West of Everest: An Oklahoma Football Podcast

In the opening take, Lee can't believe how positive everything is surrounding the OU Football program as Brent Venables begins his first spring practice as the head coach. Then Grant joins to briefly discuss the NCAA Tournament and how legal sports betting has killed interest in our brackets and the Slap heard 'round the world (5:00). OU Spring Practice is underway and Lee's excited about the amount of media access we've gotten so far. Grant's also more excited about the spring than usual (9:15). Lee was at OU's 2nd and 3rd open practice and goes into detail what he saw beginning with the offense (17:30). Lee's thoughts on what he saw from the defense during open practice. Grant makes a ridiculous comparison to a former OU player when they're talking about new Hawaii transfer Jonah Laulu (26:50). Lee tweeted out video of Brent Venables being hands on with the linebackers and it's turned out to be a whole thing -- but most importantly it's cool to see Venables coaching (36:00). Jeff Lebby told us recently what to expect from his offense at OU (42:00). What do we think the starting O-Line looks like right now (49:05)? Some final thoughts on the offense so far this spring. What's Brayden Willis going to be? Trevon West is getting some spring buzz and some classic complaints about the Kansas game from last year (56:10). Could Lincoln Riley's career trajectory be similar to Rich Rodriguez or Chip Kelly (1:04:00)? Danny Stutsman comments on the importance of embracing practice (1:12:00). Lee asked Reggie Grimes about the defensive install. Venables is not impressed with OU's linebacker depth (1:16:10). Billy Bowman got jerked around in 2021. Now he's focusing on just one position (1:26:30). Miguel Chavis has high praise for new DE Jonah Laulu and Chavis just seems like a cool guy to hang with (1:36:30). We go to the "West of Everest" FB page and answer questions about Venables' recruiting strategy, can this be the best OU defense in the last 7-8 years?, and one listener shares a hot take (1:42:50). OU just hired someone to improve the fan experience during gameday (1:56:00). Our thoughts on Baker Mayfield and his current situation (2:07:15). USC firing Lincoln Riley would be a national holiday for OU fans and Billy Bowman says they weren't allowed to return kicks in 2021 (2:20:15). Like the show on Facebook: @westofeverest | Follow Grant on Twitter: @GrantBenson25 | Follow Lee on Twitter: @LeeBensonNews9

In the opening take, Lee asks what kind of culture you'd prefer at your favorite school? Then Grant joins the show to scold people for leaving negative reviews on podcasts before Lee asks Grant what he thinks about Bill Bedenbaugh's comments about OU getting "over the hump". How much can we take away from all this talk? Lee tries to explain why he thinks it's reasonable to be more confident in this happy talk compared to previous times when we've heard positive talk from OU's staff (7:45). Let's talk "culture" at OU. Yes, we use the word "soft". Did Lincoln Riley's team *really* get worse each season (21:40)? DeMarco Murray called Eric Gray the most explosive player on OU's offense. Why didn't he get used more, again (30:05)? OU's assistants have a ton of awesome things to say about Brent Venables. Hear from Cale Gundy, Brandon Hall, and DeMarco Murray. Venables has made change, and it sounds like it's for the better (35:20). Does new co-DC Todd Bates look like Hannibal Buress? He updates us on his new position group. Has Lee lost his love of guys who say they watch a bunch of tape (55:20)? Will new cornerbacks coach Jay Valai be the guy to finally get OU's corners playing up to the standard we want them to (1:00:00)? The last coach we hear from is Miguel Chavis. This guy loves everything. And sounds like he's a star (1:04:15). Everything sounds so good. Grant wants to know what we're missing here? Grant also loved Brent Venables on Gabe Ikard & Teddy Lehman's podcast (1:09:40). The spring game is set for April 23. Baker Mayfield will get his statue dedicated. Is it possible to sell out the spring game? Will Lincoln Riley show up for Mayfield's statue dedication (1:22:20)? Spencer Rattler's took a shot at Lincoln Riley last week (1:26:00). We go to the WoE Facebook page to read your comments and questions (1:30:25). Finishing up with our limited comments on the NFL Combine and OU men's basketball tries to save their season Thursday against Baylor (1:34:00). Like the show on Facebook: @westofeverest | Follow Grant on Twitter: @GrantBenson25 | Follow Lee on Twitter: @LeeBensonNews9

