Box to miss spring practice.

[adoniijahsooner]

Is middle linebacker going to be a concern again.:eek:


Oklahoma linebacker Austin Box is expected to miss spring practice due to elbow surgery, coach Bob Stoops said Wednesday. Box dislocated the elbow as a senior at Enid High School, and injured it again last year causing him to miss most of spring practice.
Box, a rising sophomore, has battled several injuries since coming to Norman.
He had to undergo arthroscopic surgery last August to repair cartilage damage in his knee, which sidelined him for almost a month. Then, he suffered a knee sprain at Oklahoma State that caused him to miss the Big 12 Championship against Missouri.
Box returned for the BCS National Championship but played sparingly as a backup to Mike Balogun. Box is expected to recover by the end of the spring and participate in summer workouts.
Stoops said he wasn’t sure yet if any other Sooner would have to undergo off-season surgery.
BY JAKE TROTTER




http://newsok.com/box-to-miss-spring/article/3337993

[SoonerTank]

Is middle linebacker going to be a concern again.:eek:






http://newsok.com/box-to-miss-spring/article/3337993

Just Bobs way of saying Box has lost his arm at the sholder and will never be able to walk again. Also, everyone on the team is going to have reconstructive surgery somewhere on their body that will greatly impair their playing ability next year.:D :D

[Boomer.....]

I don't think Reynolds will be back for the spring either. Could be wrong though.

[OUinFLA]

I gave long thought to having carpal tunnel reconstructive surgery, and of course I was going to do it in the spring when my typing skills were not going to be needed for the team.

However, I feel I can tough it out for another year and still contribute to the board at the 90% level. It is a personal decision of mine that the pain I could endure would not be beneficial to the 10% gain in productivity. Also, Im kinda a p***y when it comes to pain.

Spring grouper fishing had a moderate influence on my final decision.

Thanks for all the concern.

[primetime43]

There may be a lot of people that disagree with me but I think Mike Balogun is a more natural middle linebacker. He really reminded me of Lance Mitchell. I think we'll be just fine with Balogun.

[MojoRisen]

I like Balogun against teams like Florida, I kind of like Box against teams like Texas and Tech - he seems to be the athletic backer at his weight tackling in the open field and making plays in coverage.

Balogun is pretty damn good in his own right though and has another 6 months to get the system down. He will have an advantage on both RR and AB going into fall.

[Breadburner]

I can't wait to see more of Balogun next year.....

[ratedrsuperstar]

I've always liked the way Stoops has recruited and I expect him to do it again this year. OU will sign high school kids at the positions they are deep at and any 5 star kids they can get their hands on, but they will go to the JC's for area's the sooners are thin at. I expect a few JC linebackers to be signed and possibly 1 JC QB just for the extra depth, I don't know much about the QB's after Bradford and Landry Jones.

I've never understood why the schools here in the south hasn't done more of this. I think the JC route can be over done also (see Kansas, K State) You have to get the right mix of JC's and HS players.

[sooner518]

I seem to remember hearing Box's name alot more often than Balogun in the games they were in. but i dont know anything. sucks that he is missing even more time

[soonerfan28]

Box could have and didn't play a down in the Florida game. That may be because Balogun fit the mold of what we needed at MLB against Floida, but it may also be that Balogun has won the job. On top of that if Box is as injury prone as Reynolds has been then that might push them a little to give it to Balogun.

[stoops the eternal pimp]

As good as Box and Reynolds are, I would feel better letting someone else start and get the reps in practice...I don't think either are capable of playing a season healthy

[OklahomaTuba]

Balogun is ok as a last resort, but he isn't nearly as quick as we need in the middle IMO.

And with two new safeties coming in, that's not a good combo.

[soonerfan28]

I agree that he may not be as quick but he hasn't had any injuries and we sure don't need another Texas problem this year. They thought Reynolds was going to be healthy and that didn't work out. I think they'll take a healthy Balogun over an injury prone Box.

[SoonerLB]

We need 'em all healthy, that's what would be nice. I would love to see RR back and healthy all season, that could lead to some outstanding instant replays! :)

[Scotty]

Its a good thing we are bringing in these guys this year

Jaydan Bird
Gus Jones
Ronnell Lewis
Brandon Mahoney
Tom Wort

This will help with alot of our depth issues at LB

[FlatheadSooner]

Sad to say, but I don't see how anyone could still bet on RR being our MLB for most of next year. It seems the extensive knee injuries put him at a huge speed / mobility disadvantage, not to mention high risk for further injury.

Box moved into the MLB position very quickly and was making quite an impact. His injuries should definately put the coaches in caution mode but I would guess his speed / mobility / awareness (if at 100%) would put him back in the lead for starting.

With the above in mind, I think it is imperative for Balogun to be ready to take over at any moment. I agree that we don't yet know how far he could progress and it is possible that he just might be the best man for the job. Time will tell.

We better well have another one ready as possible behind Balogun.

[soonerfan28]

Any chance Justin Johnson makes the move to LB. He has to know he could possibly never see the field at OU.

[soonermagic14]

I hear the recruit Tom Wort is a head hunting, hard hitting Mike. I see Balogun, Box, and maybe Reynolds splitting time next year. Balogun may have to shed some pounds....but I do I like seeing #10 at the Mike position.

