WolfCop
8/3/2006, 04:25 PM
Stoops names Thompson as OU's starting quarterbackEds: Will be led.NORMAN, Okla. (AP) - Oklahoma football coach Bob Stoops named Paul Thompson as the Sooners' starting quarterback Thursday, one day after former starter Rhett Bomar was dismissed from the OU squad.Stoops, in his first public comments since Bomar and offensive linemen J.D. Quinn were kicked off the team, told a luncheon audience at a Norman church that it didn't take coaches long to convince Thompson - who switched to wide receiver after losing the starting job to Bomar early last season - to make the move back to quarterback.''I appreciate the courage of Paul Thompson,'' Stoops said. ''We said, 'Paul is our guy. But is he going to want to do it?' In your heart you have to want it. He came back and said, 'I'm your guy, coach.'''As of noon Thursday, university officials had yet to confirm that Bomar and Quinn were the two players kicked off the team after an investigation revealed they broke NCAA rules through their employment at a local business. However, both players' names were removed from the roster on OU's Web site.The school said in a statement issued Wednesday that the players violated NCAA rules by working at a private business and taking ''payment over an extended period of time in excess of time actually worked.''Stoops planned a 3:15 p.m. CDT news conference to address the situation as the Sooners prepared to begin preseason practice Thursday afternoon.Thompson entered last season as Oklahoma's starter, but after the Sooners lost their season opener to Texas Christian, Bomar won the job and Thompson changed positions.''We have a grown man who is very smart,'' OU offensive coordinator Kevin Wilson said at the luncheon. ''He is a quality kid who will do a phenomenal job. He has come down that ramp and played in important games.''Besides Thompson, the Sooners have three other quarterbacks on their roster: junior-college transfer Joey Halzle, freshman Sam Bradford and walk-on Hays McEachern.---Information from: The Norman Transcript, http://www.normantranscript.com