Stoia's Scoop: Could Manny Choice start at receiver? Plus, Oklahoma team intel, local media day takeaways

Sooner Scoop Football

Welcome to Stoia's Scoop, a new weekly Oklahoma football feature here on SoonerScoop, written by George Stoia. Think of this as my personal notebook: quick hits, inside notes on the team and observations from around the program. In today's Scoop, I take a look at a few guys I'm hearing could be breakout players this season for Oklahoma, including one interesting name at receiver, as well as my general takeaways from local media day on Tuesday. Let's get to it.

Lead-back or committee approach? Deland McCullough dishes

Sooner Scoop Football

Will Oklahoma operate with a true RB1 this fall, or will it be a backfield committee in Norman? It's a burning question that SoonerScoop posed to new running backs coach Deland McCullough at local media day Tuesday.

Brent Venables enters his fifth fall camp at OU with his most complete roster and the highest expectations

Sooner Scoop Football

Last year, ahead of fall camp, reporters asked Brent Venables about the pressure of coming off a 6-7 season. The narrative around OU was centered on how many wins Venables needed to keep his job. He answered by winning 10 games and reaching the College Football Playoff. A year later, the narrative has flipped, but the expectations have risen. Expectations are always high at Oklahoma. But entering his fifth fall camp, Venables returns 65% of last year’s production: eight defensive starters, five offensive linemen, his leading receiver, his top two rushers, his quarterback, and the Lou Groza winner at kicker. There’s every reason to believe this is his best team yet. Venables isn’t ready to crown anyone. He knows his team has plenty to prove, starting Wednesday with the first practice of fall camp.