Trevor Knight a natural leader

[Mazeppa]

Looks like there's going to be a fight for the starting QB spot.


http://espn.go.com/colleges/oklahoma/football/story/_/id/8993591/oklahoma-sooners-quarterback-trevor-knight-natural-leader

[sooner KB]

All of the quotes are from people that knew him in high school though. Look. Not a single quote from an OU coach in that article. I'm not saying it's wrong or anything, it's just old news. Shouldn't we have been hearing about how his high school coach thinks he's a leader after he was recruited?

What did Blake Bell's HS coach say about him? Kendal Thompson's HS coach? Cody Thomas's? Sounds like Jake Trotter was just desperate for some copy.

Snooze.

[jk the sooner fan]

can we call him Trevor Football?

please?

[swardboy]

Let the games begin!

[stoops the eternal pimp]

Agree with KB...But to think Blake Bell should have it locked up because he played a mean fullback the last 2 seasons...I can't see it. I've already stated a couple of months back I think there is a pretty good chance someone other than Bell is starting QB next season.

[Landthief 1972]

Agree with KB...But to think Blake Bell should have it locked up because he played a mean fullback the last 2 seasons...I can't see it. I've already stated a couple of months back I think there is a pretty good chance someone other than Bell is starting QB next season.

I gotta disagree. If Bell's spot wasn't pretty solid, Allen wouldn't be leaving, regardless of what hot shot young kids were also competing...unless the coaches told him he was just not likely to secure the spot.

The spot is Bell's to lose. The coaches have seen his arm and his ability to read defense in practice - something none of us can say beyond the Florida A&M game this last season. I do recall him having some trouble reading the D and calling a TO a few times, but that is rookie stuff. Playing full-time with the 1st team should alleviate some of that, and you know Huepel is going to scale back the playbook this year in deference to whomever ends up being QB, since they'll be new.

[badger]

can we call him Trevor Football?

please?
I prefer Trevor Heisman

[cherokeebrewer]

Blake Bell aint chopped liver in the leadership/fire/enthusiasm department. Good to have them both along with Kendall Thompson...we good to go @ QB.

[jk the sooner fan]

i like competition for starting spots - i like that Bell has to fight for his job - or Knight....it makes both of them better

[Curly Bill]

A QB with fire in his eyes???? Yeah, I welcome this development!

[stoops the eternal pimp]

I gotta disagree. If Bell's spot wasn't pretty solid, Allen wouldn't be leaving, regardless of what hot shot young kids were also competing...unless the coaches told him he was just not likely to secure the spot.

The spot is Bell's to lose. The coaches have seen his arm and his ability to read defense in practice - something none of us can say beyond the Florida A&M game this last season. I do recall him having some trouble reading the D and calling a TO a few times, but that is rookie stuff. Playing full-time with the 1st team should alleviate some of that, and you know Huepel is going to scale back the playbook this year in deference to whomever ends up being QB, since they'll be new.

The thing that hurts bell is that the scout team QB gets more reps than the back up does when it comes to throwing the ball, etc..especially with Bell having his own package, most of his snaps in practice have been running out of it. I would imagine Bell's snaps in practice running the regular O was hampered by the Belldozer package.

[cherokeebrewer]

This is a pretty decent and fair evaluation related to our QB situation and team in general...

http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/ncaaf-dr-saturday/spring-football-25-oklahoma-sooners-150737955--ncaaf.html

[jkm, the stolen pifwafwi]

The one thing that bothers me is that our coaching staff hasn't been very good at picking the best QB going into these new QB situations. Even in the most clear cut situation we've had (Halzle/Bradford) they were still hemming and hawing until after the first game. My fear is that they'll default to "Low Risk" even if that guy is very low reward.

[KantoSooner]

I'll trust Bob to make the right choice. Too many factors that I have no access to for me to judge who'd make the best fit with this team next fall.

