West of Everest: An Oklahoma Football Podcast

In the opening take, Grant gives his take on OU hiring Ted Roof for the defensive coordinator job. Then Lee joins to talk about the state of the OU football program in the early stages of the Brent Venables era (6:30). Lee goes over what OU's 2022 recruiting class looked like before Lincoln Riley left compared to what it looks like today. We also talk about why we don't get super into National Signing Day (11:00). To further our argument about why we don't get super into NSD, we look back on the absolute bust that was the 2019 OU recruiting class (18:30). We don't normally talk about OU recruits, but since it's signing day we decided to watch some HS tape of a handful of OU's signees. We go over some of the guys on offense that we like including WR Jayden Gibson, OT Jake Taylor, and RB Gavin Sawchuk (22:30). Now over to some of the defensive guys that have gotten a lot of publicity. Both of us aren't all that impressed with LB Kobie McKinzie's HS highlights. Does LB Kip Lewis have more upside? And Grant is excited for Tulsa Union's Jayden Rowe (31:00). Grant doesn't understand how a person like DT Alton Tarber was rated so low given his position and body type (38:20). Lee gives his take on DC Ted Roof and provides a bunch more background on his career and how we got here. It matters that Roof has been a part of a National Championship team... right (40:30)? We were really hoping Venables would bring over elite DL coach Todd Bates from Clemson. Not going to happen. We still don't know OU's full defensive assistant coaching staff (56:45). Who the heck is Thad Turnipseed? Brent Venables sure does love Clemson still, but will one of his Clemson commits come play at OU (1:01:10)? We're still waiting on Caleb Williams. We didn't listen to his appearance on the Jeremiah Hall/Brayden Willis podcast. Sorry (1:08:50). Spencer Rattler and Austin Stogner are off to South Carolina. Has your feelings on Rattler totally changed in the last month or so (1:11:30)? Cale Gundy and Brian Odom will call the plays in the Alamo Bowl. Lee makes it clear why the Alamo Bowl matters. Grant has learned to not read into the results of bowl games. Lee has some push back (1:16:00). This turns into an OU basketball podcast for a little bit as Grant takes a deep dive into Porter Moser's team (1:24:00). We finish up the show trying to figure out the upcoming podcast schedule and we try to figure out if OU should be favored by more than 4.5 points against Oregon? And how forgettable was the Heisman Trophy ceremony (1:31:45)? | Like the show on Facebook: @westofeverest | Follow Grant on Twitter: @GrantBenson25 | Follow Lee on Twitter: @LeeBensonNews9

In the opening take, Grant gives his take on OU hiring Ted Roof for the defensive coordinator job. Then Lee joins to talk about the state of the OU football program in the early stages of the Brent Venables era (6:30). Lee goes over what OU's 2022 recruiting class looked like before Lincoln Riley left compared to what it looks like today. We also talk about why we don't get super into National Signing Day (11:00). To further our argument about why we don't get super into NSD, we look back on the absolute bust that was the 2019 OU recruiting class (18:30). We don't normally talk about OU recruits, but since it's signing day we decided to watch some HS tape of a handful of OU's signees. We go over some of the guys on offense that we like including WR Jayden Gibson, OT Jake Taylor, and RB Gavin Sawchuk (22:30). Now over to some of the defensive guys that have gotten a lot of publicity. Both of us aren't all that impressed with LB Kobie McKinzie's HS highlights. Does LB Kip Lewis have more upside? And Grant is excited for Tulsa Union's Jayden Rowe (31:00). Grant doesn't understand how a person like DT Alton Tarber was rated so low given his position and body type (38:20). Lee gives his take on DC Ted Roof and provides a bunch more background on his career and how we got here. It matters that Roof has been a part of a National Championship team... right (40:30)? We were really hoping Venables would bring over elite DL coach Todd Bates from Clemson. Not going to