Evaluating Oklahoma's Roster + The Importance of New Uniforms | Barry & Mack Show

hey there folks this is Parker the co-publisher of ouinsider.com let's you and I be honest with one another for a second Oklahoma is heading into year 1 in the SEC you want the best Insider coverage of all you football and recruiting that the market has to offer after all it just means more now well I've got great news for you I and the outstanding team at ouinsider.com have that coverage for you and we're running an outstanding promotional deal this week and this week only that enables you to jump on board at minimal cost between August 12th and August 16th you can use promo code sec24 that's all caps sec24 to take 75% off your purchase of an ouinsider.com subscription that means you'll get full access for an entire year for less than $3 a month I hope to see you over on the message board shortly folks we'll make it worth your while become an Insider today at ouinsider.com [Music] [Music] what is going on sooner Nation thank you all for tuning in to another episode of The Barry and Max show as always myself Barry personal trainer Sports Performance coach out of Tulsa Oklahoma and the longside me former sooner wide receiver 2000 national champ Mr Damian Mackie how are we doing today dmac we're in the midnight oil be burning the midnight oil let's get it in uh getting close to to game week obviously dealing with Camp you got to talk about what's going on and and and what's moving and shaking around as the as the young Lads get ready for uh the 24th season in the SEC uh and I've just been traveling a ton man I think I've been in four states the last five days so I gotta fly to Cali in the morning so busy times but I gotta get my schedule cleared away because football season starts I need to be front center that's right man I will definitely be at the U Houston game so that'll be uh that'll be fun uh but dmac off the field news well I guess technically off the field on the field right it's off the field right now it will eventually be on the field and that news is the new sooner uniform drops the old heads are going to be extremely happy and I'll tell you what man the youth have seemed to uh liked it as well the uh Sooners dropped a brand new new but not New Jersey and I'll tell you what does it for me DX so for those of you who don't know U went back old school kind of that Circa 2003 uh they also revitalized it in like 2010 2011 when Landry was there but that was against Texas Tech they caught the L we don't want to relive those those memories however they look good but man the the cream white helmets and the SE DC patch with that just pure just like buttercream white man that that just it sets off the entire thing it's got the stripe down the pant so the pant don't look uh a ton different from what they roll out with um on a normal basis some of the details are missing it's been a little more streamlined but the Jersey itself with the stripe on the shoulder the classic sort of Block number look everything looks really solid your first reaction as a former player you remember the 2003 look when U was dominant rolling it out there um with with your Tommy harrises and your teddy and Jay dubs that that's who was rocking those jerseys and this is paying a little homage to that but really going back to your 50s um early 60s with the Wilkinson era talk a little bit about what you think of the jerseys and is it a look that U sticks with um rumors are there's no more uh no more wood grain right maybe you can confirm or deny this give us the lowdown dmac yeah uh first things first I love the throwback um rumor is we will be um using some rendition of one of our yesteryear uniforms in the years to come so obviously they're wearing this one against Houston by the game you'll be at uh looks good it's a little more cherry red I guess I would call it sooner red back when we when they redid in 03 I don't even know if there was a sooner red jersey it was just kind of like U and bamas and indianas there was like five schools who basically had the same reddish looking Jersey back then you know what I'm saying now every school has their own distinct color oh you has soona red that that's our actual color um so you can see it's a little more cherry than the 03 version um I love the gray mask to me that's just so that's that's so retro you know what I'm saying like that's so retro back in the day when face masks were only black or gray like that's by the way or non-existent yeah well I'm just saying like back in the day the reason teams had gray masks was because there were two color options or maybe three there was white there was black and there was gray so if you didn't have white or black you had a gray mask right yeah that's why we wore gray so uh I like the gray mask it looks good it's retro uh I think the game pants are the same actually I think they're actually just is that okay yeah yeah I think the game pants are the exact same game pants just like 03 in 2010 by the way by the way the sickest one was the away jersey we wore a tech Landry Jones just got us the ill so I can't support those jerse those jerseys were nice oh I like the allh um but looking forward to it yes got confirmation that you can expect one of these every year so every year we're GNA have some type of um you know showing love and support to yester year uniforms uh I'm looking forward to seeing some of the other ones apparently there might be some of the old ones with the with the cream in the Jersey like the actual like tan like the Khaki so it'll be pretty cool to see if we roll one of those out uh sometime in the near future uh I just want to win in the jerseys I want the kids to be excited about the jerseys I want the recruits to be excited about the jerseys I think U does a phenomenal job with all of the social media and exposing and engaging and and really creating an environment of excitement around the uniforms it's a big deal it was a big deal listen I I I don't think I ever said this on the pod Roy and I go to UCLA we don't even we don't go to OU if UCLA is Nike UCLA was Reebok and they had these ugly ass cleats that I was just like I can't even they had a guy named skip hick they had a guy skip hick was a stud they had Freddy Mitchell they had some guys right and they were and they were really good they wore a Reebok and I was like really I I ain't going to no scool that where his rebok and he was like yeah I ain't either and so UCLA by the way UCLA recruited both of us hard hard hard they invited us to UCLA versus Tennessee when pton Manning was the Heisman Contender ah it was it was it was it was it's a big thing uniforms matter the players care um the recruits are watching to see right how much of a an impact that the university has with them I think to to eloquently