Did anyone goto the practice today ?

[BOOMERBRADLEY]

Just curious ?

[goingoneight]

Linksy...

http://www.soonersports.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_LANG=C&SPID=190&SPORT_TAB_SEL=01&DB_OEM_ID=300&SPSID=2475&ATCLID=529181

[badger]

my collegues said it was "long."

[BOOMERBRADLEY]

I allready looked at all the pics, but I was just curious if ENA's passes looked okay

[HarrisTubbsFan]

http://com3.runboard.com/bnickzeppsboard.fsoonerfootball.t71

[BOOMERBRADLEY]

Yes, this is coming from the hands of NickZepp :rolleyes:

Remarkably, the cold front sweeping across the state lowered temperatures in Norman to the low 80's as the Sooners pres-season kicked off under cloudy skies.

From the outset, several things were apparent. New offensive line coach James Patton is a vocal, fiery coach. Venables, too, remains as animated as ever. Josh Heupel, on the other hand, confers more quietly and calmly with his troops.

QBs: Though both Thompson and Halzle had an abundance of issues with getting clean snaps late in practice, both QBs looked good. Of the two, however, Thompson was most impressive. Compared with last August, Thompson actually looks a little less tense. I expected Thompson to be rusty after spening almost the past year at WR, but his passes were crisp. He hooked up with Malcom Kelly for an impressive deep ball midway through practice (Kelly had broken away from DJ Wolfe), and Thompson's mid-range passes were on target and timely.

Halzle through some nice balls as well, but clearly doesn't have the command of the offense that Thompson has. Thompson currently has better pocket presence, and makes fewer ill-advised passes. For instance, when a play broke down and Halzle was scrambling, he made an ill-advised throw which was intercepted by Marcus Walker.

RBs: Peterson was outstanding as usual, and he looks to be the 220 that the coaches say he is. Nuff said, we know how good he is. Patrick, on the other hand, looks a little leaner, and Gutierrez looks like he's recovered nicely from the torn ACL in the Holiday Bowl. Of all the running backs aside from Peterson, however, DeMarco Murray was IMPRESSIVE. Not only is he physically mature, he has moves and great field vision. Prediction: Murray gets the second most carries this fall.

FBs: Nothing stood out really.

WR: Iglesias looks bigger, as does Kelly. Manuel Johnson rounds out the top 3. Tennel might push for time at some point, but not immediately. Strong & Chaney both looked improved as well. Huggins finally seems to be progressing.

TEs: Finley has bulked up and won't be casually overtaken by Gresham. Gresham, however, looks as if he's ready to play. He and Murray were the two most impressive freshman at a glance.

OL: The starting 5 were Messner, Moore, Cooper, Walker, and Braxton, however look for the unit to be fluid with Duke getting significant reps in the near future. Not sure why he was with the second team.

DL: Best group of defensive ends in college football. Birdine, Ah You, Thibodeaux, & Williams all appear to be in top form. Dotson looked significantly bigger as well. The top 4 DT spots look to be up for grabs, but expect Bennett, Pendleton, and Granger to nail down 3 of the 4 spots.

Linebackers: Alexander, Latimer, and Pleasant will obivously be a strength. We have little depth behind them, however. Rufus looked particularly fast today.

Secondary: Corners were Wolfe & Smith. Safeties were Williams and Clayton. Marcus Walker, Nic Harris, and Jason Carter all worked out with the second unit. No one really made any plays that stood out, aside from Walker's pick of Halzle.

Overall, the scrimmage portion of practice got sloppy because there were tons of bad snaps.

Offensive Strengths: Thompson, the running backs, our top 3 wide receivers, and tight end.

Concerns: QB depth, Figuring out the starting 5 OL and OL depth. Also, two more wide receivers need to step up.

Defensive Strengths: Uhhh, the entire DL & the linebackers.

Concerns: LB depth and finding the right combination in the secondary. We have a lot of good players back there, we just need to figure out the best combination....

I can't stress enough how physically ready Murray and Greshman looked. I'd be surprised if both weren't significant contributors by the Texas game....

Also, Gerald McCoy looked surprisingly lean & tall. He didn't appear to be carrying around too much excess weight, which bodes well for his chances of breaking into the DT rotation....

