Florida safety rubbing INT in to Sam Bradford
Earlier this week, Florida lineback Brandon Spikes called the Sooners the dirtiest team he’d ever played against. Now, Florida safety Ahmad Black is doing his best to rub his fourth-quarter interception in the national title game in Sam Bradford’s face.
Even though Black ripped the ball away from former OU receiver Juaquin Iglesias, he makes it clear to the Ft. Myers News-Press what he remembers most about the play.
He said he got a lot of enjoyment out of seeing the look on Sooner quarterback Sam Bradford’s face after he made that interception.
“I saw it a couple times (on tape),” Black said. “I just like looking at Sam Bradford’s face. I fast-forward through the pick and just look at him.”
If the talking continues past the preseason, the Gators and Sooners are going to owe college football fans a rematch. Whether it takes place in the Rose Bowl on Jan. 7 or a back alley somewhere between Gainesville and Norman is up to them.
Practice report (8-18-09)
Just when you think you’re going to have a low-key evening, Mike Balogun decides to go up and sue the NCAA. He is seeking at least $10,000 in damages from the NCAA in a civil lawsuit. The court issued a restraining order against the NCAA, and a court hearing has been scheduled for 2:30 p.m. Aug. 24 before a district judge.
The eligibility of OU’s senior middle linebacker is currently in question, as the NCAA investigates whether Balogun played semi-pro football, prior to coming to Norman, after his 21st birthday. If he did, Balogun would lose his final season of eligibility.
Before this, I was sure that Balogun’s days in a Sooner uniform were numbered. But reminiscent of Oklahoma State pitcher Andy Oliver’s fight with the NCAA through the court last year, I now think Balogun has a chance, however small, of rejoining the team. I’m not sure on what grounds Balogun has sued the NCAA, but my guess is that it’s either one of many things:he didn’t play semi-pro ball after turning 21 and knows he’s in the right; or, his lawyer believes that since the NCAA already certified him after an initial investigation last year, they have no right to come back and take away his senior season; to slow the NCAA’s ruling so that Balogun can continue to practice with the team. Ultimately, this could also be a way for Balogun to either retain his scholarship so he can graduate, or at least get some money so he could pay for his senior year of school, should he end up losing his scholarship.
I’m not real familiar with any precedent for this type of case, but then again, I’m not sure I know of anyone who is. Stayed tuned. This one is not over yet.
Now, on to the practice report:
* Bob Stoops conducted a 40-50 play scrimmage Tuesday. He said the offensive line did well and more than held its own against OU’s stalwart defensive line.
“I thought overall it was really competitive,” Stoops said. “I was proud of the offensive line, how they fought. They fought with a good defensive line all day, and there was good give-and-take both ways.”
* Kicker Jimmy Stevens feels very confident after doing so well during OU’s open practices.
“Even with a small amount of people out there, to kick that way as well as I did,” Stevens said, “has helped with my confidence the rest of camp and the season.”
* Gerald McCoy was a bit perplexed to Florida LB Brandon Spikes’ comments that OU was the dirtiest team he’d ever faced.
Said McCoy: “Dirty? Like we’re dirty players? … That’s just how we play. We play hard. I guess you can consider that dirty, but some people just get intense, get riled up. Every team does.”
McCoy went on:
“He (Spikes) is a liar if he’s saying they don’t have trash talkers,” he said. “Every team does. You can’t just put it on us.”
* Centers Ben Habern and Brian Lepak continue to progress, Stoops said. Both are days away from being 100 percent, or close to it.
* Cornerback Dom Franks said he’s been most impressed with true freshman safety Marcus Trice, who is making a push to be on the two-deep at free safety.
“Safety, that’s a hard position to learn, too,” Franks said.
* McCoy said of the players that impressed him this fall, he singled out freshman LB Tom Wort, DE Frank Alexander and DT Jamarkus McFarland.
“We may see (McFarland) on the field this season,” McCoy said.
-JT
Beal, McCoy named to Nagurski watch list
Oklahoma defensive tackle Gerald McCoy and defensive end Jeremy Beal were named to the Bronko Nagurski Trophy watch list Tuesday.
In all, 62 players made the watch list for the Nagurski, which annually honors the best defensive player in college football.