retire their the Rough Riders the Rough Riders have no um Championship pedigree we've I think we won a couple Big 12 championship in them which I don't want to take anything away from that I you know I think Texas the year we beat Texas I think we Murray pass calcatera the one-handed catch so you know what I'm saying I don't want I don't want to discredit them but damn we have some shitty defenses in those uniforms like I can I vividly remember us being just toilet paper you know for a lot of those years so um looking forward to seeing us play just at a higher E Line I think year three uh the by the way you watch they're either going to come out flat because they're going to be too Juiced or they're going to beat the brakes off of Houston because they're excited those uniforms are gonna have an impact you watch looks do my followup would be this then do you think that transitioning out of the Big 12 where that we got it the uniforms in the Big 12 had a certain look to them right your your Baylor your Oki State your your um Kansas State I I always thought K State had a nice KU switched their uniforms swi them up it got very Arena Tech switched their Tech switched their uniforms west V switched their uniforms a billion times yeah and it felt like U was kind of staying in line with that and I think that's why some of the older fans some of those fans who do maybe remember these 50s teams right the the early Switzer teams uh just the uh do you think the move to the SEC maybe influenced what the thoughts and ideas were in Rolling these out do you think that was a factor I do I think SEC is all about tradition SEC is all about history SEC is all about I mean you know just until 10 years ago they were three yards in the cloud of Des running power football pull the guard pull the guard pull the guard and then we're gonna go over the top once right like less mile days right less miles days they they would smash my football um yeah I think U knows it's offbrand especially for a blue bug blood especially for a big bro like a like a a true blue blood to have some Helter Skelter let's do some weirdo thing you know uniform it'll be interesting to see if we wear the anthrocytes I don't know if that's still in in the works um it seems it is because the recruits still wear them in their visit photos but man they look so bad on TV to me that so bad I think they look phenomenal in on a way uniform AG the Crimson numbers on a white uniform with the outline I think that I think that would look really good that's really the biggest problem is the the number color on the home it's it's the gray on the red or the red on the gray on the gray Jersey for sure it's hard to see it on TV needed to be white it needed to be white yeah yeah that like haven't seen them in person I imagine they do look different when you get up close they do they look really good but on TV it looks bad even in the game it's kind of hard to see it even even when you're at the game you it's hard to see the numbers you're kind of like trying to figure it out but it looks really good up close it really does interesting well one of the players who actually had a pretty solid game if I remember right in the anthro site Jersey won't be rolling out there day one and according to all reports May more than likely miss the season dmac and this was a man we got to bring back gorilla nuts this this upcoming year this man was two three four time gorilla nut player of the game um and and that is Jaden Gibson a guy who you know i' I've had good thoughts about about him you've talked very highly of him uh now going on the year three for him um he's a player who was really poised to have a breakout year you talked about a guy who could you know play X or z a little bit like he can mix it up uh a player who who stretches the field and gives U a jump ball threat like we have not seen in a very long time he came in with lebby in that very first recruiting class was really a prized guy I want to say at the time he was committed to Florida he was so OU you know they I believe he was like a Nick Evers package if I remember right was he that's right him and Nick came but um he is a player who was was poised for a breakout year anytime you start hearing out for the season lower body injury it always makes you think ACL right it makes you think full full tear got to have surgery got to go through the rehab which you know has been shortened these days like the O OU has had players now make comebacks and be a little closer to ready at like month seven eight n uh versus that full year back when you played it was a year and you just like you might have started your your back return to play before then obviously but before a guy ever saw the field that no guy ever toured in Fall camp and was playing by any time later that next season it just just didn't happen uh now you're seeing it happen much more often I think Adrien Peterson was the first guy to set the tone uh when it came to that he was just a freaking nature but more guys doing it now that the procedure has been it's been improved upon it's been streamlined there there's it's slightly less invasive like everything about it is is is better everything about medical science and sports performance is better but just from a a player perspective right a guy who played the game played receiver dealt with injury and you're a guy in Jaden Gibson who is you know a part of that onea 1B lineup That U was going to roll out there how do you think this affects his mental how do you think this affects the team that position group um you know I came to U in a torn AC took me 18 months I taught ACL MCL PCO so mine was mine was a full reconstruction um you know it's very disappointing uh because Jaden had earned the right to be a dude and I I really believe he was going to battle to be a starter or at least a a possession to possession starter he was going to be in that top five group you know it's interesting I guess speaking to him um get to work and by the way I don't know if it's like conf irm that that's the case but we're speculating here right we're saying hey I think this is you know what the te's are saying and such um and so I don't know if it's an ACL or even Peller could be you know it could be a Patell that he did not that too um but it sucks the the the thing that makes this a little bit better is the fact that our best receiver last year which this is going to kind of like be the flip side of the coin of what we discussed when we discussed the receiver groups was Andel Anthony was a guy who said hey guys hold my beard because the first three weeks of the Season watch the film I was the one right first three four weeks of the season right the QB just missed me when I had beat my man by two yards multiple times and so he is coming back he is