Practice Report (8-12-09)
The Sooners went late tonight, wrapping up practice well after 8:30 p.m.
The first person to talk with the media DE coach Chris Wilson. Wilson was really high on Jeremy Beal, said he’s outperforming the other defensive ends. Not surprising. Beal is a star and will be even better this year. But what was surprising was Wilson talking up former blue-chip recruit R.J. Washington, who had fallen to the No. 5 DE during the spring.
“He had that label of being the top player a couple of years ago and that’s a lot of pressure for a young guy,” Wilson said. “Now with some reps and some time in the weight room, he’s turning into a good football player.”
Washington is battling fellow redshirt freshman David King for the fifth defensive end spot.
Wilson also said that Frank Alexander and Auston English are competing this fall for the other starting DE position opposite Beal.
* Veteran cornerback Dom Franks said safety Marcus Trice was the freshman impressing the most right now. Said he is picking up the defense well for a position that is fairly complicated to play. Franks also mentioned freshman cornerback Demontre Hurst, who Bob Stoops singled out in a positive way Monday.
* DeMarcus Granger said he continues to feel better, and that it’s just a matter of getting back into shape. Granger also needs to lose some weight, which should come with more practice time.
* By all accounts, wide receiver Adron Tennell has carried over his solid spring into the fall, and looks to be the man-to-beat for one of the vacant starting spots. He’ll have to produce to keep it, but right now, expect Tennell, Madu and Broyles to be OU’s starting wideouts come Sept. 5.
* The defensive players showed up for interviews much later than the offensive players. According to some of the defensive players, the offense had the better day, and as a result, the defense was kept around for some extra conditioning.
* Ryan Reynolds said he tweaked his hamstring recently and is being careful with it. He says it’s no big deal though. Something else interesting the middle linebacker said was that he doesn’t plan to wear a knee brace in games. Reynolds, coming off his third knee surgery, is wearing one in practice, but as a precaution. Reynolds not wearing a brace in games is really good news.
* Injury report: DeMarco Murray wasn’t in pads coming off the field today. He’s out for the next 2 weeks with a hamstring pull, but has done some light drills. Reserve defensive end Pryce Macon is out with some kind of knee injury. Wore a brace tonight, and was hobbling.
* For tomorrow, I wrote about Big-Game Jermaine Gresham, who has dominated on the biggest stages.
* Finally, join me tomorrow at 11 a.m. on NewsOK.com for an online Sooner football chat.
-JT
OU snags 4-star athlete
Oklahoma has landed one of its top recruits yet, snagging a verbal commitment from 4-star athlete Justin McCay.
McCay, of Shawnee Mission, Kan., made his announcement Friday on KREF-AM 1400.
The 6-foot-3, 195-pound McCay is rated the No. 34 overall player in the country by Rivals.com. He held offers from several big-time programs, including Florida, Florida State, Georgia, Notre Dame and Oregon.
Last season at Bishop Miege High School, McCay rushed for 243 yards, caught 31 passes for 354 yards and finished with 10 total touchdowns. Defensively at linebacker, he recorded more than 50 tackles. McCay is also a standout for Miege in basketball and track.
With McCay, the Sooners now have 21 commitments for the class of 2010. Per NCAA rules, teams are not allowed to sign more than 25 players in a class.
While committed to OU, McCay told Rivals.com Tuesday night that he is still willing to listen overtures from Kansas State.
-JT
Practice report (8-10-09)
A lot of good tidbits came from Monday’s practice, the first in full pads this preseason.
The biggest story line was tight end Brody Eldridge being forced to play first-team center with starter Ben Habern and top reserve Brian Lepak both battling injuries. Eldridge is the team’s emergency center, though Habern should be back in practice later this week. Lepak is out for the next 1-2 weeks with a high ankle sprain.
