Darkhorses to watch…
Spring standouts who could make a surprise impact this season:
Linebackers Jaydan Bird, Ronnell Lewis, Tom Wort
If they don’t redshirt, their play will be limited on defense. But all three freshmen could make huge impacts on special teams, where the Sooners were weak last season.
Linebacker J.R. Bryant
After notching a game-high six tackles and returning a fumble for a score in the Red-White game, Bryant proved he’s become a viable backup for Clayton on the strong side.
Safety Emmanuel Jones
Tulsa native who walked on from Northeastern Oklahoma A&M started Saturday in place of injured free safety Quinton Carter. Jones has a chance to be OU’s third safety behind Carter and Sam Proctor.
Center Brian Lepak
Walk-on transfer from Colorado State has been a pleasant surprise and should be part of the regular offensive line rotation, especially now that Jason Hannan decided to transfer.
By Jake Trotter
Everything you need to know about the Red-White Spring Game
Oklahoma’s annual Red/White football game kicks off at 1:15 p.m., Saturday at Gaylord Family – Oklahoma Memorial Stadium. At 12:15 p.pm., former Sooners will be back on Owen Field as part of the Varity O Legends Flag Football Game.
Tickets are $10. OU students with a valid OU ID and children age 5 and under will be admitted free of charge. The ticket office will open Saturday at 10 a.m., at gates 5 and 7. Most of those windows will be cash-only to expedite the process. Will Call tickets will be available for pick-up beginning at 10 a.m., at the Athletics Ticket Office in the Asp Avenue Parking Facility.
Gates will open at 11:45 p.m. Entrance to the stadium will be available through gates 5, 7 and 12.
Open seating will be available throughout the lower bowl with full service concessions available on the east and west sides. Restrooms will be available throughout the stadium concourse.
Prior to the game, fans are encouraged to attend the Mini Fan Fest in Heisman Park, located just east of the stadium. A photo booth will be available there featuring the actual Heisman Trophy won by Sam Bradford and fans may have their picture taken with the award. Jenkins Avenue, which run north and south along the east side of the stadium will close three hours before the game begins.
Here is some other information pertaining to the game …
Animals – No pets or animals of any kind are allowed in the facilities with the exception of service animals used by disabled guests.
ATM Machine – There is a machine located on the east side between gates 9 and 10 and on the west side near Gate 2.
Cameras – Only point and click cameras are permitted in the stadium. Professional detachable long lens cameras and video cameras are prohibited.
Chair Back Rental – Sooner seat backs are available for $5 each.
Concessions – Stands will be open on the east and west side. No food or drink is allowed through the gates. Empty, personal size water bottles are permitted.
Disability Seating – For information on disability seating contact the ticket office at 800-456-4668 or visit the office located on the plaza level of the Asp Avenue Parking Facility.
Post-Game – Fans are not permitted on the field and should exit through the main gates.
First Aid – The Gomer Jones Medical Facility is located at the North end of the stadium near section 19.
Giveaways – A limited number of schedule posters and magnets will be available upon stadium entry for game patrons at gates 5, 7 and 12.
Inclement Weather – In the event of inclement weather all guests will be advised to seek shelter. Emergency instructions will be delivered via public address and on message boards when possible.
Lost Children – Parents/guardians with a lost child should contact the nearest police officer or event staff member. If a child is separated from his/her party, they should notify the nearest police officer or staff member. If the child is aware of their seat location, attempts will be made to return them to that location.
Lost and Found – During the game, fans may check at the Gomer Jones Medical Facility near gate 19. After the game, all unclaimed items are turned over to the OU Physical Plans, which can be reached at 405/325-6953.
Merchandise and Game Programs – The University Bookstore located on the ground floor of the Asp Avenue Parking Facility will be open from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Additionally, merchandise stands will be located inside the stadium on the east and west concourses. Official game programs are on sale outside the stadium and at select locations inside the stadium.
Parking – Most lots surrounding the stadium will be open and free of charge. For more information about disability parking services, please call the Parking and transportation Office at 405/325-3311.
