RB Clendon Thomas to join College Football Hall of Fame
Former Oklahoma All-American running back Clendon Thomas will be named to the College Football Hall of Fame next week, Archie Manning, chairman of the National Football Foundation and College Hall of Fame, revealed Saturday night during his keynote address at the “Sooner Spectacular.”
Thomas was a key cog in OU’s back-to-back national championships in 1955 and 1956. He led the nation in scoring in 1956 and was a consensus All-American in 1957. Thomas was also a prolific defensive back.
He played 11 seasons in the NFL, four with the St. Louis Rams and seven with the Pittsburgh Steelers.
-JT
How OU’s draft picks fit in
Four Sooners were drafted last weekend. Dallas took running back DeMarco Murray in the third round, the Broncos also selected OU safety Quinton Carter in the fourth, and safety Jonathan Nelson (Rams) and end Jeremy Beal (Broncos) both went in the seventh.
Here’s how these four players fit with their respective new teams:
DeMarco Murray
Dallas Morning News columnist Jean-Jacques Taylor wrote this week he thinks Murray will challenge Felix Jones for the starting running back position, and that “there’s no reason why he shouldn’t expect to win the job.”
I think that’s a bit of a stretch. While Jones had a disappointing season in 2010, he’s still the primary guy for now.
But the Cowboys have shown the propensity for giving carries to their No. 2 and 3 running backs in recent years. And with Marion Barber on his way out, Murray is almost assured of snagging one of the top three spots.
Look for Dallas to utilize Murray’s receiving skills on third-and-long passing situations. But on top of that, Murray could get a couple of series a game in the backfield, as well.
If he produces — and, he can stay healthy — Murray could get even more opportunities with the ball in his hands. Without a breakout year, it’s not, as Taylor writes, inconceivable Murray ultimately wins the starting job.
Quinton Carter
Carter was one of the top safeties in the draft. But anymore, unless it’s an Eric Berry, safeties don’t get picked in the first round, which is about quarterbacks, defensive lineman and offensive tackles.
Carter, taken by the Broncos in the fourth round, is walking into a franchise attempting to retool its secondary. Carter is part of the plan.
With CB Champ Bailey resigned, and SS Brian Dawkins still a feared hitter, Denver could have one of the league’s better secondaries, especially if its rookie safeties — Carter and second rounder Rahim Moore (UCLA) — show up.
Executive John Elway said that the Broncos had Moore and Carter rated as two of the three best safeties in the draft.
“We are adding competition at those spots,” said Broncos general manager Brian Xanders.
Because he’s more of a natural free safety, Moore has the better shot of starting this season. But considering Dawkins is 37 years old, Carter could emerge into the heir apparent to take over at strong safety in the next couple of years.
“I don’t like really defining the players before they get here,” said Denver coach John Fox. “If you were looking at it, generally speaking, you would probably say that Moore is probably more the free and Carter is more the strong. I hate to pigeonhole them at this point; they will kind of define what they can do. They have some veteran guys to learn from and that will speed the process. We needed some youth there and we think we picked two very good ones.”
Jonathan Nelson
Odds are usually against any seventh-round pick making a teams. But Nelson’s odds of making the Rams may be higher than usual.
According to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, the Rams are in need of a solid cover free safety. As a former cornerback, that’s Nelson’s forte.
Nelson is also a hard-worker, a good kid and one of the smartest players on last year’s Sooner team. All of that should augment his chances.
“It’s not about the size of the dog in the fight, it’s about the size of the fight in the dog,” Nelson said, “and I just feel like I have a whole bunch of fight.”
Jeremy Beal
It’s hard to believe Beal won’t make an NFL squad. Then again, it was hard to believe Beal wouldn’t get drafted until the compensatory stage of the seventh round.
But listening to Bronco executives, Beal could be given the chance to show the teams that passed on him made a mistake.
“We were definitely excited to see him there at the bottom of the seventh,” said Broncos GM Brian Xanders. “He was very productive in college, 57 tackles for loss and 29 sacks. He was really the highest remaining guy on our board in the seventh round.
“He’s a productive guy that makes a lot of plays, we’re surprised he fell down that far — that’s probably because of the Combine or Senior Bowl stuff — but we really evaluate off the football tape and we’re really excited to have him. He’s going to compete at the defensive end position and hopefully he comes in and contributes for us.”
At the moment, Beal is one of four defensive ends, along with Elvis Dumervil, Robert Ayers, Jason Hunter.
Remember this tidbit: Twenty-three players at this year’s Pro Bowl went undrafted. Beal, one of the most productive ends in OU history, has the potential to become a similar success story.
-JT
Landry Jones a future Top 15 draft pick?
Sooner quarterback Landry Jones’ pro potential continues to pick up steam.
A trio of 2012 mock drafts from reputable sites came out this week, placing Jones in the Top 15.
While draft eligible, Jones has the option of coming back for his senior season in 2013.
