Thoughts from Big 12 Media Days, Part III
Just got back to Norman a couple hours ago from a long, but enjoyable week in Dallas. Didn’t want to write this blog, but trying to finish strong after Thoughts from Big 12 Media Days, Part I and II. Today’s lineup included Tech, Colorado, K-State and Texas.
Some quick thoughts:
* By far, the most entertaining kids of the day were those from Colorado, who seem to take on the personality of their coach, Dan Hawkins. Even one, CU tight end Riar Geer, said something to the degree of, “It’s the Big 12, brother” when asked about how tough the league is. For those who wonder why that’s funny, watch this:
* I heard around the grapevine from some Tech people that Mike Leach is still angry about this column CBS Sportsline’s Dennis Dodd wrote during Media Days last year. Dodd called Leach out last year for not bringing Graham Harrell and Michael Crabtree to Media Days. Leach didn’t go after Dodd at the public press conference today, but apparently said, “go ahead and write another bad column about me” during coaches-print media roundtable (I wasn’t there, so I can’t confirm, but that’s what some other writers told me).
But Leach can’t be upset with what Dodd wrote this time around.
* Texas came and went without much news or talk, including from Mack Brown. Sergio Kindle, who crashed his car into an Austin apartment late at night while he says he was text messaging, was at the Westin. He said he’s working his way back into the good graces of the team. Colt McCoy was swarmed the way Sam Bradford was, and had several kind things to say about Sam. Who would’ve thought QBs from OU and Texas would ever become such good buddies. But that’s what’s happened.
* Sunday, my Big 12 confidential player poll story is running and I think it’s pretty compelling. I asked almost 30 different players this week from all 12 league schools questions like, who has the best/worst fans, best/worst uniforms and even who will win this year’s OU-Texas game. The results were interesting, and many had funny quotes that I plan to run with the story (the quotes will be anonymous). Stay tuned for that.
Finally, here’s what I wrote from the final day of Media Days.
-JT
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- Texas coach Mack Brown
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- Tech’s Brandon Carter
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- Texas QB Colt McCoy
Thoughts from Big 12 Media Days, Part II
Today, the Sooners finally came to town, though showed up 30 minutes late because of some hangup on the tarmac.
Bob Stoops, Jermaine Gresham, Gerald McCoy and Heisman winner Sam Bradford represented the Sooners. Missouri, Baylor and Kansas were also in the house.
Sam looked as comfortable with a media horde as I can remember since I began covering him in 2007. I know events like this make Sam uneasy because he hates having the attention on him, but he handled it well.
He even opened up about a funny story about having to sign a 2-month old baby recently.
“We had to ask someone to go and get a pen, so the baby was just sitting there for a couple of minutes,” he said. “”I actually signed, I think, on its one-piece (outfit). I’d never pictured that happening before. They placed it on the table. It was a little odd.”
Bradford also spoke glowingly about Texas QB Colt McCoy, with whom he has developed a budding friendship over the last year. I believe as of this time last year, the two had never talked, save for the postgame of the 2007 OU-Texas game. But with the National Awards, the Heisman, and summer camps like the Manning camp earlier this month have allowed the two to develop a close bond. Frankly, the two QBs are very similar in personality, so it’s easy to see why they’ve hit it off so well.
Check out this YouTube video already posted today of Sam being interviewed (with a couple of questions about OU-Texas in there from yours truly)
After the Sooners were done talking, the media got a tour of Jerry’s World, the Cowboys new $1.4 billion stadium. The Oklahoman’s Berry Tramel wrote about it, but here are some quick thoughts about the stadium:
* In addition to the height of the stadium, the video board is the first thing you notice. It’s mammoth. Makes OU’s look like a GameBoy. It suspends from the roof from the 25 to 25-yard line, and because it comes in at a tilt, there seems to be an optical illusion that the board is closer to you than it really is. Also, it hangs very low to field, about 90 feet, which means it’s only a few feet away from getting hit with punt. Our tour guide said the official rule is that if a punt catches the board, the play is done over again.
* The stadium is really nice, chairback seats throughout, awesome concessions, 3,000 flat-screen TVs. We’ll have a lot more on this stadium in the coming weeks, but I was pretty dazzled on first impression.
Other observations from the day:
* McCoy believes the Sooner defense has the potential to be the best in the nation. Best, maybe not. But certainly, they have the tools to be a dominant one, especially with players like McCoy up front.