The winner will be announced Dec. 7.
-JT
Spikes called OU dirty?
Earlier this week, Florida linebacker Brandon Spikes called OU the dirtiest team he’d ever seen. But judging from this video, where he takes a punch at OU’s Trent Williams after the play, Spikes might want to take a look in the mirror.
-JT
OU Football video practice report
“/>
-JT
The Boz, Switzer Top 40 villains
Pat Forde of ESPN.com released college football’s Top 40 villains of all-time.
Hitting the board for the Sooners were linebacker Brian Bosworth and coach Barry Switzer.
Wrote Forde of the Boz: “Fast and furious linebacker took flamboyance to obnoxious levels, epitomizing the out-of-control nature of Oklahoma football in the mid-to-late 1980s. Wore multicolored Mohawk for a while. Missed 1987 Orange Bowl after positive test for steroids (the event that put him on the bad list with Oklahoma backers). Oklahoma State bookstore once sold T-shirts that read, “Will Rogers never met Bosworth.” Was famously run over by Bo Jackson on his way to becoming a bust in the NFL, which earned him the sympathy of virtually no one.”
Wrote Forde of Switzer: “Cocky winner who stuck it to Tom Osborne and Darrell Royal, among many others, while rebuilding dynasty in Norman. Scored points in gushes with trademark wishbone offense, bragging of “hanging half a hundred” on the scoreboard. Ran a loose program that seemed to get progressively looser until it imploded in the late 1980s after a series of arrests and other embarrassments. Lucked into flush Cowboys job in 1990s and rode team’s overwhelming talent to Super Bowl title.”
-JT
Practice report (8-17-09)
The Sooners held their second and final open practice Monday afternoon. The best news of the day was Ben Habern, who looks to be a day or two away from being cleared all the way. Habern, who’s been out with an inflamed back, mixed it up during the morning portion of the two-a-day in some heavy contract drills with the defensive line. He did the same in the afternoon, though was held out of the team drill. That appeared to be more for precautionary reasons than anything else.
Also, backup center Brian Lepak was back in pads after recovering from a high-ankle sprain.
Other observations:
* Guard Tavaris Jeffries, safety Joseph Ibiloye, defensive ends David King and Pryce Macon and cornerbacks Jamell Fleming and Desmond Jackson (academic issues) did not participate in Monday’s practice. Jeffries is a new one, but the other five have been out for some time now.
* At the moment, the first-team defense looks like this:
DL: Jeremy Beal, Adrian Taylor, GK McCoy, Auston English
LB: Travis Lewis, Ryan Reynolds, Keenan Clayton
DB: Brian Jackson, Dom Franks, Sam Proctor, Quinton Carter
The second-team defense look like this
DL: RJ Washington, Casey Walker, Cordero Moore, Frank Alexander
LB: Daniel Franklin, Tom Wort, Austin Box
DB: Demontre Hurst, Marcus Trice, Emmanuel Jones, Lamar Harris
Stacy McGee and Jamarkus McFarland were the third DTs. JR Bryant is nowhere to be found on the field during team drills. He apparently has been beaten out by Dan Franklin.
* Linebacker Mike Balogun continues to practice, however, that may be coming to an end. Balogun’s final practice with the team may be Wed., as the NCAA concludes its investigation about whether Balogun played semi-pro ball before his 21st birthday.
* Sam Bradford was sharp again. He found tight end James Hanna over the middle for a nice gain. The first play, however, was noteworthy. Bradford ran the option and kept the ball upfield. Hard to believe that one will remain on the playbook after Sept. 5.
* The biggest collision of the day came between to heavy hitters. Fullback Matt Clapp was running down the sideline and ducked his shoulder into a soaring Quinton Carter. Even though they were only in helmets and shoulder pads, both players collided at 90 percent and flew to the ground. Offensive coordinator Kevin Wilson was on Clapp afterward, saying “You going to let that DB tackle you?”
* Brandon Crow is now working at fullback. Crow, a native of Comanche, was a linebacker last year who famously replaced Reynolds in the Texas game.
* Backup tight end Eric Mensik appeared to get banged up at some point. I didn’t see what happened, but he sat out the latter part of the evening practice.