happen. We still don't know OU's full defensive assistant coaching staff (56:45). Who the heck is Thad Turnipseed? Brent Venables sure does love Clemson still, but will one of his Clemson commits come play at OU (1:01:10)? We're still waiting on Caleb Williams. We didn't listen to his appearance on the Jeremiah Hall/Brayden Willis podcast. Sorry (1:08:50). Spencer Rattler and Austin Stogner are off to South Carolina. Has your feelings on Rattler totally changed in the last month or so (1:11:30)? Cale Gundy and Brian Odom will call the plays in the Alamo Bowl. Lee makes it clear why the Alamo Bowl matters. Grant has learned to not read into the results of bowl games. Lee has some push back (1:16:00). This turns into an OU basketball podcast for a little bit as Grant takes a deep dive into Porter Moser's team (1:24:00). We finish up the show trying to figure out the upcoming podcast schedule and we try to figure out if OU should be favored by more than 4.5 points against Oregon? And how forgettable was the Heisman Trophy ceremony (1:31:45)? | Like the show on Facebook: @westofeverest | Follow Grant on Twitter: @GrantBenson25 | Follow Lee on Twitter: @LeeBensonNews9

In the opening take, Grant gives his take on OU hiring Ted Roof for the defensive coordinator job. Then Lee joins to talk about the state of the OU football program in the early stages of the Brent Venables era (6:30). Lee goes over what OU's 2022 recruiting class looked like before Lincoln Riley left compared to what it looks like today. We also talk about why we don't get super into National Signing Day (11:00). To further our argument about why we don't get super into NSD, we look back on the absolute bust that was the 2019 OU recruiting class (18:30). We don't normally talk about OU recruits, but since it's signing day we decided to watch some HS tape of a handful of OU's signees. We go over some of the guys on offense that we like including WR Jayden Gibson, OT Jake Taylor, and RB Gavin Sawchuk (22:30). Now over to some of the defensive guys that have gotten a lot of publicity. Both of us aren't all that impressed with LB Kobie McKinzie's HS highlights. Does LB Kip Lewis have more upside? And Grant is excited for Tulsa Union's Jayden Rowe (31:00). Grant doesn't understand how a person like DT Alton Tarber was rated so low given his position and body type (38:20). Lee gives his take on DC Ted Roof and provides a bunch more background on his career and how we got here. It matters that Roof has been a part of a National Championship team... right (40:30)? We were really hoping Venables would bring over elite DL coach Todd Bates from Clemson. Not going to happen. We still don't know OU's full defensive assistant coaching staff (56:45). Who the heck is Thad Turnipseed? Brent Venables sure does love Clemson still, but will one of his Clemson commits come play at OU (1:01:10)? We're still waiting on Caleb Williams. We didn't listen to his appearance on the Jeremiah Hall/Brayden Willis podcast. Sorry (1:08:50). Spencer Rattler and Austin Stogner are off to South Carolina. Has your feelings on Rattler totally changed in the last month or so (1:11:30)? Cale Gundy and Brian Odom will call the plays in the Alamo Bowl. Lee makes it clear why the Alamo Bowl matters. Grant has learned to not read into the results of bowl games. Lee has some push back (1:16:00). This turns into an OU basketball podcast for a little bit as Grant takes a deep dive into Porter Moser's team (1:24:00). We finish up the show trying to figure out the upcoming podcast schedule and we try to figure out if OU should be favored by more than 4.5 points against Oregon? And how forgettable was the Heisman Trophy ceremony (1:31:45)? | Like the show on Facebook: @westofeverest | Follow Grant on Twitter: @GrantBenson25 | Follow Lee on Twitter: @LeeBensonNews9