healthy he is a plus receiver he is a guy but I think he's an ex um just in his body type and he's a methodical he's like Anderson Anderson's methodical which is good by yeah he's really good and short area but you've got to know how to move and read defenses on the fly to play Z it's just a little different there there's a natural fluidity to it whereas X you just got to beat your man get on the right shoulder you know block him out to the right direction e if I'm running an in Cut route I gotta keep him on my outside I'm running outside cut I gotta I gotta stack him right Z is not the same thing you've got a hold Defender you've got a corner you got the free safety you got a backer who's buzzing to your area and then you got a tight end who you can combo with a lot more there's a lot more happening um I I think there's time I mean Anthony's obviously a guy who's Savvy enough to if he needed to he could but I think this impacts Farooq I really do I think this puts back in a position yeah I think Farooq is I mean it's good to have that depth right when when when you see a lot by the way I was reading the comments and when you see a lot of people a lot of people advocating for FR other people saying he's just not as good as that other crew you still like to have a Farooq and Tow because faroo is a qualified he's a veteran he's made big plays he's a strong I mean he there isn't any area where he's weak he just lacks the the size of some of his coun ofarts and then the speed yeah you got bigger guys that are faster than you right teams are gonna put them ahead of you uh but this is an opportunity for Rook to come in and make a place because faroo can play Z for sure that that so we still have some we still have some continuity there and like I said I don't know if anony is going to beat out Anderson at X I think I think Anderson's got X locked down so I think that gives an opportunity for Andre to move and be a guy who can be versatile uh in a bunch of different Arenas and so from a a numbers Point uh Barry I think by committee we're able to subsidize what production Gibson was going to bring what you can't subsidize is go back and watch some key third Downs by the way from the beginning of the season to the end of the season go back and watch some key possessions uh Gibson's just one of those guys where he's an emotional player and he can come up with emotional uh create emotional opportunities for himself and so we'll see if if some of those other guys can replace that aspect of his game because that I would like again I think he had the highest ceiling we don't know what Burks can do on Saturdays Burks may be that kind of guy as well but but Gibson did it last year and so uh here's one last thing I'll say it there's a if there's a silver lining it's the fact that his injury Anderson could potentially have a thousand yard year and and think he's ready for the NFL Anthony's a guy coming off an injury three four five years in in playing college ball he he's gonna be ready to go right Burks has a big year right he's a he's a three4 plus SC guy right guy's going to the NFL right Gibson coming off an injury provides a transitional year where we have a guy and it probably puts him in a position where like he gets to be in the position that he wants to be in uh because I think an Anderson's a guy his brothers had a ton of in injuries you know what I mean like familywise they're like hey if the opportunity presents and you're around one two or three guy go right I think Burks is a guy he he he anticipates putting up the production go Anthony's a guy he's a third four fifth year guy he's gonna go so we could potentially be losing three receivers we've recruited the position well but Gibson having that transition uh year to get himself healthy gives us another Bonafide and we're talking 64 44 guy who's he's still played in big games and and been a big presence and um jfa will not be ready to go to the league yet so he'll have a veteran quarterback coming back with a veteran you know um receiver coming by the way fro I think fr's been here forever so I'm pretty sure fr's gonna be trying trying to test his luck in the NFL as well yeah for you know and it tells you too we didn't really talk about this a ton I mean we covered all the guys but really the it really wasn't a thing to discuss until this injury but it just tells you how well that that position has been recruited oh yeah that Faro goes from being your your best one of your top receivers very quickly he was yeah to very quickly just just being a part of the rotation which to be going into the SEC that's what you wanted for far if faroo is your best player you're you're probably going six and six eight and four N9 three at receiver and and that's just unfortunately that's go again there you go again if dmac your best player that's hilarious man um DX your best player you're winning The Natty baby you do it hey I mean te technically technically you you put up the best numbers against FSU so we we we that was that was that was a committee man we all we all made it happen that you're hilarious you're well we'll have to Circle back on the U Insider we'll have to Circle back uh to to to that uh and before we get into the running back discussion again just want to remind everybody Show's brought to you by U inssider ouinsider.com go grab yourself a membership uh doing awesome stuff over there but demac tonight talking about the running back group um this is a position that it's taking a while for U to build some some depth in that room right you had some guys leave uh to the portal maybe a couple guys who were unexpected one guy for sure unexpected um I I think the writing was on the wall to some degree but he played so well and got so many snaps that you thought you know does he hang around he was such a valuable piece uh but we're going to go through the names right here and this isn't in any particular order right so don't kill us don't let this be another Jacob sax in at guard situation y'all um so no particular order but we do happen to start with a guy you've been very high on um Caleb Hicks going to be a part of the fold saw him in the spring game looked as good as ever I think just a solid player we'll go into the nuts and bolts of all these guys we won't do it just now um J javante Barnes he's still around didn't portal out I know there was some thought amongst the fan base with what U's brought in does a guy like Javonte Barnes who saw his role get reduced does he portal out Taylor Tatum incoming freshman a guy who I I will go into that uh Sam Franklin who showed out in the spring game played really well again uh 510 One n and I will say u in the running back room a lot of guys with similar body types this is probably the most similar of look that I think U has had in