OU updates football depth chart
Oklahoma updated its depth chart late this week for the first time since the close of the 2009 season. Scan past the chart for a few thoughts.
| Offense | ||||
| LT | 59 Donald Stephenson |
Jr.
|
6-6
|
285
|
| 76 Jarvis Jones |
Jr.
|
6-7
|
297
|
|
| LG | 77 Stephen Good |
Jr.
|
6-6
|
291
|
| Bronson Irwin |
Fr.
|
6-5
|
322
|
|
|
C
|
61 Ben Habern |
Jr.
|
6-3
|
288
|
| 84 Gabe Ikard |
R-Fr.
|
6-4
|
252
|
|
| RG | 75 Tyler Evans |
So.
|
6-5
|
280
|
| 72 Tavaris Jeffries |
Sr.
|
6-4
|
309
|
|
| RT | 70 Cory Brandon |
Sr.
|
6-7
|
310
|
| 73 Josh Aladenoye |
R-Fr.
|
6-5
|
342
|
|
| TE | 69 Eric Mensik |
Sr.
|
6-6
|
265
|
| 47 Trent Ratterree |
Jr.
|
6-3
|
225
|
|
| WR | 24 Dejuan Miller |
Jr.
|
6-4
|
224
|
| 8 Brandon Caleb |
Sr.
|
6-1
|
187
|
|
| WR | 16 Jaz Reynolds |
So.
|
6-2
|
181
|
| 6 Cameron Kenney |
Sr.
|
6-1
|
190
|
|
| SL | 85 Ryan Broyles |
Jr.
|
5-11
|
178
|
| 17 Mossis Madu |
Sr.
|
6-0
|
200
|
|
| QB | 12 Landry Jones |
So.
|
6-4
|
216
|
| 15 Drew Allen |
R-Fr.
|
6-5
|
224
|
|
|
FB
|
32 Marshall Musil |
R-Fr.
|
6-2
|
218
|
| 48 Brandon Crow |
Sr.
|
6-1
|
221
|
|
| RB | 7 DeMarco Murray |
Sr.
|
6-1
|
214
|
| 23 Jermie Calhoun |
So.
|
6-0
|
218
|
|
| Defense | ||||
| DE | 44 Jeremy Beal |
Sr.
|
6-3
|
261
|
| 90 David King |
So.
|
6-5
|
236
|
|
| NG | 97 Jamarkus McFarland |
So.
|
6-2
|
296
|
| 53 Casey Walker |
So.
|
6-0
|
302
|
|
| DT | 86 Adrian Taylor |
Sr.
|
6-4
|
291
|
| 92 Stacey McGee |
So.
|
6-4
|
272
|
|
| DE | 84 Frank Alexander |
Jr.
|
6-4
|
259
|
| 95 Justin Chaisson |
R-Fr.
|
6-4
|
257
|
|
| SLB | 56 Ronnell Lewis |
So.
|
6-2
|
234
|
| 12 Austin Box |
Jr.
|
6-2
|
220
|
|
| MLB | 42 Tom Wort |
R-Fr.
|
6-0
|
220
|
| 31 Daniel Franklin |
So.
|
6-2
|
219
|
|
| WLB | 28 Travis Lewis |
Sr.
|
6-2
|
232
|
| 55 Jaydan Bird |
So.
|
6-1
|
227
|
|
| FCB | 19 Demontre Hurst |
So.
|
5-9
|
165
|
| 9 Gabe Lynn |
R-Fr.
|
6-0
|
186
|
|
| SS | 27 Sam Proctor |
Jr.
|
6-0
|
208
|
| 5 Joseph Ibiloye |
So.
|
6-3
|
208
|
|
| FS | 20 Quinton Carter |
Sr.
|
6-1
|
193
|
| 13 Marcus Trice |
So.
|
5-8
|
178
|
|
| BCB | 3 Jonathan Nelson |
Sr.
|
5-11
|
172
|
| 32 Jamell Fleming |
Jr.
|
5-11
|
178
|
|
Surprises:
* OU’s lack of depth on the offensive line for the spring is underscored by 1) freshman tight end Gabe Ikard being the top backup at center and 2) incoming freshman Bronson Irwin being the top backup at left guard. The Sooners should have more players to work with on the line come August, barring injury. But with Ben Habern and Jarvis Jones expected to miss the spring, OU will remain thin there for awhile. Still, it’s hard to believe that Ikard will remain on the line with Austin Woods, Habern and Brian Lepak all expected to man the position in the fall. Like Brody Eldridge, Ikard will probably be an emergency center. But who knows? If Ikard shows something at center in the spring, offensive coordinator Kevin Wilson could leave there full time.