But ESPN draft analyst Todd McShay, who remember was the first to predict that QB Sam Bradford would be a No. 1 pick, has Jones going No. 15 overall to the Miami Dolphins.
Writes McShay: “It will be interesting to see how Chad Henne does behind an upgraded offensive line, and if he is unable to get the job done, Miami will be one of the quarterback-hungry teams entering the 2012 draft. We still need to study more film on Jones. Although he continues to improve and has prototypical size and the arm strength to make all the throws, to work his way up to this point, he needs to become more consistent in terms of footwork, accuracy and decision-making in 2011.”
CBSSports.com’s Chad Reuter has Jones going fourth overall to the Denver Broncos.
Writes Reuter: “Unless Kyle Orton or Tim Tebow becomes a breakout star and the team defense greatly improves under John Fox, John Elway may have no choice to pick a strong-armed quarterback like Jones.”
SI.com’s Andrew Perloff (a.ka. “McLovin” on the Dan Patrick Show) has Jones going third overall to the Cleveland Browns, behind Stanford QB Andrew Luck and Oklahoma State wideout Justin Blackmon.
Writes Perloff: “The 6-foot-4 Jones has NFL size and arm strength and has proved a lot in college already. He threw 38 touchdowns and 12 interceptions last season and should put up Sam Bradford-like numbers this season.”
Coincidentally, McShay and Perloff also have OU’s Travis Lewis going No. 24 in the first round — even though 4-3 outside linebackers seem to rarely get picked that high anymore.
McShay predicts Lewis to the Eagles. Perloff, the Rams.
Writes McShay: “Lewis is a quicker-than-fast weakside linebacker and one of the most productive in the nation the past two years. I’ll be interested to see after studying film how much of that is due to the scheme and how much is due to his tools, but he does appear to have the closing burst to contribute in the NFL.”
Adds Perloff: “Teams want to wait to draft 4-3 linebackers, but Lewis will be productive enough this season to overcome that handicap. The Rams could also look at North Carolina LB Zach Brown.”
Interestingly, none of the mocks have OU receiver Ryan Broyles in the first round. Even though he figures to break the NCAA career receptions record this season, Broyles could fall to Day 2 of the draft because of his 5-foot-11, 187-pound frame.
-JT
Sooner Center should help in recruiting wars
The college football arms race in Oklahoma is alive and well.
OSU jumped in with a $260 million upgrade to Lewis Field, reopened in 2008 as Boone Pickens Stadium.
Two months ago, OU countered, approving designs for a new $75 million dormitory, which school officials believe will give the Sooners an edge in recruiting.
The “Sooner Center” is expected to be ready for occupancy for the fall semester of 2013, and will house close to 200 athletes, including the football freshmen and possibly sophomores. The other 51 percent of the dorm will comprise non-athletes, in accordance with NCAA rules.
While OSU will be able to continue recruiting to its stately football stadium, OU will soon be able to recruit to a state-of-the-art housing facility, which will include a dining hall, computer labs, gaming room and, perhaps the coolest part, a shopping strip on the bottom floor that figures include a convenience store, a coffee shop, a deli and possibly more.
Funding for the Sooner Center will come from private donations through the athletic department, which has already launched a fundraising campaign with a goal of at least $20 million. The rest of the cost will be covered by athletic department savings bonds, according to school officials.
Athletic director Joe Castiglione claims this dorm “will rival any of its peers nationally.”
Which should give OU another edge in recruiting.
The 33-year-old Bud Wilkinson House, once an all-athlete dorm with a plush setup that used to be the envy of every football program during the Barry Switzer era, had become outdated.
The most valuable element of the Bud was its location, across Jenkins Avenue from the Switzer Center.
The230,000 square foot Sooner Center, however, will be about as close, starting on the corner of Jenkins and Lindsey, running through where the old O’Connell’s Irish Pub & Grille used to be. The university has purchased rental properties and shopping areas on the same block where the dorm will stretch to. Because of its location, the Sooner Center will be within a mile of all of the school’s athletic facilities.
OU is able to recruit to a lot of things. Tradition. The chance to win a national title. A track record of getting players to the pros. A stable coaching staff.
Before long, OU will be able to recruit to its living quarters, too.
-JT
Corey Nelson, among college football’s rising stars
Tuesday, ESPN.com’s Bruce Feldman released his top 10 breakout players of the spring.
Sitting atop at No. 1?
Oklahoma linebacker Corey Nelson.
Writes Feldman: “The third-rated outside linebacker in the 2010 recruiting class, Nelson has physically matured and looks ready to team with OU star Travis Lewis at weakside linebacker to form a fierce tandem. Bob Stoops went so far as to note that Nelson was ‘the best player’ on the OU defense at times this spring. I suspect Stoops will find a way to make sure Nelson gets plenty of action on the field this fall.”
Last week, I wrote about the ways Stoops could to try and get Nelson playing time.
Most likely, it will be a combination of inserting Nelson in on passing downs to rush the quarterback, and possibly playing him at an outside linebacker in any of OU’s 3-4 packages.