The other most interesting nugget was offensive coordinator Kevin Wilson basically saying that Cameron Kenney and freshman Jaz Reynolds would be ahead of sophomores Jameel Owens and Dejuan Miller if he had to fill out the depth chart at wide receiver today. Kenney is not too shocking, but Reynolds has been a pleasant surprise. Reynolds apparently has blazing speed, which has the Sooner coaches salivating. He could carve out a decent role for himself this season. Owens and Miller, meanwhile, were supposed to have breakout seasons this year. That won’t happen if they don’t make it onto the field. Remember, the Sooners also have Mossis Madu, Ryan Broyles, Brandon Caleb and Adron Tennell at receiver as well, not to mention running back DeMarco Murray and tight end Jermaine Gresham, who will be flexed out or placed in the slot often.
Other notes:
* As customary with all football teams the first day of pads, the Sooners ran the “Oklahoma Drill.” Among the players who impressed Bob Stoops were Auston English, Jeremy Beal, Trent Williams, Gerald McCoy and backup right tackle Jarvis Jones.
Said Stoops, “The Oklahoma Drill was wild. Guys were getting after it, which you like. It carried right into our inside drill where we did a lot of short yardage. It was really physical.”
* Stoops really praised cornerback Demontre Hurst, which has got to kill OSU fans. Hurst, remember, was committed to OSU for a long time, but switched his verbal late to OU before signing with the Sooners. Stoops said Hurst is “as good a young guy as we’ve ever brought in here.”
* Off. coordinator Kevin Wilson admitted the o-line “struggled” Monday against the Sooner def. line. Not surprising. OU’s d-line will make a lot of teams struggle.
* Safety Kevin Brent is out with a shoulder injury. He was, however, doing fairly well before getting hurt, and should be back on the field before too long, Stoops said.
-JT
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- Dejuan Miller
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- Brody Eldridge
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- Auston English
Thoughts from OU media day
Friday, the Sooners held their annual media day, as well as Meet The Sooners, where fans can get autographs.
Here are few observations from the morning.
* Kevin Wilson really went to bat for the o-line, which has taken some shots lately from the national media. He called Trent Williams the best lineman he’d ever coached, and the said the unit has much talent as any in country. I’m sure Wilson hopes his comments will build the confidence of what is a talented, but young and as a group unproven offensive line.
* Cameron Kenney is really going to be a boost on special teams. I can see him playing on every special teams unit. He also will push both Tress Way at punter and to a lesser extent Jimmy Stevens at kicker. Competition will only make this unit stronger.
* Mossis Madu is there to stay at wide receiver. He has a great chance to start the season opener against BYU.
* DeMarco Murray missing two weeks with a hamstring pull is not as bad as it seems because it’s the other hamstring from which he injured last year against Missouri. Still, his health is a critical story line this year. Think about it. Murray is yet to finish a season without having to undergo season-ending surgery. Bob Stoops wouldn’t say yay or ney about Murray playing special teams, but the Sooners really need to take a look at whether it’s worth the risk to him there. After all, his two injuries have both come on special teams (onside kick 2007, kick return 2008).
* I really think DeMarcus Granger ends up helping the defensive line, maybe more than I would have guessed. It may be similar to last year, where it was only for a few snaps at a time. Because of the surgery, Granger is probably about 20-30 pounds heavier than he would like to be, or was at the start of last preseason. But he’s such a great run-stuffer and has an unrivaled threshold for playing through pain (though he says he’s pain-free right now).
* The offensive line guys, really all of them, look to be in terrific shape. Good is a tank. Habern has the same build as Jon Cooper. Simmons is chiseled. And Trent Williams apparently ran a 4.73 this summer, which, if true, is an incredible time for a left tackle. Williams shows that kind of speed and agility at the combine, and he’s a Top 5 NFL Draft pick.
* Of all the incoming o-linemen, look for JUCO transfer Tavaris Jeffries and freshman Tyler Evans to be the ones to fill two of the primary reserve roles past Brian Lepak. Ideally, Evans and Jarvis Jones will play tackle, Jeffries guard, and Lepak both center and guard.
