West of Everest: An Oklahoma Football Podcast

Ep. 389 - A New Era Begins: Illinois State Preview and Depth Chart Talk

We're only 2 days away from the kickoff of the 2025 season and Lee & Grant are back - this time in crystal clear high definition! The guys begin with a football meat sandwich - nearly an hour of depth chart talk, followed by the inaugural voyage of the OU Opponent Superlative (suggestions on rebranding very encouraged), Lee being aggravated by the sheer amount of Illinois State info, and finish up with the Picks of the Week.
 
We're on YouTube now: @WestofEverest | Like the show on Facebook: @westofeverest | Follow Grant on Twitter/X: @GrantBenson25 | Follow Lee on Twitter/X: @LeeBensonTweets
 
(0:00) Intro - Showbiz Baby!
(3:40) The Initial Depth Chart of the 2025 Season - 'tsup with the RBs?
(23:29) Pass Catchers - We Hope Jaren Kanak is Good
(36:00) Offensive Line - Lots o' ORs
(45:30) Less Controversy on the Defensive Side of the Ball
(53:20) Arbuckle and Veny Meet the Media
(1:08:00) OU Opponent Superlative - Illinois State: Lee is Not a Fan
(1:11:28) Illinois State Preview - Lee Prefers to Know Nothing About His Kills
(1:22:25) What We Want to See Happen - OU Offense vs Illinois State Defense
(1:27:35) What We Want to See Happen - OU Defense vs Illinois State Offense
(1:29:35) What Will Happen - Game Predictions
(1:32:40) National CFB Talk
(1:39:38) Picks of the Week
 
 
 
 

Ep. 388 - Cooking With Grease

We're only 9 days away from kickoff and the Benson Bros are back to discuss the end of Fall Camp in Norman. With Illinois State on deck, position coaches Todd Bates, Jay Valai, and Emmett Jones spoke with the media, and Grant has thoughts on how OU players look like with their shirts off. In the second hour, we discuss how the national media is looking at OU as the season begins, and we use Lee's pal Josh Pate for a fun hypothetical.
 
Like the show on Facebook: @westofeverest | Follow Grant on Twitter/X: @GrantBenson25 | Follow Lee on Twitter/X: @LeeBensonTweets
 
(0:00) Intro - Grant Is The New Producer Slash Host; Dow Drops 5,000 Points
(8:45) Todd Bates Speaks to the Media: Meaty D-Line Talk
(14:18) Markus Strong
(19:38) Damonic Williams
(25:02) David Stone: Film Junkie
(30:08) Jayden Jackson & David Stone Are Cooking With Grease
(37:18) - Jay Valai Speaks to the Media: He's Got Nicknames for Everyone
(43:45) - Courtland Guillory and Devon Jordan Are Violent Within the Scheme
(49:00) - Is Eli Bowen Cooked?
(56:00) - Elijah Thomas is Malik Neighbors - Buy Your Tickets to Miami
(1:03:05) - Danny Okoye - Be Still My Beating Heart
(1:11:10) - The Solid Verbal's 5 Burning Questions for Oklahoma
(1:30:00) - Cover 3 Podcast
(1:36:45) - Josh Pate Has a Cool Take that Doesn't Make Sense
(1:42:35) - Week 0 Picks
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Ep. 387 - Moneyline Mateer

Lee and Grant discuss the absurd John Mateer/Venmo incident that was the biggest story in college football for one day in August of 2025. Then, they discuss the latest Fall Camp superlatives and throw a bunch of cold water on hype in the defensive secondary (sorry) before joining in on the hype over the defensive line. 16 days....
Like the show on Facebook: @westofeverest | Follow Grant on Twitter/X: @GrantBenson25 | Follow Lee on Twitter/X: @LeeBensonTweets
 
