jonpon
10/17/2007, 12:45 PM
Great story on Auston....Second story down.
Link
http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/notebook?page=iform077
Defense Is English's First Language
When preseason practice began at Oklahoma in August, two of the biggest questions had to be answered at quarterback and defensive end. On the former, redshirt freshman Sam Bradford has become the nation's most efficient passer and gathered the headlines that good quarterbacks gather.
Auston English has answered questions about Oklahoma's issues at defensive end.
On the latter, however, redshirt sophomore Auston English has made as big an impact on the Sooners' defense as an end can make. English leads the Big 12 with 7½ sacks, and his 11 tackles for loss rank 11th in the country.
That's not bad for a Canadian native -- Canadian, Texas, that is, a town of 2,250 in the top-right corner of the panhandle (this weekend's Fall Foliage Festival includes a Family Cow Milk, horse-drawn wagon rides and Campfire Saturday Night).
English has made the leap from 2A Texas high school football to All-American contention, which is amazing when you consider that English can remember playing against only one other I-A scholarship player in high school. In English's senior year, Canadian High beat Tuscola's Jim Ned High (quarterbacked by Colt McCoy) 32-27 to reach the quarterfinals of the state playoffs.
McCoy now quarterbacks Texas. English is now 2-0 against him, sacking McCoy twice in the Sooners' 28-21 defeat of the Longhorns on Oct. 6. They talked on the field after the game.
"I wished him good luck," English said. "He's a good guy, a real nice person."
At 6-foot-3, 257 pounds, English has been too fast for most offensive tackles to catch and strong enough to deal with those who can.
"The guy is so athletic, it's unbelievable," coach Bob Stoops said. "He can play linebacker. He could play standup on those 3-4 teams. He could be a rush guy like he is. He's a heck of an athlete, and the guy's got a motor like nobody. He runs a quarterback [McCoy] down on the sideline last week, and we're looking to spell him, and he's waving us off. No, he's not coming out. Not everyone has the ability, stamina-wise, to be able to do it. And he's only a sophomore."
There is little in English's play to suggest that he's only 20 years old.
"I guess I've gotten a little more confidence in myself," English said, "just knowing that, 'Hey, I can actually play a little bit.' Just the experience of the game, just knowing that you can do it, knowing you've got the ability to do it."
Only when English volunteers his biggest individual goal does his lack of experience reveal itself. Staying sharp mentally, play after play, is a mountain all young players must learn to climb.
"Focus," English said. "At times, I feel myself slipping. You get antsy and want to make a play. You forget your presnap read, where if the back is here, they like to do this, and [try to] go play like you did in high school. [College football] is a whole different game. Focus, focus and more focus."
Link
http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/notebook?page=iform077
Defense Is English's First Language
When preseason practice began at Oklahoma in August, two of the biggest questions had to be answered at quarterback and defensive end. On the former, redshirt freshman Sam Bradford has become the nation's most efficient passer and gathered the headlines that good quarterbacks gather.
Auston English has answered questions about Oklahoma's issues at defensive end.
On the latter, however, redshirt sophomore Auston English has made as big an impact on the Sooners' defense as an end can make. English leads the Big 12 with 7½ sacks, and his 11 tackles for loss rank 11th in the country.
That's not bad for a Canadian native -- Canadian, Texas, that is, a town of 2,250 in the top-right corner of the panhandle (this weekend's Fall Foliage Festival includes a Family Cow Milk, horse-drawn wagon rides and Campfire Saturday Night).
English has made the leap from 2A Texas high school football to All-American contention, which is amazing when you consider that English can remember playing against only one other I-A scholarship player in high school. In English's senior year, Canadian High beat Tuscola's Jim Ned High (quarterbacked by Colt McCoy) 32-27 to reach the quarterfinals of the state playoffs.
McCoy now quarterbacks Texas. English is now 2-0 against him, sacking McCoy twice in the Sooners' 28-21 defeat of the Longhorns on Oct. 6. They talked on the field after the game.
"I wished him good luck," English said. "He's a good guy, a real nice person."
At 6-foot-3, 257 pounds, English has been too fast for most offensive tackles to catch and strong enough to deal with those who can.
"The guy is so athletic, it's unbelievable," coach Bob Stoops said. "He can play linebacker. He could play standup on those 3-4 teams. He could be a rush guy like he is. He's a heck of an athlete, and the guy's got a motor like nobody. He runs a quarterback [McCoy] down on the sideline last week, and we're looking to spell him, and he's waving us off. No, he's not coming out. Not everyone has the ability, stamina-wise, to be able to do it. And he's only a sophomore."
There is little in English's play to suggest that he's only 20 years old.
"I guess I've gotten a little more confidence in myself," English said, "just knowing that, 'Hey, I can actually play a little bit.' Just the experience of the game, just knowing that you can do it, knowing you've got the ability to do it."
Only when English volunteers his biggest individual goal does his lack of experience reveal itself. Staying sharp mentally, play after play, is a mountain all young players must learn to climb.
"Focus," English said. "At times, I feel myself slipping. You get antsy and want to make a play. You forget your presnap read, where if the back is here, they like to do this, and [try to] go play like you did in high school. [College football] is a whole different game. Focus, focus and more focus."