No opening take. The guys jump right into the latest news that the College Football Playoff will not expand for the next 4 years (:40). Why must they announce at this point that the Playoff will not be expanded in the next 4 years? Why do they need so much buffer time to make any decision (5:45)? Remember last summer when we all thought an expanded playoff was a done deal and would be here sooner than later? Grant thinks the SEC is trying to eventually dominate everything about the sport. Lee wants to know how TV rights deals come into play here (15:30). Apparently there's some pushback on the idea of playing on campus playoff games. Automatic Qualifiers for the Playoff are also something everybody can't agree upon (22:20). Another reason why the expanded playoff proposal didn't pass was the idea of players playing extra games. Lee gives credit to a college football writer that we normally rip on during the show (33:20). Lee asks if we are missing anything when it comes to expanding the playoff? It seems like everybody is on the same side here. What else could be done to improve college football (39:30)? Of course the Rose Bowl is a big component as to what will happen with the Playoff in the future (49:00). Should OU want to stay in the Big 12 until the current media rights contract runs out (56:45)? What if we saw an immediate difference in OU in Game 1 against UTEP? Why does the national media all seem to think OU will not be any good in 2022? Do they not understand that Brent Venables is a pretty good coach and OU's still got a lot of pieces (1:03:25)? We finish the show by addressing some comments and questions from the WoE Facebook page (1:19:35). Like the show on Facebook: @westofeverest | Follow Grant on Twitter: @GrantBenson25 | Follow Lee on Twitter: @LeeBensonNews9

No opening take today. Lincoln Riley's appearance on "The Herd" begins the show. We'll talk about Riley later. But first, Lee's changed podcast players & Grant thought the Super Bowl wasn't very good (3:45). Jeff Lebby recently said Dillon Gabriel is OU's quarterback right now. It's not a big deal, but it is a big deal because the last head coach always conducted sham QB competitions (14:10). Lee points to a recent Berry Tramel column praising OU's recent truth telling and how it's refreshing to see some honesty after Lincoln Riley seemed to lie more than he needed to. Grant wishes we had known more about Riley's shortcomings behind the scenes during the 2021 season. Lee will follow USC more closely than any other non-OU team moving forward (25:00). We try to figure out why so many OU fans and media members were annoyed/angry with Lincoln Riley's recent comments on "The Herd" (46:05). Riley's trying to win football games by accepting former OU players into his program. Will Brent Venables continue his standard of not accepting former Clemson players to OU (55:20)? If Riley told Caleb Williams, Mario Williams, and Latrell McCutchin that he would not accept them to USC, would all three of those players still be at OU now (1:03:10)? We get back to the Super Bowl. Why was Samaje Perine in the game instead of Joe Mixon on the final two plays? Zac Taylor's explanation makes sense, but it also doesn't make him look very good. Was the Bengals one of the worst Super Bowl teams in a while? Lee's annoyed that Joe Burrow couldn't move at the end of the game (1:05:25). Like the show on Facebook: @westofeverest | Follow Grant on Twitter: @GrantBenson25 | Follow Lee on Twitter: @LeeBensonNews9

