Practice report (9-14-09)
The Sooners resumed practice today as they prepare for the dangerous Tulsa Golden Hurricane.
Much of the talk today with Bob Stoops centered around the freshmen infusion. Marcus Trice, Demontre Hurst, Jamarkus McFarland, Jonathan Miller, Ronnell Lewis, Jaydan Bird, Tyler Evans and Javon Harris have all played so far this year.
Stoops said he likes to play true freshmen because they tend to come back better as sophomores, as opposed to redshirt freshmen.
From that group above, there appears to be at least a couple stars.
Other news and notes:
* C Ben Habern said he’s no longer having any issues with the inflamed back. Said he wasn’t sore Saturday, Sunday or today. That’s good news for an offensive line trying to develop continuity.
* Speaking of which, James Patton talked about his o-line tonight. Patton said the reason for all the subbing against Idaho State was to reward groups that led the offense to scoring drives. If a drive stalled out, Patton said he made subs. If they scored, he left the group on the field for another drive. Only Habern and LT Trent Williams played the entire game with the first-team offense.
* This is an amazing stat. The Sooner defense has allowed 6 yards rushing this year. 6. Total. And only ranks No. 2 nationally. No. 1? Arizona State, which played, you guessed it, Idaho State in its opener and hasn’t played since. Still, 6 yards allowed rushing is impressive, no matter the competition. We’ll see if it continues as the competition stiffens.
* Another amazing stat. Sooners rank No. 15 in kickoff coverage, after ranking near the bottom nationally last season. Same thing, though. Will it continue against better opponents? One good sign is that Matt Moreland is kicking the ball a lot better this season.
-JT
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Stoops is right regarding redshirting. It isn’t just the game experience it is what they get out of practice. When a guy knows he has no shot of getting in the game come Saturday, he generally practices like it.