In the opening take, Lee says OU's in a better position now than they were 10 days ago. Then Grant joins to talk about his favorite celebration style (5:45) before we stop messing around and talk about what we think of Brent Venables getting the head coaching job at OU (7:25). Venables addressed "why now" is the time he finally took a head coaching job. What are the chances he's going to be a good coach (14:10)? Lee begins pitching to Grant why he thinks OU is in a better place now compared to when Lincoln Riley left the program. Culture and team identity are important and it's going to chance under Venables (28:35). OU's defense is going to be better under Venables. We're excited to see how some of the current players develop under a new coaching staff (39:00). We pulled a soundbite of Venables talking about his offensive philosophy. We like that Venables is a coach who will tweak and coach game-to-game based on opponent. He also sounds like someone who wants to get the ball to his playmakers as much as possible. Lee also talks about that time the "Freezing Cold Takes" Twitter account got him (51:30). Was halftime during the OU-Georgia Rose Bowl the highest point of OU's Lincoln Riley tenure (1:02:05)? Lee continues his pitch to Grant. OU's offense will take a dip, right? Well... maybe, but also the ceiling could be higher with Venables/Lebby compared to Riley/Grinch (1:06:20). Do we think Caleb Williams is going to stay at OU? OU's got a better shot to win a National Championship in the next 2 years than USC, right (1:18:15)? We give our thoughts on Venables' coaching staff coming together. A lot of the original OU offensive staff sounds like they're staying on (1:26:35). Who the heck is Venables going to bring on as defensive assistants? No Jamar Cain is a bummer. Will anything come out on the Roy Manning/USC recruiting stuff? What's going to happen with Calvin Thibodeaux and Brian Odom (1:32:15)? Who's going to be the defensive coordinator? It's not going to be Mike Stoops is it? Jerry Schmidt is returning to OU. The gang is getting back together -- is that a good, or bad thing? Is OU more injured than other teams (1:42:40)? We do a horrible job of explaining players who have opted out of the Alamo Bowl. We're probably delirious at this point (1:53:00). We read a comment from a long time listener who has a few hot takes about the recent shake up at Oklahoma (1:55:30). Grant tells us which Bowl games he's interested in. He thinks Cincinnati has a shot to beat Alabama (2:05:20). | Like the show on Facebook: @westofeverest | Follow Grant on Twitter: @GrantBenson25 | Follow Lee on Twitter: @LeeBensonNews9

In the opening take, Lee says OU's in a better position now than they were 10 days ago. Then Grant joins to talk about his favorite celebration style (5:45) before we stop messing around and talk about what we think of Brent Venables getting the head coaching job at OU (7:25). Venables addressed "why now" is the time he finally took a head coaching job. What are the chances he's going to be a good coach (14:10)? Lee begins pitching to Grant why he thinks OU is in a better place now compared to when Lincoln Riley left the program. Culture and team identity are important and it's going to chance under Venables (28:35). OU's defense is going to be better under Venables. We're excited to see how some of the current players develop under a new coaching staff (39:00). We pulled a soundbite of Venables talking about his offensive philosophy. We like that Venables is a coach who will tweak and coach game-to-game based on opponent. He also sounds like someone who wants to get the ball to his playmakers as much as possible. Lee also talks about that time the "Freezing Cold Takes" Twitter account got him (51:30). Was halftime during the OU-Georgia Rose Bowl the highest point of OU's Lincoln Riley tenure (1:02:05)? Lee continues his pitch to Grant. OU's offense will take a dip, right? Well... maybe, but also the ceiling could be higher with Venables/Lebby compared to Riley/Grinch (1:06:20). Do we think Caleb Williams is going to stay at OU? OU's got a better shot to win a National Championship in the next 2 years than USC, right (1:18:15)? We give our thoughts on Venables' coaching staff coming together. A lot of the original OU offensive staff sounds like they're staying on (1:26:35). Who the heck is Venables going to bring on as defensive assistants? No Jamar Cain is a bummer. Will anything come out on the Roy Manning/USC recruiting stuff? What's going to happen