terms of of just body types and what they're rolling out there right you got Tatum 510 205 little on the heavier side uh Barnes probably one of your longer guys but Hicks 5112 uh 213 um you got Franklin 510 200 uh zavier Robinson he's goingon to be a big body out there 6 foot 222 that weight that that that he lost some weight I'll just I'll just tell you guys zavier Robinson no longer has eaten Xavier Robinson uh then Chapman maau Chapman Macau just known for the the social Med media highlights man he is all over the socials all the time uh rocking 22 22 just such a good-look number for a running back uh so Chapman mown a meca megga who is still at OU um and then of course paying respects some of the other guys Andy bass an Oklahoma City guy um very talented player in high school I I thought was a a nice little pickup and then you got Gavin and Gabe Sawchuk the two sawchucks Gavin of course the guy who everybody expects this season dmac and maybe that's where we'll start with this discussion Gavin has been really feast or famine his whole career so far at Oklahoma right he's either been on on the injury on the training table or he's been a guy you know taking at 80 against Oklahoma State what do you expect from him this year like right now we talked a little bit pre-show U really doesn't have a guy in that room who feels like they're NFL ready tomorrow and that's just being real with with the whole situation and uh you know Caleb Hicks from the spring game probably looked the most ready to go like he could play on an NFL roster but you got to get the snaps you have to get the time on the field you have to put the film out there uh so with Gavin Sawchuk and what he's done up to this point I guess my first question would be how would you grade him thus far and what do you expect from him this year in a a slightly change a slight change of scheme change of perspective with how you're going to attack in the Run game and possibly a change in role right is it more committee based do they still try to feature him what do they want to do uh give us your thoughts yeah um I'm a Gavin guy he he impressed me in the Florida State game two years ago it pissed me off that they called that hold on bird I believe believe if bird doesn't get that hold uh he he splits him it's some it's a we run in some type of trap action right up on the backer and he's right behind the backer and bust his head on the goal post and then there's some there's some hold uh but he show he he showed explosion he showed good vision and I was a year where we really struggled to to have explosive plays in The Run game and he wasn't available the first half of the season if I remember correctly or wasn't getting a ton of snaps um last year uh you know I know he had some leg injuries and he just looked like he lacked the toping explosion I remember when we first started the Pod and and he was coming in as a as a recruit top top recruit out of Colorado um how explosive he was how if he got a step he was leaving everybody yeah and so um hopefully having a year being healthy has put him back in a position to have his explosion or Breakaway speed because he does have a knack for finding daylight it was just interesting to see very uh well many times last year where he'd go and get 30 yards where you thought he might have been able to take it to the house and so um Gavin's a guy I think I think you know if we were doing uh NCAA football he'd probably be an 87 overall you know what I mean like you said I don't think he's a guy who's a Surefire NFL dude the the beauty is he's stepping up conference um toughness and and if he can I think if he produces even at the level he produced last year he will earn a lot more respect because of the defenses and teams he's going to be playing against when you go against a Tennessee and an Old Miss and abama and a missou again I can't put missou up there one fluke year and everybody's talking about missou missou can kiss yeah what are we talking about missou you know I mean but hey I like it you know I was listening to Joe clly and they were like oh man if they can win these games I'm like two or three of the teams they named are also R you know what I'm saying so just because they got that SEC patch we got one too now like we got a sec patch you know what I'm saying you got to come see us with our SEC patch it it just means more like it just means more Norman now too no but not seriousness um Gavin's gonna be I think and just just my own thoughts is probably the first opportunity as the lead dog in a running back by committee uh backfield uh I'm looking forward to saying my favorite in my pick Caleb Hicks I think the kid is built for the SEC he's a guy who uh especially if he doesn't have to carry the ball 25 30 times but if he can have 13 14 carries and have you know four to six in the first half and then be the guy late third quarter when third and threes and you need to put a little put a little lean on some people he's a guy who's going to finish runs and get you first and he's going to be a guy who's going to run through traffic and turn a seven yard gain into a 27 yard game potentially into a touchdown um looking forward to him uh I don't know I think I think Barnes is he's gonna he's gonna get a shot which I I'm excited to see what he does with it but he's not gonna have a Long Leash I think he's a guy who has shown man he has so much promise as a true freshman he looked good uh I think he had a little ball security issues if I remember a couple fumbles he did yeah but but he's a guy who just hasn't improved the room has improved um he will have an opportunity to prove himself this year because the kid who came in uh what's his name Sam what's his name Franklin Sam Franklin and of course Taylor Tatum Yeah well yeah he ain't bad I'm trying to he's a guy yeah what's the guy's name who just went to Wisconsin what's his name oh um to uh toe Walker and and he was a guy who we would see get one or two car like that guy ain't bad and then all of a sudden he had to step up and play and he was a guy that's the kind of guy I see in Franklin not the same body type definitely not the same same type of running back but Franklin has a knack he finds he finds creases he's he's he has that ability to get in and out and squirt out of a hole and and listen man that's a kid If U has shown a propy to say hey man if you can Ball even if you're a walk-on dude will give you an opportunity and so I'm looking forward to him but then again it's what I said about dline it's what I said about the DN position as well Taylor Tatum's going to get an opportunity there just is not a lead dog in the kennel there isn't one and because you have the number one running back Prospect in all of America coming into town um don't be surprised if against Temple the