Prohibited Items – This policy is not altered from the regular season. Except for items pertaining to medical conditions or child care, all backpacks, all professional detachable long lens cameras and video cameras, large cases for binoculars or other items, fanny packs and large purses (larger than 10 x 10) are prohibited. Only those items required for medical or family needs will be permitted. All carried items and entrants are subject to search. Other prohibited items include coolers, ice chests, cans, bottles, banners, umbrellas, stadium seats with arm rests and/or those seats that are more than 16 inches wide, baby seats/strollers and noisemakers. Prohibited items that are banned at the gate must be returns to the owner’s vehicle or discarded.
Re-entry policy – Fans will not be permitted to exit the stadium and re-enter except for medical or other emergency situations. Extraordinary circumstances may permit emergency exit at any gate opened for public entry. Fans departing for media/emergency situations will be allowed to exit and re-enter throughout the game with pass out check and ticket stub.
Restrooms – Restrooms are open throughout the stadium concourse.
Seating – Seating is general admission and limited to the lower bowl of the stadium. Disability seating will be available in the south end zone.
Sooner Club Cookout – All Sooner Club members are invited to participate in the pre-game cookout in the Howard McCasland Field House. The cookout begins at 11 a.m. Hot dogs, chips and a drink will be served while supplies last. For more information, contact the Sooner Club at 405/325-8000.
Stadium Access – The stadium will open at 11:45 a.m. Gates 5, 7 and 12 will be available for entrance.
The Switzer Center – Due to construction, the Switzer Center is closed through August.
Traffic Flow – Approximately three hours prior to kickoff Jenkins Ave., will be closed from Brooks to Lindsey. The street will remain closed until approximately one hour after the game.
By Jake Trotter
Catching up with K Jimmy Stevens
Place-kicker Jimmy Stevens is trying to hold off Tress Way to keep his starting job. Later, he’ll also have to hold off walk-on Bryce Easley.
But Stevens said he’s more confident this year and looking forward to showing everyone that he’s a better kicker.
Stevens spoke with me after Monday’s practice:
On the competition
The competition’s going real good. Tress and I are both kicking the ball real good right now and we’re just getting things fine-tuned.
On the rotation
Easley’s not here yet. We’re all just competing. I don’t really know the specifics of the positions yet but we’re all competing against each other.
On this spring
This year I actually am competing for a job and last year I felt like I had the spot. This year I’m having to work harder for the position
On gaining confidence with experience
Yeah, definitely. Getting the whole year under my belt makes you feel a whole lot better. I have more experience and experience helps.
On getting better late last year
Yeah, I would say that. The end of the season and how I did helps a lot. My confidence is way up and that helps a lot.
On Tress as a punter
He’s hitting the ball real hard. He’s got a big ole’ leg on it.
On coaches’ confidence in him by giving him a shot at a 49-yarder against Florida
They have a lot of confidence in me, which is nice. Florida had some 6-8 guys up in the middle who blocked it, but other than that I’m glad they had confidence in me.
On summer work
This summer I’ll definitely be working on leg strength. I’ll do a lot of stretching and hip-flexor exercises and really just getting stronger and more accurate is going to be my goal for the summer.
On Easley
Tress has been pushing me every day in practice, so Easley will push me even more. But Tress has been pushing me ever since I’ve been here.
By Jake Trotter
Keith “Tiny” Gallon with the assist
I don’t think Jeff Capel will want his prized recruit trying this pass in Norman next season. Anyway, it worked here for the incoming Sooner center. Well, it would’ve worked if the guy on the other end of the pass could finish a dunk.
By Jake Trotter
Austin American-Statesman beat writer Suzanne Halliburton snapped a picture of the wall with her cell phone that shows the Texas Longhorns claiming 2008 (with an asterisk) among their Big 12 championships.
Last season, OU edged out Texas and Texas Tech for the South title in a three-way tie determined by the BCS Standings, despite a fervent protest from Texas coach Mack Brown and Longhorn fans.
The Sooners went on to beat Missouri to win their third-consecutive Big 12 championship.
Apparently, that victory is still not being acknowledged in Austin.