with Calvin Thibodeaux and Brian Odom (1:32:15)? Who's going to be the defensive coordinator? It's not going to be Mike Stoops is it? Jerry Schmidt is returning to OU. The gang is getting back together -- is that a good, or bad thing? Is OU more injured than other teams (1:42:40)? We do a horrible job of explaining players who have opted out of the Alamo Bowl. We're probably delirious at this point (1:53:00). We read a comment from a long time listener who has a few hot takes about the recent shake up at Oklahoma (1:55:30). Grant tells us which Bowl games he's interested in. He thinks Cincinnati has a shot to beat Alabama (2:05:20). | Like the show on Facebook: @westofeverest | Follow Grant on Twitter: @GrantBenson25 | Follow Lee on Twitter: @LeeBensonNews9

In the opening take, Lee says OU's in a better position now than they were 10 days ago. Then Grant joins to talk about his favorite celebration style (5:45) before we stop messing around and talk about what we think of Brent Venables getting the head coaching job at OU (7:25). Venables addressed "why now" is the time he finally took a head coaching job. What are the chances he's going to be a good coach (14:10)? Lee begins pitching to Grant why he thinks OU is in a better place now compared to when Lincoln Riley left the program. Culture and team identity are important and it's going to chance under Venables (28:35). OU's defense is going to be better under Venables. We're excited to see how some of the current players develop under a new coaching staff (39:00). We pulled a soundbite of Venables talking about his offensive philosophy. We like that Venables is a coach who will tweak and coach game-to-game based on opponent. He also sounds like someone who wants to get the ball to his playmakers as much as possible. Lee also talks about that time the "Freezing Cold Takes" Twitter account got him (51:30). Was halftime during the OU-Georgia Rose Bowl the highest point of OU's Lincoln Riley tenure (1:02:05)? Lee continues his pitch to Grant. OU's offense will take a dip, right? Well... maybe, but also the ceiling could be higher with Venables/Lebby compared to Riley/Grinch (1:06:20). Do we think Caleb Williams is going to stay at OU? OU's got a better shot to win a National Championship in the next 2 years than USC, right (1:18:15)? We give our thoughts on Venables' coaching staff coming together. A lot of the original OU offensive staff sounds like they're staying on (1:26:35). Who the heck is Venables going to bring on as defensive assistants? No Jamar Cain is a bummer. Will anything come out on the Roy Manning/USC recruiting stuff? What's going to happen with Calvin Thibodeaux and Brian Odom (1:32:15)? Who's going to be the defensive coordinator? It's not going to be Mike Stoops is it? Jerry Schmidt is returning to OU. The gang is getting back together -- is that a good, or bad thing? Is OU more injured than other teams (1:42:40)? We do a horrible job of explaining players who have opted out of the Alamo Bowl. We're probably delirious at this point (1:53:00). We read a comment from a long time listener who has a few hot takes about the recent shake up at Oklahoma (1:55:30). Grant tells us which Bowl games he's interested in. He thinks Cincinnati has a shot to beat Alabama (2:05:20). | Like the show on Facebook: @westofeverest | Follow Grant on Twitter: @GrantBenson25 | Follow Lee on Twitter: @LeeBensonNews9

In the opening take, Lee looks back at the last time a head coach left OU for a different college job. Then Grant joins as the guys give their initial thoughts on Riley's decision to leave OU (4:20). Bob Stoops is the Sooners' Interim Head coach. Lee also shares a story about Bob Stoops that he recently heard that will make you smile (11:45). Who's going to be OU's next head coach? We go over the potential candidates who've been mentioned and rumored beginning with Brent Venables. What about Matt Rhule? (26:00). The OU men's basketball team beats Florida as we are recording the podcast (47:30). What about Shane Beamer? Would he leave South Carolina to come to OU? We also discuss Luke Fickell, Dan Lanning, Mike Leach, and Lane Kiffin (49:15). Okay, we go all in