The Oklahoma Sooners announced on Tuesday that safety Bennett Okotcha has left the football team. The reason has yet to be given for his departure. Okotcha’s departure is the latest in a recent rash of transfers and suspensions right before the season is set to begin.
Okotcha came into Oklahoma as a three-star recruit in the 2011 recruiting class and had yet to see any playing time with the Sooners. He suffered a shoulder injury last season which resulted in surgery and was red-shirted. Okotcha wasn’t necessarily going to be a major impact this season for the defense, so his departure doesn’t come as a major blow.
Since Fall camp started for the Sooners, it seems that each week has brought some type of injury news or players just up and deciding that Oklahoma wasn’t for them. Center Ben Habern and RG Tyler Evans were the first in bad OL news. Then the announcement came of true freshman John Michael McGee deciding that he was homesick and wanted to be back home with his mom in Texarkana. Then on Friday, DT Stacy McGee was suspended indefinitely for breaking “university policy” and his return will be determined by athletic director, Joe Castiglione. The Sooner Nation doomsdayers have started to gather and soon will bring out the pitchforks if any more bad news breaks before the September 1st game at the University of Texas – El Paso.
In an interesting side note, the formally under-suspension WR Trey Franks is now listed as a defensive back on the Sooner roster and has been assigned a new number, 24. This roster change came the same time the announcement of the Okotcha departure. Moving Franks to DB is a surprising move, but does make sense. Franks has had some trouble staying on his feet and holding onto the ball when in the WR position, but the size and the speed are there.
With the official countdown at ten days till the Sooner season begins, let’s hope the news stays positive.
