Bradford’s status unknown
Oklahoma offensive coordinator Kevin Wilson addressed Sam Bradford’s status on Sunday, admitting he hadn’t spoken with the reigning Heisman winner since Saturday night, but not committing on when Bradford would return.
Wilson said the medical staff would continue to evaluate his throwing shoulder through the weekend, and determine a course of rehabilitation. He said the staff is currently gathering as many resources as they can to look at options, and what the timeline of those rehabs would be.
The medical staff would be pursuing every option, but keep both tight end Jermaine Gresham and Bradford’s future prospects in mind.
“Those are two tremendous players with great futures, and we want to make sure their best interests are taken into consideration,” Wilson said.
Video: Sam Bradford Uncut
Here’s full video of Sam Bradford’s press conference yesterday.
He talks about how he’s done in reaching the goals he came back to acheive, the Sooners’ new receiving corps, the shuffling offensive line, the insurance policy he took out on himself and more.
Your move, RedHawks
Bradford's"proposed" Heisman statue. (Courtesy of nowpublic.net)
Tomorrow night, the Ft. Myers Miracle, a Class A-Advanced minor league affiliate of the Twins in Ft. Myers, Fla., will be hosting a very special evening filled with gimmicks.
In honor of the Saint Down South and the approaching college football season, Wednesday night will be WWTTD, or “What Would Tim Tebow Do?” night.
I would like to shake the hand of the mastermind behind all the different promotions filling the evening.
The highlights:
- A local resident also named Tim Tebow will attempt to walk on some water. (No word on whether he’s filed paperwork for a name change in the past three years.)
- A Southwest Florida faith healer will be on hand to cure all illness or batting slumps.
- Promise rings will be handed out to all fans in attendance.
- The Miracle manager will make most of his in-game decisions with the thought process of, “What Would Tim Tebow Do?”
- The first pitch will be a jump pass.
- Tebow’s now-engraved speech titled “The Promise” will be played over the PA system numerous times throughout the night.
- Miracle gameday staff will resolve any problems by simply asking “What Would Tim Tebow Do?”
- Since Tim Tebow is perfect, (their words, not mine) the Miracle will be, too. If the Miracle commit an error on Wednesday, every fan in attendance receives a free ticket to the game on Sunday.
Gatorade will also be discounted (of course) and anyone wearing college gear can register for a chance to win tickets to the Florida-Arkansas game in Gainesville.
So again, I say…”Your move, RedHawks.”
Of course, Sam Bradford doesn’t have anywhere near the pop culture canon Tebow does, but I’m sure they could come up with plenty of good stuff.
What promotions would you like to see for “Sam Bradford Night” at Bricktown Ballpark?
Numbers check for returning Heisman QBs
History doesn't bode well for returning Heisman QBs.
Fellow OU writer Jake Trotter spoke with Jason White for today’s Oklahoman. White, who won the Heisman Trophy in 2003, is one of five quarterbacks to return to college football after winning the Heisman.
Sam Bradford will be the sixth.
Of course, as I blogged about at length last week, the only two-time winner is a running back.
