I have to give Whaley great credit...

[Soonerus]

I wondered who he was, why was he playing and then I saw...he is a very good addition, out of nowhere !!!!

[Flagstaffsooner]

He was awesome. Throw him a scholly, Bob.

[SoonerKnight]

The man earned his scholly and rightful place on the team! He is a beast! I hope that is not a one game wonder! My question is how come he was the backup at Langston university?

[Sooner_Tuf]

The man earned his scholly and rightful place on the team! He is a beast! I hope that is not a one game wonder! My question is how come he was the backup at Langston university?

The other guy was better :victorious:

[cleller]

I have a feeling there was some kind of politics going on at Langston. The guy he was playing behind had transferred up from Alcorn State. Plus, Whaley said once he arrived at OU he was able to learn more, and beef up.
Remember, Heupel only played half the snaps at Snow JC.

[cccasooner2]

He can take a good hit and still keep the ball as he demonstrated last night on his 9 yd reception.

[UTgradOUfan]

I came up for the Spring game partly to see B. Williams but left Owen Field awed by the walk-on Whaley. I love how our coaching staff always gets the best talent on the field regardless of how they got to campus.
What a great performance by Whaley and the whole team as well. How ESPN left him of the Impact Players of the Day list is beyond me.
A few busts but impressively penalty free.
Roll on Big Red

[jk the sooner fan]

He reminded me a bit of Chris Brown - nice to see him break out like he did

[Flagstaffsooner]

The other guy was better :victorious:Well, lets grab that son of a bitch.:greedy_dollars:

[UTgradOUfan]

OK I jumped the gun. They did give Whaley a "helmet sticker". Other than Baylor's R. Griffith III w/ five TD's v. TCU I don't know of another player who had better offensive numbers.
Great story, great performance/

[PLaw]

The kid ran hard and he ran North and South. Very happy for him, but I'm more happy for Gundy.

Very suprised at the limited carries for Finch.

BOOMER

[ouflak]

Very suprised at the limited carries for Finch.
BOOMER

I have a feeling Finch's days are coming. Having Whaley capable of this kind of performance opens up all sorts of opportunities.

[SoonerMarkVA]

I hear Finch has had trouble holding on to the ball. I noticed he let it go last night though they said he was down. If he was, it was pretty close. I suspect if Finch can get the control of the ball that the coaches want, he'll be on the field a lot more. Finch still looks to me to have the best burst and best elusiveness of the backs. Whaley, on the other hand, seems to be the best at shedding tacklers and keeping on his feet. I *love* Whaley down inside the 10 just for that reason.

[BigTip]

One game does not a super star make, but it was a dang good start. Cool that the announcer guy said he would mention him in his Heisman watch.
Give a LOT of credit to the O line though. Vast improvement from last year I think. Good quarterback protection too. Did Tulsa ever get to him?

[BudSooner]

He reminded me a bit of Chris Brown - nice to see him break out like he didI thought the same thing.

[jk the sooner fan]

i'm guessing that Williams will redshirt - once Jonathan Miller came in for his scrub carries, that seemed to be the message

[1890MilesToNorman]

Give a LOT of credit to the O line though. Vast improvement from last year I think. Good quarterback protection too. Did Tulsa ever get to him?

I was thinking about that in the 4th Q, I couldn't recall a play where Landry was even touched?? He was forced out of the pocket and to the sidelines a couple of times, all of those gained yardage I think.

[oumaddawg]

Have to admit I was impressed.

[badger]

The SS.com stat pages showed three sacks on GJ, none on LJ... but they also showed no fumbles, so believe em as much as you want :)

[CatfishSooner]

Whaley...Cinderella story...

[MountainOkie]

Nice "dead leg" and then a great burst on that 30+ yard TD run.

[CrimsonRez]

two words....PLAY ACTION

[SoonerStud615]

I bet Finch is being saved as a secret weapon of sorts for the FSU game.

[hawaii 5-0]

I think the term that comes to mind with Whaley is good 'balance'.

5-0

[Nichols_Hills_Hillbilly]

i'm guessing that Williams will redshirt - once Jonathan Miller came in for his scrub carries, that seemed to be the message

I'm curious about this as well.

[BoulderSooner79]

I was surprised they didn't give Williams a few carries too since they had ample chances when the game was in the bag. I can't believe they would trust him in the next game assuming it will be close and hard fought.

[Spanish Sooner]

Whaley played determined, with conviction. I was impressed, he seemed to have a great burst up the middle of the line. The best part is, for those who haven't been paying attention to Spring Ball, fall practices, he came out of nowhere. I am looking forward to seeing how he does against FSU but he was straight up beast mode against Tulsa last night. I love when I got a text from my little brother who was like "Who the heck is Dominque Whaley." I told simply Weapon X

[Wishboned]

He can take a good hit and still keep the ball as he demonstrated last night on his 9 yd reception.

There were a few of our receivers last night who took some huge hits but kept hold of the ball.

[jkm, the stolen pifwafwi]

The only real disappointment I had in Whaley's performance was when we were on the 2 yard line and he played it safe on the wide open cutback. You could see him move towards it and then play it safe and follow the OL. There was NO ONE for 20 yards had he taken it. Later in the game, you saw him take that same cutback for that 35 yard run.

Looking at it realistically, you have 4 viable running backs with different styles.

