Stoops Press Conference

[Soonerwake]

There were a couple of comments that gave me pause.

1. Paperwork was filed for several juniors for early-entry. Any guesses??

2. Adam Shead and Tyrus Thompson won't be back for the bowl. Both are juniors. Coincidence??
Also, impact for the Sugar Bowl??

3. Starting QB will be a "game-time decision". Comments??

4. Ikard said KJ Young, Austin Bennett, and Charles Walker impressing in bowl workouts. Said Walker will be a beast at DT. "Most explosive guy we have right now (DL)."

[swardboy]

Help me out here: Are people eligible to play in the bowl that weren't on the roster during the regular season?

[Flying Scotsman]

We're doomed!

[Widescreen]

There were a couple of comments that gave me pause.

1. Paperwork was filed for several juniors for early-entry. Any guesses??

2. Adam Shead and Tyrus Thompson won't be back for the bowl. Both are juniors. Coincidence??
Also, impact for the Sugar Bowl??

3. Starting QB will be a "game-time decision". Comments??

4. Ikard said KJ Young, Austin Bennett, and Charles Walker impressing in bowl workouts. Said Walker will be a beast at DT. "Most explosive guy we have right now (DL)."
I've given up listening to players telling us how great certain players are. To listen to them, TK was the next manziel while getting ready for last years bowl game. Yes, I'm jaded.

[BoulderSooner79]

3. Starting QB will be a "game-time decision". Comments??


Force Bama to prepare for 2, possibly 3, different QBs with very different styles.

[TheUnnamedSooner]

Is that question # 3 or you stating there will be 3 starting QB's?

[Soonerjeepman]

I've given up listening to players telling us how great certain players are. To listen to them, TK was the next manziel while getting ready for last years bowl game. Yes, I'm jaded.

yes....

as far as Jr for draft...

Jr's
Hayes
Franks
Ndulue
Grissom
Hunnicutt
Russell
Rip
Wilson
Winters...

honestly Hunnicutt looks like the only one who's had a good year..enough to be "noticed"...

[stoops the eternal pimp]

It's very common for juniors to file the paperwork.. Most will use is to see where they stand going into their senior year.. They file, get a draft grade, get some ideas on what they have to improve..

[Soonerwake]

I knew STEP would jump in on the draft questions. Do you see any of those guys being ready?

What does everyone think about not having the entire left side of our o-line??

And, Unnamed, that was question #3.

[lexsooner]

There were a couple of comments that gave me pause.

4. Ikard said KJ Young, Austin Bennett, and Charles Walker impressing in bowl workouts. Said Walker will be a beast at DT. "Most explosive guy we have right now (DL)."

Didn't folks flip out last winter when we signed Walker, how he was "only" a two star player, and how we beat out NTSU for him, etc. etc.? Maybe it's more about how well coaches evaluate talent rather than self-proclaimed recruiting experts.

[8timechamps]

To be clear, Stoops didn't say specifically that they had filed paperwork for juniors. He said they had filed paperwork for several players. He was asked for names, to which he replied "No".

He also didn't rule Thompson and Shead out, he just said "we don't expect to have them back".

There isn't a junior on our team that could play in the NFL right now. I'm sure there will be a few guys that want to see where they stand, but I would doubt any of them take the jump.

[Ruf/Nek7]

To be clear, Stoops didn't say specifically that they had filed paperwork for juniors. He said they had filed paperwork for several players. He was asked for names, to which he replied "No".

He also didn't rule Thompson and Shead out, he just said "we don't expect to have them back".

There isn't a junior on our team that could play in the NFL right now. I'm sure there will be a few guys that want to see where they stand, but I would doubt any of them take the jump.

Thank you for your slightly optimistic view on this heavily pessimistic subject.

[Soonerjeepman]

Didn't folks flip out last winter when we signed Walker, how he was "only" a two star player, and how we beat out NTSU for him, etc. etc.? Maybe it's more about how well coaches evaluate talent rather than self-proclaimed recruiting experts.

I'll bite...cause I was probably one who "flipped out". I didn't get too excited about us pulling a recruit from NTSU. Did I "flip out" probably not...yes there are diamonds in the rough, but #1 he hasn't done anything THIS YEAR, the quote says "will be a beast"...so no I don't get too excited over that, and again, like someone said, all the players were saying TK was the next johnny football and that didn't happen either. (Yes I know TK was hurt, and I NEVER expected him to be that...but THAT is what players were saying...and it didn't help us in the bowl game either).