In the opening take, Grant closes the book on Caleb Williams' college decision. Then Lee joins to tee Grant up to gloat about correctly thinking that Jaxson Dart would likely go to Ole Miss (3:00). Caleb Williams is going to USC more than a month after entering the transfer portal. How long will it take Lincoln Riley to get USC in position to compete for a Pac 12 Title? USC's roster is not very good. Can Alex Grinch immediately improve USC's defense the same way he helped OU's defense in Year 1 (7:45)? Wisconsin seemed to become a serious possibility for Caleb Williams. Lee explains why he started to buy Madison as Williams' destination, while Grant never thought Wisconsin was really in play. Will we ever get the full story of what went into the last month with Caleb Williams (23:55)? Joel Klatt tweeted that USC could be a top 10 team and a dark horse National Title contender in 2022. Will Lincoln Riley evolve as a head coach? We're rooting against him (29:15). Grant's super impressed with Brent Venables' ability to salvage OU's 2022 signing class (37:55). Lee wants to talk about Coy Eakin, the HS recruit who caught their eye in December during the Texas HS Football State Championship games. Plus we're happy Heritage Hall's Gavin Freeman is not leaving the state and is going to OU (40:40). We turn our attention to our preseason predictions from August of 2021. Listen in to hear what we got right, and what we got wrong about the 2021 college football season. We begin with Grant being way off on Eric Gray's production (49:15). Both guys anticipated Marvin Mims to be OU's leading pass catcher, Grant picked the wrong DB to lead OU in tackles, and there was a time when we wondered if OU's defense would get to 60 sacks in a season (55:30). Caleb Williams came out of nowhere to be the most important offensive player besides Spencer Rattler, Lee's pick for most important defensive player was kinda wrong, but also kinda right (1:01:35). Drake Stoops turned out to be the most underrated offensive player while Justin Broiles came out of nowhere to be the most underrated defensive player. Billy Bowman had a lot of hype in fall camp, but he wasn't the most impacful true freshman (1:04:40). OU's trap game and then it's funny looking back at our thoughts on what OU's "worst case scenario" would be (1:09:50). Grant thought OU would go unbeaten in the regular season and he was off on TCU -- BUT Grant absolutley nailed Iowa State (1:21:40). We finish off the show with a look back at all of our National college football predictions (1:29:30). Like the show on Facebook: @westofeverest | Follow Grant on Twitter: @GrantBenson25 | Follow Lee on Twitter: @LeeBensonNews9

In the opening take, Lee likes that Brent Venables has added a healthy amount of analysts to his support staff so far. Then Grant joins to talk about Marvin Mims still being on the OU roster, but could he still leave at some point (5:30)? We take a look at OU's wide receivers and the outlook for 2022 (19:10). Grant got some criticism for his initial Dillon Gabriel take on the podcast. Has he changed his mind at all? Lee also wasn't all that excited about Gabriel when he first committed. Lee tells you the perceived strengths and weaknesses he sees in Gabriel (26:00). Grant is still very worried that OU will not be very good in 2022. He also does not expect the defense to be good in 2022. Lee disagrees (52:30). We transition to OU's interest in Jaxson Dart. Lee goes over what he's seen from Dart on tape. Lee thinks there's a good chance OU gets Dart, while Grant doesn't think it's going to happen. This part gets a bit heated when they debate the stability of OU's program. How will Dillon Gabriel being at OU impact Jaxson Dart's decision (59:00)? Mario Williams and Latrell McCutchin are going to USC (1:15:30). Grant tries to explain why he's playing Devil's Advocate on OU's 2022 season (1:19:35). Roy Manning's back to coaching linebackers at USC. Jay Valai gets Gentry Williams locked down plus Lee praises Valai's Alabama corners vs. Georgia (1:30:30). OU's brought in a lot of transfer players lately. Todd Bates is doing work. Lee's more excited about the transfers than Grant. Keeping with the theme of the podcast. We also talk about OU's new defensive staff vs. OU's previous defensive staff (1:36:20). Caleb Williams still has not decided. What if he randomly comes back to OU? Wisconsin is a possibility? Really? Will we know more about Williams' decision by Friday (1:49:00)? | Like the show on Facebook: @westofeverest | Follow Grant on Twitter: @GrantBenson25 | Follow Lee on Twitter: @LeeBensonNews9

