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Oklahoma Sooners Football Hot Links: Former Sooners discuss Alex Grinch, Courtney Paris returning to Norman, and more!

Former OU women’s basketball phenom Courtney Paris is joining Sherri Coale’s staff at Oklahoma.

NCAA WOMENS BASKETBALL: MAR 13 Big 12 Conference - Oklahoma v Kansas Photo by J.P. Wilson/Icon SMI/Icon Sport Media via Getty Images

Happy Hump Day, friends and fans!

Fans of the Oklahoma Sooners their share of outstanding quarterback play throughout history, especially within just the last decade. 247Sports’ Brad Crawford recently ranked his top 10 most impressive seasons for a college QB since 2010, and two former OU signal callers made the cut. By now you’ve probably already guessed the two players are Baker Mayfield and Kyler Murray, but where exactly do they stack up in this particular ranking?

It’s no surprise LSU’s Joe Burrow tops the list with the kind of run he had in 2019, but from top to bottom this list is totally loaded. As for Oklahoma’s QBs, Mayfield and Murray’s back-to-back Heisman Trophy winning seasons in 2017 and 2018, respectively slots them at Nos. 6 and 5.

So much of Mayfield’s senior season is tied with his overall career at OU, which probably ranks him slightly above Murray in the minds of most Sooners fans, but I have zero issues with K1 getting the comparative nod based on single seasons alone. Considering what he did with his legs as well as through the air, for me that’s enough to justify the ordering.

The only ranking I have a serious beef with is having Johnny Manziel all the way up at No. 3. Was his 2012 Heisman Trophy winning year worthy of this conversation? Absolutely. Am I still salty about the highlight reel he unloaded on OU in the Cotton Bowl? You bet I am. Having said that, constantly throwing a wounded duck into the air and allowing Mike Evans to go up and grab it, while effective, should earn at least a slight point deduction.

Now on to today’s Hot Links! OU hoops welcomes back an all-time great, a former defensive star fulfills his promise, a man owns everybody with the strongest putt game ever and more!

OU Links

  • Former OU women’s basketball All-American Courtney Paris is returning to Oklahoma as an assistant coach on Sherri Coale’s staff. Since graduating in 2009, Paris has played professionally in the WNBA and in Europe, and in 2018 she won a WNBA championship with the Seattle Storm. Welcome home, Coach Paris! Boomer!
  • Episode Four of the OUDNA roundtable discussion between DeMarco Murray and a group of the latest Sooners to wrap up their Oklahoma careers has dropped, and this time the guys talked about defensive coordinator Alex Grinch’s first season in the role. Even with largely the same group of players that led one of the worst defenses in 2018, Grinch was able to lead a massive turnaround via an attitude adjustment.
  • Former OU All-American LB Curtis Lofton made quite a living in the NFL over the span of eight years, but recently made good on a promise by completing his degree and graduating from the University of Oklahoma. In his own words, read about his incredible journey towards achieving his dream, years in the making.
  • In case you missed it, make sure you check out the latest episode of the Oklahoma Breakdown Podcast with Jack and Kamiar. This week the guys hopped in the time machine to talk about their memories from the 2001 season, news on the Sooners’ recruiting front, answered some Twitter questions and a whole lot more. As usual, be aware that there is some NSFW language used on the pod.

Around the Sports World

  • The Los Angeles Rams have joined the new uniform craze that’s been sweeping the NFL this offseason, and early reports indicate that these aren’t exactly it, fam. Hey now, I’m not hating, I’m just saying.
  • Following a recent virtual meeting between NBA owners and executives, there is reportedly increasing momentum towards resuming the currently suspended NBA season. Nothing official has been announced as far as return dates are concerned, but this is ultimately positive news for fans and the association.
  • Drive-in concerts will be held in the parking lot of the Texas Rangers’ new stadium. All attendants will be required to remain in their vehicles in accordance with social-distancing rules, but for $40 general admission per car, it doesn’t sound like a bad way to spend an evening, especially during a time like this.
  • ‘Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater’ is making a comeback this fall with remastered versions of the hit video game series. The soundtrack was maybe the best part of either Pro Skaters, but the kicks and flips were also pretty dope.
  • Now this is the most amazing sports-story I’ve heard in a while. In a recent amateur golf event, a 60-year-old man won the tournament by six strokes using nothing but a putter. In fact, it wasn’t even his own putter. His broke during practice leading up to the event, and instead of replacing it with another of the same make, the man hit up the local Goodwill and purchased one for $2.99. Is this 30-for-30 being made already? I would so watch.

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