She Said, He Said: Lincoln Riley keeps talking, but is it worth listening to anything the former OU football coach says?

Lincoln Riley might be out of sight, but he's not out of mind for Sooner fans. The former OU football coach keeps saying things that make him hard to ignore, even if he's roughly 1,400 miles away from Norman in Los Angeles.

Still, does any of Riley has said ring true?

Jenni: His most recent comments were a bunch of mumbo jumbo. On The Herd earlier this week, he said, "We didn't take players from Oklahoma. We took players from the transfer portal." Oh, brother. Coaches get hired away from programs all the time to be head coaches, and a vast majority don't take many, if any, players from their previous school. It's just been an unwritten code of conduct. A bit of ethics, if you will, in a profession that often lacks them. Riley doesn't have to have them, but he should quit trying to talk like he does.

Berry: Everything Riley said was technically true. Just like that night in Stillwater when he said, "I will not be the next coach at LSU." He should put that on his headstone. Actually, since the odds say I'll go first, I should put it on mine. So Riley isn't lying. At least not on the transfer stuff. But you're right. There's a difference between facts and truth. Truth is a deeper concept. Riley did not break any rules in getting Sooner players to come West. But he did break a covenant. He talked of loyalty to OU — deep-rooted loyalty, of what the university had done for him — and then showed none. Not just by leaving. You can sort of forge a case for that. But by plundering the palace jewels as he left.

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Jenni: What Riley has said and how he has acted have been entirely different, and I suspect that may enrage Sooner Nation as much as anything. Yes, they were fired up when he left, but what he has said since has only added to the inferno. After Signing Day, he told ESPN that regarding the transfer portal, "I think at some point we'll have to put in some guardrails." To which Sooners everywhere guffawed and said, "But not until you get done rebuilding USC with transfers, right?" Frankly, this is all starting to feel like KD post-Thunder.

Berry: The Durant/Riley comparison is evergreen. And it's a great point. Riley is salting the wounds, much like Durant did. The only difference is, Riley seems to be popping the fans, while Durant popped the Thunder organization. Well, there's another difference. Riley leaves OU football in better shape than Durant left the Thunder, because Durant's value is exponentially higher than Riley's, and Riley didn't upset the balance of power in college football. Durant did.

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Jenni: The situations are different, but the more Riley talks, the more similar they seem. Anger among OU fans boils hotter now than in those days after Riley left. I didn't think that was possible. Frankly, some of it isn't Riley's doing. For example, a Sports Illustrated story referenced how USC officials desperately needed OU to lose Bedlam so they could go after Riley. That's not on Riley, but the fact he's left AND his new employer wanted OU to lose to OSU? Another brick in the Wall of Hate.

Berry: Bottom line on Riley — he's not who we thought he was. And that's our fault, more than his. Same thing I said about Durant. We're too quick with our devotions. Too quick to say some guy that we don't really know is committed to this place, when in reality he's committed to himself. And nothing wrong with that. That's our problem, not his. Sometimes, the devotion is warranted. Turns out, Bob Stoops really was an OU loyalist. Turns out, Russell Westbrook really was a Thunder loyalist. But Riley wasn't and Durant wasn't, and the truth is, there are a lot more guys like Riley and Durant than guys like Stoops and Westbrook. It's a hard lesson to learn.

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: OU football: Lincoln Riley words go against actions, anger Sooner fans