Whaley - an Allen Patrick type that will bruise it in the middle and cut it back outside if you pinch him. Doesn't really have breakaway speed, but knows how to get some green.

Clay - Clone of Chris Brown -> slips into creases and makes yards when yards aren't there.

Finch -> Little Greg Pruitt without patience. If he could just wait for the blocking to develop and then bolt through the hole, the guy would be insane.

Miller -> Very good in bubbles created by the OL. Has decent vision in traffic. Needs some confidence though, even with the 2's he left a lot of yards on the field because he was tentative on the cutback.

[VA Sooner]

Finch has the speed to the edge. Whaley has the strength to carry up the middle... and bring 4 defenders with him into the endzone. Good to see a goal-line offense again.

[ashley]

Williams is in the dog house. Bad in pass protection and too many fumbles in practice.

[jmillerfan]

The only real disappointment I had in Whaley's performance was when we were on the 2 yard line and he played it safe on the wide open cutback. You could see him move towards it and then play it safe and follow the OL. There was NO ONE for 20 yards had he taken it. Later in the game, you saw him take that same cutback for that 35 yard run.

Looking at it realistically, you have 4 viable running backs with different styles.

Whaley - an Allen Patrick type that will bruise it in the middle and cut it back outside if you pinch him. Doesn't really have breakaway speed, but knows how to get some green.

Clay - Clone of Chris Brown -> slips into creases and makes yards when yards aren't there.

Finch -> Little Greg Pruitt without patience. If he could just wait for the blocking to develop and then bolt through the hole, the guy would be insane.

Miller -> Very good in bubbles created by the OL. Has decent vision in traffic. Needs some confidence though, even with the 2's he left a lot of yards on the field because he was tentative on the cutback.

good eye and I think by this point in the game he was a lil ticked and didn't even think he'd get to play which was kind of a shocker. I think he normally practiced with the first team up until game week so that may or could have been something that changed his game too.

[OUmillenium]

It's really cool when somebody slips through all the recruiting BS and becomes a star (albeit 1 game). Hope he plays strong all year. What a pleasant surprise.

Many pundits wondering who would replace DeMarco Murray. Now we know.

[SoonerofAlabama]

He has a great story of getting here and I hope he plays like last night more often. :D

[Wishboned]

Screw Rudy. They need to make a movie about Whaley!

[doublespiral]

Whaley - an Allen Patrick type that will bruise it in the middle and cut it back outside if you pinch him. Doesn't really have breakaway speed, but knows how to get some green.



Um, I believe Cale Gundy would beg to differ:

"Running backs coach Cale Gundy said Whaley weighs 210 pounds, runs a 4.4 in the 40-yard dash, posted a 40-inch vertical leap and broad jumps 11-feet, 1-inch."

http://newsok.com/ous-dominique-whaley-not-a-typical-walk-on-player/article/3600252

[CatfishSooner]

dang.

[BoulderSooner79]

Um, I believe Cale Gundy would beg to differ:

"Running backs coach Cale Gundy said Whaley weighs 210 pounds, runs a 4.4 in the 40-yard dash, posted a 40-inch vertical leap and broad jumps 11-feet, 1-inch."

http://newsok.com/ous-dominique-whaley-not-a-typical-walk-on-player/article/3600252

The starter at Langston must be a real freak.

[En_Fuego]

Broad Jump 11-feet, 1-inch......:victorious:

[jkm, the stolen pifwafwi]

Um, I believe Cale Gundy would beg to differ:

"Running backs coach Cale Gundy said Whaley weighs 210 pounds, runs a 4.4 in the 40-yard dash, posted a 40-inch vertical leap and broad jumps 11-feet, 1-inch."

http://newsok.com/ous-dominique-whaley-not-a-typical-walk-on-player/article/3600252

I'm more going on what I saw. The far side TU guys caught him without taking much of an angle. [It isn't the end of the world if the guy doesn't have breakaway speed. See Murray, DeMarco last year]

[sooner59]

I like TDs. He gets them. On a side note...how about that o-line on opening night? Normally, a team as good as Tulsa at least puts up a fight on the line. Utah State, Air Force, etc. We usually start the season saying..."We have talent, but we have to be more physical." This year, we are physical. And not a ton of mental breakdowns. Discipline. Hard workers. Talent. Drive. Heavy hearts. Enthusiasm.

Bob, its time to turn this ball...into the this ball. If you remember the intro video for OU-Tech in 08, you know what I mean.

[swardboy]

I like TDs. He gets them. On a side note...how about that o-line on opening night? Normally, a team as good as Tulsa at least puts up a fight on the line. Utah State, Air Force, etc. We usually start the season saying..."We have talent, but we have to be more physical." This year, we are physical. And not a ton of mental breakdowns. Discipline. Hard workers. Talent. Drive. Heavy hearts. Enthusiasm.

Bob, its time to turn this ball...into the this ball. If you remember the intro video for OU-Tech in 08, you know what I mean.

IN A GREAT WAY!

[DenverSooner751]

He was an excellent surprise. As was mentioned earlier in this thread, those of us that didn't watch spring ball and practices were completely shocked by him!

I loved his production but more than that, love what this kid represents - sometimes life may seem to pass you up, but as long as you don't give up, your talent will take care of the rest.....good story so far.