OU football notepad: Sooners' linebacker unit enjoying depth and even tighter bond
Apr. 10—A different level of camaraderie is building within Oklahoma's defense this spring.
Team veteran Caleb Kelly started at OU in 2016 and admits he hasn't felt as close with his teammates as he does now.
"You can feel it, especially in the linebacker room," Kelly said. "In all the years I've been here, linebackers as a unit, we have not been this close. ... I was close to the Jordan Evans, the Obos [Ogbonnia Okoronkwo], but it wasn't the same as what it is right now.
"Everybody is really supporting each other and being genuine about it. There's no hating behind closed doors or anything."
The COVID-19 pandemic has played a major role in the tight bond forming between Kelly and his teammates.
The lack of a spring training camp last year forced the group to only meet virtually before returning to campus for summer workouts last July.
OU inside linebackers coach Brian Odom has noticed a difference in his group as well.
The Sooners' experience at linebacker is one of several reasons for the shift.
"It's amazing the difference I have in this room today," Odom said. "At the moment, we have nine guys in the room. Every one of those nine guys have played and played meaningful minutes, whether it be on special teams or actual defensive reps.
"We have starting experience. We have great athletes. We have great kids. We have good citizens here. I'm so excited about not only do we have good kids, good student-athletes, but we have really good football players."
Odom recognized the COVID-19 pandemic has paved the way for an unprecedented amount of returning experience.
Kelly was able to come back for a sixth year thanks to the NCAA's blanket COVID-19 eligibility waiver for all players that participated in the 2020 season.
Kelly's OU career has been hampered by injuries, but in 41 appearances, he's accumulated 160 tackles, 11 tackles for loss, five sacks, four forced fumbles, three fumble recoveries and an interception.
Kelly and the likes of Brian Asamoah, DaShaun White and David Ugwoegbu, all of whom checked in the top six of OU's leading tacklers last season, should provide the group with a solid foundation.
Considering the unit's depth, Odom expects plenty of competition.
"If you don't perform to the level that, which I know you expect, I expect, we all expect, the next guy is going to go in and quite possibly, he's going to do it as good or better," Odom said. "But at the end of the day we are the University of Oklahoma, and at the end of the day that's the way it should be."
—Brooks happy to be back with team: The uncertainty of the COVID-19 pandemic forced Kennedy Brooks to take a step back.
The Oklahoma running back, who rushed for over 1,000 yards in both 2018 and 2019, didn't know enough about the virus and opted to sit out the 2020 season for him and his family's sake.
"With COVID [cases] really high and everything, we chose it was best just to sit out and for my health," Brooks said. "... My decision to come back, I really love the game. I really love playing at OU. I just wanted to play with my boys one more time just to be able to come back and just see what I can do."
Brooks said he treated his time away from the program like an NFL offseason. He was constantly training, watching video and keeping up with OU's games.
The Mansfield, Texas, native split his time working out between home with his trainer and in Norman.
Brooks didn't live any different than his teammates. He said he didn't go out, he avoided crowds of 10-or-more people and always wore a mask.
His fears have decreased since rejoining the team for spring practices as the pandemic appears closer to an end than ever.
He's certainly come to appreciate the game more following his break.
"Just being out, being away, it definitely made me appreciate all the work that goes into it, all the time spent in practice, meetings and just building that chemistry with the teammates," Brooks said.
"For me, it's been going really well. I've been playing with a lot of those guys for a year. Just because I missed one doesn't mean anything but it's still going well. I'm still getting into the flow of things and I'm getting better every day."
—Players to coaches: Former OU teammates DeMarco Murray and Joe Jon Finley have been reunited this offseason in Norman, coaching the positions they played as Sooners.
"It's great to have Joe Jon," Murray said. "Great friend of mine. We were close when we played and obviously we've always kept in contact. Smart guy. He's smart. He's been around a lot of top offenses. He's constantly bringing in new ideas from the run game, for the pass game, the blocking game, whatever it is, so it's great to have him on staff."
Murray is entering his second season as OU's running backs coach, while Finley was hired earlier this year as OU's h-back/tight ends coach and associate head coach for offense.
OU's staff also features former players Cale Gundy (co-offensive coordinator), Calvin Thibodeaux (defensive line) and Odom (inside linebackers).
Joe Buettner
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