* It’s not really a surprise, but the fact that Jaz Reynolds is starting at WR over Brandon Caleb shows just what the Sooner staff feels about the rising sophomore’s performance late in the season, notably the Sun Bowl. Reynolds had a pair of crucial third-down catches that went for first downs in that game. It appears the starting job is now his to lose.
* Eric Mensik is back at tight end. Mensik was solid in two games at right tackle, which is why many believed he may stay considering OU’s lack of boides on the line couple with its rising total of bodies at tight end (Trent Ratterree, James Hanna, Austin Haywood, Trey Millard, Lane Johnson, allegedly Gabe Ikard). But with Ikard now working at center and Haywood questionable to qualify and Johnson still viewed as somewhat of a project, perhaps moving Mensik back to tight end makes sense numbers wise.
* Bob Stoops has been touting the talent of left tackle Donald Stephenson for the last two months. Now, it seems Stoops has backed up that talk by penciling in Stephenson as the starter at left tackle, ahead of Cory Brandon, who currently remains at right tackle. Stephenson, who was suspended all of last season by Stoops for off-the-field reasons, has some talent. How he develops as a starter in protecting Landry Jones’ blind side will be paramount for OU getting to the 10-win mark next season.
Notable omission:
* Quick trivia: who was the No. 1 recruit from the class of 2008? Well, you won’t find him on this depth chart. Defensive end R.J. Washington continues to be overtaken. First it was fellow class of 2008 member David King. Now, it’s Justin Chaisson, listed as Frank Alexander’s backup at end instead of Washington. This is a pivotal year for Washington. If he falls behind Chaisson on the depth chart, then Washington will find it very difficult to garner playing time in a Sooner uniform, especially with talented freshman Geneo Grissom on the way as well.
Other thoughts:
* Marshall Musil’s all-around game apparently has placed him ahead of Brandon Crow on the chart at fullback. But that doesn’t mean Crow won’t play. Expect the senior to see the field in short-yardage situations as a blocking fullback, similar to the role he played last season.
* Mossis Madu is currently backing up Ryan Broyles in the slot. That experiment, however, hasn’t gone completely to plan, as Madu has been slow to develop in his new position (to little fault of his own; Madu is a lifelong tailback). Madu could take some snaps at running back in the spring, especially since the staff is likely to take it easy on starter DeMarco Murray, and third-stringer Jonathan Miller is recovering from knee surgery. With Jermie Calhoun all that’s left to take live reps, seeing what Madu can provide at running back might be worth the look.
* Cameron Kenney needs a big spring. If he fails to produce, WR coach Jay Norvell will take a hard look at moving up freshman Kenny Stills in the spring, and freshman Justin McCay in the fall in the rotation.
* The LBs are currently placed where expected. Tom Wort in the middle, Travis Lewis on the weak side, Ronnell Lewis on the strong side. Look for safety Joe Ibiloye to get a lot of work at strong-side ‘backer too. He’ll play a lot there next season in passing downs as the nickel back. Austin Box is going to be key for the Sooners. He’s listed on the strong side right now, which makes sense. Box’s previous experience is in the middle and on the weak side. Spending the spring learning strong side will give Brent Venables the option of inserting Box at any of the three LB spots and feel comfortable he’ll know what he’s doing.
