Greg McElroy Details How Oklahoma Can Succeed In The SEC

The Oklahoma Sooners and the Texas Longhorns are now officially members of the SEC. The Sooners ended last season with a loss to the Arizona Wildcats in the Alamo Bowl.

Greg McElroy broke down how the Sooners can have a top-three finish in the SEC this season on a recent edition of " Always College Football ."

Oklahoma lost starting quarterback Dillon Gabriel, who transferred to the Oregon Ducks this offseason. Jackson Arnold is the expected QB starter this season in Norman. Arnold saw limited playing time until the Alamo Bowl against Arizona.

McElroy believes that Arnold needs to play at an All-American level for Oklahoma to finish in the top three. According to the On3 Industry Rankings , Arnold was a former five-star quarterback in the 2023 class.

"...If Oklahoma finishes in the top three, Jackson Arnold probably played at an All-American level," McElroy said. "He was the number one rated quarterback in the 2023 signing class. Got some live game experience last year. Played a little in the regular season but got a lot of time there in the bowl. Had some really high highs and some low lows."

Oklahoma lost a lot of talent on the offensive line. Cayden Green transferred to the Missouri Tigers, Savion Byrd and Nate Anderson went to the SMU Mustangs, Aaryn Parks went to the South Carolina Gamecocks, and Marcus Hicks went to the South Carolina Gamecocks.

Former four-star offensive linemen Eugene Brooks and Eddy Pierre-Louis , former three-star offensive linemen Isaiah Autry-Dent , Daniel Akinkunmi , and Josh Aisosa joined the program from the 2024 class.

McElroy stated that Bill Bedenbaugh should earn a raise if the Oklahoma offensive line coach succeeds with the position group this season.

"...The big question is along both lines of scrimmage," McElroy said. "If they're in the top three, that means Bill Bedenbaugh, their offensive line coach, should get a gigantic raise. Imagine stepping into a scenario where you're going into the SEC and don't have anybody back along the offensive line. But hey, if they're in the top three, they were obviously pretty dang good there."

McElroy believed that linebacker Danny Stutsman and defensive back Billy Bowman Jr. needed to have solid seasons. Stutsman led Oklahoma in total tackles (104), and Bowman led the team with six interceptions last season.

"...Probably means that Danny Stutsman had 120 tackles, probably bringing home all of those postseason awards," McElroy said. "Probably means that Billy Bowman in the secondary, which returns entirely intact, were able to lock down some of the receiver cores they saw."

Oklahoma opens the year against the Temple Owls on Aug. 30.

Related: Jackson Arnold Reveals What Makes Oklahoma Ready For The SEC