INSIDE SLANT
Oklahoma had five players selected in the 2009 NFL draft and a slew of others picked up as undrafted free agents. Nonetheless, everybody knows the storyline entering this season is the Sooners' quest for their first national championship since 2000 or, at the very least, trying to win a BCS bowl game after five straight losses, three in national-title games.
Even though OU lost its two most productive wide receivers and four offensive linemen that started almost from the time each set foot on campus, so much skill nonetheless returns, the Sooners are a cinch as a preseason top-5 pick and the favorite to win a fourth straight Big 12 championship.
That's why, even in Norman, it was one of the quietest springs on record.
Heisman Trophy winning quarterback Sam Bradford is back, all but eliminating the drama on offense. OU's top three running backs -- DeMarco Murray, Chris Brown, Mossis Madu -- are back, too. Maybe the best tight end in the nation, Jermaine Gresham, is back. The line's sole returnee is Trent Williams, the best of the bunch a year ago according offensive coordinator Kevin Wilson. Defensively, OU brings back its two best defenders from a year ago in All-American tackle Gerald McCoy and linebacker Travis Lewis, both of its corners and, thanks to injury in 2008, four linebackers in addition to Lewis with starting experience.
Following a spring game that was dominated by defense (in no great surprise because so many stars sat out or the annual Red/White Game), OU coach Bob Stoops said plenty by saying little.
"It was really hard to judge the offense with so many guys out," OU coach Bob Stoops said. "Overall, I thought we saw a lot of good things and good effort. The good news is that the guys who did play got a ton of snaps."
Bradford, Gresham, Murray, Brown and fullback/tight ends Matt Clapp and Brody Eldridge, themselves virtual first-teamers, all sat out the spring game. But the point of spring practice wasn't the development of stars so much overall development.
NOTES, QUOTES--The Sooners lost wide receivers Juaquin Iglesias and Manny Johnson to the draft, but their most electric receiver -- Ryan Broyles, a hometown product from Norman High who caught 46 passes a year ago, six for touchdowns -- should have an easy transition to the No. 1 role. His ability to make plays after the catch has been compared to ex-Sooner Mark Clayton.
--There is one interesting position battle coming out of the spring and it's at place-kicker. Jimmy Stevens missed four field goals and five PATs last season. Tress Way redshirted and Bryce Easley, who plans to walk on, was still at Norman North High School, about three miles from campus, during spring drills. Easley might have been the best kicker in Class 6A last fall, has a 54-yard FG to his credit and kicked most of his kickoffs through the end zone. Nobody will be surprised if he starts. Between Stevens and Way, the on-campus battle continues through the summer. With media limited to viewing only the spring game on Bob Stoops' orders, and the coaches not yet playing favorites, little is know about where the competition stands.
Yet another in-town prep product, tailback Mossis Madu, who played with Ryan Broyles at Norman High, may have helped himself in the spring. With Brown and Murray out of the spring game against a defense that shut down almost everything else, Madu had 44 yards on nine carries. Madu got a look as an occasional receiver, perhaps lining up in the slot. Basically, the Sooners lost two good receivers and have a solid offensive talent in Madu, often only used in a mop-up role (115 carries, 497 yards, six TDs) last season. Increasing Madu's role looks like a natural progression given his performance.
SPRING MOVERS:
WR Adron Tennell -- A senior who last year caught only nine passes for less than 8.0 yards a grab. Nonetheless, he could be in line for a big season. At 6-foot-4 and 191 pounds, he's a big target who was praised in spring drills.
CB Dominique Franks -- Oklahoma's secondary was defined last season by what it didn't do. And what it didn't do was get beat very often. But with two departing safeties, the Sooners need a leader to emerge to lead the unit and Franks looks like the guy. He picked two passes off in the spring game and is positioned to have a big senior year.
FS Quinton Carter -- Carter backed up safeties Lindy Holmes and Nic Harris last season. Holmes and Harris were Nos. 2 and 4 on OU's tackle chart; Carter was No. 9, despite scant playing time, with 37 stops. Strong reviews followed in the spring.
"He's a smart, sharp, physical guy that has a presence out there," secondary coach Bobby Jack Wright said.
