Thoughts from Tulsa
Here are some quick thoughts from attending Thursday’s annual OU caravan in Tulsa, which was headlined by Bob Stoops:
* Not that it should come as a surprise, but clearly, the play of the offensive line will determine how good this team is, in Stoops’ mind. Remember, Stoops called out the line for a lack of consistent work ethic before spring ball. But he said Thursday they made good progress in the spring.
“They had a great spring, but that’s the spring. It’s another five months (after the spring) before they start the season, so we’ll see what they’re able to do until then.
“In the end, it gets back to their accountability and what kind of effort and discipline they’re going to have throughout the year and how they work and what kind of shape they come back in. There’s a lot of potential there. They could be a really good unit but it still needs to be developed and it still needs to show over and over in a more consistent way.”
* The point was brought up about Kevin Wilson’s impact on the spread offense nationally, to which Stoops said, the focus should be on Wilson’s ability to adapt to OU’s personnel in recent years. And he’s right.
The Sooners have gone to an under-center passing team with Jason White, to a power running team with Adrian Peterson, to a shotgun team with Sam Bradford that still was able to utilize the talents of Chris Brown and DeMarco Murray. All three offenses produced Big 12 titles.
* Dom Franks was the player the caravan chose to bring along. I’ve thought he was destined for stardom since the 2008 spring game when he picked off 3 passes. Look for him to have a big year, both at corner, and in the return game. A first-team All-Big 12 player this year.
* Stoops really lauded the leadership of this team. Not just the guys coming back who could’ve left for the NFL Draft, but guys specifically mentioned by Stoops like Brody Eldridge, Chris Brown, DeMarco and Matt Clapp. Stoops said widespread leadership is a unique characteristic with this squad.
* DeMarcus Granger’s ability to contribute this year coming off back surgery is a big question mark. Stoops said he still hasn’t been cleared by the medical staff, and now we’re looking at the season beginning in just over two months. Granger proved he can play through pain, but back surgery is not something you can just power through. Can he make it back and be a contributor as a backup? Yes. Is it likely to happen for the opener against BYU? We’ll see.
* OU landed a huge commitment Thur. night in Torrea Peterson, a d-tackle out of San Antonio with offers from the likes of USC, LSU and Texas. He is considered a 3-star prospect at the moment, but I see him being a Top 100 guy when updated recruiting rankings come out. Peterson is said to be a distant cousin of Adrian Peterson.
* On a football-related note, OU got a women’s hoops commitment from the daughter of former Dallas Cowboy great, Jim Jeffcoat. Jacqueline Jeffcoat is a 6-foot-2 forward. Why is this football related? Well, one of the nation’s top-5 football recruits for the class of 2010 is Jacqueline’s brother, Jackson, a 5-star defensive end out of Plano, Texas.
OU is in the running to land Jackson along with Texas and USC. Certainly, Jacqueline heading to Norman doesn’t hurt OU’s chances of landing Jackson as well. Nor does the fact that Jim now works under former Sooner assistant Kevin Sumlin at Houston as the Cougars’ d-line coach.
For a glimpse, take a look at this video of Jackson (No. 42)
By Jake Trotter
Special teams depth chart updated: Stevens the starter at kicker
Jimmy Stevens will enter the fall as Oklahoma’s starter at place-kicker, according to OU’s updated depth chart, which included special teams listings, released Wednesday.
The 5-foot-6, 159-pound product of Heritage Hall High School, however, could have a battle waiting for him in the fall from Norman North walk-on Bryce Easley, who is arriving on campus this summer. Junior-college wide receiver Cameron Kenney (a former soccer player who kicked in high school and at Garden City Community College) and punter Tress Way will also get their shots at the job as well.
Speaking of punter, Way is listed as the starter there, which is no surprise. Way struggled some in the spring game, but has a big leg. Again, Kenney and Easley could press here, if Way’s struggles continue into the fall.
Junior cornerback Dom Franks and sophomore receiver Ryan Broyles are listed as the team’s punt and kick returners.
