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    • Secondary Cautious Against Oklahoma’s ‘Slope Hitter’ Luther Load
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    Secondary Cautious Against Oklahoma’s ‘Slope Hitter’ Luther Load

    Harry Posted on

    NORMAN — Oklahoma’s defense is immediately thrown into the fire after a low-key game against Maine.

    This weekend’s trip against No. 24 Missouri (6-2, 2-2 SEC) will pit OU’s secondary against one of the nation’s leading receivers. Luther Burden.

    The one-time Sooner commit was one of the breakout stars of 2023. He caught 86 passes for 1,212 yards and nine scores, sparking the Tigers’ offense.

    Burden has had some injuries this year. This is paired with the Missouri quarterback Brady Cook His own injury struggles have led to Burden entering the week with 40 catches for 450 yards and four touchdowns, but the Tigers are still trying to use him in any way possible to positively impact the game.

    “They find a lot of different creative ways to get the ball to him in space, a touch play, and then he can really challenge you vertically,” the OU coach said. Brent Venables he said on tuesday. “He’s a hitter who can score. He’s the ultimate competitor.”

    The load will be a big test for the young players of Oklahoma’s secondary.

    vs. Maine, true freshman Eli Bowen Started outside with second grader Jacobe Johnson. This was Bowen’s fourth start of the year, as he was quickly welcomed into life in the Southeastern Conference.

    While Burden, at 5-foot-11 and 205 pounds, doesn’t have an insurmountable size advantage over Bowen, the talented pass-catcher will still challenge OU (5-4, 1-4) in the secondary.

    “After we catch him, we have to defend his yard,” Bowen said. “It can easily cause people to miss. He’s good at changing direction, he’s good at making people miss, and he’s good at being deceptive. We need to beat him in open field matches.”

    Burden’s ability to make players miss when he had the ball in his hands was always evident.

    This is what was drawn Lincoln Riley He wanted to follow him after high school, and that was always on the linebacker’s mind.

    Oklahoma linebacker Dasan McCullough He didn’t play Burden during his college career, but he remembers working out against the Missouri wide receiver in his high school All-American game before coming to Indiana as a freshman.

    “He’s quick, he’s quick, he’s instinctive,” McCullough said. “When he catches the ball, it’s like he’s running backwards.”

    Determining where Burden will line up will be a priority for the Sooners, regardless of whether Cook plays or whether Missouri has to play with a backup quarterback. Drew Pynebut the defense can’t lose sight of its responsibilities on every play, or the Tigers will find other ways to hurt Oklahoma.

    Former OU wide receiver Theo Wease He has 482 yards and a score on 37 catches, and the Tigers use multiple tight ends and running backs on the passing game as holes open up on defense in the middle of the field.

    “I think it’s important for men to do their job,” Venables said. “You have to be aware of where he is. He has the most touches on the team when it comes to the receiving room. But they also got Theo Wease. They have really good tight ends and really good running backs.

    “(Burden) is one of the best players in college football.”

    Harry
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