sooners’ LBs?

With Downs and Washington representing the Sooners’ defense, OU won’t have a linebacker there.

DaShaun White is the leading returner among the position group, having played in 51 games and started 36 over the last four seasons.

White was third on the Sooners in tackles last season with 66, behind just Brian Asamoah and Patrick Fields.

There’s plenty of intrigue at linebacker, but plenty of questions about how the group will come together.

Danny Stutsman’s role grew bigger late in his freshman season in 2021, and he seems poised to make a significant leap forward in year two.

Jaren Kanak, the only player who committed to Clemson under Venables to join him in Norman, is a particularly interesting player in the group, with the versatility to hang with the physical demands of linebacker while also having the athleticism and speed to go out in coverage.

How those players have progressed since the end of spring, and the similar progression of more veteran players David Ugwoegbu and Shane Whitter, will be worth watching as camp gets going.

Linebacker play has been a big key to Venables’ success as a coordinator, and the performance of the position group figures to play a major role in how successful the Venables/Ted Roof defense is in their first season.

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: OU football: Five key topics for the Sooners at Big 12 Media Days