With TK at qb what do you expect from him and OU?

[stoopified]

Secondly does Trevor being the qb change your perception of OUr offense and/or OUr upcoming season as a whole?

For me I expect Trevor will put up numbers along the lines of Nate Hybl in his first year as a starter with two important differences 1) TK (or should I call him AK?) will run the ball and Nate never ran. The second thing is because of the veteran cast of line and playmakers around him,Trvor will not have to carry as much of the burden of the offense himself,.I'm thinking (or at least hoping) that means fewer turnovers.My memory is that in his first year as starter Hybl threw 14 TDs with 11 picks.I may look the nimbers up later. I could see Knight having better numbers because he is under less pressure on him but he is just a frosh.Bottom line Hybl first year numbers is my expectation in the passing game.As a runner while I still do not think Knight as starting qb will average only 5-6 carries agame I could see him getting 300+ yards rushing rather than 200 I have previously predicted. TThis change is based on the continued refrencing by the coaching staff to Trevor as explosive.

As for the team I still this team as capable of winning 10-11 games wwhich is what I was anticipating before the qb decesion was made. BasicallY my thinking was that we were going to good with Blake and Istill believe that with TK.

[BermudaSooner]

. I could see Knight having better numbers because he is under less pressure on him but he is just a frosh..

I'd say being a Freshman QB at OU carries with it quite a bit of pressure...no matter what the expectations.

[Jason White's Third Knee]

Nifty article:

http://insider.espn.go.com/blog/colleges/oklahoma/post/_/id/24313/ou-could-play-to-knights-strengths?ex_cid=espnapi_public (http://insider.espn.go.com/blog/colleges/oklahoma/post/_/id/24313/ou-could-play-to-knights-strengths?ex_cid=espnapi_public)

NORMAN, Okla.--Watching Robert Griffin III and Johnny Manziel (http://espn.go.com/college-football/player/_/id/517475/johnny-manziel) give its defense fits made it clear that Oklahoma was missing an element in its offense.

The Sooners are banking on Trevor Knight (http://espn.go.com/college-football/player/_/id/534449/trevor-knight) to change that.

[+] Enlargehttp://a.espncdn.com/photo/2013/0825/ncf_a_tknightts_300.jpg (http://a.espncdn.com/photo/2013/0825/ncf_a_tknightts_600.jpg)AP Photo/Sue OgrockiTrevor Knight brings a running threat as Oklahoma's quarterback but don't expect the Sooners to ignore the passing game.


Knight, a redshirt freshman who was named starting quarterback last week, brings a running threat at the quarterback position that has been absent during the past three seasons. And that change is poised to transform the offense.

Knight’s skills should give the Sooners the ability to force defenses to account for every player on the field on running plays through various quarterback read-option style attacks. For the past three seasons opposing defenses had the numbers’ advantage on running plays with Landry Jones in the backfield.

This season, the Sooners’ new starter allows OU to even the numbers by making the defense account for Knight as a runner. OU can leave certain defenders unblocked with the knowledge that Knight will have to be accounted for by the defense or he can take advantage with his running skills. His running ability will open up running lanes, create passing lanes and give the Sooners’ skill players plenty of open field to operate this fall.

The Sooners’ defensive coaches know just how difficult that can be to defend. In their 45-38 loss to Baylor in 2011, Griffin accounted for 551 total yards and four touchdowns thanks in part to his 18 carries for 72 yards, which forced the Sooners to account for his running while opening passing lanes. The Cotton Bowl loss in January was very similar as Manziel accounted for 516 yards including 229 rushing yards. True enough, those are the back-to-back Heisman Trophy winners but it underscores the fact that a running threat at quarterback can change a game and make an offense more dangerous.

Yet don’t expect the Sooners to ignore the passing game. OU finished fifth nationally in passing offense at 336.46 yards per game in 2012 so it would be foolish for OU to abandon its aerial attack. A quarterback run game can be meshed with a quality passing attack -- teams like Oregon have been doing it for years.

The overlooked aspect of Knight’s rise up the depth chart is how the transforming offense could make early success much more attainable for the redshirt freshman.

Using quarterback run game to create an even number of blockers and defenders in the running game could lead to much more success on the ground, particularly with Damien Williams (http://espn.go.com/college-football/player/_/id/534462/damien-williams), Brennan Clay (http://espn.go.com/college-football/player/_/id/501544/brennan-clay) or even Roy Finch (http://espn.go.com/college-football/player/_/id/501888/roy-finch) in the backfield. With more open lanes for its running backs, OU should improve its 4.83 yards per carry average.

Additional running success could limit the pressure on Knight to beat defenses with his arm. It will also force defenses to account for Knight’s feet even on passing downs, limiting their ability to come up with elaborate coverage schemes to confuse the inexperienced signal-caller.

