Sooner

Lincoln Riley Quarterback Whisperer, Back-to-back Big 12 champion, Head coach of the OU Sooners Legendary University of Oklahoma head coach Bob Stoops shook the college football world in 2017 when he handpicked Lincoln Riley to be his successor at the perennial powerhouse. At age thirty-three. In his first three seasons at Oklahoma, Rileys teams dominated the Big 12 to reach the national semifinals each year, and two of his quarterbacksBaker Mayfield and Kyler Murraywon the Heisman Trophy and were No.

1 overall picks by the Cleveland Browns and Arizona Cardinals in the NFL draft. In Sooner, Brandon Sneed charts Rileys remarkable ascent from small-town star quarterback in West Texas, to walk-on turned assistant coach at Texas Tech, where he learned the revolutionary Air Raid system from Mike Leach, to offensive coordinator at East Carolina, to football titan Oklahoma. It takes more than sheer talent to go toe to toe with the brilliant strategists of the modern gamelike The University of Alabamas Nick Saban, University of Texass Tom Herman, and Ohio States Urban Meyerand Sneed shows how this wunderkinds commitment, grit, relationships, pain, brains, and passion have empowered him to compete.

And win. More important than the zealous fans, the intense rivalries, and the multimillion-dollar contracts, are the human connections that lie at the heart of Lincoln Rileys triumphs as a coach. Sooner is not only the story of a mastermind in the making, but also a reminder of the many people who make each of us who we are.

Sneed is the author of Head in the Game The Mental Engineering of the Worlds Greatest Athletes. He has written for Bleacher Report, ESPN, GQ, and Outside, among other publications. His work has been recognized multiple times in Best American Sports Writing, and he was a finalist for the Livingston Award.

He lives in Greenville, North Carolina.