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8/24/2010, 02:01 PM
Practice Report: Oklahoma
Mossis Madu moved up on the depth chart at running back after playing last season as a wide receiver. STEPHEN PINGRY / Tulsa World file
Mossis Madu moved up on the depth chart at running back after playing last season as a wide receiver. STEPHEN PINGRY / Tulsa World file
By JOHN E. HOOVER, MATT BAKER & GUERIN EMIG World Sports Writers
Published: 8/24/2010 2:26 AM
Last Modified: 8/24/2010 10:25 AM
Position update: Kicker
With Matt Moreland's departure, the kickoff job will come down to either Tress Way, Michael Hunnicutt, Bryce Easley or Patrick O'Hara, though it sounds like Way would prefer to focus solely on punting. Height is as important as depth, and Hunnicutt, Easley and O'Hara can do both.
On placements, Jimmy Stevens (who was on the Groza Award preseason watch list on Monday) and O'Hara are still struggling with consistency, so Bob Stoops has applauded the preseason work of Easley and Hunnicutt. Both are walk-ons; Easley is a redshirt freshman from Norman, while Hunnicutt is a freshman from Richardson, Texas.
"Michael Hunnicutt's been pretty consistent overall," Stoops said. "Bryce Easley's gotten a ton better from a year ago."
News and notes
Statues coming: Plans are in the works to erect four new statues at the University of Oklahoma's Memorial Stadium - this time to coaches who have won 100 games.
That elite group - OU is the only program with four such coaches - consists of Bennie Owen, Bud Wilkinson, Barry Switzer and Bob Stoops.
The statues will stand outside the southeast corner of Owen Field. The initial unveiling is likely to happen toward the end of the 2010 season. First up are Owen and Wilkinson.
Like the statues across the street in Heisman Park, they will not go up all at once, but over the course of several years.
Owen coached the Sooners to a 122-54-16 record from 1905-26. Wilkinson's teams were
145-29-4 from 1947-63. Switzer compiled a 157-29-4 career record at OU. And in 11 seasons since 1999, Stoops' teams are 117-29.
Stoops needs six victories to pass Owen for third place in OU history. Also, Stoops needs just one defeat to break a three-way tie for second all-time at OU with Switzer and Wilkinson.
Madu makes his move: The first running backs to put a charge through Oklahoma's preseason camp were true freshmen Roy Finch and Brennan Clay. Then you heard more about sophomores Jonathan Miller and Jermie Calhoun.
So it was a bit of a surprise to read the name of DeMarco Murray's backup when OU released its latest depth chart Monday: Mossis Madu.
"Mossis has been really good. He's been surprisingly good," offensive coordinator Kevin Wilson said after practice Monday. "He's been explosive. He's made some plays. He's been physical. He's made some nice 4-yard runs where it wasn't there and, just, bang. He wasn't dancing.
"He's separated himself a little bit."
Madu rushed for 475 yards as a sophomore in 2008, 114 coming in OU's Big 12 championship rout of Missouri. He spent '09 as a wide receiver, but caught just seven passes.
A return to the backfield appears to be just what Madu needed.
"Mossis has definitely stepped up. He's working harder than he ever has," Murray said. "He knows this is his year. He's not playing receiver now. This is where his heart is, at running back. He's definitely going to make some plays for us."
Injury update: Finch continues to be hampered by an ankle injury, and Wilson isn't sure when the freshman will return to form. "I hope he's drinking milk," he cracked. "I told him to rub some dirt on it."
Freshman Kenny Stills, listed as a starting wide receiver on the latest depth chart, practiced Monday. He has been slowed by a groin pull the past week or so.
"He did miss the bulk of a week or week-plus with that pull," Wilson said. "I do think as a young guy that was a critical miss. That's a lot of time. Nothing against him because he was hurt, but that's a scrimmage.
Get to know: Tress Way
Position: Punter
Class: Sophomore
Height: 6-1
Weight: 220
Hometown: Tulsa
What's it like being a kicker?
Especially during two-a-days ... they come in just dead tired from all that practice. We only do so much. We punt, kick, do what we do, and then we're kind of done. It's really kind of nice. We're definitely more prone to getting a little chewed out every now and again since we're only out there so many times, but it's definitely nice watching the big guys come in just exhausted. I don't know - it's cool that they're doing the work. They're the big guys, so we need them to go in and start plowing people around.
How much pressure do you have?
Honestly, I don't really think about the pressure at all. I know that every time I step on the field, I can help out our defense. Our defense is pretty nasty this year. I don't know if they're going to need that much help, but if I can try to pin the other team back deep, that only just makes it scarier for the other team.