(0:00) Intro - The Theory of Relativity
(8:22) Moneyline Mateer
(30:20) First Fall Scrimmage
(37:00) Follow-up on Injuries/Corner Talk
(53:00) Bill Bedenbaugh and the Offensive Line
(1:06:00) Jim Nagy, the Transfer Portal, and Recruiting
(1:12:37) Cornerback Hype-Train and Lee & Grant Are No Fun
(1:23:00) The D-Line: Hell Yeah
(1:31:55) AP Top 25 and General College Football Talk
 
 

Ep. 386 - 2025 Fall Camp Begins and Everyone is Injured (Maybe)

Lee and Grant are back and begin the show talking about the gaggle of minor injuries that have broken out at the beginning of Fall Camp, and somehow, Gentry Williams is not one of the infected. Are we worried about Jaydn Ott's shoulder injury? How concerning is Eli Bowen and Gracen Halton's absence nearly a week into Camp?
Later, the guys discuss the emergence of Taylor Wein and Reggie Powers on the defensive side of the ball, and wonder what it means that Zion Kearney has started to rise to the top of the WR room.
Come for the hot OU Football Talk, stay for the Independence Day references.
Like the show on Facebook: @westofeverest | Follow Grant of Twitter/X: @GrantBenson25 | Follow Lee on Twitter/X: @LeeBensonTweets

Ep. 385 - SEC Media Days, Joe C’s Retirement, & Summer OU Temperature Check

The guys are back and open the show talking some nonsense before diving into what you're really here for: hot OU Football talk. What's happened since our last episode? We've got you covered. And OU's season win total is set at 6.5 (3:20). SEC Media Days happened. It's over. Not much came out of it. Brent Venables talked for a long time. He mentioned some young players we may get to see play this fall. We couldn't get through much of the players so we're just gonna assume they didn't say anything of note. Plus some guy asked a really weird question about Navy (13:30). How are we feeling about Javonnie Gibson's injury (36:55)? Jackson Arnold made his second SEC Media Days appearance, but this time for a new team (40:45). Where do we think the SEC media will pick the Sooners to finish? Grant is putting a lot of stock in OU-Michigan (50:00). Thoughts on Joe Castiglione's upcoming retirement (1:04:35). The recruiting for 2026 doesn't sound like it's going very well, but a good 2025 season can easily reverse that trend. Are you pumped to tailgate on the North Oval (1:21:30)? Grant thinks this upcoming college football season is going to be pretty interesting. He doesn't see any obvious picks to win the National Championship (1:25:30). We read some comments from the WoE Facebook page and Lee admits he recently suffered a really stupid major injury (1:29:00). Some updates on the future of the podcast and how it may change in the coming weeks and months (1:34:00). | Like the show on Facebook: @westofeverest | Follow Grant on Twitter: @GrantBenson25 | Follow Lee on Twitter: @LeeBensonTweets

Ep. 384 - Sawchuk Exits, a New WR Enters, and OU’s Lack of Drafted Players

After a brief intro the guys jump into talking about Gavin Sawchuk entering the transfer portal (2:15). The Sooners pick up a new wide receiver out of the portal and we have no idea if he will be a relevant player in 2025. Grant wishes OU would have paid a lot of money for the Cal transfer tight end (12:50). The Sooners picked up a new kicker out of the portal and we hope he makes field goals when asked to do so (22:40). We wanted OU to pick up a new corner out of the portal, but that didn't happen. The Sooners also lost a quarterback to the portal. Does this mean Hawkins has improved (31:10)? Danny Stutsman and Billy Bowman got drafted over the weekend plus the guys deal with some technical difficulties. Is it a problem that OU only had 2 players drafted in 2025 (38:30)? A shocking Dillon Gabriel draft position. Grant was bored by Shedeur Sanders taking up all the oxygen over the weekend (51:00). | Like the show on Facebook: @westofeverest | Follow Grant on Twitter: @GrantBenson25 | Follow Lee on Twitter: @LeeBensonTweets

Ep. 383 - What Does the David Stone Story Say About OU & College Football?