What I will say is that I desperately want our QB to be the kind of guy who drinks whisky out of the bottle. A young man who makes mothers of coeds jealous of their daughters and blush and fathers of coeds uncomfortable. The kind of man the police never catch, but whom they all know on a first name basis. A man who is greeted with high fives by bouncers at strip clubs and makes finger pistols and asks "Who's the man?" with the governor. The sort of man the coaches finally turn to in the fourth quarter and say, "Hell, I don't know what to do; just get in there and win the damn game." The sort of man of whom Billy Sims just shakes his head at, spits and says, "Dayum".

I don't ask for much

[Mazeppa]

" The sort of man of whom Billy Sims just shakes his head at, spits and says, "Dayum".

And "BOOMER!"

[KantoSooner]

That's 'BOOMAH!'

[thecrimsoncrusader]

I am really concerned about OU's QB situation this season as they have a really bad history of QBs during the Bob Stoops era. No wait. And we can't point to the 2005 and 2009 seasons as you had a redshirt freshman QB throwing behind an inexperienced and/or injury plagued offensive line while throwing to an inexperienced receiving corps. QB is the very least of OU's concerns this upcoming season. Odds are much greater in favor of OU's QB being very good to great than just good, average or bad.

Barring injury, Blake Bell is going to be the starter to at very least, start the season. This isn't rocket science based on history and logic. The coaching staff isn't not going to roll with a guy that was the first to score a rushing TD against Notre Dame last season after they played a decent number of games for it to be a relevant stat and Bell did it twice (f the refs, you don't call that crap at home and it had no bearing on the play when a 250+ QB has that kind of momentum) and Bell also sent the OU/OSU game into OT and that play was all on him. He also had a 55 yard TD run when they game was still tight with Baylor at 35-26 in the 4th quarter and then you also have his 4 rushing TDs against Texas.

Regardless of the offensive packages being extremely limited for Bell, he's got big game experience and logically, his level of nervousness transitioning over to being the starter will be very minimal compared to "most" freshman/redshirt freshman QBs, since he will be a junior. I said most because you obviously had some damn good redshirt freshman QBs of late with Sam Bradford, Colt McCoy and Asshat Manziel, but they are still the exception to the rule.

So we don't know if Bell can throw at the collegiate level. Well, that applies to Trevor Knight, Kendall Thompson and Cody Thomas as well. At least we know he can run at the collegiate level and odds are pretty damn good that he can pass given this coaching staff's history and I doubt very seriously that Drew Allen was chump change and Bell did beat Allen out as a QB, not just as a QB that can run.

When the Belldozer formation first debuted, the opposing defenses would hesitate just for a moment just to see if OU was going to run or pass with Blake Bell. That slight hesitation was just enough time for Bell to exercise patience and then take off and hit the best hole and he exploited that very well. However, after teams started to realize that for all intents and purposes, that Oklahoma was going to do nothing but run the ball with Blake Bell in that formation, they started firing off the ball just as it was snapped and the Belldozer started being less effective.

Next season, with Bell being on the field at all times barring injury, the opposing defense will no longer have this luxury and they will either go back to having that hesitation, or risk being burned in the passing game. Bell could really open up things in both the passing game and running game due to his threat to take off with the football. Of course, there is still the gigantic question of how is Bell's mobility when dropping back and how is his mobility from a lateral movement standpoint. Those will be absolutely critical and ones we don't know about yet. My worthless gut feeling is I think he is going to be a game changer with a refuse to lose attitude.

[badger]

Is there a cliff's notes version? I'll try ---

Belldozer may no good throw at, Belldozer less effective run now, as;lkfjlkasdjflkjsdaflkasjf

baby baj woke me four times last night. hell of a time for lent to make me give up caffeinated soda :mad:

[starclassic tama]

i wouldn't worry about it, there really is no point in reading any further than this.

I am really concerned about OU's QB situation this season as they have a really bad history of QBs during the Bob Stoops era. .