[BoulderSooner79]

...like someone said, all the players were saying TK was the next johnny football and that didn't happen either. (Yes I know TK was hurt, and I NEVER expected him to be that...but THAT is what players were saying...and it didn't help us in the bowl game either).

Sure it did - JFF and friends only managed to scored 41. Can you imagine what would have happened w/o TK running the scout team?

:P

[8timechamps]

Thank you for your slightly optimistic view on this heavily pessimistic subject.

I don't think we'll miss any junior that would leave for the NFL (not that I think any could make it, other than Hunnicutt). But, until I see the start of the Bama game without Shead and/or Thompson, I'm holding out hope!

[badger]

There isn't a junior on our team that could play in the NFL right now

That may not stop some from trying if they're worried about their OU future. What ever happened to our British Boz

[stoops the eternal pimp]

I knew STEP would jump in on the draft questions. Do you see any of those guys being ready?

What does everyone think about not having the entire left side of our o-line??

And, Unnamed, that was question #3.

I don't see any of them ready..at all.

[badger]

I don't see any of them ready..at all.

OK, let's take it a step further. Do we have any NFL draft worthy (and eligible) prospects, in your opinion, next season (2015 NFL Draft)? Or, will they have much to prove next season?

[Bourbon St Sooner]

I'll bite...cause I was probably one who "flipped out". I didn't get too excited about us pulling a recruit from NTSU. Did I "flip out" probably not...yes there are diamonds in the rough, but #1 he hasn't done anything THIS YEAR, the quote says "will be a beast"...so no I don't get too excited over that, and again, like someone said, all the players were saying TK was the next johnny football and that didn't happen either. (Yes I know TK was hurt, and I NEVER expected him to be that...but THAT is what players were saying...and it didn't help us in the bowl game either).


So let me get this straight. You put more creedence in what some high school recruiting service says about a kid than what players say after the kid is actually on campus?

Frankly, I don't get excited about a player until I actually see them play on the field. All I know is I've seen a lot of guys from last year's supposedly subpar recruiting class play this year and play well.

[Soonerjeepman]

nope...neither. I'll wait until they perform...unless they are AD or something like that. Even then it's a wait and see. I was merely replying about tex's post...he was complaining about some of us not too excited about a recruit we pulled away from NTSU...now if if was 'bama, fsu, lsu...I might be a little more optimistic.

[lexsooner]

I'll bite...cause I was probably one who "flipped out". I didn't get too excited about us pulling a recruit from NTSU. Did I "flip out" probably not...yes there are diamonds in the rough, but #1 he hasn't done anything THIS YEAR, the quote says "will be a beast"...so no I don't get too excited over that, and again, like someone said, all the players were saying TK was the next johnny football and that didn't happen either. (Yes I know TK was hurt, and I NEVER expected him to be that...but THAT is what players were saying...and it didn't help us in the bowl game either).

OK, you have a point. Walker has not played a down yet. However, I believe a player like Ikard has some crediblity when he states that Walker has more physical ability than any of the other DTs on the team and is going to be a dominant player. If that is an accurate statement on his potential, well, then it shows our coaches can assess talent a whole lot better than some so-called experts who give out stars for reasons other than ability.

[8timechamps]

OK, you have a point. Walker has not played a down yet. However, I believe a player like Ikard has some crediblity when he states that Walker has more physical ability than any of the other DTs on the team and is going to be a dominant player. If that is an accurate statement on his potential, well, then it shows our coaches can assess talent a whole lot better than some so-called experts who give out stars for reasons other than ability.

Yep. You have to consider the source. I'm not going to knock any of our guys, but if some of the guys say a kid is playing amazing, I may just think "we'll see". But, when it's a guy like Ikard, that tends to go further in the credit department. Ikard has played a lot of football, at a really high level. If he's noticing someone (that he would have first hand knowledge of competing against), and believes it enough to say it in public, that definitely sparks my interest.

[stoops the eternal pimp]

Wanted to back up my earlier post about how common it is for juniors to file paperwork..

201 juniors have filed their paperwork already this season.

The board reports back to them and uses 5 categories: high as Rnd 1, Rnd 2, Rnd 3, Rnds 4-7, likely not drafted.

[jkm, the stolen pifwafwi]

nope...neither. I'll wait until they perform...unless they are AD or something like that. Even then it's a wait and see. I was merely replying about tex's post...he was complaining about some of us not too excited about a recruit we pulled away from NTSU...now if if was 'bama, fsu, lsu...I might be a little more optimistic.