QUOTE TO NOTE: "I think those guys have done a great job. They've come in and have to play against one of the best defensive lines in the country every day and they're still having to learn. But, in my opinion, they've done a great job protecting me this spring." -- OU quarterback Sam Bradford on the retooled offensive line that includes one returning starter (Trent Williams) and only one other player (Brian Simmons) who played every game last season.
STRATEGY AND PERSONNEL2009 OUTLOOK: OU will be the favorite in the Big 12 conference and one of the favorites to contend for a national championship. The BCS monkey remains on its back after last season's national-title game loss to Florida. Yet there's do doubt OU has the skill players to make national run, nor that it has a defense that got better throughout the season a year ago and that retains nine starters. The future is always now when it comes to the Sooners, yet with Sam Bradford, Jermaine Gresham, Gerald McCoy and Trent Williams all eschewing the draft, it's really now heading into the 2009 season.
SCOUTING THE OFFENSE: The offensive line is an untested question mark, much like the wide receiving corps beyond Ryan Broyles. That said, the explosiveness of the Sooner offense is unquestioned. It's led by a quarterback who threw for 50 touchdowns, Heisman winner Sam Bradford, and two 1,000-yard tailbacks in DeMarco Murray and Chris Brown. The O-line did not shine in the spring. The coaches are betting that had a lot to do with a Sooner defensive front that, even after McCoy, remains very deep. OU's fast-break no-huddle offense should continue to move the ball up and down the field against most opponents, but the test will come in big games: Texas early and Nebraska, Texas Tech and Oklahoma State late in the season. At receiver, with Broyles back, Madu helping out, Gresham catching passes at tight end and Adron Tennell emerging, this unit should sort out nicely.
SCOUTING THE DEFENSE: Don't be surprised if this is the side of the ball that becomes the big story in 2009. Maligned and pegged as porous a year ago, OU got better as the season went along and even gave Florida and Tim Tebow all kinds of fits, despite ultimately losing, at the national title game. Nine of 11 starters return and that includes All-American talents Gerald McCoy at tackle and Travis Lewis at linebacker. Few teams in the country are as deep at defensive end, where Auston English, Jeremy Beal and Frank Alexander are star-caliber. OU lost two safeties in Nic Harris and Lendy Holmes, but Quinton Carter looks like the real thing at free safety and Dominique Franks and Brian Jackson were quiet last season in the best possible way -- they were hardly beat deep -- and both return. The Sooners could well be an excellent defensive team in 2009.
SCOUTING SPECIAL TEAMS: The big question mark despite Jimmy Stevens returning is place-kicker. Assuming Norman North product Bryce Easley indeed walks on, kickoff duties might be settled quickly. Easley was near perfect as a kicker his senior year of high school, too, but one always wonders how much moving up a level affects consistency. On the return teams, the Sooners have several options, but return experience in Ryan Broyles fielding punts and DeMarco Murray bringing back kickoffs. Both handled those duties well last season.
ROSTER REPORT:
--It's always interesting to see who doesn't play opening day as a result of suspensions that were never leaked to the media. Stoops might already have two candidates -- both for being arrested -- though the charges are relatively puny.
TE Jermaine Gresham was arrested on a warrant issued as a result of failing to pay a ticket for not wearing a seat belt issued Feb. 2.
LB Keenan Clayton was arrested April 28 for failure to appear for a ticket he received Feb. 28 for not having insurance verification for his vehicle. Both players posted bond following their arrest and were quickly released.
--QBs Landry Jones and Drew Allen in their one public viewing were underwhelming, combining to complete 9 of 26 passes for 131 yards in the spring game. Jones was third team last season behind Joey Halzle. Allen is a true freshman who graduated from high school early and enrolled at OU in time to take part in spring drills.
--LB Ryan Reynolds, who tore an ACL for the second time in his career in the Sooners' loss at Texas last season and who, at the time, was arguably OU's most important defender, is on the road to recovery is projected to be back and starting against at MLB for the coming season. If he pulls it off, it will be an amazing comeback story. His first ACL tear caused him to take a medical redhsirt in 2006.
Previous Report: 03/25/2009
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