* Jonathan Nelson, as expected, is being moved back to corner to compensate for the graduation of Brian Jackson and early NFL departure of Dom Franks. Demontre Hurst is listed as the other corner. This is an educated guess, but Nelson is probably on the boundary side because he’s a couple inches taller than Hurst, and about 10 pounds heavier. The boundary corner usually needs to be a little more physical. Hurst has good speed, so putting him on the field side also makes sense. That leaves the original 2009 safety starters: FS Quinton Carter and SS Sam Proctor, who was replaced by Nelson in the starting lineup midway through this past season.
-JT
McCoy takes over the No. 1 spot
ESPN’s Todd McShay released his newest mock draft (ESPN Insider), and on top is a bit of a surprise.
Gerald McCoy.
The Oklahoma junior defensive tackle grabbed the No. 1 spot from Nebraska’s Ndamukong Suh, who McShay tabbed as the No. 2 pick.
If the pair ends up being the top two picks in the draft, it will be the first time since 1999 that the top two picks played the same position. In 1999, Tim Couch, Donovan McNabb and Akili Smith, all quarterbacks, were the top three picks.
McCoy is one of four Oklahoma players McShay projects to be drafted in the first round.
Other Sooners on McShay’s mock draft:
8. OL Trent Williams, Oakland Raiders.
9. QB Sam Bradford, Buffalo Bills
21. TE Jermaine Gresham, Cincinnati Bengals
Texas Tech 72, Oklahoma 71: Postgame thoughts and observations
Tiny Gallon looked like, for a bit, he finally figured out teams have trouble guarding him when he makes strong moves to the basket. Dexter Pittman stopped him pretty consistently on the block on Saturday, but you’re not going to find many Dexter Pittman’s in college basketball.
Darko Cohadarevic, I assure you, is no Dexter Pittman.
“I think he’s close to 300 pounds, and guys like that, you’ve just got to try to contain him, not let him spin to the baseline and rely on your teammates to help,” Cohadarevic said. “Guys like that, you’ve just got to play him with an entire team, not just one-on-one. Because one-on-one, it’s really hard to stop him.”
Tiny should paste that on his locker and look at it every day. His numbers weren’t great (13 points, 5 rebounds) but I don’t think he made one move on the block in the second half that wasn’t aggressive and toward the goal. The most impressive came with just under five minutes left, when he made a nifty up-and-under move past Darko on the baseline and dunked it to bring the Sooners within four.
More of that will serve Mr. Gallon well.
* Speaking of Darko, he might have had the quote of the night, recounting his show of remorse to an official after picking up his third foul in the first half.
Asked if he was upset about the call, Darko said:
“Yes, but it was a foul. After I came down a little bit, I realized I did hook him. And I went up to the ref at the beginning of the second half and I said, ‘Good job. That was a good call.’ Some things like that happen in a game.”
Remember when Tim Duncan did that? Remember when any player ever did that? Me neither.
Maybe they do things differently in Serbia, where Darko is from, but I couldn’t help but smile when he said that.
And for all the complaining about fouls by the fans and others, Darko fouled out and Robert Lewandowski (Note: Pat Knight, please recruit big men with easier names to type) had four fouls. Oklahoma didn’t have anyone with more than three and the Red Raiders were whistled for one more team foul. That’s not to say the officials didn’t miss a few calls, but it’s not like it was heavily slanted one way.
* Willie Warren looked pretty good, especially on a gimpy ankle. For much of the game, he showed some of the slashing ability that landed him on draft boards to begin with. One more drive probably wouldn’t have hurt, instead of taking a three down one with under 10 seconds to play. That said, he hadn’t been getting foul calls on drives for most of the night and the ref probably would have swallowed his whistle in that situation. But my guess? If he had been getting calls earlier in the game, he would have attacked the goal one more time.
“It’s getting a lot better,” Warren said of the ankle. “Our trainer has been doing a great job having me wake up every morning, coming in and getting treatment two or three times a day. And it’s a day-to-day process. I’m not quite 100 percent, but that’s what I’m aiming for.”
* I’m a little surprised Oklahoma didn’t lose their legs with a short bench. They’ve struggled late in the past few games with a full lineup, cramping up and letting opponents creep back into games. But Tuesday, they actually played their best basketball in the last six minutes or so. Only seven players took the floor for Oklahoma.