Broyles averaged 9.9 yards a punt return and scored a TD at Kansas State last season, but wasn’t part of the kick return team. Franks handled only six punt returns and didn’t return a kick last year, but showed his playmaking potential with a pair of defensive TDs (a pick against Nebraska, and a fumble return at Texas A&M).
Running backs Chris Brown and DeMarco Murray, running back/receiver Mossis Madu and Kenney will all also be part of the return game, though Bob Stoops would like to limit Brown and Murray in that role because of injury risks.
Veteran Carter Whitson, out of Shawnee, will be the holder again. Walk-ons James Winchester and Ben Hampton are listed as the top-two deep snappers in that order, but don’t forget about Derek Shaw, who has been the team’s deep snapper the last three years but was plagued last year with a foot injury.
By Jake Trotter
Former OU lineman joining Tide
Alabama has hired Milton Overton, a former Oklahoma offensive lineman who oversaw technology growth and services for seven years at Texas A&M, to its senior executive staff, the school announced today.
To read more about Overton, read the Birmingham News report.
Overton played for OU in the mid-1990s.
By Jake Trotter
Why Pasha is not violating US law
In reading some posts of readers about ex-Sooner Pasha Jackson finding his calling in Cuba, there has been some concern that Jackson might be violating the U.S. embargo against Cuba.
This is not the case.
The U.S. has exceptions to this embargo, and allowing its citizens to study becoming doctors at the Latin American School of Medicine is one of them.
There have been some hurdles to getting the program going in the U.S., but as of now, it is perfectly sanctioned by the U.S. gov’t, and the medical school, though in Cuba, is accredited by every state in the U.S.
By Jake Trotter
Steve Owens in TSN
Oklahoma Heisman winner Steve Owens was featured over the weekend by Sporting News Today, which is the Sporting News’ online newspaper.
To view this interview with Owens, you have to be a subscriber. But it’s free and easy.
For those who wish to bypass that step, I will say in the interview, Owens reveals he likes CSI and the History Channel, one of his favorite movies is Cool Hand Luke, he bites his fingernails by habit, wants to visit the Outback of Australia, wishes he was better at golf, and New York City during Heisman week is his favorite time of the year.
By Jake Trotter
More on Pasha Jackson
This past week I got to speak with Pasha Jackson, sort of.
Because Pasha lives in Cuba, we spoke indirectly via email, since a phone call would cost about $4 a minute.
In case you missed it, here’s the story.
For those who forget, Pasha was a very solid linebacker for OU in 2002, 2003 after transferring over from San Francisco City College. He also was an outstanding student.
I learned of Pasha’s story from his girlfriend, whose name, coincidentally, is Tasha. Pasha and Tasha’s names not only rhyme, but they have the same birthday. Tasha, who used to be in journalism, once worked with Andrea Cohen, The Oklahoman’s OSU hoops writer, at the newspaper in Birmingham, Ala. Tasha is now working in PR in California.
Anyway, it was nice to see someone take the road last traveled. The average career of an NFL player is only a couple of years, and I’m sure finding out what to do next for those players is a difficult decision.
But Pasha embraced the opportunity to do something more with his life, rather than sulk about his misfortune in the NFL (when he was cut by the 49ers, he learned of it via memo), and injures in Europe.
Pasha clearly is passionate about his medical school, improving relations between Cuba and the U.S., and about one day returning to the states to work with low-income communities.
“I feel that the entire medical school institution is invested in my success and expects it,” he told me. “I haven’t seen courses out here that weed people out. There’s a huge support system amongst everyone at the school. It’s a community making sure you will do your best.”
This is what Pasha had to say to other D-1 athletes, who have aspirations away from the playing field, about balancing schoolwork and athletics.
“It was tough to maintain them both, but it was not because of the effect they had on one and another. The true challenge of college time management had very little to do with balancing football and school, the true factor was managing my social life,” he said. “Social life is kinda like the X factor, athletes receive tons of practice in their sport, a whole team of tutors and aids to help them in academia, but there is little help or preparation given, to the social circus which was my OU experience for the most part. Once I found a way to maintain my social life, life on the field and in the classroom fell right in place.