The show opens with random NFL Draft and sports time zone talk before jumping into the David Stone situation. The guys had two very different reactions when the news broke last Friday. There's a lot to get into here (5:20). How did David Stone's freshman season compare to some recent other 5-star defensive linemen? Some guys are good right away, some aren't. Grant just wants more information about how these things happen, while Lee feels bad for Stone's situation. Where does the SOUL Mission come in here (26:30)? Breaking down John Mateer and Washington State's late-season 38-35 loss to New Mexico. It was a tale of two halves for Mateer and Ben Arbuckle shoulders some blame for this loss (47:45). Grant does not want OU to accept being a lesser tier program (1:11:10). You get Lee's live reaction to the Bears taking Colston Loveland at No. 10 for some reason. And Taylor Tatum is still on OU's roster (1:15:00). | Like the show on Facebook: @westofeverest | Follow Grant on Twitter: @GrantBenson25 | Follow Lee on Twitter: @LeeBensonTweets

Ep. 382 - OU Upgrades Running Back Room as Spring Portal Opens

OU gets a big-time running back out of the transfer portal. Grant's super excited, while Lee is taking a more cautious approach (1:30). Jim Nagy has done an excellent job so far-- will he be able to bring in a tight end that actually helps (19:10)? Sam Franklin has entered the transfer portal. Grant thinks some other RBs will be out of here this spring (24:20). OU also brought in a solid interior offensive linemen who could challenge Troy Everett for the starting center job. What's the next position Jim Nagy is looking to fill from the portal (27:45)? Not much to take from the Crimson Combine. Is there any way to make a spring event, that's not the spring game, interesting (40:00)? Do you buy that Javonnie Gibson may be back for the start of the season (47:40)? We read some listener comments that are positive, pessimistic, and critical (52:35). The Nico Iamaleava saga (1:06:30). | Like the show on Facebook: @westofeverest | Follow Grant on Twitter: @GrantBenson25 | Follow Lee on Twitter: @LeeBensonTweets

Ep. 381 - Javonnie Gibson’s Injury Harshes the Buzz of the Crimson Combine

We don't waste any time as Grant jumps into the news that Javonnie Gibson has been injured (1:15). Trejan Bridges (13:00)?! Davon Mitchell has entered the transfer portal. Grant is not surprised in the least bit, while Lee finally watched Mitchell's HS senior highlight tape and was not impressed (19:10). So, the Crimson Combine is this weekend (29:45). Grant absolutely hated watching Washington State-Utah State from November 2024. This game showcased perhaps the best Mateer high-level quarterback moment so far, but also included some head-scratching mistakes and decisions. Stay tuned for a cameo from DJ Graham (34:10)! Grant wants to talk about OU men's basketball picking up a terrific guard out of the transfer portal (1:01:50). | Like the show on Facebook: @westofeverest | Follow Grant on Twitter: @GrantBenson25 | Follow Lee on Twitter: @LeeBensonTweets

Ep. 380 - 1-on-1s Reaction & Venables Continues to be Long-Winded

Grant's feeling a bit more hopeful about the 2025 season lately, while Lee talks about having reasonable hope compared to blind hope. Nevertheless the vibes coming out of spring ball have been pretty good, particularly surrounding the WRs. Grant says it's reasonable to be excited about many parts of the roster, but there are 3-4 position groups with serious questions (2:05). We watched practice video of pass catchers taking on DBs in 1-on-1s and we've got a lot of thoughts. Probably the most we've talked about the tight ends in a long time (18:20). We also got 1-on-1s of the O-Line taking on the D-Line. Several practice thoughts commence. It seems reasonable to expect David Stone to make a jump based on the evidence on hand (37:35). It appears Lee's conspiracy theory about Gentry Williams was wrong (50:05). Brent Venables appeared with Josh Pate in a recent interview. Lee has many thoughts-- most of them negative, but we did learn at least a couple of things (53:40). Trae Young is now the assistant GM for men's basketball, but what does that mean? Rants about players transferring all the time (1:10:20). Lamenting the death of the traditional spring game (1:19:30). | Like the show on Facebook: @westofeverest | Follow Grant on Twitter: @GrantBenson25 | Follow Lee on Twitter: @LeeBensonTweets