game gets out of hand and they start handing him the ball so he can go out and get a 100 200 yards you know what it reminds me of Ronaldo 2001 season or maybe it's the 2002 season but it's Q's senior year and q's you know made a name for himself but all of a sudden Ronaldo's getting all these carries early in the season and it's because they're trying to build his confidence and and get the next guy up and ready to go Tatum seems like or what's tell me his first name again Taylor Tatum Taylor people be on me in the comments like Ma you said the name man listen dog don't come from me about no damn names I think I was saying I was saying Jared instead of Jaden oh man was coming for no but Tatum Tatum's the kind of guy who the coaches want to know if they have an actual Alpha and generally running backs a position where your freshman year you know your natural ability and talent can take over um word on the street is he understands blocking word on the street is he's a guy who who can catch the football out of the back field and so obviously he's got some sore hammies or something he's got little leg stuff guys by the way let me just say this tangent guys everybody has leg stuff the first two weeks of Camp you run so much every single Camp all of us pulled our hamstring every Camp me Fagan Tuan Dre uh uh Norman Norman always had back like you old man his back was always messed it's because you're putting so much pressure and what you're running the first six days it's just constant they'll tailor back the second half and they I promise you they know what they're doing um guys with sore hammies and stuff like that it's it's 100 degrees that you stretch for an hour you're in the you're in there twice a day right like these guys are getting the health they it's just wear and tear uh it's going to prepare them to have a 13we season and so when you hear about those those pools and some of those a right generally if a guy is gonna be sitting next week that's problematic this week it it's it's it's it's generally not that bad that that bad a deal in fact I think next week might be game prep week so this week right here is where you you expect to see guys coming back and getting rep so um the rest of the crew you know um you know Babys side Chuck and and and and little buddy Macau he was cute spring game he got some run he's a guy he's a guy we're going to be beating somebody by half a hundred and the crowd's gonna go crazy because he's gonna jog on the field with his 22 and he might score a touchdown right and so you like to have we have really good depth we just need one alpha and and sawchuk's gonna get a chance to be the alpha in the he's gonna already be the one a uh Barnes is I think Barnes is gonna get a healthy option but Barnes is snaps if he doesn't look Dynamite are going to immediately start to get taken by Tatum you watch because similar guy a taller guy but more natural more forward lean right and again number one running back in America you gotta give that kid a chance you're just not gonna bench him if he if he's healthy they're gonna give him a chance to run the rock so um right now Barry they're probably in my bottom four position groups I just feel really good about a lot of our position groups um and it's not knock on the running back position you just don't have that uh experienced high-end dude who can go score 50 yard touchdown go pick up a third and six and knock a blitzing you know weak side backer on their ass in the B Gap when they're trying to Blitz us we don't have that guy right now one of these guys are gonna have the opportunity to show that they are yeah I think you're probably right and that's because you know at the DB position U is loaded they bring a lot of guys linebacker same deal right feels like one of the better group groups that they've had in a long time not just on this team but in a long time the most depth at backer uh you feel great about the receiver group right the offensive line there's got to be some stuff figured out there but even to me them and running back that's the relationship right can they can both of those groups Elevate this season and not be a situation where like last year there was a lot of times where the offensive line did their job we talked about it in in some of the film the the holes were there the Run game was getting criticized heavily the gaps the creases were there you just had guys like Barnes and major they were just missing the hole they they weren't timing it well the the chemistry was off the the the timing was off with with everything Circle closed eyes were eyes were closed so uh well actually you know what that reminds me I'd totally forgotten about that I talked about that with uh with Barnes and major uh both of those guys go they they get the ball and that head immediately drops and and you cannot do that playing playing running back because you're going to end up just diving into the hole right you're never going to make a guy Miss you've gotta the best running backs and probably the best I've ever seen and we're talking like Elite in terms of the lean was still having his head and eyes up is Derrik Henry I've never seen a guy run he he's tall when he gets out into the open field he's a great Sprinter but but man when he hits the hole he had such a natural lean and he's a it's like his he's leaning but that posture is still there he's still looking and seeing what's going on to me Sawchuk had so many lower body things going on a year ago that we heard about anytime you're dealing with a hamstring injury your ability to accelerate is going to be uh uh very uh very minimized you're you're not going to have the ability to create separation uh from you and the closest Defender you're not going to have the ability to evade and what I think we saw as the year went on was he got more conditioned right hamstrings are either one or two things uh the first thing is what you talked about which is the most common they're just not conditioned for the work yet you you have to take time um and a lot of running up a lot of uh agility work a lot of uh just doing the the volume on the legs getting those lower extremities up to Snuff be because they're just not ready right you've been you've been off for a little bit uh you've been focusing on getting bigger getting stronger uh there's been running but but in Fall Camp when you're kind of changing the style of the way you're training uh you have to rely a little bit more on sprinting to stay explosive because you're not necessarily always lifting with the same intensity you're a little bit more into you're you're getting game ready right now you you've you've topped out the you've tuned up the engine enough you're now into let's be ready to to do the mental stuff to do the football stuff on the field you know