“The truth of the matter is that athletics and academics strongly complement each other. The same qualities that makes someone an outstanding athlete can be applied to the classroom and visa versa. Athletics provides for a great stress lessor when plagued with the pressures and deadlines of college, and the class room provides a great contrast via a wide range of stimulating subjects to counter the monotony of workouts and film.”
By Jake Trotter
Here is Pasha recently doing an interview with a local TV station in California:
And some more photos he sent me:
Who will be catching the ball in 2009?
Anyone who has dismissed or failed to watch the College World Series has missed out on some great baseball.
I have always enjoyed college baseball and in Oklahoma, but I wonder if I’m in the minority, or if the sport is underrated and undercovered.
The Texas-Southern Miss game, where the USM pitcher walked in the winning run in a game that went back and forth in the latter innings, kicked it off.
Then, the Arkansas-UVA game, where UVA put runners in scoring position in the 9th, 10th and 11th innings but couldn’t score and Arkansas pulled it out in the end, was even better.
Arkansas is currently taking on LSU for a right to advance to the title game, likely against Texas (The Hogs have to beat LSU twice).
As for OU, while disappointing, those two blowout losses to Arkansas in the Norman Regional don’t look so bad now.
** Listening to the radio yesterday, there was a small discussion about how many passes Jameel Owens would catch this season. Which got me thinking: what will OU’s reception breakdown look like next season, considering the Sooners lost 3 of the their 5 top receivers.
Last year, it went like this (not including running backs):
Iglesias 74
Gresham 66
Manny 42
Broyles 46
Chaney 29
Tennell 9
Owens 4
Caleb 4
Eldridge 4
Miller 2
K. Smith 1
Hanna 1
This is a guess of how the distribution will go in 2009:
Gresham 71
JG will still be blocking some
Broyles 61
Fills the role Manny/Iglesias held
Kenney 42
Becomes Sam’s possession receiver
Madu 33
Builds off 2008 breakout year in the slot
Tennell 23
This year’s Q. Chaney
Caleb 23
Playing time increases a lot
Owens 17
Makes some plays, but a year away from being “the guy”
Miller 11
See Owens
Other tight ends 8
Hanna, Ratterree, Mensik
Eldridge 6
Hopefully is healthier this year, but still will rarely go out for passes
As for the backs, I say Murray has 40 catches, and Brown adds 15. Roughly, that totals up to as many completions (350) OU had in 2008.
** Video of the day
The King is still the king
** Trivia question of the day: Who comprised the middle infield of OU’s 1994 baseball national championship team? Congrats to Vanessa for answering the last question correctly.
By Jake Trotter
Where did the three wins go?
On a previous comment, Claude Raines claimed that Oklahoma possesses 791 victories, three fewer than I had given the Sooners when comparing all-time wins.
The College Football Data Warehouse, which stores loads of information about all-time college football results, lists 788 wins for OU. But the university, which claims CFDW as its source as well, lists 791.
So, why the discrepancy?
I was curious. So after a little research, I discovered the reason is 1972.
That year, OU was forced to forfeit three games due to, as the Sports Illustrated vault recounts, “Kerry Jackson, the hotshot quarterback whose high school transcript was altered, resulting in OU being put on probation for two years and costing the Sooners three 1972 victories.”
Wins over Missouri, Kansas and OSU were changed to losses.
So in reality, OU has both 788 wins and 791 wins, depending on how you view those three games in question (by the way, forfeits are different from vacated victories. A forfeit is a loss. A “vacate” is neither a win nor loss).
Either way, the Sooners are 7th all-time in wins, and 5th in winning percentage.
** Predictably, Alabama announced Wed. that the school would appeal the 21 victories that are currently being vacated by the NCAA for violations. Will be interesting to see what happens, but my guess is that the Tide will get their victories back.
