This says it all. Very nice read!

[OU44life]

http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/sports/columnists.nsf/bryanburwell/story/F03F05001ECE91548625770100152F9A?OpenDocument

[yukonsooner]

OUTSTANDING!!!

[Oldnslo]

Sam is the anti-Tiger.

[NormanPride]

It's interesting to read the opinions of the average NFL fan on him. Some of those comments are pretty good.

[NOVSooner]

Great article, great people, he really is someone you hope your child can be like, not just the player, but more so the person.

[jkm, the stolen pifwafwi]

You would not be the first one to mistake Bradford's outward reserve for weakness. When he showed up at Oklahoma as a freshman, he was of course immediately assigned to the scout team, and the skinny kid from Oklahoma City was not making an immediate impression on most of the offensive coaching staff.

"Our offensive coaches were pretty skeptical of him," Stoops said. "They were wondering about his demeanor. But I work with the defense a lot and since he was on the scout team, and I didn't know anything about his demeanor. All I kept watching were these throws. He was just firing these balls all over the place, completing some really impressive, tough, accurate throws against our No.1 defense every single day. I mean, I was really impressed."

So one day Stoops stopped the practice tapes, walked across the hallway to the offensive side of the football offices and popped his head into an offensive meeting.

"I said something about how good Sam was looking against our starting defense," Stoops said. "They all looked at me and said, 'Really?'"

"I told them, 'Yeah, really,' and they needed to watch some of our defensive tape."


you thought this sequence was outstanding?

[NOVSooner]

good read on Franks, too

http://min.scout.com/2/961640.html

[SbOrOiNaEnR]

I want to have a drink with Mr. Joe Loudest Guy in the Room.

[SoonerJack]

awesome article.

[ouduckhunter]

That is a great article! Go Sam!

[TMcGee86]

He reminds me a lot of Chuck Long (former Iowa All-American). You don't have to be the loudest guy in the room to be a leader. That was Chuck, and that is Sam."


(makes mental note to start the anti-SB for OC call as soon as he is out of the NFL.)

[swardboy]

you thought this sequence was outstanding?

I was chewing over this scene myself.

And it surprised me how late in the process Stoops threw himself into the evaluation.......

[rawlingsHOH]

I was chewing over this scene myself.

And it surprised me how late in the process Stoops threw himself into the evaluation.......

Welcome to life as a scout-teamer.

[Sooner04]

It's not surprising. Hell, the only reason we even offered is because Texas Tech wanted him. Chuck Long went to bat for Sam from the beginning. Everyone else was lukewarm.

[badger]

Sam is the anti-Tiger.

In many ways :)

I think the stories of how Earl Woods had Tiger putting when he was 2 got some parents these wild ideas that they could train their sons and daughters to be future college/pro athletes simply by pushing them from early ages, competing early, get professional training, etc.

However, like Tiger, Sammie is also the son of a Big 12 college athlete (Earl went to KSU, I think). Alas, no amount of parenting, pressure or none, really will get your kiddo into an elite program or turning pro. You just gotta be good to begin with.

[goingoneight]

Sam naturally excelled at many different sports, including two of the toughest to be successful in... golf and basketball. It takes intense focus to be worth a damn in golf, great athleticism to play basketball and both sports require a heightened skill of hand-eye coordination. That alone was enough for me to like the guy when he was coming into OU as a QB.

Screw stars, they mean nothing. The stars don't tell who can make it through Schmiddy or not, who is going to grow 4 inches and gain 30 pounds of muscle versus who is going to fall out of a pickup truck.

The fact that he was working under Paul Thompson, and being coached by Josh Heupel, all the while sitting aside and learning during a tough season worth learning a lot in 2006... combined with the fact that from the time he was just a little kid, he dreamt of being a Sooner... not a Sooner QB... but just a Sooner in general... told me we had nothing to worry about as far as his off-the-field demeanor.

It's truly been a privelege to see his story unfold and I hope he goes onto be a big-time successful QB in the NFL, to break this trend of no Sooner QBs making it at the nest level.

[badger]

Diehard Packers fan here... might be tempted to get a Sammie Rams jersey if he goes to them.

However, if he ends up in the NFC North and not as a Packer, all bets off :mad:

[sendbaht]

That was a needed read. Thanks for posting!

[Jello Biafra]

Diehard Packers fan here... might be tempted to get a Sammie Rams jersey if he goes to them.

However, if he ends up in the NFC North and not as a Packer, all bets off :mad:

pfft...weak sauce.

[badger]

I also heard rumors that Jimmie Wilkerson might be St. Louis-bound as well, so for those of you of the opinion that the franchise isn't looking to win, think again. They're thinking Sooner and Sooner=winner :D

[Jello Biafra]

I also heard rumors that Jimmie Wilkerson might be St. Louis-bound as well, so for those of you of the opinion that the franchise isn't looking to win, think again. They're thinking Sooner and Sooner=winner :D

what the F?!?!? last i heard he was the biggest name on that tampa defense. i admit, i havent been following closely but....

[sooner94]

Diehard Packers fan here... might be tempted to get a Sammie Rams jersey if he goes to them.

However, if he ends up in the NFC North and not as a Packer, all bets off :mad:

I'm going one better. My new favorite team will be the team that takes Sam (I'm ditching the Cowboys). I'm already shopping for Rams jerseys (will be shocked if they don't take him). I'm partial to the white one at this point.

#14 is already taken on the Rams. Wonder if Sam will pay cash for it. I doubt it. He'll probably take whatever is available. Would like to see him keep #14 though.

[Sooner04]

I'm going one better. My new favorite team will be the team that takes Sam (I'm ditching the Cowboys).
Sounds like you weren't much of Cowboys fan.

[sooner94]

Sounds like you weren't much of Cowboys fan.

Actually I was a big Cowboys fan. Been a fan since the 1982 NFC title game (remember "The Catch"?). I'm tired of Jerry Jones' playing GM. The Roy Williams trade was the final straw. And I don't like how he priced out the average fan with the new stadium.

[IronHorseSooner]

what the F?!?!? last i heard he was the biggest name on that tampa defense. i admit, i havent been following closely but....

He and Barrett Ruud were just about the only two guys on that D who were consistent last year. I can imagine why they would want him to leave.