* Baylor has a buzz around its program right now and that was evident today with the attention surrounding sophomore QB Robert Griffin. Look for Baylor to make its first bowl in Big 12 history this year.
* It’s amazing that Kansas QB Todd Reesing is so effective considering his 5-foot-11, slender frame. If he wasn’t wearing his KU polo, you’d assume he was with the daily newspaper.
* Missouri doesn’t fire me up this year. But as The Oklahoman’s Brandon Chatmon wrote, this is a test to see whether Missouri has a program that can sustain success in the muddled Big 12 North.
-JT
Travis Wilson cut by Dallas
Just down the road from Big 12 Media Days in Irving, Texas, some unfortunate news came down that former Oklahoma wide receiver Travis Wilson has been released by the Dallas Cowboys.
Unfortunate for Wilson, who has had a trying year. Remember, Wilson’s younger brother, Oklahoma wide receiver Corey Wilson, was in a tragic car accident just before the start of spring drills that left him paralyzed from the waist down. Travis talked about Corey in a compelling story written by the Dallas Morning News not long after the accident.
Hopefully, Travis, who has also had brief stints with the Broncos and Browns, catches on somewhere and makes a roster. Just too bad it couldn’t have been in Dallas, nearby his family in Carrollton, Texas, or Corey in Norman as he rehabilitates. Because right now, they need Travis around.
-JT
Bradford up to 225
Bob Stoops said Tuesday during Big 12 Media Days that QB Sam Bradford is up to 225 pounds, which is the most Bradford has ever weighed.
Weighing that much should enable Bradford to withstand even more punishment, which no doubt will make him even more attractive to NFL teams. But for now, it should increase his durability for this season.
Since Bradford’s true freshman year, he’s put on more than 25 pounds of muscle.
-JT
Gresham high on Kenney
Another reporter during Big 12 Media Days Tuesday in Dallas was asking Sooner tight end Jermaine Gresham about OU’s wideouts, and Gresham responded by listing his thoughts on each of OU’s receivers.
But Gresham left out one player, who ironically is the one that has impressed him as much as any other receiver: junior-college transfer Cameron Kenney.
When reminded, Gresham replied, “How could I forget him? He’s cold. I like him a lot.”
Kenney will challenge a host of other players for one of OU’s vacant starting wide receiving spots. At worst, he is expected to contribute significantly to the rotation.
-JT
G. McCoy gone after this season?
Gerald McCoy didn’t exactly come out and say that he would enter the NFL Draft after this year. But Oklahoma’s junior defensive tackle sure talked Tuesday during Big 12 Media Days in Dallas like 2009 was going to be his final season.
Said McCoy, “I want to graduate. I want my degree. I will graduate in May. Wherever I decide to train at, I’ll have three hours left. I’ll take my capstone online. Then, I’ll be done.”
When pressed about whether he was saying 2009 would be his final season at OU, McCoy responded, “Yeah, if I can graduate.” Then with a smirk, “I don’t know, we’ll see.”
This should come as no surprise. The Sooners will be in rebuilding/reloading mode in 2010, and McCoy is a lock to be a first-round draft pick, possibly a top-5 selection, in next year’s draft. By attaining his degree, McCoy would have little incentive for coming back to OU for a fifth year (remember, McCoy redshirted as a freshman)
-JT
Thoughts from Big 12 Media Days
The Sooners weren’t on the scene today in Dallas, but three of their future opponents (Nebraska, OSU, Texas A&M) were.
The OU contingent of Sam Bradford, Bob Stoops, Gerald McCoy and Jermaine Gresham will be arriving at the Westin hotel Tuesday morning.
But first, here are some quick thoughts from the opening session of Big 12 Media Days.
* Nebraska may have all the history, but Oklahoma State was the main attraction today. Zac Robinson was the biggest star, and seems to have grown very comfortable dealing with being the main event. Dez Bryant was supposed to be here, but was subbed late for tackle Russell Okung, who some believe will be a top-5 pick in next year’s draft. Bryant apparently was finishing up some summer classwork in Stillwater. This is a make-or-break year for OSU, because they lose a lot of talent after this season (Robinson, Okung, Dez) and the schedule may never work out as perfectly as does for them (8 home games) this year.
