2014 Oklahoma Sooners Football Preview | Quarterbacks

A year ago at this time the Sooners were entrenched in a quarterback controversy as three guys vied for the starting job. Kendal Thompson injured his foot at the onset of camp, leaving the battle between folk hero Blake Bell and the youngster Trevor Knight. Although Knight would ultimately win the starting gig, the quarterback position was in flux with all three guys taking snaps during the season and a 199 yards per game passing average for the Sooners, which was their lowest since the 2006 season. Then came the Sugar Bowl and everything changed.

2014 Oklahoma Quarterbacks

Knight was spectacular in New Orleans by throwing for 348 yards and four touchdowns against Alabama. It was a good enough performance to almost make Oklahoma fans forget about the inconsistencies and injuries that he struggled with through the regular season...almost. The reality is that in the back of everyone's mind are the performances like the one he produced against West Virginia or the games in which he left with injury.

While Knight absolutely showed his upside in the Big Easy, he also must show strength and consistency in 2014. There's no doubt that he should be the starter but the fact that he is makes the back up quarterback race one of the top position battles in camp. Blake Bell (Oklahoma's leading passer from 2014) is now a tight end, Kendal Thompson is in Utah and, at this time, Baker Mayfield is ineligible. That means gridiron success could easily fall upon the shoulders of a true or redshirt freshman this fall, should Knight leave a game with an injury.

2013 Passing Stastics

Cody Thomas had a solid spring and you would think has an edge on securing the backup spot but coaches are high on true freshman Justice Hansen who was an early enrollee and participated in spring ball as well. Both guys have good size and seemingly a high ceiling but the issue of experience could play a big role. As long as Baker Mayfield is ineligible, the only experience on the field belongs to the starter. It isn't fair to Bell to work him at tight end (a position his father played in the NFL) and then jerk him back to the quarterback spot if Knight gets injured. Nor is it fair to battle Thomas and Hansen only to have them take a back seat to Bell in that scenario.

The biggest thing on Josh Heupel's 2014 wish list has to be a healthy Trevor Knight...or an NCAA waver for Baker Mayfield.