By Jake Trotter
Carter hit No. 2
Here is Quinton Carter’s bone-rattling hit on Missouri quarterback Chase Daniel during last season’s Big 12 Championship:
By Jake Trotter
Carter hit No. 1
Here is Quinton Carter’s huge hit on Missouri wide receiver Jeremy Maclin during last season’s Big 12 Championship:
By Jake Trotter
DeMarco Murray steps up in the weight room
A few tidbits from OU spring practice:
*DeMarco Murray’s rehab is going very well, and he’s stepped it up in the weight room despite not playing this spring. Coach Josh Heupel apparently didn’t even recognize him while walking behind the other day.
* Ryan Broyles is playing both in the slot and at wide receiver. When OU is in power formations, count on Broyles being on the field, even though his natural position in the slot. That means he will get a lot of looks downfield next season.
* Broyles said that QB Sam Bradford is not getting the same pass protection from a young offensive line that he did last year. Obviously, Sam is not getting hit in practice, but OU’s defensive line is getting through a lot more often than last year. Cause for concern?
* Guard Brian Simmons said he’s never, in his life, seen someone in person so physically impressive as fellow guard Stephen Good. Good, a powerlifting champion in high school, is the strongest player on the team right now. And he’s just a rising sophomore.
* Quinton Carter is starting at free safety, while Sam Proctor is working in at strong with the first team. Freshman Javon Harris and Joseph Ibiloye are backing them up, along with walk-on Emmanuel Jones, who is having a nice spring.
* Walk-on Brian Lepak is going to play a lot next season, especially with the departure of Jason Hannan, who is expected to transfer. The Colorado State transfer, originally from Claremore, has been one of the best surprises this spring.
* Cornerback Dom Franks couldn’t stop talking about how impressive the freshman linebacking trio of Ronnell Lewis, Tom Wort and Jaydan Bird have been. “Those kids hit,” Franks said.
* Trent Williams said he’s been challenged to become a leader on the offensive line. He’s not where he wants to be in that department, but that’s something OU needs next season with so many first-year starters.
* According to WR coach Jay Norvell, Dejuan Miller and Jameel Owens have a ways to go before they play significant snaps with the first team. So far, the starting WRs are Brandon Caleb, Adron Tennell and Broyles.
* By many accounts, Landry Jones is having an outstanding spring. He looks to be the solid favorite to replace Bradford, whenever that day comes.
* Owens said fellow Muskogee native Stacy McGee is up to 275. He was about 245 as a high school senior. Still, it may be awhile before McGee is ready to join the DT rotation.
By Jake Trotter
STILL waiting for Capel’s name to clear…
By John Helsley
We went through the rumor wringer Wednesday.
A newspaper website in the Phoenix area — the East Valley Tribune’s — reported midday that Capel was the top candidate for the Arizona job and that negotiations were already underway.
By Wednesday night, it was revealed as a reach, with Capel leaving Norman for Detroit after spending all work week around the OU basketball offices; and with Tim Floyd emerging (according to an ESPN radio report) as next in line for the job.
Oh, and Gonzaga’s Mark Few, he spent several hours in the “top candidate” role Wednesday, too.
As we wrote in an early blog Wednesday, we’re waiting for Capel’s name to clear all the prominent openings to breathe easy again.
You’re waiting, Sooners fans, because you don’t want Capel going anywhere after he’s engineered a program surge in Norman.
I don’t want him going anywhere because I hate coaching searches… and the types of rumors they spur.
Already this week, Capel has been labeled the top candidate at Virginia, Georgia and Arizona. Is Memphis sure to follow? USC, too?
This is what has become of our business, where school janitors qualify as “sources” with some reporters, all in the quest to get it first, not necessarily get it right. Accountability has not just taken a backseat, it’s bouncing around in peril in the back of a flat-bed Ford.
There’s a lot of spaghetti getting tossed against walls, with hopes something sticks. The Capel-to-Arizona stuck for a few hours Wednesday, until something stickier came along.
