Tulsa Spring Game Recap

Watching Myles Jackson for the first time, it was evident to Tulsa fans that the guy can rush the passer.

Sometimes, all it takes is more playing time for a player's career to take off.

Jackson transferred to Tulsa from Indiana after playing in all 12 games there last season as a rotation player on defense, where he was solid.

But clearly, the 6-foot-2, 250-pound Jackson is looking for much more as an edge rusher for TU this year, in his position labeled JACK, which is part defensive end, part linebacker.

"Indiana wanted him to stay. He's always been a role player. He wanted to be a feature player," said second-year Tulsa coach Kevin Wilson. "He thought if he came here, he could have an impact, like (Ben) Kopenski had last year. And he's got a chance. He's a different player from Ben.

"He's strong. He's a great kid. As a late add, he's one of our better leaders, he's one of our better players. I think he's got a chance to be a very positive and strong influence on our team."

Jackson led a strong pass rush where the defense was slightly ahead of the offense Saturday afternoon in a fun scrimmage in Tulsa's Spring game before nearly 1,000 fans at H.A. Chapman Stadium.

Along with Jackson, returning defensive end Vontroy Malone, and newcomers Will Upshaw (6-3, 240, Fr., Flower Mound [TX] Marcus) and Amieh Williams (6-2, 270, Gr-TR, Angelo State) were able to shine in pressuring Tulsa's quarterbacks.

For Jackson, who spent his first two years at UCLA (knee injury in his first college game - sat out rest of season) out of Atlanta, followed by two years at Indiana, getting a chance to play in spring ball after playing at Indiana last fall was very important.

"It was good for me being able to come in early and being able to jell with the guys and build relationships and everything,” said Jackson who was ninth for the Hoosiers last season in tackles, which included two tackles for loss and quarterback sack.

"I feel like the effort was there. One thing that coach (Wilson) preaches on is effort is non-negotiable, so that's one of the pillars of our defense. If you don't got effort, you're not going to play, that's just how it is. We put that on full display today, running to the ball. Even if you make a mistake, make it at 100 miles per hour."

The unique aspect of Tulsa's spring game was that the offense didn't necessarily continue a drive after a first down in scoring territory. It was situational, starting drives from different yard lines.

For example, when Bill Jackson broke off a 46-yard run where he was tackled at the 10-yard-line, that series was immediately ended. Sometimes a tackle ended a play, and sometimes the plays were blown dead before a tackle was made. Obviously, quarterbacks were not allowed to be hit.

Redshirt freshman Kirk Francis has been getting first team reps after a terrific ending to his season in the last few games in 2023, including a win in his last game at East Carolina. The former walk-on from Metro Christian in Tulsa has been playing well in the spring, and showed some good things on a blustery day where winds were over 20 mph.

Francis was leading mostly first-teamers against first-teamers, and walk-on Jenks alum Stephen Kittleman (5-10, 200, Jr.) got almost all of the second-team reps against the mostly second-team defense.

Part-time starter Cardell Williams (6-2, 191, Soph.) was throwing some in practice Saturday before the scrimmage, but has been held out of live practice due to recovering from injury that ended his season early in 2023.

Although no official stats were kept, the best estimates were that Francis completed 10 of 22 passes for 106 yards and no interceptions. Kittleman was 18 of 25 for 215 yards with a TD pass and an interception, and had a 32-yard-run that could have been longer if not blown dead before a cautionary whistle.

"He does well. He's a little limited sometimes, maybe with some throwing aspects, but he's a competitor, he's a winner," Wilson said of Kittleman, who is also the holder on place kicks. "He won one of the one-on-one competitions earlier against a DB in a tug-of-war situation."

Wilson was talking about some players doing tug-of-war against another player in front of a cheering squad in practice before the game Saturday.

"He's a fighter. He can run. He's mobile," Wilson said of Kittleman. “As a quarterback, he's got skills, and he's had a really good spring. With Cardell being limited, he's got the bulk of the two reps. Stephen's had a very good spring. I'm proud of him."

