Oklahoma Football 2012: Predicting the Pre-Spring Two-Deep Depth Chart

The Sooners head into the spring with eight returning starters on offense and seven on defense.

With the shakeups in the coaching staff and locker room, there are bound to be a number of new faces on the field come September.

Let's dive in and take a closer look at the projected depth chart on both sides of the ball for the 2012 season.

Quarterbacks

Projected Starter: Landry Jones (Sr.)

Backup: Drew Allen (Jr.)

Landry Jones returns for his fourth and final year as the leader of the Sooner offense. While he has already broken a number of Oklahoma's passing records, he is sure to make a permanent place for himself in the record books returning for his senior campaign.

Usually a fanbase would be ecstatic to have such a celebrated player return, but Sooner nation seems to be torn on whether Jones can lead Oklahoma to a national championship.

While Blake Bell will no doubt see plenty of playing time in short yardage situations, Drew Allen is listed as the backup, as he would more than likely take over Jones' role in the offense should he go down with an injury.

Running Backs/Fullbacks

Projected Starters: Dominique Whaley (Sr.)/Trey Millard (Jr.)

Backups: Roy Finch (Jr.)/Aaron Ripkowski (So.)

Dominique Whaley burst on to the scene last year and immediately claimed the starting job at running back. His work ethic and sheer determination proved that even a walk-on player can make the most of opportunities and beat out previous High School All-Americans for the starting job.

Whaley is projected to resume his role as the starter after going down midway through the season last year with an ankle injury. Finch took over as the primary ball carrier and put up solid numbers for the remainder of the year and is expected to resume his role as a change-of-pace back.

Should any type of shakeup occur, look for junior backs Brennan Clay and Damien Williams to step in.

Trey Millard was an all-conference fullback last season and looks to continue paving the way for Dominique Whaley in 2012. Aaron Ripkowski did a fantastic job coming in during the Belldozer formation and clearing out huge lanes for Blake Bell. Look for Ripkowski to resume his role in the Belldozer formation in 2012.

Wide Receivers

Projected Starters: Kenny Stills (Jr.), Jaz Reynolds (Jr.), Courtney Gardner (Jr.)

Backups: Trey Metoyer (Fr.), Kameel Jackson (So.), Trey Franks (Jr.)

Kenny Stills and Jaz Reynolds both return as clear favorites for the top two wide receiver positions. Each have thrived in the high-powered passing attack over the last two seasons but will need to step up their games in the absence of the departed Ryan Broyles.

Courtney Gardner, a standout junior college transfer, appears the most likely candidate to step in as the third starter and could potentially be the primary target if he turns out to be as good as expected.

Kameel Jackson and Trey Franks saw limited playing time last year after a number of injuries forced them into action. Trey Metoyer has the most potential coming in as a huge 5-star prospect from Whitehouse, Texas. Metoyer has drawn comparisons to Dez Bryant and could potentially see playing time in 2012 as a true freshman.

UPDATE 4/9/12: Incoming freshman wide receiver Trey Metoyer has been the talk of spring practice. He has turned many heads with his athleticism and acrobatic catches. While it's really still too early to know for sure who the starters will be—with Courtney Gardner and other incoming recruits yet to arrive on campus—Metoyer is definitely making his case to be a starter from day one. 

Offensive Line

Projected Starters:

LT: Lane Johnson (Sr.)
LG: Gabe Ikard (Jr.)
C: Ben Habern (Sr.)
RG: Tyler Evans (Sr.)
RT: Will Latu (Jr.)
TE: Brannon Green (Jr.)

Backups: 

LT: Tyrus Thompson (So.)
LG: Adam Shead (So.)
C: Austin Woods (Jr.)
RG: Bronson Irwin (Jr.)
RT: Daryll Williams (So.)
TE: Taylor McNamara (Fr.)

The Sooners feature four returning starters on the offensive line from a year ago with a lot of experience behind them.

The good news about this group of linemen is that the majority of them are versed in multiple positions. Lane Johnson played right tackle last season but with the opening at left tackle, he will most likely be shifted there.

Junior college transfer Will Latu will battle Daryl Williams and Tyrus Thompson for the starting job at right tackle, but any of them could end up playing left tackle as well if needed.

The offensive line should prove to be one of the more reliable units on the 2012 squad creating holes for Dominique Whaley and providing superior protection for Landry Jones.

The tight end position is a little less certain.

It's a pretty wide open battle at the moment between junior college transfer Brannon Green and 4-star high school prospect Taylor McNamara who has enrolled early to compete for the starting job.

Green will likely get the nod to start, as he is more experienced at the college level and is a solid blocking tight end.

Defensive Line

Projected Starters: 

DE: David King (Sr.)
DT: Casey Walker (Sr.)
DT: JaMarkus McFarland (Sr.)
DE: R.J. Washington (Sr.)