-JT
Andre Ware picks BYU over OU, then OU to lose 3 more games
For what it’s worth, during ESPN’s College Football Live, ESPN analyst Andre Ware just picked the BYU Cougars to knock off OU in the season opener at Cowboys Stadium. He said he has concerns about OU’s offensive line. Ware also said OU would lose three other games.
-JT
UPDATE: People are wondering who Ware picked for the national championship. Surprise, surprise, Ware picked Florida. -JT
Lehman, Moore to join UFL
Former Sooner linebackers Teddy Lehman and Brandon Moore have signed with the Las Vegas franchise of the new United Football League.
Lehman, previously a Butkus Award winner, was drafted out of OU by the Detroit Lions in the 2nd round. He was the only rookie LB to start every game and looked to be headed for a bright NFL career. But injuries derailed his progress, and after stints with Tampa Bay and Buffalo, he wound up without an NFL contract.
Moore signed as an undrafted free agent with the 49ers, and played their for five years before being released prior to last season.
The UFL is scheduled to debut October 2009.
-JT
ESPNU Top 150 out
ESPNU released its first Top 150 recruiting rankings for the Class of 2010.
Among the four Sooner verbal commitments who made the list:
No. 67 Blake Bell, QB, Wichita (Bishop Carroll), Kan.
No. 80 Quentin Hayes, S, Lancaster, Texas
No. 124 Sheldon McClain, WR, Cibolo (Byron M. Steele), Texas
No. 125 Brennan Clay, RB, San Diego (Scripps Ranch), Calif.
In the Big 12, Texas had the most top 150 players with 14.
The Sooners, however, are in on ESPNU’s No. 1 player, h defensive end Jackson Jeffcoat, who is reportedly making his decision between OU, Texas and USC.
OU is also still in on OT Seantrel Henderson (No. 4), RB Michael Dyer (No. 4) and WR Darius White (No. 8).
Oklahoma product Demarco Cobbs is rated No. 17 overall, and is strongly considering the Sooners along with a host of SEC teams. The Sooners have landed the top player in the state the last six years.
-JT
Tebow vs. Bradford (battle of the bios)
My friend Ben Volin, who covers the Florida Gators for the Palm Beach Post, wondered about the length of Tim Tebow’s bio on the official Gator football Web site.
His findings? 3,089 words (9 pages single spaced in Microsoft Word) , which, as Volin puts it, might be the longest sports bio in the history of the world.
I thought for a comparison, I would check out the team bio for Sam Bradford, who for those who forget was named the best player in college football last season.
Bradford’s bio? 785 words, 2 pages, single spaced.
I’m all for informative bios. But when the bio comments that Tebow “had six rushes for 38 yards at Vanderbilt, including a team-best run of 25 yards,” I think we might going overboard.
-JT
TV first week of college football
This is an all inclusive list, but for those who are wondering, here’s what the TV list looks like on the opening weekend of college football.
Thursday, September 3
6:00 PM South Carolina at North Carolina State, ESPN
6:30 PM North Texas at Ball State, ESPNU
7:00 PM Eastern Kentucky at Indiana. Big Ten Network
8:00 PM Utah State at Utah, the Mtn.