on Lincoln Riley taking the USC job beginning by talking about what we were doing when we found out the news Sunday (1:02:05). Lee wants to break down the "Pros" and "Cons" for OU now that Riley is gone. Lee begins with his "Cons" list (1:07:40). Now over to the "Pros" of Riley leaving. Plus Lee tells the story about his final interaction with Lincoln Riley as OU's head coach. Alex Grinch is out the door, and Lee rants about what his lasting memory of Lincoln Riley's final weeks at OU will be (1:15:35). Grant wants to rant more about Riley's ability to seemingly stretch the truth at the end and also since USC has hired him. Grant wishes Riley would have just left OU in the middle of the season instead of the way he chose to leave (1:42:30). OU's not naming a coach today. Grant points out that there is a chance this could go south for OU (1:50:00). We give our thoughts on the bizarre Roy Manning story that came out Tuesday night. Grant once again just tells Lincoln Riley to go away (1:55:20). Grant has more hate for Riley. Which leads to some small CFP talk about Oklahoma State, Michigan, and Cincinnati to end this incredibly long podcast (2:04:10). | Like the show on Facebook: @westofeverest | Follow Grant on Twitter: @GrantBenson25 | Follow Lee on Twitter: @LeeBensonNews9

In the opening take, Lee looks back at the last time a head coach left OU for a different college job. Then Grant joins as the guys give their initial thoughts on Riley's decision to leave OU (4:20). Bob Stoops is the Sooners' Interim Head coach. Lee also shares a story about Bob Stoops that he recently heard that will make you smile (11:45). Who's going to be OU's next head coach? We go over the potential candidates who've been mentioned and rumored beginning with Brent Venables. What about Matt Rhule? (26:00). The OU men's basketball team beats Florida as we are recording the podcast (47:30). What about Shane Beamer? Would he leave South Carolina to come to OU? We also discuss Luke Fickell, Dan Lanning, Mike Leach, and Lane Kiffin (49:15). Okay, we go all in on Lincoln Riley taking the USC job beginning by talking about what we were doing when we found out the news Sunday (1:02:05). Lee wants to break down the "Pros" and "Cons" for OU now that Riley is gone. Lee begins with his "Cons" list (1:07:40). Now over to the "Pros" of Riley leaving. Plus Lee tells the story about his final interaction with Lincoln Riley as OU's head coach. Alex Grinch is out the door, and Lee rants about what his lasting memory of Lincoln Riley's final weeks at OU will be (1:15:35). Grant wants to rant more about Riley's ability to seemingly stretch the truth at the end and also since USC has hired him. Grant wishes Riley would have just left OU in the middle of the season instead of the way he chose to leave (1:42:30). OU's not naming a coach today. Grant points out that there is a chance this could go south for OU (1:50:00). We give our thoughts on the bizarre Roy Manning story that came out Tuesday night. Grant once again just tells Lincoln Riley to go away (1:55:20). Grant has more hate for Riley. Which leads to some small CFP talk about Oklahoma State, Michigan, and Cincinnati to end this incredibly long podcast (2:04:10). | Like the show on Facebook: @westofeverest | Follow Grant on Twitter: @GrantBenson25 | Follow Lee on Twitter: @LeeBensonNews9

In the opening take, Lee looks back at the last time a head coach left OU for a different college job. Then Grant joins as the guys give their initial thoughts on Riley's decision to leave OU (4:20). Bob Stoops is the Sooners' Interim Head coach. Lee also shares a story about Bob Stoops that he recently heard that will make you smile (11:45). Who's going to be OU's next head coach? We go over the potential candidates who've been mentioned and rumored beginning with Brent Venables. What about Matt Rhule? (26:00). The OU men's basketball team beats Florida as we are recording the podcast (47:30). What about Shane Beamer? Would he leave South Carolina to come to OU? We also discuss Luke Fickell, Dan Lanning, Mike Leach, and Lane Kiffin (49:15). Okay, we go all in on Lincoln Riley taking the USC job beginning by talking