Three potential Oklahoma Sooners breakout players for the 2024 college football season
The Oklahoma Sooners are getting quite the welcome to the SEC this year with their 2024 college football schedule. After an easier three game stretch to start the year the Sooners face Tennessee, Texas, Ole Miss, Missouri, Alabama, and LSU–all Top 20 teams in the nation–over the final nine games of the season. They're going […]
The Oklahoma Sooners are getting quite the welcome to the SEC this year with their 2024 college football schedule. After an easier three game stretch to start the year the Sooners face Tennessee, Texas, Ole Miss, Missouri, Alabama, and LSU–all Top 20 teams in the nation–over the final nine games of the season. They're going to need more than just true sophomore quarterback Jackson Arnold to post a breakout performance this year.
There are several potential breakout players on the Oklahoma Sooners to watch for this fall, but let's talk through three that could completely change the course of the season if they step their game up to the peak of their potential in 2024.
Deion Burks, Wide Receiver
If Sooners fans are looking for an absolute game breaker who could rise to MVP status for the team this fall it's likely Purdue transfer wide receiver Deion Burks. The Purdue offense largely struggled a year ago, except when they targeted Burks. He posted over 600 receiving yards and seven touchdowns while no other receiving weapon cleared 400 yards or more than two scores through the air.
This spring Burks was dominant both in practice and at the spring game where he scored two monstrous deep touchdowns, one of which you can see in my post below.
Burks likely plays the vast majority of his snaps in the slot this year, immediately plugging into the role that Drake Stoops filled in 2023. But Burks should bring much greater explosion and threat to press deep than Stoops ever could. In fact, when paired with Nic Anderson there's a great chance that the Sooners have their next CeeDee Lamb and Hollywood Brown.
Damonic Williams, Defensive Tackle
The Sooners needed to add some big bodies up front this off-season and that's exactly what they did in adding former TCU defensive tackle Damonic Williams. Despite entering just his third season in 2024 Williams has already logged nearly 1100 defensive snaps because he was simply too good not to have him on the field from day one at TCU. Now he'll get a shot to dominate with the Sooners.
At 6'2", 320 pounds Williams is a near immovable mountain of a man, but still stays on the field for most every snap showing incredible endurance and a high motor that never quits. He likely won't light up the stat sheet for the Sooners given that he largely plays in the A-gap, facing double teams and multiple blocks on the majority of his snaps, but his disruptive force will make a huge impact all year long in Norman.
Adepoju Adebawore, Edge Defender
Adepoju Adebawore was the crown jewel of the 2023 recruiting class for Oklahoma as a five star top ten overall talent in the nation. His true freshman season performance was a bit uneven off the edge for the Sooners, working in as a situational pass rusher for the majority of the year, but he looks ready to break out in 2024.
Adebawore already logged a pass rush pressure rate near 13% last season (above average nationally for starting edge defenders), but he's added weight, and reportedly looks ready for an expanded role this fall according to both coaches and the majority of team media. New fourth-year transfer from Miami (OH) Caiden Woullard may push him for snaps early, but by year's end Adebawore could work his way into a near every down role. And frankly, the Sooners likely need him to be everything they hoped and more this year if they want to adequately pressure most SEC quarterbacks.
Oklahoma Sooners are coming into the SEC with history showing they deserved to be there
There is only one Oklahoma University.
Be looking for more Oklahoma Sooners coverage here at A to Z Sports all year long! Follow me (@FF_TravisM) on X (Twitter) for all the latest football news!
And if you want to see how special Deion Burks could be for the Sooners just check out the highlight video from his time at Purdue below!
