Spring practice wrapped up for the Oklahoma Sooners on Tuesday. The spring game that is set to be played this Saturday will serve as the final mark for spring ball and then it will be onto Summer workouts and practices. There is a lot of intrigue for a lot of people heading into this year’s game. Here are the things that I will be watching for and paying attention to.

One thing that I will be watching, as I am sure everyone else will be too, is transfer quarterback Dillon Gabriel. The weather forecast for Saturday is not exactly ideal for a quarterback as winds will be gusting over 30 miles per hour. However, I am mainly going to be looking at how well he runs the offense and how much control he has over the game. In his career, Gabriel has thrown for over 8,000 yards, so he doesn’t need to prove to me that he can throw the ball downfield. If Gabriel can control the Sooners offense and keep things moving then I believe the Sooners can have a great 2022 season.

Another thing that I will be watching is the running back position. The departure of Kennedy Brooks to the NFL Draft has opened up the starting role for anyone who wants it. Eric Gray and Marcus Major are expected to be the number one and number two backs for the season. Right now though, it is unclear who will actually be the starter of those two. So I am interested to see if one of those guys can show more than the other in the spring game and create a little bit of separation in that position battle.

Another running back that I am interested to see in the spring game is freshman Jovante Barnes. Barnes is a member of the 2022 recruiting class and has really impressed during spring practices. I am excited to see him play and see what he can truly do during the game.

I am also very intrigued to see what the defense looks like. Nothing in particular. Just the whole defense. I have extremely high hopes for what the defense is going to look like in the future with all of the new coaches that OU has on that side of the ball. I am ready to see a defense that wants to go out and hit a ball carrier rather than try and run faster than them.

We likely won’t be able to see positions like the defensive secondary and backfield show their true ball-hawking skills given the wind forecast. I am looking to see if they can get to a spot when a ball carrier is headed straight for them and then being able to step up and make a tackle in space. That is something that has been severely lacking in recent years and is something that needs to be rectified right away.

The final thing that I can’t wait to see and be witness to is the celebration that will be taking place for Baker Mayfield. Baker is going to be back in Norman for the unveiling of his Heisman statue along with a ceremony spotlighting his 2017 season in which he won the Heisman. I know the OU video team has been hard at work making content for this day and I can’t wait to see all of it and to hear the reception that will be showered towards Baker.

It should be a very entertaining spring game this year. While it may be windy, the weather shouldn’t be too bad as highs will be in the mid-70s. It will be the first spring game of the Brent Venables campaign and I know fans can’t wait to see him back prowling the sidelines. The spring game just means we are one step closer to the fall. And it can’t come soon enough.