you've transitioned out of the strength and conditioning it's still a factor but but it's it's not the most important thing now it's time to play football um I I think Barnes is going to really struggle to find a spot in this lineup just because of one he does not have the the the natural things that a Tatum does the natural things that a tawi did a year ago right the the natural things that a that a Sawchuk does and I think Tatum probably does these things even better he's a little in my opinion a little closer to what tawe does and and we're talking about simple things like having comfort in the position to not be worrying about the first guy right so often Barnes was was never able to elude the first Defender so he always either he either got tripped up or he wasn't ready for the second Defender which is where Elite running backs make their hay right Elite running backs your vision really isn't on the first guy you're going to beat that defensive end even if he's got an angle on you if you're a fast enough guy explosive enough guy and you got enough space you're going to beat him he's not really a concern your concern is that backer your concern is that DB coming up to Phil can you make him Miss if you make him Miss now you're off to the racist guys like Sawchuk can do that guys like Taylor Tatum I believe are our players that can do that and Franklin showed a little bit of that you know there were plays a year ago where I looked at tawe and and he just did such a good job at at setting things up for himself there was a play against s CNA where he he did it was very subtle in the uh in the actual maneuver but all he did was use his eyes he just gave a quick little glance one way got the defender to shift just enough to sell it and then went the other direction and those are the subtleties of the position that of course are coached up right um you know go into the whole eyes spacing shoulder spacing this way and then we're going to cut it back right you got to sell some of those moves and you got to sell them well and and I don't feel that Barnes did that I will also say the the foot injury which is what I believe he had I I think he had a foot thing that has really hampered him once you have a foot injury of of really any kind uh but especially if you're a guy who relies heavily on explosiveness you've got to be able to have some burst man it's not only just about the injury itself but the mental side you lose confidence it never quite it never quite heals the same right I never thought that Hollywood was the same after he had his injury right before the Alabama game even when he got to the NFL I never thought he had the same initial burst that uh that he had when he was playing at Oklahoma I felt like he lost just a little bit um and that's just because your your foot man when you give it so much time off and it's been used to so much activity and it's gotten conditioned to be this High performing part of your body and now you you take that away uh I I think it's going to mean I I think it's going to mean some long-term work for Barnes to get back to to being being a guy and I just don't know if he'll be that guy at Oklahoma so to me and I haven't even talked about Hicks I thought of all the guys probably the best close area explosion and the best pop with the pads when he makes contact with a guy you know you don't want to meet him at at the hole in the line of scrimmage he's a guy who's going to be that you know is kind of calling back to Trey Surman a little bit you hope he can be a player like that who can come in against a big dog like Ohio State he sealed the Ohio State game right in my opinion he was one of the most important players sure to help finish that game um on that roster um what would you say from a if you were going to grade how those guys did a year ago and how DeMarco Murray has done as a coach Technic Al recruiter right and I know you got a lot of friends on staff you know a lot of these guys so obviously this is always kind of one of those things where it's like d dmac you great you know but if you were going to be honest and say what has been your assessment of these position groups thus far and I think maybe the better way to phrase it is do you feel he's improved as a coach do you in do you feel that the positions themselves have improved but but give us your honest take what do you think about where the coach has been since kale Gundy has not been the Coach Co Gundy had a great run at running back then ouu had some some misses on some guys um and and just never quite kind of found the the the zest at that position that you needed to find but but Murray's there um he's been recruiting at a high clip how would you grade his performance thus far um here's what I'll say um I think he has been conservative in his willingness to play the new Dynamic freshman um SAA comes to mind uh by the way Barnes comes to mind right he was really slow to let those guys get a chance to get their feet wet and and running back has long been um I guess proven that it's a position you can put a pup in and just let Natural Instincts take over um and so I think one thing that I would say he probably is just you know course correcting in his own you know in his own right is you know how he deploys The Backs uh there were just I can just think of times the last two seasons you see a back who is struggling and yet they're still rotating in heavily like you know Barnes tripped over his foot two two possessions in a row or put his head down and ran right into the pack he could literally just L2 or just bounced out the hole and found daylight like tawi did run a 461 versus Barnes who's probably a 44 or 45 you know whatever sub four five guy uh he just didn't do it and so um I I think there's pressure you know you're and and and Murray's been around long enough he's not a he's not a he's not a noob and and he's an NFL dude like literally you know um he's got skins at the NFL level he was one of the very best run I think he was the best running back in the league even one season um and obviously he's an all you great I think he's I don't know if he still holds a touchdown record but you know the guy the guy scored a damn ton of touchdowns I just know he wants to continue to improve I I also know that as long as you're continuing to recruit the best players the best players are just going to play better than other players so you know we get Taylor tatums and and and the rest of these guys continue to come Caleb Hicks continuing to come um it's G to make him look good so if you know I a grade I don't know I don't think he would grade himself an a if he's a tough grade I don't think he would he would probably give himself a B minus maybe even a C+ if he was a tough grade on himself because he has to give himself room to grow