** Got an email from a writer who covers Missouri a couple of days ago, asking who would be OU’s top newcomer this season (freshman, redshirt freshman, JUCO). I responded with JUCO WR Cameron Kenney, who I interviewed and wrote a story about earlier this summer. Kenney’s ability to help OU on special teams is intriguing, in addition to his obvious talents at receiver.
But what about others? Is there another newcomer to watch who may overtake Kenney in terms of impact?
Here are some possibilities:
Tress Way, punter
Way is almost assured of handling the punting duties this year
Bryce Easley, kicker
Obviously, if he wins the place-kicking job, that would be a big-time impact
Brian Lepak, guard/center
He’s one injury away from being a starter
David King or R.J. Washington, defensive end
One of the two will play significant snaps; lately, OU has annually produced a standout newcomer at DE
** Picture of the day
Imagine this happening on a weekly basis next season. Q Carter can lay the hammer down.
Photo by The Oklahoman's Bryan Terry
** Video of the day
OU running back commitment Brennan Clay (No. 24 here) of San Diego Scripps Ranch High School. Clay will be among the top RB recruits for the Class of 2010.
** Congrats to Trent, Shane, Jason and Dog for their right answers to Boise State boasting one of the top-10 all-time winning percentages.
Next trivia question: How many college football offenses in history have had a 4,000-yard passer, a 1,000-yard receiver, and two 1,000-yard rushers in the same season? How many, and who were they? Bonus points for specific players.
By Jake Trotter
OU a winner when it comes to percentage
On the previous post, John made an interesting point, writing that a better way to look at college football programs is not by all-time wins, but by all-time winning percentage.
Ask and you shall receive.
Here’s a look at how the top 10 teams in all-time wins stack up in winning percentage:
1. Michigan, .738
2. Notre Dame, .736
3. Texas, .716
4. Ohio St., .715
5. Oklahoma, .714
6. Southern California, .707
7. Nebraska, .703
8. Alabama, .702
9. Tennessee, .694
10. Penn St., .689
Michigan, Texas and Notre Dame are still in the top three, but OU is the big mover in this list, going from 8 to 5.
Alabama’s percentage takes a massive hit from losing the 21 wins, going from 6th to 8th on the list in winning percentage.
Another trivia question: Which program that does not have a top-10 rank in all-time wins, but has a top-10 rank in winning percentage, one better than Tennessee and Penn State? Winner gets a shout out on the next blog. Hint — OU has played this school within the last five years.
By Jake Trotter
OU passes Bama
One of the winners from the news that Alabama, pending an appeal, must vacate 21 wins due to NCAA sanctions is the University of Oklahoma.
Why?
Well, Alabama minus 21 wins means that OU leapfrogs Alabama in all-time wins with Alabama’s total dropping to 778. The Sooners have 788 wins and now rank No. 7 in career wins.
That doesn’t mean it will stay that way. Alabama is considering an appeal to the NCAA to recapture its vacated wins. Remember, a couple years ago, OU won an appeal to regain eight wins from the 2005 season, which the NCAA originally took away following Bomar-Gate.
Thanks to its win of that appeal, OU has a chance this season to become the seventh team to record 800 victories. An 11-2 or 12-2 record, which is more than achievable with the amount of talent this team has coming back, would be enough.
Penn State sits at No. 6 with 801 wins, meaning OU has some work to do to catch the Nittany Lions. Michigan, at the top with 872 wins, has remarkably 40 more victories than No. 2 Texas (832).
Here’s a look at the top 10 teams in terms of all-time victories:
1. Michigan, 872
2. Texas, 832
3. Notre Dame, 831
4. Nebraska, 827
5. Ohio St., 808
6. Penn St., 801
7. Oklahoma, 788
8. Alabama, 778
9. Tennessee, 776
10. Southern California, 766
Trivia question: which Big 12 team ranks last in the league and No. 90 overall with 452 all-time victories?
By Jake Trotter