9:15 PM Oregon at Boise State, ESPN
Friday, September 4
7:00 PM Tulsa at Tulane, ESPN
Saturday, September 5
11:00 AM Towson at Northwestern, Big Ten Network
11:00 AM Montana State at Michigan State, Big Ten Network
11:00 AM Appalachian State at East Carolina, MASN
11:00 AM Minnesota at Syracuse, ESPN2
11:00 AM Kentucky at Miami (OH), ESPNU
11:00 AM Navy at Ohio State, ESPN
11:00 AM Akron at Penn State, Big Ten Network
11:00 AM Liberty at West Virginia, Big East Network
11:00 AM Toledo at Purdue, Big Ten Network
11:05 AM Northern Iowa at Iowa, Big Ten Network
11:21 AM Western Kentucky at Tennessee, SEC Network
12:00 PM Jacksonville State at Georgia Tech, ESPN 360
1:00 PM Northeastern at Boston College, ESPN 360
2:30 PM San Jose State at USC, FSN
2:30 PM Nevada at Notre Dame, NBC
2:30 PM Western Michigan at Michigan, ABC or ESPN2
2:30 PM Baylor at Wake Forest, ABC
2:30 PM Georgia at Oklahoma State, ABC
2:30 PM Jackson State at Mississippi State, ESPNU
2:40 PM Missouri vs. Illinois at St. Louis, Mo., ESPN
5:00 PM Citadel at North Carolina, ESPN 360
5:00 PM Middle Tennessee State at Clemson, ESPN 360
5:00 PM William & Mary at Virginia, ESPN 360
6:00 PM Louisiana Tech at Auburn, ESPNU
6:00 PM Charleston Southern at Florida, FSN
6:00 PM Connecticut at Ohio, ESPN 360
6:00 PM Florida Atlantic at Nebraska, FSN PPV
6:00 PM Louisiana-Monore at Texas FSN PPV
6:00 PM Wofford at South Florida, Bright House Network
6:00 PM Brigham Young vs. Oklahoma at Arlington, Tex., ESPN
6:00 PM Northern Illinois at Wisconsin, Big Ten Network
6:00 PM Northern Colorado at Kansas, Fox College Sports Central
6:30 PM Western Carolina at Vanderbilt, CSS
7:00 PM Alabama vs. Virginia Tech*, ABC
7:00 PM Idaho at New Mexico State, Altitude
8:00 PM Central Michigan at Arizona, AWSN
8:00 PM Buffalo at UTEP, CBS College Sports
9:00 PM Maryland at California, ESPN2
9:30 PM LSU at Washington, ESPN
Sunday, September 6
2:30 PM Mississippi at Memphis, ESPN
6:00 PM Colorado State at Colorado, FSN
Monday, September 7
4:00 PM Cincinnati at Rutgers, ESPN
8:00 PM Miami (FL) at Florida State, ESPN
-JT
Which Sooners will make watch lists
Monday, to no surprise, Sam Bradford was named to Davey O’Brien watch list. Last year, Bradford won the award and will be the favorite to do so again in 2009. Tight end Jermaine Gresham was already named to the Mackey watch list, which goes to the nation’s top tight end. Gresham, by the way, is more of a favorite to bring home the Mackey than Bradford the O’Brien.
But which other Sooners will find their names on preseason watch lists? Let’s break it down.
Tuesday: Doak Walker Award (running back)
Interesting. Both Chris Brown and DeMarco are probably deserving of being on this list after rushing for 1,000 yards last year, but will they put two from one school on the same list? Tough to say.
Wednesday: Ray Guy Award (punter)
Next.
Thursday: Jim Thorpe Award (defensive back)
Dom Franks is catching some preseason hype and should be on this list.
Friday: Walter Camp Award (all-around player)
It should be a close race between Bradford, Colt McCoy and Tim Tebow. Heisman runner-up McCoy won it last year; so did former Heisman runner-up Josh Heupel, who won the award in 2000. Heisman winners Billy Sims and Steve Owens also were awarded the Walter Camp.
Aug. 10: Fred Biletnikoff Award (WR)
Broyles is OU’s best chance of placing a player on this watch last, but as a sophomore, he’s no lock.
Aug. 11: Outland Trophy (interior lineman)
DT Gerald McCoy is an automatic on this watch list and has a great chance to become the sixth Sooner to bring home the Outland.
Aug. 12: Lou Groza Award (kicker)
Next.
Aug. 13: Chuck Bednarik Award (defensive player)
A relatively new award (14th year), McCoy is OU’s best chance here. But no defensive tackle has ever brought home the Bednarik. Former Sooner DT Tommie Harris, however, was a finalist. Teddy Lehman won in ‘03.
Aug. 14: Robert Maxwell Award (all-around player)
Dethroning two-time winner Tebow from this list will be hard, but count on Bradford being on the watch list here and giving Tebow a run for his money.
-JT