Since Stoops has been here

Highly Touted 1st round picks -> Tommie Harris, Peterson, McCoy, Gresham, Davin Joseph, Jammal Brown
Lesser Touted 1st round picks -> Bradford, Clayton, Woolfolk, Trent Williams, Lane Johnson

Questionable as to how they were thought of -> Stockar McDougle, Roy Williams

*Roy Williams was on the cover of prepstar but not in their top 100 players in California (was number 112)
*McDougle was highly sought after out of high school but not out of juco

In other words, its a mixed bag. However, percentage wise, the lesser touted guys get drafted at a much higher rate than the highly touted guys just because of the composition of our recruiting classes (which tend to lean towards highly touted).

[Curly Bill]

Didn't folks flip out last winter when we signed Walker, how he was "only" a two star player, and how we beat out NTSU for him, etc. etc.? Maybe it's more about how well coaches evaluate talent rather than self-proclaimed recruiting experts.

What exactly has this Walker guy done so far? Looked good in workouts? Damn, someone call the Hall of Fame!

[8timechamps]

Wanted to back up my earlier post about how common it is for juniors to file paperwork..

201 juniors have filed their paperwork already this season.

The board reports back to them and uses 5 categories: high as Rnd 1, Rnd 2, Rnd 3, Rnds 4-7, likely not drafted.

Given what I've learned about the process, a kid that thinks he's going to make it to the NFL might as well submit paperwork his junior year, just to get feedback. Is that about the size of it?

[stoops the eternal pimp]

Exactly..And they will get some notes too.. Things to improve upon..Not all will get the notes, but some will.

[Curly Bill]

Yep. You have to consider the source. I'm not going to knock any of our guys, but if some of the guys say a kid is playing amazing, I may just think "we'll see". But, when it's a guy like Ikard, that tends to go further in the credit department. Ikard has played a lot of football, at a really high level. If he's noticing someone (that he would have first hand knowledge of competing against), and believes it enough to say it in public, that definitely sparks my interest.

I'm still gonna say: "we'll see." For all we know he's Ikard's wingman, and so he's feeing charitably disposed to tout his wingman's workout awesomeness. Frankly I don't put any stock in any of this stuff - from Stoops or any of the players.

[8timechamps]

I'm still gonna say: "we'll see." For all we know he's Ikard's wingman, and so he's feeing charitably disposed to tout his wingman's workout awesomeness. Frankly I don't put any stock in any of this stuff - from Stoops or any of the players.

No question, there's still a lot of "we'll see" in my opinion (because we've heard this kind of thing before).

[Curly Bill]

No question, there's still a lot of "we'll see" in my opinion (because we've heard this kind of thing before).

Bingo! That's exactly it!

[Soonerjeepman]

Yep. You have to consider the source. I'm not going to knock any of our guys, but if some of the guys say a kid is playing amazing, I may just think "we'll see". But, when it's a guy like Ikard, that tends to go further in the credit department. Ikard has played a lot of football, at a really high level. If he's noticing someone (that he would have first hand knowledge of competing against), and believes it enough to say it in public, that definitely sparks my interest.

agreed, I do believe Ikard would have a pretty good idea...we'll see.

[jkm, the stolen pifwafwi]

Just something to add.

In the past, you can generally trust the players to give good evaluations, but not so much the coaches. The players in 2000 raved about Clayton, but the coaches raved about Peoples. While Peoples was good until he hurt his knee, he wasn't anywhere near the caliber of Clayton. It just seems that there are certain things that the coaches love in practice that do not translate to gameday while it is the exact opposite for the players.

[KantoSooner]

Since a large portion of coaches were once players, at what point does the 'player' perspective die and the 'coach' perspective take over?

Just messin' witchu. ;>

[jkm, the stolen pifwafwi]

Since a large portion of coaches were once players, at what point does the 'player' perspective die and the 'coach' perspective take over?

Just messin' witchu. ;>

;)

The biggest problem is perspective. When you play against a bunch of people you can stack rank who was tough to beat even if you dominated every single one of them. When you are watching someone compete against a lot of people, you only see win/loss and it is very difficult to stack rank who was the toughest if the results are skewed one way (which in football they almost always are, there are very few 50/50 battles).

[RUSH LIMBAUGH is my clone!]

Thank you for your slightly optimistic view on this heavily pessimistic subject.no shiite!

[jkm, the stolen pifwafwi]

The only guy that I can think of is Corey Nelson in case he doesn't want to wait for a 5th year. They might also get paperwork on Tapper for next year.