OU football: Is it Madu’s time?
Mossis Madu has waited his turn. That doesn’t mean he will flourish in his fifth and final OU football season .
“Just because it’s your time doesn’t mean you’re going to play,” said Sooner tailback coach Cale Gundy. “You’ve got to earn your spot.”
I’m pulling for Madu. I pull for guys who stick it out. Guys who keep working and keep fighting. Guys who don’t give in to discouragement. Guys who don’t play much but find the spotlight as seniors.
Oklahoma's Mossis Madu (17) runs past Stanford's Harold Bernard (28) during the first half of the Brut Sun Bowl college football game between the University of Oklahoma Sooners (OU) and the Stanford University Cardinal on Thursday, Dec. 31, 2009, in El Paso, Tex. Photo by Chris Landsberger, The Oklahoman
Linebacker Clint Ingram was that player in 2005. Paul Thompson quarterbacked OU to the 2006 Big 12 title after making just one start previous. Flanker Quentin Chaney shined in 2008 after a nondescript career.
Maybe Madu – stuck behind Allen Patrick, DeMarco Murray and Chris Brown since hitting campus – will be that man in 2010.
Murray, if he stays healthy, will be the featured tailback. But the Sooners always use more than one runner. Jermie Calhoun, Madu and the currently-injured Jonathan Miller are the candidates to be Murray’s sidekick.
Madu and Calhoun will be on display Saturday in OU’s spring game. Madu seemed to be headed for the spotlight. He ran 40 times for 232 yards and two touchdowns as a redshirt freshman in 2007, then gained 475 yards on 115 carries with six TDs as a sophomore, including a 114-yard, three-touchdown game against Missouri in the 2008 Big 12 title game.
But last season, Madu shifted to receiver and didn’t play much. He had just five carries (gained 117 yards) and seven catches.
Now he’s trying to be the No. 2 tailback, which in recent years at OU has meant a ton of carries.
“We would like for him to be that guy,” Gundy said. “Not everybody can play football at Oklahoma. Not everybody can start for Oklahoma. Not everybody can get on the field at Oklahoma.
“You gotta find your spot. You gotta find your niche. There is a place for him. Hopefully, he’ll accept that.
He’s got a good attitude. He works at it. He’s a guy, when he’s had his opportunities, he’s done well. He’s got to continue to work.”
Madu talks like a guy who knows he won’t get playing time by seniority.
“It all depends on how I come out and practice,” Madu said. “Coach Gundy said we’ve got to earn a spot, day after day, practicing hard.”
OU's Mossis Madu tries to get away from Antwan Cobb during the Red River Rivalry college football game between the University of Oklahoma Sooners (OU) and the University of Texas Longhorns (UT) at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas, Texas, Saturday, Oct. 17, 2009. Photo by Bryan Terry, The Oklahoman
Many college athletes don’t accept such a fate. Many transfer when playing time doesn’t come early in their career.
Why didn’t Madu go elsewhere?
“I really don’t know what to tell you,” Madu said. “That’s a real good question. Sometimes, I wonder how I was so patient.”
But he says he’s glad he stayed, that “a lot of good things have happened to me. The people I’ve met here, they’re like my brothers.”
Madu is scheduled to graduate in December with a degree in human relations.
OU defensive coordinator Brent Venables admires the players who persevere.
“I really have a special place for those guys,” Venables said. “Very unselfish players. Guys that leave a special legacy.
“If you stay, buy in, you’ll contribute. Usually you get a guy you wish you had for another year. It’s about fulfilling a commitment. Keep working hard, paying a price. It pays off. You don’t see it much. Everybody gets antsy.
“Nobody has patience. Kids don’t. Parents don’t. Fans don’t.”
Said Bob Stoops, “In today’s world, everybody wants instant gratification or whatever you want to call it. Competing at this level, only 11 guys can play at once.”
Stoops recommends that any player dealing with discouragement talk to Ingram, who has spent four years with the NFL’s Jacksonville Jaguars.
“He still comes back,” Stoops said. “Loves every day he was here. It took awhile to contribute, but he loved every day he was here.”
-------------Berry Tramel can be heard Monday through Friday from 4:40-5:20 p.m. on The Sports Animal radio network, including AM-640 and FM-98.1. You can e-mail him here and follow him on Twitter @BerryTramel. Visit Berry's website here.
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