Oh, and Coach Stoops checked out early, stating 'I have a thing to go to in Oklahoma City.'

wolfe
was watching the punts as much as i could, as they were on the far field,and i did not see one shanked punt, but also something else i found interesting is that they had murray fielding the punts :clap

When they were running the O-line drills, they just looked totally over matched to our D-line, they attitude of the D was awesome. They went over there screaming all pumped up and when they would beat their O'lineman, you knew about it. Defense is not gonna be a problem, i only saw them get burned once on a deep ball, but it was dropped.

Gresham is huge, wow. Big and athletic. He made a terrific one handed catch towards the end of the practice when they were running offense vs defense. Thompson looked alot more crisp on his passes and i can only think of one pass that he under threw, and it was caught by Johnson. If our O'line can gel together and Thompson get his poise, we will be a very strong team.

[goingoneight]

Nick Zepp, bleughhh....

Nice info on Murray and the othe n00bs.

[BOOMERBRADLEY]

That's why I pasted it on here...Just for the incoming frosh

[Blue]

Is he the only member on his bbs?

[leavingthezoo]

Linksy...

http://www.soonersports.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_LANG=C&SPID=190&SPORT_TAB_SEL=01&DB_OEM_ID=300&SPSID=2475&ATCLID=529181

who knows what the year will bring for ENA, but i'm thinking OU's representation at quarterback just went up a few billion notches on the class and clear head level based on that interview alone.

[soonerhubs]

HarrisTubbs=Nick Zepp

Come on Nick, just pony up and admit it.

I won't tell D. E. ;)

[jkm, the stolen pifwafwi]

they share some common ip addresses. good lord nick renews his IP a lot...

[Legendarybud]

This report is just one of the ones that Nick collected from various boards. He announced on another board that he was going to do this. I think I first read this one on OUI

[BOOMERBRADLEY]

I don't know....HarrisTubbs did put that link up very quickly, which I appreciate by the way.

[Egeo]

if nothing else, i appreciate nick's effort on rounding up info on the team during the spring and fall
for us that no longer live in norman, its a godsend

[Collier11]

Im surprised no one mentioned this, probably cus it is nickzepp but still...the first part is funny, the second is rather disturbing
"When I asked one of the kickers, who wished to remain anonymous on condition of anonymity, about the Bomar situation, he said that the team has agreed moved on and will do just fine with P. Thompson. Also, word out of camp today is that more players might be getting into trouble with this car dealership situation. That is all for today.

[Collier11]

Ill trust Stoops over zepp that nothing more is going to happen, but just hearing that makes me want to puke!!!

[okienole3]

So Nicky Six thinks that we have the best DL in the country huh? He didn't think this a few months ago.

[pb4ou]

He's been sipping his crimson kool-aid over the summer

[HarrisTubbsFan]

I think the QB change helps a lot. I'm still worried about some issues on the lines. But I can't take credit for the practice reports. I just compile em to make it easier for those that don't go to every board. I'm still not sure about the year. I hope we win atleast 9 games.

[BOOMERBRADLEY]

Practice Report 8-4-06


It's been a long practice tonight. In fact they are just now running sprints. So the dog days of training camp is well under way at the University of Oklahoma.

I thought it was a pretty good day for both quarterbacks throwing the ball. I thought Joey Halzle had a much better day throwing the ball. He threw the slant well and did a great job throwing curls. He tooks his shots deep. Paul Thompson was able to hit more passes deep and Paul took several shots deep. If you remember last year throwing the ball deep was always a knock against him against Rhett. That's changed this training camp. They threw several sideline routes. He he tried to hit Manual Johnson and he over threw him. But he came back on the oppisite side of the field and hit Malcolm Kelly on what would have been a 60 yard catch. Kelly jumped over Wolfe to make the catch and he kept his balance and he would have scored.

AD has looked spectacular when he's running. Of course they aren't tackling anyone yet. But he's spinning and he's looking so agile. He's running the ball well. Mossis Madu and DeMarco are impressing. Both of them have good moves. They are using their moves. They are drawing attention from defensive people. They are doing a good job.

Marcus Walker continues to have a good came. When they went to 5 DBs Marcus was the field corner. Reggie was the roy DB. Marcus had another interception today. He's been able to get his hand on balls. I don't think he's been beaten yet. I don't think they've made any significent catch against him.