There's also the fact that, what if you screw up?
You can't really think that way, because if you think that way, then you're probably going to screw up.
What's that like, growing up in Tulsa and playing for your hometown school?
Growing up me and my best friend Mitch Williams were huge OSU fans. I was an OSU fan forever, and it came down to where (OSU) ended up offering one of my good friends who I met at some kicking camps, Quinn Sharp. So he ended up getting offered by Oklahoma State, and my mom actually made me come to camp here. I stepped on campus and loved it, talked with Coach (Bob) Stoops, and sure enough I get to play for them. It's just awesome.
Do you still follow Union?
I follow them religiously because of (little brother and former Union kicker) Cole. This year I'm going to have to talk with Coach (Kirk) Fridrich and some of those guys to see what's going on because Cole won't be there. I'm just kind of moving out.
A kicker family - is that unusual?
I don't know how that happened. Cole and I really never took punting or kicking seriously until our junior year of high school. We've always been major baseball guys. I don't know - it's just something, a God-given thing we picked up and started working hard at it, and it paid off.
Opponent watch: Florida State
There once was a division among the Seminoles. Where it started, no one knows. But that divisiveness took its toll on a proud program.
New coach Jimbo Fisher has worked to change that. The new locker room is no longer segregated by positions. Now lockers are arranged randomly. Team building has become a priority.
Last week, according to the Orlando Sentinel, the team took a break from practice, rented out an entire movie theater and saw "The Expendables."
"That's the first time we've ever done it since I've been here," quarterback Christian Ponder told reporters in Florida. "Camp's always a grueling process. And you're here all the time and your main focus is on football and it gets tiring sometimes. You get mentally tired.
"It's good to step away and have some fun and go see a movie and get your mind off of things."
Key dates
Aug. 31: Bob Stoops press conference
Sept. 4: Season-opener vs. Utah State, 6 p.m. (PPV)
Oct. 2: Big 12 opener vs. Texas (in Dallas), 2:30 p.m. (KTUL-8)
By JOHN E. HOOVER, MATT BAKER & GUERIN EMIG World Sports Writers
Read more from this Tulsa World article at http://www.tulsaworld.com/sportsextra/OU/article.aspx?subjectid=92&articleid=20100824_92_B4_ULNSos73895
|
Mossis Madu moved up on the depth chart at running back after playing last season as a wide receiver. STEPHEN PINGRY / Tulsa World file
Mossis Madu moved up on the depth chart at running back after playing last season as a wide receiver. STEPHEN PINGRY / Tulsa World file
By JOHN E. HOOVER, MATT BAKER & GUERIN EMIG World Sports Writers
Published: 8/24/2010 2:26 AM
Last Modified: 8/24/2010 10:25 AM
Position update: Kicker
With Matt Moreland's departure, the kickoff job will come down to either Tress Way, Michael Hunnicutt, Bryce Easley or Patrick O'Hara, though it sounds like Way would prefer to focus solely on punting. Height is as important as depth, and Hunnicutt, Easley and O'Hara can do both.
On placements, Jimmy Stevens (who was on the Groza Award preseason watch list on Monday) and O'Hara are still struggling with consistency, so Bob Stoops has applauded the preseason work of Easley and Hunnicutt. Both are walk-ons; Easley is a redshirt freshman from Norman, while Hunnicutt is a freshman from Richardson, Texas.
"Michael Hunnicutt's been pretty consistent overall," Stoops said. "Bryce Easley's gotten a ton better from a year ago."
News and notes
Statues coming: Plans are in the works to erect four new statues at the University of Oklahoma's Memorial Stadium - this time to coaches who have won 100 games.
That elite group - OU is the only program with four such coaches - consists of Bennie Owen, Bud Wilkinson, Barry Switzer and Bob Stoops.
The statues will stand outside the southeast corner of Owen Field. The initial unveiling is likely to happen toward the end of the 2010 season. First up are Owen and Wilkinson.
Like the statues across the street in Heisman Park, they will not go up all at once, but over the course of several years.
Owen coached the Sooners to a 122-54-16 record from 1905-26. Wilkinson's teams were
145-29-4 from 1947-63. Switzer compiled a 157-29-4 career record at OU. And in 11 seasons since 1999, Stoops' teams are 117-29.
Stoops needs six victories to pass Owen for third place in OU history. Also, Stoops needs just one defeat to break a three-way tie for second all-time at OU with Switzer and Wilkinson.
