Former Sooners great Gabe Ikard previews the upcoming season

Oklahoma and Temple are prepared to commence their 2024 college football seasons Friday night in Norman!

Gabe Ikard was a three time All-Big 12 center for Oklahoma. He also won the prestigious Wuerffel Trophy for his excellence in the classroom and leadership efforts with the Haiti Earthquake Relief mission and Oklahoma City tornado cleanup and recovery.

Gabe co-hosts an excellent show with former Sooners linebacker, Teddy Lehman. Check it out by going to @OK_Breakdown on youtube and the X app.

I had a chance to catch up with Gabe ahead of the Sooners home opener.

Craig: What's your overall level of excitement with the regular season rapidly approaching?

Gabe: There’s no doubt OU’s 2024 schedule is the most challenging schedule in 20+ years. However, I believe OU has the most talented team they’ve had in several years. From a size and length perspective, this is the best OU has looked in a while, especially on defense. There’s some uncertainty on offense with an inexperienced QB and new offensive line, but I expect the defense to be the best defense OU has had in over a decade. If the defense can reach its full potential, then OU should have a chance to win every game it plays.

Craig: I was speaking to Tony Casillas a few weeks ago, and he basically said that OU takes a backseat to no one. Do you think the Sooners might be overlooked in their first season in the SEC?

Gabe: I think winning the SEC title could be more challenging than winning a national title. There’s just no debating that the best collection of talent in college football is in the SEC. The NFL Draft numbers make that clear. I suppose you could get lucky with your schedule draw like Missouri did this season, but you are going to have to beat a couple of incredibly talented teams in the regular season and then go through Georgia, Alabama etc. in a title game. That’s tough. In the CFP, you can get a little bracket luck. I could easily see an SEC team being the 5 seed, destroying the G5 champ in the 5/12 game and then playing a Big 12 champ in the 4/5 game that has a much less talented roster. You just never know how the bracket could break with a crazy upset or some injuries. You take all of that stuff into consideration and yes…I do think there’s an argument to be made that OU could win a national title before they win an SEC title.

Craig: What does it say that OU's coaching staff didn't even really blink when Dillon Gabriel departed for Oregon? Confidence must be off the charts in the belief around Jackson Arnold.

Gabe: I think it’s important to point out that Dillon Gabriel and the coaches didn’t expect him to play another year of college football. The quarterback position is unique. You have to make tough decisions because young, talented guys will only stick around for so long. OU’s staff chose to go with the guy with a higher ceiling. Jackson Arnold has all the physical talent in the world. The question is whether or not he’s improved his processing and decision making. That’s something DG was very good at. It is pretty wild that the preseason betting favorite to win the Heisman Trophy basically had to move on because they were going with a more talented, but unproven, guy. I do think it puts more pressure on Jackson Arnold because, whether it’s fair or not, he will be compared to what Dillon Gabriel is doing at Oregon all season long.

Craig: I've been pushing Danny Stutsman all summer for the Butkus Award. Am I crazy or spot on?

Gabe: Danny Stutsman has gotten better every year. He’s a prototypical modern inside linebacker. Tall, long, can run and has the proper amount of of crazy. If OU plays well defensively, then he will be a Butkus finalist because he is going to be very productive. He’s also got an electric personality and does a lot of media stuff. That matters as well. That stuff helps. But the key to Danny being a Butkus finalist is OU playing good team defense and winning a lot of games.

Craig: Final question. You have to feel good about seeing Creed land that mega $72 million-dollar deal with the Chiefs.

Gabe: I told everyone that would listen to me that Creed Humphrey was going to be a better pro than college player…and he was a damn good player in college. Kansas City was the perfect spot for him and he has absolutely thrived there. His new contract is well deserved because he’s the best center in all of football. He’s the best center to ever play at OU. This won’t be the last massive contact he signs either. With how his career has started, I think he’s on his way to the NFL Hall of Fame. I just hope he invites me to the induction ceremony.