In the opening take, Grant fears the Caleb Williams transfer portal fallout could lead the Sooners into a very difficult time. Then Lee joins to talk all about Caleb Williams' decision to enter the transfer portal. Joe Castiglione and Brent Venables released a statement. Lee continues to drink the Venables kool-aid, which has him looking at everything in an optimistic way (5:50). Where is Caleb Williams looking to go? It sounds like he's looking for the best place to prep him for the NFL. More on this whole situation not sitting well with Grant (24:40). Was Year 1 with Brent Venables always supposed to be a year without high expectations? Lee always kind of expected to give Venables a pass no matter what (33:00). We find out in the middle of recording that Dillon Gabriel has flipped his commitment from UCLA and has committed to OU. Plenty of immediate reaction to this news (37:40). Okay, should we be concerned by Ole Miss's offensive performance against Baylor (48:20)? Todd Bates is coming to OU which is a massive hire for the Sooners. Also it sounds like OU will be getting Alabama cornerbacks coach Jay Valai (49:50). OU picked up another running back for the 2022 class (54:50). Now we wait to see who else is going to enter the transfer portal (58:15). Grant says this may be the most down in the dumps he's ever been in regards to OU football. And we end with a comment from a listener in regards to our last episode (1:01:30). | Like the show on Facebook: @westofeverest | Follow Grant on Twitter: @GrantBenson25 | Follow Lee on Twitter: @LeeBensonNews9

In the opening take, Lee regrets a bet he didn't make. Then Grant joins to briefly talk Alabama-Cincinnati as that game kicks off during this recording. Total crossfire on how they think the game will go. Then we get into how cool it was to see Bob Stoops coaching in the Alamo Bowl. Was that the most prepared OU has looked for a game all year? OU ran the ball well and Cale Gundy called a heck of a game (10:30). Kennedy Brooks had a great game. What kind of NFL career will he have? Marvin Mims caught a long TD, Drake Stoops caught a TD and had a cool moment with his dad (21:35). Mario Williams had a TD taken off the board, Eric Gray was very involved. We take this time to rip on Lincoln Riley (29:30). Grant says Caleb Williams was very good and there were some areas that he clearly worked on the last month. Jalil Farooq looked pretty darn good and we take more time to rip Lincoln Riley by talking about Charleston Rambo at Miami (35:40). Grant doesn't think the defense played well at all. We hit on some of the players who stood out. Ultimately we are happy the defense will get a total overhaul under Brent Venables (42:15). Okay let's talk Caleb Williams and his future. Is he gonna leave? Grant's super concerned. Lee's not too worried. They have a spirited discussion (51:10). We share your "3 Word Reviews" from Twitter and Facebook. Topics include players committing to schools based off of coaches vs. the actual school, Stoops handing off his visor to Venables, OU getting revenge on Oregon, Taco Bell, no penalties for players transferring, and wrapping up a super weird OU season (1:20:00). Final thoughts on bowl season so far, Grant's super fired up about mayonnaise, and when our next podcast episode will be (1:40:00). | Like the show on Facebook: @westofeverest | Follow Grant on Twitter: @GrantBenson25 | Follow Lee on Twitter: @LeeBensonNews9