* Warren seemed hopeful of a trip to the NCAAs after the game, but I’m not buying anymore. I said this a few weeks ago, but Oklahoma needs to go 10-6 and win a couple games in the Big 12 Tournament to make the dance.
To do that now, they’ll have to finish 6-1. The rest of their conference slate includes games at Kansas, at Texas, at home against Kansas State, and their next two games are at Oklahoma State and Colorado. I would be beyond shocked if they lost just one of those.
Better save up some energy for mid-March. If Oklahoma is dancing, they’ll need an improbable run over four days in Kansas City.
A couple things that didn’t make the notebook in the paper:
* Cade Davis reportedly played with bronchitis. A couple others noticed he played maybe a step slow, but I didn’t see it. He looked solid for all 38 minutes, other than not being able to knock down a shot.
* Tony Crocker had the seventh double-double of his career, with 16 points and 11 rebounds. With that performance, he became just the second Sooner to ever record 1,000 points, 500 boards and 150 3-pointers.
Arbitrary numbers? Sure. But impressive nonetheless. Ryan Minor is the only other OU player to duplicate it.
A couple stray quotes:
Tommy Mason-Griffin, on his missed game-winner:
“Now that I look back at it, I wish I would’ve gotten another dribble or two.”
Jeff Capel, on Willie Warren:
“He played well, except for the six turnovers. He has to get better there and that’s something he’d had a problem with in Big 12 play. He certainly did some good things offensively for us.”
Willie Warren hopes to be 100 percent by Saturday
Willie Warren first hurt his ankle on Jan. 21, two days before a loss to Texas Tech.
He sat out that game and the next, a win over Iowa State. He returned in a loss to Nebraska and played 16 minutes in Saturday’s win over Texas.
Before Monday’s practice, he gave an update on the sprained right ankle.
Before Saturday, I would assume you’ve never played that hurt before in your life, right?
Willie Warren: Nah, besides my back injury. My ankle injury is a little different than my back, I need my ankles to cut and move around, run full-speed. I’d say it’s one of the toughest things, playing with my back injury I had when I was younger, I’d say is the most painful?
How’d you gut your way through that Saturday?
Warren: You know, I just had to do a lot of thinking. Cade (Davis) put his body on the line when he was sick, Crock (Tony Crocker) tried to against Missouri, and he came back again after he got himself injured and we both missed Iowa State. So, it was just something I had to do for my team, and we really needed that win.
So is it just pain on cuts?
Warren: Sprinting, that’s really the main thing. In a halfcourt game, I feel like I’m pretty good. I’m a little worried about exploding off it and coming down on it, because it’s just so fresh, but sprinting is just the main problem I’m having. It’s really hard for me to sprint. It won’t let me sprint.
How close will you be to 100 percent for Tuesday night?
Tomorrow would be pushing it, but we’re looking forward to being 100 percent on Saturday.
This is the worst one I’ve had. I’ve never had an ankle injury that’s kept me from sprinting as long as some kind of tendon he’s talking about on the inside of my ankle that just needs to get back stretched out because it got so tight from doing all the rehab.
Chat with David Ubben at 11 a.m.
Former Sooner raiding Oklahoma
Defensive tackle Calvin Barnett, a player Rivals.com tabbed as the best in Oklahoma, spurned Oklahoma State on signing day for Arkansas.
His recruiter? Former Oklahoma quarterback Garrick McGee, now the offensive coordinator for the Razorbacks under Bobby Petrino. McGee, a graduate of high school football powerhouse Booker T. Washington in Tulsa, helped the Hogs grab give of the top 35 recruits in Oklahoma. The five were as many as Arkansas signed from in-state.
From the Arkansas News:
“One of the things when I first got the job that was important to me was to try to get Garrick down here,” Petrino said Wednesday. “He can walk in there and basically knows just about everybody in the city of Tulsa and that certainly helps.”
McGee also corralled former OU commit Jarrett Lake, a linebacker from Jenks in Tulsa. If his comments on Wednesday are any indication, his impact in the Sooner State could only widen.
“I’m going to try to branch out this year and get into Oklahoma City,” McGee said. “Get on the other side of the state and get us some kids from that side of the state.”
