Predicting the Oklahoma Sooners' spring depth chart

With National Signing Day now past, the next big date on the calender for the Oklahoma Sooners is the opening of spring practices in March.

Injuries and off-season attrition have left OU a bit thinner than usual across the roster. Early enrollees such as Taylor McNamara and Kasseim Everett should have the opportunity to stake an early claim on a spot in the two-deep this fall.

Another major story to watch is the return of Mike Stoops, the recently fired head coach of the Arizona Wildcats and for OU defensive coordinator from 1999 to 2003. Mike's return, of course, led to the departure of longtime OU assistant Brent Venables. While the Sooner Nation has embraced the move by and large, people are expecting big things. Defensively, look for Mike to tinker with the personnel and schemes as he tries to make OU's D his own once again.

Let's not wait to speculate. Here's my stab at the spring depth chart:

Putting a bow on the DGB saga

Like many recruitniks with a dog in the hunt, I got caught up in the pursuit of wide receiver Dorial Green-Beckham, the mythically talented Missourian considered the best prep prospect in the 2012 class, in hopes that he'd go Sooner.

It turned into one of the more fascinating recruiting battles that I can remember. It's not often that the nation's most prodigious talent hails from the Show Me State. The fact that he and his family played the game so close to the vest helped build something of a mystique around him, sparking tall tales, rumor-mongering and rampant speculation about where DGB would end up. Add in a Blind Side-like backstory, and it makes for a pretty compelling story.

Not surprisingly, his family's recruiting memoir set plenty of tons wagging. I didn't find anything in it particularly objectionable, but, no matter how benign, a tell-all article is the kind of thing almost sure to piss off fans of any program involved. Factor in that Thayer Evans was the name on the byline, and, well, y'all remember.

(I'm efforting to get Evans on for a podcast.)

Wrapping Up Signing Day for the Sooners

Well, as expected, there was no DGB under the tree for the Oklahoma Sooners on National Signing Day this year. Even without the all-world receiver prospect, Bob Stoops and his overhauled coaching staff closed the 2012 recruiting class in strong fashion.

Here are a five major takeaways from the 2012 class, as well as a few notable "awards" from recruiting season.

1. A-Lone Star State

The dearth of signees in this class hailing from Texas will undoubtedly get Barry Switzer's blood boiling. For longtime members of Sooner Nation, it feels like some kind of natural law has been violated.

DGB to (Insert School Name Here)

If you've followed college football recruiting with even mild interest in the last 10 years or so, you probably realize the element of surprise is all but dead. Kids are committing earlier than ever, and members of the media have usually found out where a player is heading and tipped off their subscribers behind the pay walls in advance of prospects doing hat dances in their high school gyms.

Dorial Green-Beckham, the country's top-rated recruit in 2012, is a notable exception.

DGB and his family have doled out information about the coveted receiver's intentions judiciously. When DGB and his father, who has acted as a gatekeeper throughout the process, have given interviews, they haven't dodged questions, but they haven't revealed much.

With National Signing Day quickly approaching, we know that there are four schools still under consideration: Arkansas, Missouri, Oklahoma and Texas. But that's about it. no comments

Oklahoma Hires Tim Kish to Replace Brent Venables

Oklahoma Sooners head coach Bob Stoops stuck with the tried and true in hiring a new linebackers coach.

OU announced Tuesday that Tim Kish has been hired to join the Sooners staff, following Brent Venables' departure for Clemson last week.

Kish, who served as Mike Stoops' defensive coordinator at Arizona, apparently got the nod over Tyrone Nix. It represents a safe hire, as Kish has experience in the Stoopsian Way and shouldn't have any problem meshing with OU's staff.

Linking Up: National Signing Day Approaches

It's been too long. Who's up for some links?

*The nation's consensus No. 1 recruit, wide receiver Dorial Green-Beckham out of Springfield, Mo., hosted Oklahoma Sooners head coach Bob Stoops and co-offensive coordinator Jay Norvell Monday night.

Although conventional wisdom holds that OU is out of the running for DGB's signature next week, I guess the fact that Stoops is doing an in-home visit him means there's at least a chance he'll pick OU, no matter how small.

Right?

*If it's any consolation, OU does have a strong group of pass catchers coming in this fall. Trey Metoyer, who spent a year in prep school getting his grades in order, will see playing time immediately. The same goes for Durron Neal, who should turn into a slick slot receiver. The Sooners also have commitments from touted prospects Derrick Woods and Sterling Shepard.

It would be disingenuous to call a player of DGB's caliber a luxury, but OU is fortunate that receiver isn't a huge position of need.

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Brent Venables Contingency Plans

The Temptation of Brent Venables should reach its conclusion today, as the Oklahoma Sooners' longtime defensive coordinator is expected to decide on a lucrative offer to run the Clemson Tigers' D.

Dave Sittler of the Tulsa World tweeted out last night that Venables' agent expects him to leave Norman. If so, who should take his place?

Bob Stoops has shown a willingness to shift coaches' responsibilities around if it suits him. For example, when Willie Martinez joined the staff in 2010, Stoops moved Bobby Jack Wright from secondary coach to defensive ends.

Let's assume for the purpose of this exercise that OU would pursue a linebackers coach. Homerism considers these candidates worthy of consideration.

Venables to West Virginia? Clemson?

Mike Stoops returning to the sidelines isn't the only news about the Oklahoma Sooners coaching staff that is popping. Defensive coordinator Brent Venables is considering some outside offers, too, according to media reports that surfaced today.

Dave Sittler of the Tulsa World reported this morning that West Virginia coach Dana Holgorsen has offered Venables a job as his coordinator. Supposedly, Venables may be in the mix at Clemson as well on the heels of Dabo Swinney's dismissal of Kevin Steele.

Venables' name is undoubtedly coming up in light of Stoops' return. This raises an important question: Is Venables shopping around, or are suitors sensing blood in the water?

If Venables is looking for a new gig, it would suggest he isn't content with the new power-sharing arrangement. That would portend trouble for the staff going forward if Venables passes on these opportunities.

Fixing the Sooners: Living by the Sword

In my last installment of "Fixing the Sooners," I covered the evolution of the Big 12 during the course of Bob Stoops' 13-year tenure.

The league-wide predominance of the spread offense essentially means that traditional metrics and methods of evaluating offensive and defensive effectiveness – scoring, total defense – have little utility. They're playing a different brand of football in the Big 12 relative to other major conferences like the SEC and Big Ten.

Luckily, we have some handy metrics at our disposal to help us achieve a more "apples-to-apples" comparison between teams from different conferences: our friend Bill Connelly's S&P+ Ratings. (Rather than me explaining how the S&P+ numbers are derived, see the definitions provided in the link.)

Jones' Return Lifts Some Sooners' Spirits

Despite speculation that he could be first-round pick in this April's NFL draft, Oklahoma quarterback Landry Jones is coming back for the 2012 season. That kind of news would lead to widespread celebration in college towns everywhere.

Not when you're the quarterback for the Oklahoma Sooners.

A decent number of Sooner fans, frustrated by his inconsistency, were hoping that the 'Stache would head off to the big leagues.

The Belldozer made a big splash in the second half of the season. Why not make the future now?

Count me in with ESPN.com Big 12 blogger David Ubben:

If you're an OU fan and unhappy that Landry Jones returned, I suggest you take a lesson in perspective.

— David Ubben (@davidubben) January 5, 2012

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