Madu makes his move: The first running backs to put a charge through Oklahoma's preseason camp were true freshmen Roy Finch and Brennan Clay. Then you heard more about sophomores Jonathan Miller and Jermie Calhoun.
So it was a bit of a surprise to read the name of DeMarco Murray's backup when OU released its latest depth chart Monday: Mossis Madu.
"Mossis has been really good. He's been surprisingly good," offensive coordinator Kevin Wilson said after practice Monday. "He's been explosive. He's made some plays. He's been physical. He's made some nice 4-yard runs where it wasn't there and, just, bang. He wasn't dancing.
"He's separated himself a little bit."
Madu rushed for 475 yards as a sophomore in 2008, 114 coming in OU's Big 12 championship rout of Missouri. He spent '09 as a wide receiver, but caught just seven passes.
A return to the backfield appears to be just what Madu needed.
"Mossis has definitely stepped up. He's working harder than he ever has," Murray said. "He knows this is his year. He's not playing receiver now. This is where his heart is, at running back. He's definitely going to make some plays for us."
Injury update: Finch continues to be hampered by an ankle injury, and Wilson isn't sure when the freshman will return to form. "I hope he's drinking milk," he cracked. "I told him to rub some dirt on it."
Freshman Kenny Stills, listed as a starting wide receiver on the latest depth chart, practiced Monday. He has been slowed by a groin pull the past week or so.
"He did miss the bulk of a week or week-plus with that pull," Wilson said. "I do think as a young guy that was a critical miss. That's a lot of time. Nothing against him because he was hurt, but that's a scrimmage.
Get to know: Tress Way
Position: Punter
Class: Sophomore
Height: 6-1
Weight: 220
Hometown: Tulsa
What's it like being a kicker?
Especially during two-a-days ... they come in just dead tired from all that practice. We only do so much. We punt, kick, do what we do, and then we're kind of done. It's really kind of nice. We're definitely more prone to getting a little chewed out every now and again since we're only out there so many times, but it's definitely nice watching the big guys come in just exhausted. I don't know - it's cool that they're doing the work. They're the big guys, so we need them to go in and start plowing people around.
How much pressure do you have?
Honestly, I don't really think about the pressure at all. I know that every time I step on the field, I can help out our defense. Our defense is pretty nasty this year. I don't know if they're going to need that much help, but if I can try to pin the other team back deep, that only just makes it scarier for the other team.
There's also the fact that, what if you screw up?
You can't really think that way, because if you think that way, then you're probably going to screw up.
What's that like, growing up in Tulsa and playing for your hometown school?
Growing up me and my best friend Mitch Williams were huge OSU fans. I was an OSU fan forever, and it came down to where (OSU) ended up offering one of my good friends who I met at some kicking camps, Quinn Sharp. So he ended up getting offered by Oklahoma State, and my mom actually made me come to camp here. I stepped on campus and loved it, talked with Coach (Bob) Stoops, and sure enough I get to play for them. It's just awesome.
Do you still follow Union?
I follow them religiously because of (little brother and former Union kicker) Cole. This year I'm going to have to talk with Coach (Kirk) Fridrich and some of those guys to see what's going on because Cole won't be there. I'm just kind of moving out.
A kicker family - is that unusual?
I don't know how that happened. Cole and I really never took punting or kicking seriously until our junior year of high school. We've always been major baseball guys. I don't know - it's just something, a God-given thing we picked up and started working hard at it, and it paid off.
Opponent watch: Florida State
There once was a division among the Seminoles. Where it started, no one knows. But that divisiveness took its toll on a proud program.
New coach Jimbo Fisher has worked to change that. The new locker room is no longer segregated by positions. Now lockers are arranged randomly. Team building has become a priority.
Last week, according to the Orlando Sentinel, the team took a break from practice, rented out an entire movie theater and saw "The Expendables."
"That's the first time we've ever done it since I've been here," quarterback Christian Ponder told reporters in Florida. "Camp's always a grueling process. And you're here all the time and your main focus is on football and it gets tiring sometimes. You get mentally tired.
"It's good to step away and have some fun and go see a movie and get your mind off of things."
Key dates
Aug. 31: Bob Stoops press conference
Sept. 4: Season-opener vs. Utah State, 6 p.m. (PPV)
Oct. 2: Big 12 opener vs. Texas (in Dallas), 2:30 p.m. (KTUL-8)
By JOHN E. HOOVER, MATT BAKER & GUERIN EMIG World Sports Writers
Read more from this Tulsa World article at http://www.tulsaworld.com/sportsextra/OU/article.aspx?subjectid=92&articleid=20100824_92_B4_ULNSos73895
|