about what we were doing when we found out the news Sunday (1:02:05). Lee wants to break down the "Pros" and "Cons" for OU now that Riley is gone. Lee begins with his "Cons" list (1:07:40). Now over to the "Pros" of Riley leaving. Plus Lee tells the story about his final interaction with Lincoln Riley as OU's head coach. Alex Grinch is out the door, and Lee rants about what his lasting memory of Lincoln Riley's final weeks at OU will be (1:15:35). Grant wants to rant more about Riley's ability to seemingly stretch the truth at the end and also since USC has hired him. Grant wishes Riley would have just left OU in the middle of the season instead of the way he chose to leave (1:42:30). OU's not naming a coach today. Grant points out that there is a chance this could go south for OU (1:50:00). We give our thoughts on the bizarre Roy Manning story that came out Tuesday night. Grant once again just tells Lincoln Riley to go away (1:55:20). Grant has more hate for Riley. Which leads to some small CFP talk about Oklahoma State, Michigan, and Cincinnati to end this incredibly long podcast (2:04:10). | Like the show on Facebook: @westofeverest | Follow Grant on Twitter: @GrantBenson25 | Follow Lee on Twitter: @LeeBensonNews9

No opening take today, but Lee admits off the top that he's already picked OSU to win Bedlam. Will his opinion change by the end of the podcast? Is this the biggest Bedlam game ever (3:00)? We go over what impresses us the most about OSU's offense (17:15). Where does OU's defense have an advantage in this one? Grant thinks the Sooners will be able to slow down OSU's run game (23:00). Lee provides his thoughts on OSU's skill position players (27:15). OSU's offense wasn't very good a year ago against OU's defense. Which Spencer Sanders will we see Saturday night (29:50)? OU could struggle with OSU's play action boot game and Grant's convinced the Cowboys will do everything they can to exploit OU's weaknesses on tape (34:05). Over to OSU's defense. It's time for us to say a bunch of nice things about this group and watching the Cowboys' defense has made Lee angry (35:20). Does OU's offense matchup well anywhere against OSU's defense? Find out why both of us thought of Eric Gray while watching film of OSU's defense (40:20). Is OU running the ball effectively the key to winning the game? But... what happens if OU can't run the ball? Can Caleb Williams win this game with his arm (48:00)? Lee wants to talk about OSU safety Jason Taylor's pick-6 against Texas and why it reminded him of a recent play that OU's defense *did not make*. All Lee wants to know is... why does OSU make plays like this, but OU's veteran players seemingly can't (52:15)? Grant gives his final thoughts about the game. He was pretty confident early in the week, but since then Grant's confidence in an OU win has decreased (1:00:25). Lee tells you what he likes about the way this game is setting up, which includes a weird soundbite from a very confident Spencer Sanders (1:04:10). Then Lee talks about what he doesn't like about this game coming in, gives you the keys to the game, and then gives his final pick for Bedlam (1:11:40). Over to Playoff Rankings talk. We try to figure out a healthy amount of scenarios that would include OU or OSU in the field. Is Cincinnati in if the Bearcats win out? It would be horrible for college football if both Georgia and Alabama make the Playoff. Also not great if both Cincinnati and Notre Dame get in as well (1:20:30). Grant addresses his recent comments that CJ Stroud is Ohio State's version of Landry Jones (1:29:00). Over to the Big 12 slate. Why is Texas favored over K-State? Iowa State's primed for a blowout win. Grant points out all the reasons why Texas Tech could beat Baylor. Would you dare bet Kansas over West Virginia (1:30:30)? We go to our weekly picks. Grant is 36-18-1 this season. When will his hot streak end? We pick Ole Miss-Miss. State/Iowa-Nebraska/Ohio State-Michigan/Alabama-Auburn/Penn State-Michigan State. And we finish up with some final Bedlam thoughts (1:37:45). | Like the show on Facebook: @westofeverest | Follow Grant on Twitter: @GrantBenson25 | Follow Lee on Twitter: @LeeBensonNews9