Coach’s ‘Yesterday Is Dead’ Tees Fuel Sooner Resurgence
Facing down No. 2 Georgia Tech, the Oklahoma baseball team donned skull-and-bats “Yesterday Is Dead” shirts to signal a break from past disappointments. Under Skip Johnson’s watch, the Sooners channeled the swagger of their 2022 CWS run, rallying behind Dayton Tockey’s long bomb and Jaxon Willits’s clutch RBI to advance to the Super Regional. Johnson drew parallels between this squad’s energy and that of 2022, celebrating the camaraderie of players like Willits, Deiten LaChance and Tockey. Yet, even as they reminisce, Johnson insists the focus remains firmly on the next pitch and the next game.
Listen up, Sooners Nation: nothing says “we’ve moved on” like wearing gothic merch to practice and invoking the spirits of ’22 with skeletal bat logos. Apparently, Skip Johnson’s secret to sports psychology is a mash-up of pirate aesthetics and Edgar Allan Poe—just what a college ballpark needs between innings. Jaxon Willits, channeling his inner rock star, steps up to the plate as the unsung hero in this undead revival tour. Meanwhile, Dayton Tockey’s bat has been surgically attached to the hot corner of destiny. Next up: a halftime séance to summon blessings from CWS ghosts. Skulls, bats and clutch swings—who needs strategy when you’ve got merch?
Venables’ Iron Curtain: Rating Oklahoma’s Defensive Dream Team
In 2025, Brent Venables transformed Oklahoma’s defense from afterthought to nightmare, assembling a star-studded staff of assistants drawn from Clemson and beyond. Interior line guru Todd Bates earned an A+ for recruiting and molding talents like David Stone and Gracen Halton. Miguel Chavis (A) proved his rookie status a myth, developing NFL-caliber ends. Inside linebackers coach Nate Dreiling (A) is already turning recruits like Cooper Witten into tackling machines. Outside linebackers wunderkind Wes Goodwin (B+) unlocked Kendall Daniels’s speed demon, while safeties coach Brandon Hall (B+) solidified the back end with ball hawks Billy Bowman Jr. and Peyton Bowen. First-year cornerbacks mentor LaMar Morgan looks poised to continue Oklahoma’s defensive dominance in 2026.
Move over Avengers, OU’s defense has its own league of extraordinary gentlemen, each armed with recruiting spreadsheets and clipboards sharper than Wolverine’s claws. Todd Bates, aka “The Bulldozer,” drills linemen into submission while humming Clemson fight songs in his sleep. Miguel Chavis somehow survived Venables’ ego and came out swinging, forging pass rushers from raw silicon. Nate Dreiling is recruiting Wittens like they’re artisanal coffee beans—brewed to perfection. Goodwin patrols the cheetah spot with more intensity than a wildlife documentary. Brandon Hall’s safeties now play Sherlock Holmes, sniffing out mental lapses with microscopic precision. And LaMar Morgan? The cornerback whisperer already whispers sweet nothings to top recruits. Defensive coordinators, eat your heart out.
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