[soonerfan28]

Wort with that speed will probably be at the weakside. He's only around 6 feet to 6'1 and he'll probably fill out at around 225 to 230. He doesn't have the height that coaches like at WLB but he's got the speed.

[BoulderSooner79]

The coaches seem very hesitant to put Balogun in the lineup; he must not practice well.

[madillsoonerfan5353]

IMO Balogun could start to play quicker with more reps. Player play slow til they learn the system!!! It seemed to me that he was about a half step behind in the Gayter game, but I think I was lack of reps!!! I think he'll get the speed of the game in the spring!!!

[Novamanxl]

What was so bad with Balogun that when Reynolds got hurt, Box stepped in over him? Wasn't Balogun a junior at the time and Box red-shirted?

[cjames317]

Maybe there's a need to de-emphasize the cover 2? Check this from The Nat'l Football Post's Matt Bowen:

The Death Of The Tampa 2

As we prepare to watch the NFC and AFC championship games on Sunday, I had a thought this week. Like any young aspiring writer, I scribbled it down on Tuesday. It was just a thought at the time, but I believe now is the time to talk about it.

I think the Tampa 2 defense is being phased out of the NFL.

Think about it. More important, think about it as you watch the championship games on Sunday between bowls of Texas chili and cold bottles of Miller High Life. There will be no Tampa 2, no undersized linebackers dropping to a spot and no safeties playing close to 20 yards off the line of scrimmage. No rushing the passer with your front four on third downs and playing coverage behind it, and no middle linebacker running down the middle of the field trying to keep up with a slot receiver who runs a 4.3 in the 40.

Instead, we will watch Pittsburgh (the No. 1 unit in total defense), Baltimore (No. 2 in total defense), Philadelphia (No. 3 in total defense) and Arizona (maybe the most surprising defense in the playoffs). All four of these defenses play with pressure in mind — zone blitzes, man coverage blitzes and even zero coverage blitzes. They don’t sit back and react. They don’t have a “top” to their defense so that nobody can get behind them. They don’t wait — they attack.

Ladies and gentlemen, this is the new defense in the NFL. Look, everyone in this league copies the best teams, and if you’re in the final four of the NFL playoffs, you are one of the best teams. Think about the teams who run the Tampa 2 scheme as their No. 1 call: Chicago, Minnesota, Buffalo, Tampa, Indianapolis and Detroit. Where are they now? At home, watching these four defenses go after quarterbacks, challenge receivers and create turnovers — instead of waiting for them to fall in their laps because of a bad decision by the quarterback.

Plus, Detroit just hired Jim Schwartz from the Tennessee Titans as their new head coach. Last time I checked, the Titans’ defense went after people, so you can forget about playing Tampa 2 in Detroit. In fact, you may never see it again.

My point is that the NFL is cyclical. It changes, it morphs into the “new rage,” and right now, that rage is blitz-happy defenses with corners who can play man to man and get in the face of highly paid wide receivers. They dictate not only the tone of the game, but they alter the game plans of opposing offenses. They tell the offense what they can and can’t do with their pressure.

This is how football generally works. It’s the same in the college game. Gone are the days of Jamel Halloway and the wishbone triple option attack at Oklahoma, and the days of Tommie Frazier at Nebraska. The University of Miami became great because they recruited defensive players who could run sideline to sideline and stop the triple option. Now it’s the “spread offense” and Tim Tebow. Everyone sets up in the shotgun and slings it all over the field. You now need to recruit quarterbacks who can throw and run, or defensive backs who can cover five-receiver sets. Football changes and so do the schemes that teams run.

For that reason, I see the end of the Tampa 2 in the near future. Sure, every team will run Cover 2 from time to time, but the days of it becoming the lead call in this league are short. Offenses have figured out ways to beat it. The seven-man run front it provides can be carved up by an athletic offensive line and a strong running game, and quarterbacks like Kurt Warner can eat it up with basic routes that expose the holes it allows.

Detroit will be the first team to throw it in the garbage, and soon, others will follow. Monte Kiffin is leaving the Bucs to challenge the SEC, Tony Dungy has retired and the rest of the coaches using the Tampa 2 might be searching for jobs if they don’t win next year.

Everything — even good things — come to an end in life, and now, in the NFL.

[soonerfan28]

What was so bad with Balogun that when Reynolds got hurt, Box stepped in over him? Wasn't Balogun a junior at the time and Box red-shirted?

Box has more time on campus the Balogun. Balogun is a juco transfer we got in August. Box showed up in the spring of 2007.

[goingoneight]

I don't think playing a true freshmen at LB under Venables is a great idea unless he's a Dougie Houser/Brian Urlacher hybrid who picks stuff up like DAMN fast.

We have some LBs coming in this year that I *DO* believe however will be great on special teams. A guy like Tom Wort will make quick work of those ******y KORTDs like Cox had where we just flat out whiffed and didn't wrap up.

Travis Lewis is a lock as is K. Clayton, but that's just the starting OLBs. We need quality guys behind them. At MLB... we know we've got three capable guys. I would imagine come August it's 1 Balogun, 2 Box 3 Reynolds... but that's not to say any of those guys are weaker than the other, just based on health and readiness to get out there and run things effectively. MLB might strangely be OUr strongest position even though right now it appears thin. This is provided, of course we are healthy in the 3 deep come August.