Here’s how the five quarterbacks fared in their defense of the Heisman:
Roger Staubach: 1963 winner
1963: 107 completions, 161 attempts, 66.5% completion %, 1,474 yards, 7 TD
1964: 119 completions, 204 attempts, 58.3% completion %, 1,131 yards, 4 TD
1964 Heisman finish: Received no votes. I guess we’ll call that a tie for 11th. (Winner: John Huarte, Notre Dame)
Ty Detmer: 1990 winner
1990: 362 completions, 561 attempts, 64.2% completion %, 5,188 yards, 41 TD, 24 INT
1991: 249 completions, 403 attempts, 61.8% completion %, 4,031 yards, 35 TD, 12 INT
1991 Heisman finish: 3rd. (Winner: Desmond Howard, Michigan)
Jason White: 2003 winner
2003: 278 completions, 451 attempts, 61.6% completion %, 3,846 yards, 40 TD, 10 INT
2004: 255 completions, 390 attempts, 65.4% completion %, 3,205 yards, 35 TD, 9 INT
2004 Heisman finish: 3rd. (Winner: Matt Leinart, USC)
Matt Leinart: 2004 winner
2004: 269 completions, 412 attempts, 65.3% completion %, 3,322 yards, 33 TD, 6 INT
2005: 283 completions, 431 attempts, 65.7% completion %, 3815 yards, 28 TD, 8 INT
2005 Heisman finish: 3rd. (Winner: Reggie Bush, USC)
Tim Tebow: 2007 winner
2007 passing: 234 completions, 350 attempts, 66.9% completion %, 32 TD, 6 INT
2008 passing: 192 completions, 298 attempts, 64.4% completion %, 30 TD, 4 INT
2007 rushing: 210 attempts, 895 yards, 23 TD (55 total TD)
2008 rushing: 176 attempts, 693 yards, 12 TD (42 total TD)
2008 Heisman finish: 3rd. (Winner: Sam Bradford, Oklahoma)
Sam Bradford: 2008 winner
2008: 328 completions, 483 attempts, 67.9% completion %, 4,720 yards, 50 TD, 8 INT
2009: ?
Only Leinart’s numbers made significant improvement, and he lost out to a player on his own team. I’m not sure which fact is more remarkable.
Most predict that Bradford’s numbers will also dip, but the Oklahoma coaching staff says he’s made significant improvement since last season. That may be true, but I doubt those improvements show up in his stat line.
Most often, the toughest competition for returning Heisman winners is themselves. Heisman repeats are difficult for a number of reasons, but a major one is if the numbers aren’t there, Heisman No. 2 won’t be either. Why that drop occurs is irrelevant.
Bradford’s movement up and down the weekly Heisman standings should be fascinating to watch. How much effect, positive or negative, his 2008 numbers have on that will probably be revisited later this year.
Bradford tops Mel Kiper’s Big Board
Sam Bradford has found himself atop Mel Kiper’s 2010 NFL Draft Big Board. Considering Bradford turned down a chance to be a top five pick in 2009, it’s no real surprise, but Kiper’s comments are a little puzzling.
1. *Sam Bradford, QB, Oklahoma: Has underrated arm and great feel for position and is super-accurate.
I’m not too sure who’s underrating Bradford’s arm, but he should get comfortable looking down at the rest of the prospects for next year’s draft.
Worth noting: No. 4 on Kiper’s board? Oklahoma defensive tackle Gerald McCoy, who also could have been a top 10 pick in 2009.
UPDATE (4:31 p.m.): Here’s video of Kiper revealing his board on ESPN earlier today.
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.
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.
Sam Bradford 3rd in ESPN’s Heisman Watch
Third place? That could change soon.
ESPN’s first Heisman Watch of 2009 debuted last week. So why is the returning Heisman winner on a national championship contender a distant third with no first place votes?
Questions about OU’s O-line linger, though Bradford and the Sooners have a chance to make an early statement in their season-opener against BYU in Cowboys Stadium.
Don’t expect Bradford to be constantly on the run this year with the new four linemen up front, but a 300-yard, 4 TD performance against the No. 24 Cougars could shake up the top 3 while Tim Tebow and Colt McCoy frost a couple of cupcakes in Charleston Southern and Louisiana-Monroe.
Sam Bradford still improving
Bradford is in his fourth fall camp.
As impressive as Sam Bradford was in 2008, perspective reminds us that the Putnam City native is still only 21. Translation: He’s going to get better.
Bradford is in the middle of his fourth fall preseason camp, and coach Bob Stoops is reminding anyone who’ll listen that his star didn’t spend the summer sitting on the couch watching his highlight reels.
“He’s stronger, he’s quicker, the ball comes out faster,” Stoops said. “I’m sure he’s been processing. He has another year of experience on the field.”
An inexperienced receiving corps will probably contribute to a slight drop in production more than the offensive line will, but Bradford could be better than ever physically and mentally.