[badger]

in my least incoherent way possible, Stoops has shown several things during his OU time here:

1- He can produce Heisman finalists/winners for both RB (AD) and QB (Jason & Sam).

2- He is not afraid to yank a starter during the season (Rhett for Paul, Jason for Nate).

3- He will play two quarterbacks if it helps the team (Belldozer and LJ)

And, as he has shown with all positions, seniority only matters in the opening games of the season (remember that Kejuan Jones had 100+ yards in AD's first froshie game). After that, the best players always play, regardless of everything else.

[thecrimsoncrusader]

in my least incoherent way possible, Stoops has shown several things during his OU time here:

1- He can produce Heisman finalists/winners for both RB (AD) and QB (Jason & Sam).

2- He is not afraid to yank a starter during the season (Rhett for Paul, Jason for Nate).

3- He will play two quarterbacks if it helps the team (Belldozer and LJ)

And, as he has shown with all positions, seniority only matters in the opening games of the season (remember that Kejuan Jones had 100+ yards in AD's first froshie game). After that, the best players always play, regardless of everything else.

Good points. Of course, it did take a Kejuan Jones ankle injury in the Houston game for AD to start in the Oregon game the following week. :) It would of happened eventually though obviously.

[thecrimsoncrusader]

i wouldn't worry about it, there really is no point in reading any further than this.

I feel sorry for your lack of reading comprehension and ADD issues. :( Somebody missed the "No wait." and sarcasm meter.

[cherokeebrewer]

I predict...Blake Bell will start and he really can pass the ball. EitherTrevor Knight and/or Kendall Thompson will be solid backups if needed. Aint this fun?

[Widescreen]

Agree with KB...But to think Blake Bell should have it locked up because he played a mean fullback the last 2 seasons...I can't see it. I've already stated a couple of months back I think there is a pretty good chance someone other than Bell is starting QB next season.
Come back when you've learned something about the game of foosball, moran. Blake Bell will win 4 Heismans before he graduates!!!!!

[StoopTroup]

I predict...Blake Bell will start and he really can pass the ball. EitherTrevor Knight and/or Kendall Thompson will be solid backups if needed. Aint this fun?

I like Thompson. I think he might start at OU at some point. Is it this year? Maybe. I just think this is going to be one of those years where we don't find a permanent Starter until later in the year.

[budbarrybob]

Gridiron Knight. Yah, that's it. That's the ticket!

[ashley]

I told you six weeks ago that Knight will wind up the starter.

[thecrimsoncrusader]

I told you six weeks ago that Knight will wind up the starter.

And six weeks later, you are still going to be wrong.

[ashley]

And six weeks later, you are still going to be wrong.

Just remember what I said.

[badger]

I told you six weeks ago that Knight will wind up the starter.

I imagine eventually will be too... just maybe not this season

[Mazeppa]

That's 'BOOMAH!'

Yes, my bad :)

[goingoneight]

ashley,
unless you're Josh Heupel himself, all sources to the program say they don't even know what they're going to do offensively yet... let alone which QB will take over. Knight is a good guess; but to this point it's still an open competition. Tearing it up on the scout team doesn't always make you the starter. See: 5-star All-Everything fans' lovechild Keith Nichol vs 3-star skinny local kid Sam Bradford.

I have no horse in the race. I'll see what develops. Knight's legend intrigues me. I've watched his HS film and thought we really got a great looking prospect a year ago. He looks very natural and always seems to have a good feel for where to make a play. Seemed very improvisational. OTOH, you have a fourth-year junior chomping at the bits to step in as a real QB. That's not counting Thompson out, either-- whom Barry Switzer said would be an outstanding dual-threat QB wherever he ended up.

If we're making predictions based on nothing seen yet or known to be factual, LaColton Bester for Belitnikoff!

[BoomerJack]

can we call him Trevor Football?

please?

How about "Touchdown Trevor"?

