Jenni Carlson: OU has the talent but lacks depth

The Oklahoman's Jenni Carlson took questions from readers in today's Power Lunch Chat. Participate in our Power Lunch Chats Monday-Friday at 11 a.m. on NewsOK.com/Sports. Read the entire chat recap here.

Is the talent level down at OU? Do you think that the rise of OSU football has hurt the recruiting at OU?

I'm not sure the talent level is down, but the depth clearly isn't as good as it has been. You see it at several different positions. Offensive line. Safety. The deeper you go on the roster, there seems to be a bigger talent drop off than there used to do. So, I'm not sure the starters now are any less talented than teams of the past, but the depth sure doesn't seem to be there.

I'm not sure OSU has hurt them with recruiting because there aren't a ton of stories about guys picking OSU over OU.

I think what has hurt the Sooners is the evaluation of some players. They've had some guys who haven't come close to being as good of players as they were projected. They've had some guys who left the program or quit football all together. They've had other guys get suspended or booted.

To me, that's a reflection on recruiting. The coaches have to dig deep into a recruit's personality. Obviously, you can't know everything a guy's going to do once he gets on campus, but if you have a bunch of guys who are quitting or faltering, then that is a problem.

Can Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook restructure their contracts to provide some relief and help with signing James Harden?

I suppose it's possible that KD and Russ could restructure their contracts, but I doubt that would happen.

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