and improve and and and get the right guys in the mix to to to to win and and it's difficult when you don't have a dude if you got an Adrien Peterson or DeMarco Murray or P Ryan or Mixon it's pretty easy to say hey dude go to the Rock but when you like huh is satuk have it today or does tawi have it today huh right Barnes is the guy who was showing last year he had the most promis so we got to try to give him a chance but but he this version of him is not the him we saw last season I'm speaking to last season versus the season prior to that where Barnes did look pretty good um so you know when you're in that scenario you wish you had a Taylor Tatum who you can say man I just want a fivestar who I can put in there and no he's gonna be able to get the job done I think that's part of it too and him being able to get into the echelon of the I mean he got the number one running back in America last last recruiting cycle uh he's he's he's doing something right so you know this season like I said I think the rooms in 87 you get the running number one running back in America he C he can Flash uh you get a guy like Hicks who is versatile and physical he could flash um and then of course you got the the Vets Sauk and Barnes I think sawchuk's going to get a lot of opportunities I think Barnes is going to get pointed opportunities and he better take advant of interesting yeah I think there was a kind of a learning curve in finding the rotations you know that was one of the probably the biggest criticisms was you know why is 24 still playing why is why is two out there still getting carries right well why is why is this discussion even being had when tawe is having and maybe it's a part of why we heard some things last year right just some stuff that we won't talk about it necessarily but that everybody knows if you go to the boards hey go to OU Insider go check it out I'm sure you can look up some historic posts and then see what was said what happened I'm sure it's been discussed go go look there were some things that that may or may not have allegedly occurred um but but to we either way he's at Wisconsin and I think in my opinion fit perfect fit perfect fit and if he were on the OU roster right now to me he'd be the most NFL ready running back on on the roster he's a guy who at Wisconsin is probably going to play himself into running backs aren't highly regarded anymore but he's going to play himself into being a guy who's probably going to get three four five years um worth of worth of uh reps with a couple teams right he's a guy who you know Kansas City goes and picks up and then he goes to Miami right he's feels like that kind of guy um and just consistent know knows how to play the position can block can catch uh just does a lot of the little things really really well and then seems to have a pretty good attitude for the most part at least as things are going on in Wisconsin he he was bitching the mo a little bit I ain't gonna lie he was bitching the moan that's why he s himself out of town so because he was playing he was playing well I mean would you not have been bitching and moaning uh I mean if we fighting for our lives some of the things that yeah I mean there's there's a there's a time and a place and a way to do it period there's an etiquette okay and in our locker room let me tell you something talk about this talk about when can you [ __ ] and mo we had a couple [ __ ] moaning [ __ ] whoan had a couple [ __ ] moaning this is not the not the Barry and Max show after dark yo I wasn't even relax relax relax relax you're hilarious uh let me just tell you listen I'm just honest we didn't put up with that [ __ ] and Coach dues didn't have to like we would check you so fast like bro you are Wilding right now like we you know what I'm saying let me see we beat Oklahoma State I think like 12 to seven or something like like 10 like it was it was it was a it was a you know and Derek Straight had to go and knock a ball out they tried to do the same play they did to us in Norman the year the year after the year before with the tight end and Derek makes the play right and certain people not gonna say their names but they mad they get a lot of reps if you don't sit your excuse my cander and and no I'm just G like if you don't sit your monkey ass and shut up like bro we playing for our lives right now hey coach we got this one like we got this like coach you don't even not speak on it we we playing for a ship you know what I'm saying and you worried about your stats you're not even that good Tuesday practice I was housing you so what are we talking about and so you know um when players have the goal to publicly you know go after their coach that's bad for culture that's bad for precedent uh by the way whether you do it verbally in practice or game or if you do some we again I I know I'm kind of cussing but that's some bitching assness [ __ ] if you do some go into you go do an article and you go talk like man what like we literally you would had to see us in the locker room like man what is this like what are we doing like nah bro this you know I gotta call Jenny Carlson and let her this is Cap like this is not it we not you know what I'm saying like no I'm GNA do an article and tell a story about you about you Jen what's up Jenny used to write some stories about that was my I got a lot of love with Jenny Jenny Jenny used to take care of him Sheed to take care of me but n like you know some of the stuff he did was was over the top uh he was not Head and Shoulders the best alha give it to me you know what I'm saying like he was a he he he came in and provided a ton of value especially as a I don't know if he was an nil or just a walkon at that point in time um but you can't start making demands about when you getting Scoles and this and that and and I did this and they like my man my man my man relax you know your time would have come and I think the situation worked out where he he's in a situation that's best for him and Murray and and and the OC and the rest of the guys are in positions where they've got chemistry in a nucleus of guys who who are here who want to be here so yes could Murray have was there were there some substitution issues or or you know roster management roster management questions I think that's a fair I think that's a fair thing for for fans and and any analyst and anybody like that to question um but there's still protocol etiquette chain and command and when you're running an organization because football is a company when you're running a company and somebody steps out of line of that multiple times nah we coming for you so yeah and I think it's probably different with a guy like Murray who you know he's had a better career than anybody in that room is ever going to have ever right I mean maybe somebody