Coming out of spring ball, the vibes are all positive for the Oklahoma Sooners. A tremendous crowd at the spring game, followed by several solid recruiting weekends has the Sooners heading into the summer with quite a bit of momentum. Still months away from the start of the 2022 season, Oklahoma’s positioned once again to contend for the Big 12 title.

The Sooners’ spring left a strong impression on local and national media alike and in ESPN’s latest power rankings, the Sooners saw a three-spot bump to No. 14. Here’s what ESPN’s Mark Schlabach had to say.

The Sooners’ roster was decimated by players leaving for the NFL draft and transferring after (Lincoln) Riley left for USC. But first-time head coach Brent Venables has done a nice job of reloading through the transfer portal. (Dillon) Gabriel threw for more than 8,000 yards with 70 touchdowns in three seasons at UCF. (C.J.) Coldon, a transfer from Wyoming, and (Trey) Morrison, from North Carolina, were nice additions to the secondary. (Jonah) Laulu had eight tackles for loss and four sacks at Hawai’i last season. Venables will get things fixed on defense, and the offense will be good enough to outscore most teams in the Big 12. The Sooners will play Kansas State, Baylor and Oklahoma State at home. – Schlabach, ESPN