Backups:

DE: Chaz Nelson (Jr.)
DT: Stacy McGee (Sr.)
DT: Marquis Anderson (RFr.)
DE: Chuka Ndulue (So.)

The defensive line took a major blow graduating both defensive ends. David King and R.J. Washington will have big shoes to fill but look to make names for themselves heading into their senior seasons.

Junior college standout Chaz Nelson also appears to be more than capable of jumping into action if called upon.

Meanwhile, at the defensive tackle position, both starters from last year (Casey Walker and JaMarkus McFarland) are returning and should be a force plugging up the middle with a very reliable Stacy McGee waiting in the wings should he need to rotate in.

McFarland will anchor this defensive line, as he looks the build off of the breakout game he had in the Insight Bowl last year recording five tackles and two for a loss.

Linebackers

Projected Starters:

SLB: Joseph Ibiloye (Sr.)
MLB: Tom Wort (Jr.)
WLB: Corey Nelson (Jr.)

Backups:

SLB: Gabe Lynn (Jr.)
MLB: Jaydan Bird (Sr.)
WLB: Aaron Franklin (So.)

While the Sooners are losing perennial starter Travis Lewis to the NFL, they appear to be set with experienced linebackers heading into the 2012 season.

Tom Wort is coming off of a great performance in 2011 and should be a major part of the defense if he can remain healthy.

Tony Jefferson is another staple returning to the defense with two years of playing time already under his belt. The only question with Jefferson is where he will be lining up at.

Last season he rotated between a hybrid linebacker and deep safety. Wherever he ends up, he is sure to be one of the biggest playmakers on the defensive side of the ball.

Corey Nelson is an experienced weak-side linebacker who started in 11 games last season but logged time in all 13. He also led all linebackers in sacks with 5.5 on the season.

UPDATE 4/9/12: With all signs pointing to Tony Jefferson moving back to free saftey, Joseph Ibiloye rotates into the starting nickelback position.

Mike Stoops also appears to be shifting former cornerback Gabe Lynn to the safety and nickelback positions to try and find a better positional fit for him.

Secondary

Projected Starters:

BCB: Aaron Colvin (Jr.)
SS: Javon Harris (Sr.)
FS: Tony Jefferson (Jr.)
FCB: Demontre Hurst (Sr.)

Backups:

BCB: Joe Powell (Jr.)
SS: Quentin Hayes (So.)
FS: Gabe Lynn (Jr.)
FCB: Lamar Harris (Sr.)

The Sooners secondary return a host of elite players.

Demontre Hurst may be one of the most underrated players on the team, as he finished last season with 55 tackles and 11 pass breakups.

Gabe Lynn has taken a lot of criticism, but the coaches haven't given up on him yet. He will have to battle with recent junior college transfer Kasseim Everett for the starting cornerback position opposite Hurst but has to be considered the favorite to start until we see more from Everett.

Aaron Colvin was the lone bright spot of the Sooner safeties last season. He led the team with 84 tackles and looks to be one of the key ingredients in Mike Stoops' return to Norman.

There has been talk of moving Colvin to cornerback if needed to keep the 11 best players on the field at all times.

Where the Sooners really need someone to step up during spring ball is at the free safety position.

Javon Harris started out the 2011 campaign with some great efforts but began to fade as the season wore on and was burned deep time and time again in the Sooner losses.

Stoops would like to keep Tony Jefferson at the linebacker position, but if no one else steps up, then he may be forced to place Jefferson back opposite Colvin.

UPDATE 4/9/12: After the media checked in with Mike Stoops, he appeared to reveal some changes in the Sooner secondary.

It looks like Tony Jefferson will indeed be switching back to the free safety position and Javon Harris will be sliding over to strong safety. This move clears up Aaron Colvin to move over to cornerback opposite Demontre Hurst.

Other changes see Gabe Lynn shifting to the safety and nickelback positions and Joe Powell emerging as one of the primary backups at cornerback. 

Special Teams

Projected Starters:

K: Michael Hunnicutt (So.)
KO: Patrick O'Hara (Sr.)
P: Tress Way (Sr.)

Backups: 

K: Patrick O'Hara (Sr.)
KO: Michael Hunnicutt (So.)
P: Dylan Seibert (RFr.)

Special teams has often been criticized in Sooner nation over the last few years, but Stoops appears to have finally found a reliable kicker.

Michael Hunnicutt stepped up to the plate last year knocking down 21 of his 24 attempts including all four from beyond 40 yards out. Being just a sophomore, Hunnicutt appears to have shored up the kicking game issues for at least the next three years.

Tress Way was also fantastic in the punting game, averaging over 42 yards per punt and burying 34 of those inside the 20-yard line.

Tress Way and Patrick O'Hara are both seniors, so the Sooners will need to begin grooming their replacements, but for the 2012 season it looks as though the special teams should be in fine shape.