Most importantly, if opposing defenses blitz the Sooners’ young passer, Knight’s mobility could change a bad play into a good one, particularly if offensive coordinator Josh Heupel encourages him to tuck the ball instead of forcing the ball into tight coverage.

All those aspects of a quarterback run game attack will make life easier on Knight as he tries to get used to the speed of the game and demands of running a college system. Bob Stoops’ decision to name Knight the starting quarterback didn’t change the offense, it would have transformed into more of a quarterback run game even with Blake Bell (http://espn.go.com/college-football/player/_/id/501882/blake-bell) under center. It does, however, make Knight’s job easier and has the potential to make the Sooners’ offense even more explosive than it was in 2012.

[Mac94]

I expect him to pull off some amazing plays that past Sooner QBs just couldn;t do ... but also expect some growing pains that come with an inexperienced QB. I look forward to watching this kid grow as the season progresses.

[PrideMom]

Should be very interesting. I think Heupel will have a lot of fun with a different style quarterback. Heard they were practicing a lot of option plays.....

[badger]

"With TK at qb what do you expect from him and OU? "
http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lkr2cj8vQV1qcpaaxo1_400.jpg

[DocD]

I still don't think the QB is the biggest issue. I expect him to do well.

[jkjsooner]

I sure hope he does better than Hybl did his first year. If not we're in for a long year considering we don't have anything close to the 2001 defense.

I don't know how TK is going to do but I think you're wrong about the expectations similar to Hybl and you mentioned the exact reasons. Hybl was a stationary QB playing behind a very weak offensive line (bad combo). TK is a mobile QB behind what should be a good offensive line. That by itself should be a huge difference.

[sooner46]

I expect them to have problems in the first game but win.
(That seems to be our pattern. I wished it were not)

Beat WV by 14

Tulsa by 35

TUC by 14

ND by 28 (I have always been told if you are going dream, dream big)

Texas by at least 50 (why not keep it going)

Kstate by 20

OSU by 28

Of course the others are all wins.

Beating TAM in the national Championship game by 28
(Again, if you are going dream, dream big)

[KantoSooner]

Go back and look at some of our wishbone teams of the '80's. I was surprised by how many passes were thrown; I hadn't remembered us throwing that much and I personally watched all those games. Knight will likely not be the runner that our QB's were in those days...but will likely be a better passer.
It's possible that we'll see similar results on the offensive side of the ball. Not guaranteed, but possible. I'm getting psyched!

[SoonerorLater]

World Peace.

[Wishboned]

World Peace.

No title. No peace.

[BermudaSooner]

He's the OU QB, I expect nothing less than Sam Bradford's arm and decision making and Charles Thompson's legs. Is that too much to ask? He is a 19 year old, he should have been able to develop all of that by now.

[SoonerorLater]

A perfect alignment of the stars, Heaven and Earth. An end to food-borne illnesses. Disolution of the IRS and substantial improvement in the quality of the stadium nachos.

[cherokeebrewer]

Having beat out Blake Bell for the starting job, I expect Trevor Knight to be the 2nd coming of JFF without the baggage. Anything short of that is unacceptable...

[SoonerLB]

I'm expecting him to prove Bob a genius at recognizing talent . . . . . ;)

[KantoSooner]

How about he hurdles an oncoming DT during the Texas game and, in midair, cracks a bullet 30 yards downfield to Trey Millard, who is simultaneously hurdling the safety covering him and then Trey trucks a DB while Knight stands in the backfield, still as a statue, pointing to the endzone as Millard bulls in, covered in half the Texas defense, from the five.

I EXPECT this.

[VA Sooner]

How about he hurdles an oncoming DT during the Texas game and, in midair, cracks a bullet 30 yards downfield to Trey Millard, who is simultaneously hurdling the safety covering him and then Trey trucks a DB while Knight stands in the backfield, still as a statue, pointing to the endzone as Millard bulls in, covered in half the Texas defense, from the five.

I EXPECT this.


I'll take some of that action...

[swardboy]

I expect offensive fireworks of the highest magnitude....dude.

[Breadburner]

I hope he can ****in tackle......!!!

[8timechamps]

I know Stoops keeps saying that there hasn't been "too much" change to the offensive scheme, but I keep thinking of Chris Ault coming to Norman...and I'm pretty sure it wasn't just for vacation.

Ault perfected the pistol offense, and his QB had (has) a similar skill set to AK. Of course 90% of the talent on this year's OU team is better than the best talent on those Nevada teams, but that offense was pretty impressive when it was humming.

I don't think OU has adapted Ault's Nevada offense, but I do think we'll see some plays from that scheme incorporated in this year's scheme. I also expect OU to make more of an effort to run the ball. Every one of our O-lineman have put on weight in the offseason, combined with a stable of solid back and a mobile QB...I expect the offense to slow things down (compared to what we've seen), which in turn can help a young, developing defense.

[BoomerJack]

It's probably been said before but if the Sooner defense doesn't step up and play better it won't make any difference how young Mr. Knight does.