* A lot of Michael Jackson was played tonight on the loudspeakers. GK McCoy did his best MJ moves. McCoy has said before that he’s a big fan of Jackson.
-JT
Sam Bradford on Manning Award Watch List
Sam Bradford has been named to the watch list for the Manning Award, given annually to college football’s best quarterback.
The award, in just its fifth year, is one of three given out to exclusively quarterbacks. The Davey O’Brien Award is also given to the nation’s best quarterback. The Jonny Unitas Award is given to the best senior quarterback, making Bradford, a junior, ineligible.
Thirty-eight quarterbacks were named to the preseason watch list for the award named after all three Manning quarterbacks, former Ole Miss star Archie Manning, and his sons, former Tennessee quarterback Peyton Manning, and former Ole Miss quarterback Eli Manning.
Also named to the watch list was Oklahoma State’s Zac Robinson, one of seven quarterbacks in the Big 12 on the list.
Spikes calls Sooners dirty team
Several months after the BCS National Championship game, the trash-talk between Florida and Oklahoma won’t go away.
Gator linebacker Brandon Spikes was asked recently who were the dirtiest players he’d faced in his career. He went straight for the Sooners.
“Compared to Oklahoma, you won’t find anyone (as dirty),” Spikes told the Orlando Sentinel.
Spikes didn’t get any more specific than that in the interview.
-JT
Sam Bradford’s road much tougher than Archie Griffin’s
DISCLAIMER: I’m not sure how ashamed of this I should be.
I had never seen Archie Griffin run the football.
A quick YouTube search made me feel a little better; there are hardly any highlights of the Ohio State legend. The only decent one I found is 24 seconds long and only had a pair of runs, followed by a clip from a teary acceptance speech that had way more emotion than any Heisman presentation I’d ever seen.
A forgettable NFL career (2800+ yards, 7 TDs in just 4 seasons) reduced Griffin to an easy trivia question’s answer.
Who’s the only two-time Heisman winner? I hope I don’t have to answer that.
Ask someone who the greatest running back in college football history was and the answer is more likely to be Bo Jackson, Herschel Walker or Barry Sanders. Griffin gets a few votes, but even in Columbus, misguided, nearsighted Buckeye fans might side with Eddie George.
When Griffin won his second Heisman, only one of the top 10 finalists returned, Oklahoma’s Joe Washington, but he did it with a huge handicap. Sports on television in 1975 weren’t what they were today, but as if winning the Heisman weren’t hard enough, try doing it without having a game on television.
The Sooners’ NCAA punishment landed Washington fifth in the 1975 Heisman voting. Others receiving votes?
Chuck Muncie, Ricky Bell, Jimmy DuBose. John Sciarra, Gordon Bell, and Gene Swick. Who?
Okay, I left off Oklahoma’s Lee Roy Selmon and Tony Dorsett, but defensive linemen don’t win Heismans and Dorsett was only a junior on a four-loss team in 1975. The Buckeyes were undefeated when the votes were cast.
This season, Sam Bradford will fight off a historic field for his second Heisman. Most notably, 2009 is the first time:
a) The top 3 Heisman vote-getters return, and
b) Two Heisman Trophy winners return in the same season.
More than anything else, that’s what’s hindering Sam Bradford’s Heisman encore. Forget about new receivers and a new offensive line, Bradford’s place in what should be a heated three-man race all year should be the main concerns for OU fans’ preoccupied with Bradford’s Heisman chances.
Beating out a half-man, half-rhino and a Texas-bred QB who also spends his time swimming 300 yards across lakes to save dying fans of his team is no gimme putt.
Of the 11 Heisman winners who have returned for another season, none have faced a field as difficult as the one Bradford will match up against every Saturday night on SportsCenter and Sunday morning in the box score. Neither McCoy or Tebow have any major factors (i.e., another Heisman contender on their team, massive exodus of starters) putting a serious dent in their Heisman chances.
The lack of established stars allowed Griffin, a very good, but far from divine player, to make history.
If Bradford wanted to do the same, he should have been born about a decade earlier and taken on the bland trio of Ron Dayne, Chris Weinke, and Eric Crouch.