becomes the best back in the NFL for a given season maybe but maybe a Sawchuk does that but when you're kind of there's nobody who's going to be able to to little bro you or say you know look at me and then look with what I can do you'll never be able to like he's he's that guy he is the man um and uh the spray tan got it all man uh but he um he's a guy who who I I think overall since he's arrived at Oklahoma has has improved both on the recruiting the technical side I think The Backs from his year one to now have blocked better have perform better in that regard um and it just feels like the guys especially Sawchuk a year ago it feel like he it felt like he made improvements at the position as a player just watching him watching him move through the hole watching him navigate trash watching him pick up blocking assignments it it felt like all those things were there he felt a little bit more like a complete Stoops style running back by the end of the year which but when stops was the coach it felt like every year you had two or three guys who could block you know go get you a 20 yard run and catch the ball out of the backfield if every year it was just whether it was a Dominic wayy a Damen Williams I mean just pick random guy every year so they had somebody who who could do that and then you make you know every other year you you'd have a guy who was really explosive who was able to go get the job done and play in the NFL um but uh man any closing thoughts on that position anything before we get on out of here today and uh do our part two which I think a lot of people are going to really enjoy uh that position group discussion because we talk about running back being maybe kind of lower in terms of ability and then Echelon the next group we're going to chat about and then it'll be out uh within a day or so of this episode probably going to be the the the cream of the crop at least you know top three I would say on the team but but dmac is always any closing thoughts before we get on out of here man uh I think there's a great opportunity you you spoke to something that I think is poignant that we need to make sure we we address which is the uh offensive line and and the running backs working in in in tandem those guys being able to have chemistry and and really a feel for how to set up their their blocking on the man side versus the man the Zone side and then really just how to hit the creases find the creases and things of that nature um I it's it's I worry about o line more so than I worry about running backs I told you they were going to say this old line is remember I said I said watch every summer they go in Camp and they talk about made there's like one summer or two summers where they where they question it and that's when they're really really really really good right 0304 they were questioning the old line I was like how like you know 0708 they're questioning a whole line I was like that's Trent Smith I mean that's Trent Trent Williams and like what that old Line's pretty damn good so when they're when they're big up in the group I think it's psychologically trying to get those guys in a head space that's ready to go not necessarily a bad thing but it it is it is psychological uh running back is another one we just listen the SEC is a is a is a conference where when you have the opportunity to go 60 you can't trip over your own foot you can't you got to you got to go hit that and guess what SEC running backs do it oh miss running backs do it tene running backs do it Kentucky running backs do it and then of course the big boys right they're going to do it too so so I think for us it's just really maximizing our ability um to do that because the last couple years we've missed I mean we you and I would break down film and talk about on the Pod like it was there it was right there and we just missed it and so um that's my concern the other thing I would just say is this and and you and I were talking about this offline ladies and gentlemen we never did video prior to um really I guess like the last four or five months we were audio basically our first year and a half but uh the Barum Max show is a separate Channel on YouTube and I personally want to rebuild that brand so guys if you're subscribed and listening to us over here make sure we're going to start posting these over there as well um watch the show over there um give us your thoughts you know all that good stuff uh just because uh yeah man this is this is what we love to do so yeah running backs with dope I'm ready to talk some backers I'm G Pat myself on the back when we talk backers because I've been I've been speaking speaking to a couple of names and they've been showing themselves to be right and a couple of them been showing themselves to be wrong and you know it is what it is yep yep yep one of those people I was listening to the radio uh was it two days ago dmac and there was a well we'll call him a very well-known uh radio host in the sports market right may or may not be in Norman every Saturday down on campus Corner doing a show uh and uh I'll just say that it sounds like he's listened to the Baran Mac Show a couple times with some of the stuff he was saying uh talking about guys who might not play and guys who are going to play and ladies and Gent gentlemen we will be talking about that on the other side as always go to ouinsider.com check out what they're doing over there fantastic stuff team news recruiting news and the like all of the Nuggets about fall practice by far espe just the amount of people they've got covering and and doing the doing the content it is by far the best fall Camp coverage that that you're going to get right and you're some things you're hearing from the coaching St so some of it's going to always sound like a little sunshine pumping right and I I it drives me nuts maybe when people criticize that but you're you're what are your coaches going to do right you your your coaches are going to try and talk up these guys they're not going to try and say man we we suck at every spot like it's just they're not going to do it right so so take it all with a grain of salt remember what you saw on the field a year ago know that a lot of times players trajectory um sometimes it's linear it's not always right sometimes players have a have a rise have a come to Jesus have a light bulb moment and just know that there's going to be a player or two who we do not expect who's going to have a breakout season and uh and we'll just see what that looks like this year but as always thank you for listening make sure you go subscribe to the Instagram to the Twitter bwise Fitness Damian is at Dame that dude and follow him on X dorm 13 and me at bwise Fitness letter BW Fitness thank you all for listening sooner nation and we will see you soon