John Williams is back. He went through more of a workout today then he did yesterday. Looked good. He really was coming off the edge. And was really excited.

We saw more of a presence of Gerald McCoy. He had one pass rush. He pushed the offensive lineman right into Joey Halzle.

Another guy that has had a strong camp is Fred Strong. Sumlin is looking for a 4th WR to step up. And I say Fred Strong has the best camp of the rest so far. He made several catches early. In fact it was almost like he and Paul Thompson were playing catch. He's catching the ball, he's running good routes. He's gettin open. I think Huggins has been better then last year. He made some good catches today.

The tight ends I didn't notice em much. Brodie Eldridge dropped a couple of balls. But he does a great job blocking. He just hasn't caught the ball much. I haven't seen em throw the ball to Joe Jon or Gresham much.

Both QBs looked good throwing the ball. Halzle threw a couple of picks but he was fine outside of that. First pass Thompson threw was picked off by I believe DJ Wolfe. But outside of that he was fine.

Blocking TEs

Brody Eldridge is a 260 lb TE so they think he can do that. They think Cummings can do that but he's not been healthy. He's ankle isn't 100%. We'll know a lot more when they put the pads on. Mensik the freshman who is battling for the deep snap spot is a 250 lb TE who can help there as well if he sets his mind to it.

On the CBs becoming a strength

Last year they had all kinds of question marks. They didn't have confidence in Chijioke and Bassey. They moved DJ over there and he didn't know what he was doing. He did become a good corner they just didn't have good depth. Now you have a great competition for the boundry corner when they go to 5 DBs between Walker and Holmes. Brian Jackson is back. He had a better practice today then yesterday. They are real high on Franks and Nelson also. The Sooners really have a great situation there.

Any of the DBs moving to safety

I don't think so. Keenan Clayton is starting at strong safety. Nic Harris continues to get a lexure on every play. Which means he has potential. I think they will be okay at safety.

I think they get into the pads portion of camp before saying for sure. Brian Jackson as big as he is hasn't shown me he's a physical type.

Knall punted better then he had all spring. He doesn't get great distance but he gets good height on the ball and he was fairly consistant. Cohen and Hartley just had stronger legs. Hartley could be both the place kicker and punter. Cohen had 2 or 3 kicks that went 60-70 yards. The punting game was much better today then yesterday.

The deep snap you have Derrick Shaw who was pretty small but he was okay. Mensik ran with the first day. I got a feeling Shaw wins it, but I'm not for sure.

[BOOMERBRADLEY]

YankeeSoonerBill-SoonersIllistrated

The new running backs not only look fast, they are incredibly shifty and smooth. Madu, Brown and Murray are very quick and very elusive. Murray and Madu especially have some great moves while carrying the ball. They look faster than adverstised. Murray catches EVERYTHING and does remind me a little of Reggie Bush!!!!
Gresham is a stud and must be up to 250 pounds, if not more. His arms are huge and when he's on the field, you notice.
It sure was good to have a 1st and 2nd offensive line for the workouts, unlike last Spring. The new players need to add some bulk and strength, but as a whole, they look pretty good to me.

Fred Strong and Malcolm Kelly both had a great practice today. Kelly is unstoppable and Strong has improved greatly since his first year here, when he dropped every other pass thrown his way. He made several nice catches and had only one drop on a tough pass.
Gresham didn't catch that much, but you can't help but not notice his presence. We ran a lot of double tight end formations and this year, we'll rediscover the joy of watching a tight end, being thrown to.
Brandon Caleb and Adron Tenell had a couple of nice catches as well. Tennell looks skinny, but can catch and Caleb looks very quick and strong with the ball in his hands.

The defense is AWESOME!!!! Gerald McCoy stood out and made several plays in the backfield and just missed collaring Madu on the other side of the backfield, behind the LOS------the cat can move and LOOKS LIKE THE REAL DEAL!!!! We have 9 guys who can play Defensive tackle!!!!
The D-backs look very good and Marcus Walker got in a lot of work and had one interception. He looks fully recovered from his shoulder problems.
The backers didn't do much, cause they were not in pads, but that will change on Monday.

As a whole, I'd say we have one helluva fine football team--------We'll see a lot more as the year goes on.