Blake Griffin Night set for Tuesday
Oklahoma will host “Blake Griffin Night” during Tuesday’s game against Texas Tech at the Lloyd Noble Center.
The first 4,000 fans will receive a Blake Griffin poster, and the first 2,000 fans will receive a scratch card. Of the 2,000, 100 will feature Griffin’s logo and give the recipient access to a private, postgame meet-and-greet with Griffin.
Each fan at the meet-and-greet will receive an autograph, a photo, and a Blake Griffin hat. Here’s a video of Griffin talking about designing his new hat.
At halftime, Griffin will be presented with the NCAA Sportsmanship Award and serve as honorary shot coach for a fan who will attempt a half-court shot for $10,000.
Griffin won every major national player of the year award as a sophomore in 2008-09, averaging 22.7 points and 14.4 rebounds, which led the nation. He was selected No. 1 overall by the Los Angeles Clippers in June’s NBA Draft.
Griffin played during the preseason, but has missed all of this season with a knee injury.
Sooners host Florida State on Sept. 11
Florida State released their 2010 schedule on Thursday, putting a date on their trip to Norman to face the Sooners.
The Seminoles and Sooners will play at Owen Field on Sept. 11, a week before Jimbo Fisher hosts Brigham Young in his first season as head coach.
Oklahoma has yet to announce the dates of its 2010 non-conference schedule, but it will also host Air Force and Utah State. The Sooners lone road game before conference play will be a trip to Cincinnati to face the Bearcats.
Here’s how the conference schedule looks for 2010:
Oct. 2 – Texas (Dallas)
Oct. 9 – OFF
Oct. 16 – Iowa State
Oct. 23 – at Missouri
Oct. 30 – Colorado
Nov. 6 – at Texas A&M
Nov. 13 – Texas Tech
Nov. 20- at Baylor
Nov. 26 or 27 – at OSU
Sam Bradford pays the Gatorade Lab a visit
Former Oklahoma quarterback Sam Bradford paid the Gatorade Performance Lab at the Super Bowl a visit earlier this week and got to test out all kinds of futuristic-looking fitness equipment.
All photos courtesy of Gatorade. Click any photo for a higher resolution version.
What Sam is not doing: Waking from a four-month cryo-sleep after midseason shoulder surgery.
What Sam is doing: Taking a turn in the Bod Pod, which analyzes body composition.
What Sam is not doing: Being measured for the helmet on his space suit.
What Sam is doing: Getting fitted with the equipment for a caloric expenditure test, which does exactly what you think. It measures how many calories the body loses during exercise.
What Sam is not doing: Being force fed Gatorade’s new G Series, which is three different drinks for before, during and after competition.
What Sam is doing: Taking part in a caloric expenditure test.
For more photos and a brief video, head to Sam Bradford’s page on Gatorade’s Web site.
Brennan Clay a key recruiter
While Brennan Clay has the physical tools necessary of becoming a big-time running back at Oklahoma, his value to the Sooners goes beyond that.
After committing to OU out of San Diego last June, Clay went to work luring a pair of other high school stars from the area, safety Tony Jefferson (Chula Vista, Calif.) and wide receiver Kenny Stills (Carlsbad, Calif.) to Norman.
“Guys of that caliber aren’t going to make a decision on what one kid says,” said Clay’s high school coach, Sergio Diaz. “But I would say he played a major part in them considering OU an option.”
Before this class, OU had not done much recruiting in the state of California. Through Bob Stoops’ first 11 recruiting classes, the Sooners signed just three Californians total.
Thanks in part to Clay, OU was able to get in the door with Jefferson and Stills, who are two of the top prospects in this Sooner signing class.
“Kids, they attend camps, combines, take visits at the same time. Relationships are developed,” said ESPN recruiting analyst Tom Luginbill. “When someone commits before the others do and has a sense of what the program has, I think he can relay to the others somewhat of an objective viewpoint.
“So I don’t think there’s any doubt that he played a part in OU getting Jefferson and Stills.”
Said Stoops, “Brennan helped us out.”
-JT