The Hurry-Up: Volume 3

NORMAN – The Sooners are in their second week of preseason camp with the Sept. 3 opener quickly approaching. The third edition of The Hurry-Up for the new year features redshirt senior receiver Drake Stoops, senior linebacker David Ugwoegbu, sophomore defensive back Billy Bowman and redshirt junior quarterback Dillon Gabriel.

Redshirt Senior WR Drake Stoops
What are your impressions of the team into the second week of camp?
"It's good to be back. The season is close. Camp is a grind, but we've been working hard, the receivers especially. Coach (L'Damian) Washington stepped up and he's been doing a great job. We're lucky to have him. The receivers are working day by day, trying to improve on things that we need to fix."

How have you embraced your role as a leader among the receivers?
"Realizing that now that I'm older, it's about taking responsibility for some of the things going on in the room, and that if I don't step up, who's going to. For me and some of the older guys like Theo (Wease) and Marvin (Mims), it's our responsibility to step up and start leading the younger guys, show them the standard – this is how we work, this is how we do things."

Can you feel the energy and excitement for the start of the season?
"The energy is tremendous, among the fans and among us. All of us have bought in to what Coach (Venables) has brought. His energy is contagious and that spreads to us. We're all just really excited and we're working day by to day to get ready for the opener."

Going back to the last game you played, how cool was it to catch a touchdown in the Alamo Bowl with your dad on the sideline?"
"That was definitely a surreal moment. It was fun getting to play one game with my dad. I don't think I'd want to play all of them, but getting to play one game, especially a bowl game, that was a lot of fun. Getting to score a touchdown and celebrate with him on the sideline and getting to contribute to the team's success, that was a great moment and one I'll remember forever."

Senior LB David Ugwoegbu
What part of your game have you worked to improve in the offseason?
"I had to lose a lot of weight to get my speed up, and that's exactly what I did. I think I see it in my transitional movements as I get in and out of my breaks in coverage."

What is your impression of the linebacker corps?
"One-hundred percent dog. Everybody in there has that dog mentality, that attack mentality. There's a bunch of competition everywhere, and not just between the ones and twos, but between the threes and fours as well. We're really deep and we have a lot of numbers in there."

How have you embraced a leadership role as one of the older linebackers in the room?
"I'm just now starting to embrace it a lot more. I felt like I was just a freshmen yesterday, so coming out here and looking up and seeing that I'm one of the older guys, and the younger guys are looking at me to set the tone, it's a really big deal for me. It means a lot to me to be the guy that everybody is looking to."

How would you describe the energy around the program right now?
"The energy around this team is amazing, because you can feel that there's something different. This is my fourth year and I've never experienced anything like this, as far as the chemistry, the bond all the guys share. It's not so much offense vs. defense, it's a whole brotherhood and we feel something special building up."

Sophomore DB Billy Bowman
How do you see fall camp progressing so far?
"I feel like we had a great first week and in the second week now, we need to continue to improve and build off where we were at last week. We have less than three weeks from game one, so we have to start to bring things together now and really get ready."

What are your impressions of the DB group?
"We bring a certain mindset to the team, the DB room. Every one of us in that room loves to compete so we continue to push each other to our maximum capabilities everyday."

How would you describe the culture around the program right now?
"As everyone can tell, something different is in the air this year and I feel like the fun has been brought back into the game. When you bring the fun back, everything else starts to click."

Are you excited to get the season underway soon?
"I'm very excited. It's going to be a sold out, packed, full house and I'm ready to get back in front of Sooner Nation and go to work. It's going to be a fun season."

Redshirt Junior QB Dillon Gabriel
Second week of camp now, how would evaluate the preseason so far?
"It's been good, it's been a grind. The guys were really confident going into camp and now we're reaping the benefits of that togetherness. We can't get complacent now, have to keep getting better every day. The hard work is needed. It's made us strain and push ourselves to new levels. But camp has been great, the players, the coaches, everyone is super positive right now."

What has been your focus during the preseason?
"I got a bunch of mental reps in this summer so when I came into camp I just wanted to put those into work and during fall camp I feel like I've continued to do that — put my eyes in the right spots, stay dialed in with my progressions and getting my feet right.

How would you describe the team's mindset right now?
"The squad's been good. Everyone's been attacking practices with the right mindset. Of course, we're pushing and grinding, especially on these long days of fall camp."

How much are you looking forward to game one?
"First game's going to be exciting. We've been waiting for this, we've been grinding. It's going be fun. Sept. 3 is on our mind, but we have to take care of what we need to take care of at the moment and that's getting better day by day."