Checking in on Texas opponents Michigan and Oklahoma

Fall camp has been carrying on across the country for a few weeks now and we’re starting to get trickles of information coming out of different programs. Today we’re going to talk about two particular programs who loom as the two most important games in the front half of Texas’ 2024 schedule, Michigan and Oklahoma.

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The Wolverines’ fall camp is certainly interesting considering they’re the defending National Champions but are entering the season without their title-winning head coach, quarterback, or 12 other players from the team who were taken in the 2024 NFL Draft. Oklahoma is also experiencing some dramatic turnover with a new quarterback, tight end, and all new offensive line on offense.

Here’s what I’ve gleaned from reading up on Sooner and Wolverine coverage during their respective camps.

The Michigan Wolverines’ search for a quarterback

Up until recently I assumed it was a done deal that redshirt sophomore Alex Orji would be the starting quarterback for the 2024 Michigan offense. He’s a massive, freakishly athletic football player at 6-foot-3, 230 pounds who seemed to make a lot of sense in their power run game as yet one more wrecking ball who can run the ball.

However, it seems Orji’s distribution skills are virtually nill and walk-on quarterback Davis Warren is making a credible run at the starting job late in camp. Warren has repeatedly been referred to throughout the offseason as “the best pure passer” on the team. He had to overcome leukemia as a junior in high school, along with COVID cancellations of the ensuing football season, so he’s not your typical walk-on. Here’s a glimpse of Warren in action in the spring game:

Beating the blitz with a TE over route. pic.twitter.com/8aOCknPa8m

— Captain Bruisin, cruise director (@Ian_A_Boyd) August 16, 2024

It’s easy to imagine why they might feel Warren gives them a better chance against Texas’ likely blitz-heavy approach.

The reason I was doubtful they’d go in a direction like this rather than just promoting Orji was the Michigan skill positions. Far and away the best receiver on the team is tight end Colston Loveland and the Wolverines will unquestionably live in 12 and 13 personnel formations where they can pound the football and run a million different versions of power. However, it may be that Warren hitting a screen to slot Semaj Morgan or getting them out of 3rd down by finding Loveland is a better adjunct than including Orji in the power run spam. A little bit of run/pass balance goes further than doubling down on the run game, particularly if Orji isn’t a great decision-maker in the option game.

Michigan with Cade McNamara-level game management at quarterback is a much tougher week 2 road game for Texas and potentially a playoff squad.

Oklahoma’s offensive rebuild

It doesn’t appear to be going great. Our friends at Sooner Scoop recently had an article up issuing a vote of confidence in Jackson Arnold as the starting quarterback over true freshman Michael Hawkins, who evidently has turned heads in fall camp for his superior ability to navigate the difficulties facing the Sooner offense in camp.

What difficulties are those?

Well, to begin with, the Sooner defense is quite good. They were vastly improved last year and return virtually everyone from the defense while making additions from the portal and the younger ranks of Brent Venables’ own recruiting classes.

Secondly, the entire infrastructure of the offense has been replaced. Starting quarterback Dillon Gabriel? Off to Oregon to help the Ducks compete for a playoff spot. Starting tight end Austin Stogner? No more eligibility. Starting running back Tawee Walker? Now with the Wisconsin Badgers. Leading receiver Drake Stoops? Competing with Jordan Whittington for a spot with the LA Rams. Offensive tackles Walter Rouse and Tyler Guyton? Both drafted. Multi-year starters at center Andrew Raym and right guard McKade Mettauer? Undrafted free agents fighting for jobs in the NFL. How about that promising freshman left guard Cayden Green? Transferred to Missouri. And offensive coordinator Jeff Lebby? Took the head coaching job at Mississippi State.

So, as you can surmise, they’re starting over on offense in a lot of ways even though the scheme and most of the coaches are the same.

Then there are other problems. In the last few scrimmages young Arnold has been trying to make it happen against the Sooner defense without favorite receiver Jayden Gibson (lost for the year) and, at least occasionally, without returning outside targets Nic Anderson and Jalil Farooq (both working to get healthy for the season). The offensive line has also had multiple prospective starters held out with reportedly minor injuries.

On one hand, Oklahoma has an opening three game stretch of home contests against Temple, Houston, and Tulane which offers them five weeks from today to work out their issues and improve before SEC play begins and the Tennessee Volunteers come to town. On the other hand, the Sooners are facing a massive overhaul and losing precious weeks of preparation with key players out while an eventual stretch of Tennessee, at Auburn, and the Red River Shootout loom.

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There’s a lot of time between now and the Red River Shootout, but right now Oklahoma is understandably struggling to find traction after essentially changing out the entire offense. We know they’ll do what they can to figure it out by October but as of now Texas has a nice lead in the buildup to the rivalry game.