* After today, I can’t decide if A&M is going to be better than people think, or worse. On the one hand, they have QB Jerrod Johnson, a nice pair of sophomore receivers in Jeff Fuller and Ryan Tannehill, and a big-time freshman running back in Christine Michael. It’s really a decent, young nucleus. On the other hand, who is A&M going to beat? Probably Iowa State at home. Maybe Baylor at home? Possibly K-State on the road? Even if they win all three of those games, they still probably finish at best 5th in the South, and possibly last depending on what Baylor does. This is a big year for A&M. They don’t need to shock the world. But if the team finishes 4-8, 2-6 Big 12 again, the future doesn’t look so bright.
* As bad as A&M may be, Iowa State clearly is the worst team in the league. They also have the league’s no-name coach in Paul Rhoads, who replaces Gene Chizik. Not a lot going for the Cyclones, even in the mediocre North Division. For Sooner fans, keep an eye out for David Sims, who is expected to start in ISU’s defensive backfield. Sims, remember, committed to OU out of junior college last year, but for academic reasons never made it to campus, eventually lost his offer, then found a new home in Ames.
-JT
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- Nebraska coach Bo Pelini
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- Aggie coach Mike Sherman
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- OSU QB Zac Robinson
Super Sam leads the All-Big 12 team
Today, the league released its All-Big 12 team and Sam Bradford led the way as the preseason offensive player of the year. In all, eight Sooners made the team, the most of any Big 12 school. OSU had 5, Texas had 4 and very surprisingly Baylor was fourth of any Big 12 team with three players, not including having the pick for newcomer of the year in DT Phil Taylor, a transfer from Penn State.
Quickly, here’s a look at the team:
OFFENSE
WR Dez Bryant, Oklahoma State
TE Jermaine Gresham, Oklahoma
OL Russell Okung, Oklahoma State
OL Trent Williams, Oklahoma
C Chris Hall, Texas
OL Adam Ulatoski, Texas
OL Brandon Carter, Texas Tech
WR Dezmon Briscoe, Kansas
QB Sam Bradford, Oklahoma (Off. player of the year)
RB Kendall Hunter, Oklahoma State
RB DeMarco Murray, Oklahoma
PK Alex Henery, Nebraska
KR Perrish Cox, Oklahoma State
DEFENSE
DL Ndamukong Suh, Nebraska (Def. player of the year)
DL Gerald McCoy, Oklahoma
DL Jeremy Beal, Oklahoma
DL Sergio Kindle, Texas
LB Sean Weatherspoon, Missouri
LB Joe Pawelek, Baylor
LB Travis Lewis, Oklahoma
DB Darrell Stuckey, Kansas
DB Jordan Lake, Baylor
DB Dominique Franks, Oklahoma
DB Earl Thomas, Texas
P Derek Epperson, Baylor
PR Dez Bryant, Oklahoma State
Analysis: My preseason ballot was very similar to the final team, which makes me comfortable about my selections. I’ll get to those in a second. There was no one from OU that deserved to make the team that didn’t, in my opinion, with the possible exception of Chris Brown. But where do you put him? Kendall Hunter has to be on the list. So that would mean Brown would have to replace Murray. Personally, I voted for Brown over Murray, and here’s why: Murray is more of an all-purpose player than a running back. He returns kicks, punts, catches passes in addition to running the ball. Brown, meanwhile, is strictly a running back, and a terrific one at that. He had better rushing numbers than Murray last year. If there was an all-purpose slot on this team (like there is on the postseason team) I would’ve put Murray there. Plus, Murray is coming off surgery, while Brown has been healthy.
Anyway, here’s what my ballot looked like:
OFFENSE
WR Dez Bryant, Oklahoma State
TE Jermaine Gresham, Oklahoma
OL Russell Okung, Oklahoma State
OL Trent Williams, Oklahoma
C Chris Hall, Texas
OL Adam Ulatoski, Texas
OL Brandon Carter, Texas Tech
WR Dezmon Briscoe, Kansas
QB Sam Bradford, Oklahoma (my Off. player of the year)
RB Kendall Hunter, Oklahoma State
RB Chris Brown, Oklahoma
PK Alex Henery, Nebraska
KR Jordan Shipley, Texas
DEFENSE
DL Ndamukong Suh, Nebraska
DL Gerald McCoy, Oklahoma (my Def. player of the year)
DL Jeremy Beal, Oklahoma
DL Colby Whitlock, Texas Tech (I originally voted for Tech’s Brandon Williams, but then he declared for the NFL’s supplemental draft for some reason)
LB Sean Weatherspoon, Missouri
LB Sergio Kindle, Texas (he was chosen as a DE, but I had him as a LB; if I had to pick another LB, I would’ve gone with either OSU’s Andre Sexton, OU’s Keenan Clayton or Baylor’s Joe Pawelek, who was the one voted to the actual team)
LB Travis Lewis, Oklahoma
DB Darrell Stuckey, Kansas
DB Jordan Lake, Baylor
DB Dominique Franks, Oklahoma
DB Perrish Cox, Oklahoma State
P Derek Epperson, Baylor
PR Dez Bryant, Oklahoma State
I chose OU WR Cameron Kenney as my newcomer of the year, because I think he’s going to catch more than 40 passes this season from Bradford. But I can see why Phil Taylor was selected as well. The Suh-McCoy argument is sort of a toss-up, and I went with the homer pick. I thought that C. McCoy had a chance to beat out Bradford for Off. Player of the Year, but Bradford prevailed and more voters agreed with me.