In the opening take, Lee explains why he hopes a decision about Caleb Williams' future comes soon. Then Grant joins to briefly talk about Grant's favorite NFL team the Indianapolis Colts. Since nobody cares about that, we move on to looking back at the OU-Oregon onside kick debacle. We've never talked in depth about this on the show. It's incredible looking back how bad this was (7:40). It's fascinating that the TV broadcast did not think to ask "who recovered the football"? Lee goes back and watches the onside kick and comments on the refs in real time. Grant provides more perspective on what was going through Sooners' fans minds back in 2006 (15:15). Replay review later missed another call that went against OU. Lee rips the officials 15 years later (25:30). What does it say about the Alamo Bowl that the Oregon stuff is the most interesting storyline (28:05)? What's the deal with Caleb Williams? Lee's heard that he still has not made up his mind (34:00). What would Caleb Williams try to accomplish if he transferred? Ohio State and Alabama wouldn't make sense. Sure, he could still go to USC. What about Georgia (37:30)? Grant thinks Williams has to be leaning in some direction at this point. Is Williams holding the team hostage (48:40)? Both OU and Oregon have multiples players out for the Alamo Bowl. We're both pretty comfortable with OU's roster, despite the opt outs and transfers. We're both interested to see how Brian Odom calls the defense and how Cale Gundy calls the offense (59:25). Lee thinks Oregon's interim head coach could be distracted. Meanwhile Bob Stoops is here to win a football game (1:08:30). We share our gut feelings about the Alamo Bowl result (1:16:00). It appears that Jaren Kanak is enrolled at OU. Plus we go over some other possible players who've been rumored to be OU targets (1:18:55). Finally, the guys spotted a WR out of Texas who has zero stars and zero D1 offers. And they don't get it at all. Please someone explain recruiting to us (1:26:05). | Like the show on Facebook: @westofeverest | Follow Grant on Twitter: @GrantBenson25 | Follow Lee on Twitter: @LeeBensonNews9

In the opening take, Grant gives his take on OU hiring Ted Roof for the defensive coordinator job. Then Lee joins to talk about the state of the OU football program in the early stages of the Brent Venables era (6:30). Lee goes over what OU's 2022 recruiting class looked like before Lincoln Riley left compared to what it looks like today. We also talk about why we don't get super into National Signing Day (11:00). To further our argument about why we don't get super into NSD, we look back on the absolute bust that was the 2019 OU recruiting class (18:30). We don't normally talk about OU recruits, but since it's signing day we decided to watch some HS tape of a handful of OU's signees. We go over some of the guys on offense that we like including WR Jayden Gibson, OT Jake Taylor, and RB Gavin Sawchuk (22:30). Now over to some of the defensive guys that have gotten a lot of publicity. Both of us aren't all that impressed with LB Kobie McKinzie's HS highlights. Does LB Kip Lewis have more upside? And Grant is excited for Tulsa Union's Jayden Rowe (31:00). Grant doesn't understand how a person like DT Alton Tarber was rated so low given his position and body type (38:20). Lee gives his take on DC Ted Roof and provides a bunch more background on his career and how we got here. It matters that Roof has been a part of a National Championship team... right (40:30)? We were really hoping Venables would bring over elite DL coach Todd Bates from Clemson. Not going to happen. We still don't know OU's full defensive assistant coaching staff (56:45). Who the heck is Thad Turnipseed? Brent Venables sure does love Clemson still, but will one of his Clemson commits come play at OU (1:01:10)? We're still waiting on Caleb Williams. We didn't listen to his appearance on the Jeremiah Hall/Brayden Willis podcast. Sorry (1:08:50). Spencer Rattler and Austin Stogner are off to South Carolina. Has your feelings on Rattler totally changed in the last month or so (1:11:30)? Cale Gundy and Brian Odom will call the plays in the Alamo Bowl. Lee makes it clear why the Alamo Bowl matters. Grant has learned to not read into the results of bowl games. Lee has some push back (1:16:00). This turns into an OU basketball podcast for a little bit as Grant takes a deep dive into Porter Moser's team (1:24:00). We finish up the show trying to figure out the upcoming podcast schedule and we try to figure out if OU should be favored by more than 4.5 points against Oregon? And how forgettable was the Heisman Trophy ceremony (1:31:45)? | Like the show on Facebook: @westofeverest | Follow Grant on Twitter: @GrantBenson25 | Follow Lee on Twitter: @LeeBensonNews9