Bobby Jack a candidate at UTSA?
After getting approval from the University of Texas board of regents last month to establish a football program, the University of Texas-San Antonio began searching for a head coach over the weekend.
Among the possible candidates mentioned by the San Antonio Express-News was Oklahoma defensive backs coach and assistant defensive coordinator Bobby Jack Wright.
When asked if he would apply, Wright told the Express-News, “Off the top of my head, I would say no.”
But Wright, 58, didn’t rule out interviewing for the position, either.
“If somebody wanted to talk to me about it, I certainly would talk to them,” Wright said. “I’ve learned that you never say never. I would never close the door to anybody.”
By Jake Trotter
7 Sooners in all-star games
Three Oklahoma seniors will participate in the East-West Shrine Game in Houston on Saturday.
Wide receiver Manny Johnson, center Jon Cooper and free safety Lendy Holmes will play for the West.
Oklahoma State punter Matt Fodge will also play for the West.
The Shrine Game will be televised at 3 p.m. on ESPN2.
OU safety Nic Harris, wide receiver Juaquin Iglesias and offensive tackle Phil Loadholt and guard Duke Robinson will be participating in the Jan. 24 Senior Bowl, played in Mobile, Ala.
Kickoff for that game is 6 p.m. and will be shown on the NFL Network.
By Jake Trotter
Bob Stoops song
Singer/songwriter Ryan Parker, who has written a ton of funny sports songs over the years (my favorite is Jay Bruce Almighty) has posted an interesting (an unflattering) song about Sooner coach Bob Stoops.
By Jake Trotter
Is Oklahoma re-recruiting Sam Bradford?
Today, Mayor Mick Cornett declared Jan. 13 “Sam Bradford Day” in Oklahoma City.
This should be called “Sam Bradford Week” because that’s all anyone is thinking about this week, including me.
Will he turn pro?
Truthfully, I can’t say.
But the buzz (and who knows if this is what’s actually happening) at last night’s basketball game was interesting.
Here’s what a few people said they thought was going on:
Bradford, who according to CBS Sports was projected out as a Top 20 pick by the NFL Draft Advisory Committee, was leaning toward going pro coming out of the weekend.
But there’s been a strong push from some of his teammates to talk him into staying. And he’s considering it, which would explain why he’s taking this long to announce his decision.
Tight end Jermaine Gresham, who many believed was a lock to go to the NFL, could be talked into saying, too, but only if Bradford stays. Not sure if the same applies to tackle Trent Williams, who is also mulling over whether to leave with his parents who live in Longview, Texas.
Bob Stoops’ comments in Nashville seem to support this tale. Stoops said he had a feeling about which way Bradford was leaning, but acted like he wasn’t sure.
On the other hand, another interesting element of this whole saga is the fact OU doesn’t seem to be recruiting any QBs at the moment.
Why is that interesting?
Because if Bradford were to leave, OU would have just two scholarship QBs — Landry Jones and incoming freshman Drew Allen — heading into the final two weeks leading up to signing day. If they thought Bradford was leaving, wouldn’t the Sooner coaches be scurrying like crazy (much like they did last year finding another LB, Mike Balogun, after it seemed there was a possibility Curtis Lofton was leaving early) to snag a third QB?
All that suggests the Sooners think Bradford is staying.
So what is he going to do?
We’ll all find out in the next 54 hours.
By Jake Trotter
Heupel staying…
It’s not definite, but it appears that OU quarterbacks coach Josh Heupel will not be leaving to be the offensive coordinator at Minnesota.
Word out of Minnesota is that Golden Gophers head coach Tim Brewster spoke with Heupel by phone over the weekend, and either offered Heupel the job and was turned down or was told by Heupel that he was not interested in the job.
For Sooner fans, this is good news as Heupel remaining as OU’s QBs coach will give sophomore QB Sam Bradford another reason to stay in college.
By Jake Trotter
BCS Championship: OU vs. Florida Live Blog
Leftover notebook items about the big game…
Some leftover notes from Miami we couldn’t fit into the paper:
Meyer Wants to Protect Tebow
Meyer wants to limit Tebow’s running. Tebow carried 27 times against Ole Miss last season. “I won’t do that again,” Meyer said, even though Tebow carried 154 times this season, almost double any other Gator.
Meyer said Tebow wouldn’t be asked to run that much in the NFL, because of the brutal nature of the pro game and shouldn’t be asked to do it at Florida, since the SEC is almost as physical..
“If you notice, the NFL is not much different from the SEC, with all due respect,” Meyer said. “If you’re a player and start in the SEC, you’re going to the NFL, that’s just the way it is.”
Great Places to Live
In 2007, a book called “Cities Ranked & Rated” named Gainesville, Fla., home of the University of Florida, the nation’s No. 1 place to live among small cities. In 2008, Money magazine ranked Norman No. 6 on the same kind of list.
“There’s a lot great about Gainesville,” Tebow said. “It’s a great university, but it’s not a big town, so there’s not overwhelming stuff to do. I guess that’s a pro or a con, depending on how you look at it.”
Option Could Cause Problems
OU’s defense has seen some option this season. Both Texas’ Colt McCoy and Oklahoma State’s Zac Robinson ran a little option. But Tebow will offer an expanded challenge.
“It’s very tough,” said OU cornerback Dominique Franks. “Most quarterbacks you play against just hand it off to the running back. But Tebow, with his size and great speed, can also keep the ball.”
The option threat demands that defensive backs in particular be disciplined.
“We just gotta play our role and play sound defense,” said free safety Lendy Holmes. “Know what your role is.
“They run the option so many different ways. Urban Meyer is a great coach. I’ve been watching him since Utah.”
By Berry Tramel and Jake Trotter