“He’s definitely a player that needs be on the field almost every snap,” Lewis said after the spring game. “We’ve expanded our base defense that will allow him to.”
-JT
OU could have another special draft in ’12
It wasn’t exactly a historic draft for Oklahoma.
In fact, a third rounder, fourth rounder and two seventh rounders was relatively one of the weaker drafts in the Bob Stoops era.
However, when you consider what came before — and what might come after — this draft looks a lot better.
In 2010, the Sooners became the first school in 63 years to produce three of the first four picks thanks to QB Sam Bradford (No. 1, Rams), defensive tackle Gerald McCoy (No. 3, Buccaneers) and offensive tackle Trent Williams (No. 4, Redskins). Tight end Jermaine Gresham then went to the Cincinnati Bengals with the No. 21 overall pick, giving OU a school-record four first-round selections.
A historic draft, and not just for OU.
Next year’s draft probably won’t be historic. But it could turn out to be one of the better ones of the Stoops era.
Considering how high Washington’s Jake Locker (eighth overall) Missouri’s Blaine Gabbert (tenth) and Florida State’s Christian Ponder (twelfth) went over the weekend, Landry Jones certainly has the chance to join Bradford as the only Sooner QBs drafted in the first round, should he come out next year.
Barring some unforeseen development, Stanford’s Andrew Luck will be the No. 1 QB and No. 1 overall pick in the draft next year.
But after that, Jones is right there, along with other top prospects like USC’s Matt Barkley, Michigan State’s Kirk Cousins, Arizona’s Nick Foles and OSU’s Brandon Weeden.
Jones, however, isn’t the only first-round possibility.
Ryan Broyles, who figures to shatter the NCAA career receptions mark next season (he needs only 51 catches), could work his way into Day 1 of the draft.
The knock on Broyles is size. But size hasn’t prevented other diminutive wideouts like DeSean Jackson, Wes Welker and Danny Amendola from being tremendously productive at the next level.
Broyles doesn’t have the speed asset that Jackson has. That could ultimately bump Broyles into the second round. But he makes a ton of plays, and that’s something NFL teams will have to look hard at.
Travis Lewis too is a Day 1 possibility. But to go high in the draft as a linebacker anymore, you have to be a speed rushing, 3-4 outside linebacker like Von Miller (the only linebacker taken in the first round of the draft this year). That’s not Lewis’ forte.
Stills, Lewis will be one of the top 4-3 outside linebacker prospects in the draft. And like Broyles, Lewis has been ultra productive in college, leading the Sooners in tackles three straight years. With a huge year, Lewis could play his way in the first round.
One more draft-eligible Sooner to keep an eye on is “The Hammer,” Ronnell Lewis.
Yes, Lewis is still raw, still learning how to play defensive end. But he has all the tools. Size, speed, strength, and the ability to knock someone’s helmet off at any moment.
If he puts it all together this season, he could have NFL teams salivating.
-JT
OU freshman DT arrested
Oklahoma freshman defensive tackle Marquis Anderson was arrested on a complaint of petty larceny Saturday at the Dillard’s inside the Sooner Mall in Norman, according to a Norman Police spokeswoman.
Sgt. Jennifer Newell of the Norman Police Department said mall security caught the 18-year-old Anderson attempting to take clothing from the department store. Anderson was released at the scene after signing a citation with a promise to appear in Norman Municipal Court at a later date.
Petty larceny, which in Oklahoma is the theft of personal property of less than $500, is a misdemeanor charge, punishable by a fine of up to $500 and/or a jail sentence of up to six months.
Anderson, a graduate of Bryon P. Steele High School in Cibolo, Texas, enrolled at OU early this semester and went through spring practice. Rivals.com rated him the eighth-best defensive tackle in the nation.
-JT
DeMarco Murray going to Big D
The Dallas Cowboys made DeMarco Murray the No. 71 overall pick in the NFL Draft, selecting the Oklahoma running back midway through the third round.
The choice is intriguing by the Cowboys, considering they already have Marion Barber, Oklahoma native Felix Jones and Tashard Choice, who played at OU before transferring to Georgia Tech. But to spend such a high pick on a running back, the Cowboys must believe Murray is capable of beating at least one of those three backs.
-JT
Sooners land commitment No. 5
OU landed its fifth verbal commitment for the Class of 2012 in Mesquite (Texas) Horn cornerback DeVante Harris, SoonerScoop.com reported Thursday night.
The 5-foot-11, 160-pound Harris had offers from Kansas State, Mississippi State, SMU, Stanford and Virginia.
The also have commitments from Jenks running back Alex Ross, Heritage Hall receiver Sterling Shepard, San Antonio offensive tackle Kyle Marrs and Rockdale, Texas, athlete Daniel Brooks.
-JT
DeMarco Murray on top of the world
Or on top of the Empire State Building. Murray in NYC for this week’s NFL Draft.
-JT