Too many reporters are trying to connect the dots — in print or online. Jeff Capel is a hot young coach… Must be on Team A’s wish list… Must be interested, regardless of Team A’s status or flaws… (here comes the reach)… IS the top candidate.
Who says? “Sources.”
We all use them, some of us just use them judiciously, hopefully with backup.
“Sources” have been at the root of all these Capel rumors this week, most of which have turned up empty by the end of the same day they broke.
At the website of the East Valley Tribune, where Capel spun into play Wednesday, a screaming Sooners coach has been replaced with a yelling Floyd and the headline: “USC’s Tim Floyd likely to be UA’s new coach.”
Let’s hope so.
Waiting for Capel’s name to clear
By John Helsley
The coaching carousel spins on.
John Calipari to Kentucky.
Mike Anderson not to Georgia.
Jeff Capel to …
Where does the Oklahoma coach stand in relation to the carousel? On? Off? Total bystander?
Hard to tell. So far this offseason, speculation has ranged from right on to way off.
Capel was rumored to be the No. 1 choice at Virginia, which made some sense on that end considering his success at Virginia Commonwealth and his knowledge of the area. Also mentioned: Tubby Smith and Xavier’s Sean Miller.
Not at all mentioned: Washington State’s Tony Bennett, who took the job Monday.
At Georgia, where they reached negotiaton status with Mizzou’s Mike Anderson, Capel had long been rumored the frontrunner. One analyst listed Capel as the No. 1, No. 1a and No. 1b target of the Bulldogs a month ago.
Now there’s talk that he may be Plan B. Not sure how Jeff would warm to being Plan B to Anderson, but the guess is not so swell. Maybe Capel really was Plan A, but turned the Dawgs away early on, because, frankly, he’s already got a better job.
On the drive home from Memphis Monday, teammate Berry Tramel took a call from a writer at the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, who considered Capel to be Georgia’s top target. Berry didn’t have the heart to tell him that going from Norman to Athens was a step down.
Now the AJC is touting Capel as Plan B.
Wonder how many plans they have in place at Georgia? Bottom line, it’s a nice leverage job, just interesting enough for coaches to use to get better deals back home.
Anderson opted for a better deal to stay in Columbia, getting a bump to $1.5 million in a seven-year deal. Capel will be getting a bump of his own, to at least that figure.
Now there is one vacancy that bears monitoring: Arizona.
Their attention seems to focus on Gonzaga’s Mark Few. But Capel’s name is also being tossed about. Legit? Who knows?
Not long ago, and we’re talking the past calendar year, the Arizona job looked good. But that was before Lute Olson had to surrender his coaching position and recruits and players bolted.
Yes, it’s a basketball job, with football playing backup to hoops in Tucson. But it’s a basketball job that needs massive rebuilding, with many top analysts believing the Wildcats are at leat three years away from winning again.
There are also those who believe Olson spun some magic at Arizona. Local recruiting talent runs as dry as the dirt in the nearby Sonoran Desert. So the players have to come from far away. Drawing elite players to Tucson isn’t impossible, just difficult, although Olson found a way for years.
Arizona looks like a good job. But it doesn’t come without risk in a conference where UCLA is generally going to be great and Washington, USC and Arizona State are set up to be good for the long haul.
There’s also talk that money is tight in Tucson, meaning the Wildcats may not be going after their next coach with big guns.
Capel wants to succeed Coack K at Duke. And he’s on track, with some who claim knowledge of the situation saying Capel has clearly moved to the top of the list. The only thing that would change that would be a change in his winning pattern, something that isn’t likely to happen in Norman.
Capel carries the comfort of supreme working conditions in terms of relationships with athletic director Joe Castiglione and president David Boren. That counts for someting; counts for a lot. Barring somebody breaking the bank, Castiglione won’t let Capel leave over money.
Still, surprises happen.
And because Capel has done so well on so many fronts — coaching, recruiting, generating excitement — and become one of the hot young coaches, writers are going to throw his name into the hopper for just about every decent job that comes open.
It’s already happened. And it will continue until each and every job fills.
And all we can do is wait for Capel’s name to clear.