As for Francis, he seems entrenched already as Tulsa's quarterback. He completed a deep throw for a 31-yarder early in the scrimmage to a well-guarded Kamdyn Benjamin. He made strong throws, but was pressured a lot.

"He's taken tremendous steps," said Braylin Presley of Francis. "Working with him in the offseason, especially this spring, you can see the growth he's had, and the leadership. He's taking control of the offense."

The 5-6, bulked up Presley – a junior from Bixby – has been an improvement this spring after high expectations last year did not quite materialize, catching 11 passes for 122 yards.

Presley caught 4 passes for 45 yards in the scrimmage.

Amazing what seeing the ball can do for a player. The much-hyped, athletic dynamo Presley has too many drops last season.

“I did have pretty bad eyes, that I didn't realize," Presley said. "So I went to the eye doctor, and they were like, 'do you have contacts?', and I said, yeah, but I've never worn them.

"So, I put them on in the spring, and I've been catching the ball a lot better. It helped a lot more than I thought it would."

Wilson has seen improvement for Presley since the new contact lenses.

"He's gaining. He's playing with more confidence," Wilson said of Presley. "He's catching the ball much better. He should have a pretty positive role."

Tulsa's wide receivers this year feature many options. Benjamin was Tulsa's leading receiver (47-727, 6 TD's) in 2023. Marquis Shoulders and Devan Williams, both who did really well before being lost to injuries last season, were held out of the scrimmage due to recovery from their injures.

Jeremiah Ballard is a 6-3, 205-pound junior transfer from UTEP who was his team's second-leading receiver in 2023. Ballard looks like he will be a player. He caught 2 passes for 23 yards in the spring game.

Corey Smith (6-1, 175) is an early enrollee out of Brownsburg, Indiana. He was impressive in 7-on-7 drills Saturday, and looked smooth and talented.

In fact, the wide receiver room was so talented that Malachai Jones, who has 49 career catches for 630 yards, has switched to safety, at his request, because of the potential log jam at receiver. He is expected to be, at minimum, a rotational player at safety for the Golden Hurricane in his senior season.

Ethan Hall, the fiery senior tight end from Bixby, had the game's only two touchdowns -- a 36-yard catch-and-run, and an 8-yarder.

"I feel blessed to be able to run routes and not be just a run blocker and show what I can do," said Hall. "When I get some open space, it's a beautiful thing."

The starting offensive line for the first team consisted of returning starter Tai Marks at left guard, Rey Burnett at center, Walter Young Bear at right guard, Kaden Stanton (Beggs) at left tackle, and Union grad Bennett Ringleb at right tackle.

On defense, senior corner Reggie Ellis excelled, especially on the only interception of the game, where Ellis picked off Kittleman on a downfield throw where Ellis cut in front of the receiver and had a long return.

The kicking job is wide open, although Michael Slaba, who handled kickoffs last season, may be the frontrunner for the job. Slaba (5-11, 194, Soph., walk-on, Rogers, AR.) connected on the game's longest field goal, a wind-aided 51-yarder.

Other walk-on kickers who may or may not return in the fall include redshirt freshmen Nate Long and Evan Guenthner, and true freshman Troop O'Neal. Long made both of his 34-yard attempts, while Guenthner missed a 34-yarder, and O'Neal missed a 53-yarder.

With the transfer portal opening up soon, Wilson expects a few to leave, and for Tulsa to be active in replacing any players that transfer. Wilson said he is not losing sleep over the portal.

"We've got 17 signees coming in. A week from Monday, we start seeing the transfer portal," Wilson said. "If guys want to leave, they can. I'm not going to encourage them to leave, but they have the right to. And we have the right to bring in other guys.

"I don't think the team is really a team until the end of May or the first of June. Right now, it's all about individual development, getting guys stronger."

In Wilson's second year, the players can see a definite improvement from last year.

"The camaraderie is a lot better than it was last year," Presley said.