If his middle name is Donald or David, etc. we could call him "T.D." Knight.

[Wishboned]

How about "Touchdown Trevor"?

If his middle name is Donald or David, etc. we could call him "T.D." Knight.

I'm thinking since at one time we had "All Day" now we need "All Knight".

[kevpks]

The one thing that bothers me is that our coaching staff hasn't been very good at picking the best QB going into these new QB situations. Even in the most clear cut situation we've had (Halzle/Bradford) they were still hemming and hawing until after the first game. My fear is that they'll default to "Low Risk" even if that guy is very low reward.

Did Hybl win the job over White? I know they went back and forth because of injuries. I thought we made the right call with Paul Thompson. I just didn't like that we yanked him against TCU so quick. Starting Heupel in '99 was a good move : )

[thecrimsoncrusader]

Did Hybl win the job over White? I know they went back and forth because of injuries. I thought we made the right call with Paul Thompson. I just didn't like that we yanked him against TCU so quick. Starting Heupel in '99 was a good move : )

Hybl started over White for the start of the 2001 season. Then Hybl got rocked multiple times in the KSU game, but started the Texas game and played for about a quarter, but it was clear he was not even remotely close to healthy due to the injured shoulder. Then White came in and had Texas' defense looking silly and that was the game where White "discovered" Mark Clayton and was a sign of things to come later on.

Then later on in the 2001 season, White tore his knee and Hybl had to come back and and finish the season despite really being in no condition to do so. Then in 2002, White started the season, but tore his knee once again early in the season against Alabama and Hybl started the rest of the way leading the Sooners to a Big 12 Conference title and a BCS bowl game victory over Washington St.

[yukonsooner]

A QB with fire in his eyes???? Yeah, I welcome this development!


Eyes that don't have the "deer in the headlights look" !!

[Curly Bill]

Eyes that don't have the "deer in the headlights look" !!

Yes!

[instigator]

Gridiron Knight. Yah, that's it. That's the ticket!

It's the Knight Train! Get on board.

[jkm, the stolen pifwafwi]

Hybl started over White for the start of the 2001 season. Then Hybl got rocked multiple times in the KSU game, but started the Texas game and played for about a quarter, but it was clear he was not even remotely close to healthy due to the injured shoulder. Then White came in and had Texas' defense looking silly and that was the game where White "discovered" Mark Clayton and was a sign of things to come later on.

Then later on in the 2001 season, White tore his knee and Hybl had to come back and and finish the season despite really being in no condition to do so. Then in 2002, White started the season, but tore his knee once again early in the season against Alabama and Hybl started the rest of the way leading the Sooners to a Big 12 Conference title and a BCS bowl game victory over Washington St.

White 2002 = Hybl 2001 -> We were pretty bad offensively until Hybl came in against Bama. The problem in both cases was that the QB was horribly conservative (just like PT in 2005). Every time we've had one of these situations the coaches hammer the kids that their criteria is taking care of the ball and don't take chances. We then end up with a kid who refuses to throw the ball farther than 2 yards downfield. This is also the reason that Halzle split time with Bradford at the first of 2007 - Bradford did take chances and the coaches couldn't toss him the keys until we played some games.

I think this is also why we've tended to be better off with new QBs being young rather than older. The older guys just play it safe to the point of fail because they are trying to game the coaches.

[anglachel]

This is also the reason that Halzle split time with Bradford at the first of 2007 - Bradford did take chances and the coaches couldn't toss him the keys until we played some games.

Seriously? The only time Joey "split" was garbage time.

[jkm, the stolen pifwafwi]

The plan was for a 50/50 split as Bradford was just "slightly ahead". Sam was tearing it up so Halzle played a quarter. Every indication at the time was that they hadn't made up their minds, after a half everyone on this board was like "um, how did you not see how good this guy is".

[stoopified]

I prefer Trevor HeismanTrevor Terriffic? Assuming he wins the job.