-JT
Hannan turns up at Texas State
Former Oklahoma center Jason Hannan, who decided to transfer this past spring, has landed at Texas State, an FCS school located in San Marcos, Texas.
Hannan, remember, was in a two-way battle this last spring with freshman Ben Habern for OU’s vacant starting center spot. Habern was running with the first team early on, and not long after, Hannan told coaches he was transferring.
According to the San Marcos newspaper, Hannan in large part decided on Texas State because of former TSU quarterback/receiver, Chase Wasson, who transferred to Oklahoma two years ago.
“We were roommates for a semester at Oklahoma and he told me about Texas State. I wanted to be a little more close to home, so I decided to come here,” Hannan told the paper.
Hannan, formerly rated the No. 1 center nationally coming out of Waxahachie, Texas, gives Texas State a big-time piece on its offensive line.
He will have three years left of eligibility in San Marcos.
* Two games to watch: I was watching First Take on ESPN yesterday, and the panelists, Skip Bayless and Scoop Jackson, were asked if they could go to any college football game this season, which would they go to. Skip, a native of OKC and self-proclaimed Sooner supporter, chose the Red River Rivalry, saying it might be the biggest OU-Texas game of all-time.
Jackson, who apparently has hopped on the OSU bandwagon, earlier declaring Zac Robinson his Heisman sleeper, said he’s driving to Norman for the Bedlam game, predicting that both teams could be undefeated for that one.
None of this matters, although it goes to show, we may be in store for an amazing season of college football in this state.
* Finally, Mustang offensive lineman and Sooner commitment Bronson Irwin, who I interviewed earlier this summer, recently picked up his fourth star from Rivals.com and is now rated the No. 10 offensive guard in the nation.
-JT
Big 12 Media Day lineup revealed
Over the weekend, the Big 12 announced which players will be attending Big 12 Media Days in Dallas, July 27-29.
No surprises from Norman.
Bob Stoops will bring his three best players, QB Sam Bradford, TE Jermaine Gresham and DT Gerald McCoy.
Here is the entire Big 12 media lineup:
Monday, July 27
* Nebraska: Head Coach Bo Pelini, RB Roy Helu Jr., C Jacob Hickman, DT Ndamukong Suh
* Oklahoma State: Head Coach Mike Gundy, Assistant Head Coach Jason Jones, QB Zac Robinson, LB Andre Sexton, WR Dez Bryant
* Iowa State: Head Coach Paul Rhoads, QB Austen Arnaud, OL Reggie Stephens, DL Nate Frere
* Texas A&M: Head Coach Mike Sherman, players TBA
Tuesday, July 28
* Missouri: Head Coach Gary Pinkel, LB Sean Weatherspoon, NT Jaron Baston, OG Kurtis Gregory
* Baylor: Head Coach Art Briles, Defensive Coordinator Brian Norwood, QB Robert Griffin III, FS Jordan Lake, LB Joe Pawelek, C J.D. Walton
* Kansas: Head Coach Mark Mangino, QB Todd Reesing, WR Kerry Meier, DE Max Onyegbule
* Oklahoma: Head Coach Bob Stoops, QB Sam Bradford, DT Gerald McCoy, TE Jermaine Gresham
Wednesday, July 29
* Kansas State: Head Coach Bill Snyder, players TBA
* Texas Tech: Head Coach Mike Leach, OL Brandon Carter, CB Jamar Wall, DL Colby Whitlock
* Colorado: Head Coach Dan Hawkins, Associate Head Coach Brian Cabral, TE Riar Greer, LB Marcus Burton, LB Jeff Smart
* Texas: Head Coach Mack Brown, players TBA
By Jake Trotter