Monday, should be a lot of fun!!!:ou
.

http://img396.imageshack.us/img396/3596/greshamre6.jpg (http://imageshack.us) No kidding (Gresham)

[MontereySooner]

I think the QB change helps a lot. I'm still worried about some issues on the lines. But I can't take credit for the practice reports. I just compile em to make it easier for those that don't go to every board. I'm still not sure about the year. I hope we win atleast 9 games.

Definitely NickZepp.

"Bob Stoops should be fired." - NickZepp 09/17/05

[StoopTroup]

Definitely NickZepp.

"Bob Stoops should be fired." - NickZepp 09/17/05
I dub NZ.....

http://www.fadedcamel.com/FCcommunity/Ito/itoimages/zoloft.jpg

[BOOMERBRADLEY]

Sunday practice report from Nick's site

Sunday Practice Report-TopDaug-SoonersIll.


Okay, so I posted a couple things on other threads, but this is just going to be my general thoughts:

First off, we'll start with the QBs...nothing really stood out, here...Paul completed the passes he should, for the most part...the only time he seemed to struggle was when WRs were doing one on ones with the DBs, but they weren't always getting good separation...honestly, Halzle had a couple of pretty bad passes in this as well, except one of them was caught (on a very nice catch by Adron Tennell falling backwards)...however, PT had some very nice moments as well, with a couple of really nice intermediate passes to Gresham...

Now on to the RBs...we are very, very stacked at the RB position...it's going to be seriously difficult finding time for all these backs now and in the future...Mossis Madu and Chris Brown both got limited touches, but seemed to make the most of those, and played failry solidly....DeMarco Murray is going to be an impact back for us this season...he's very shifty and has a good eye for creating holes...Allen Patrick's cutback ability is still very good...he's quick with the cuts....and AD looked great, as usual...his cutting seems to have improved from previous seasons...

The only thing of note for the fullbacks was that Dane Zaslaw got blown up twice by Brandon Crow...not good for him...Matt Clapp was virtually unnoticeable and it's difficult to tell how much the fullbacks will be utilized....

WRs were good...Quentin Chaney did a good job of running exact routes and creating some good space...Adron Tennell made a very impressive catch on a deep ball that looked like it was tipped by Lendy Holmes and caught it while falling backwards...Fred Strong was in the starting three today, along with Iglesias and Malcolm Kelly....Kelly made a great catch where you could hear him physically take the ball from a DB on a short underneath route...he's going to be a very good, physically strong, and fast receiver....that's a very nice asset to have...

The OL looked really good at times, IMO...I'm a former line player, so I pay a lot of attention to specifics, and honestly, they looked good...the starting five was (from left to right) Messner, Duke, Cooper, Walker, and Braxton...Cooper and Duke created some really large holes up the middle for the running backs...a lot of the passing that I saw was done out of play action, and their pass blocking appeared to be pretty crisp, as well...those guys might actually be a pretty strong point on our team...Patton seems to be doing a very good job getting them fired up, and they seem to be enjoying everything (Curtis Bailey started out the practice with a dance routine, while others cheered "Go Big Cat" and clapped)....

The DL is going to be very good...Gerald McCoy looked good out there in his action....the only thing I saw was that Pendleton got manhandled a couple times (I think it was him) by Duke and Cooper on double teams, but that's a tough load to get through...they seemed to do their jobs well, and the DEs are some of the best in the country...we shouldn't really have too many problems on the DLine....

LBs are solid...that's really all there is to say...the depth seems to be coming along well, especially with Brandon Crow progressing...he's always near the ball and just has a knack for blowing people up...he gets through the blocks really quickly and seemed always in position to make a play....there's really not much to say about the LBs that hasn't already been said...we might have one of the best LB corps in the nation this season....

DBs looked good from what I saw...Manuel Johnson and Jason Carter were having a good session of back and forth trash talking going, all in good fun...Johnathan Nelson looked pretty good...Marcus Walker also seemed to play very well...I really didn't pay as much attention to them as I did the other aspects, but they looked pretty solid in the one on one drills with receivers, really making it tough to create room....

Finally, kicking....Hartley was booting field goals very well and drilled one from 55....he didn't really have that much in full team kick practice, but did a lot on his own and drilled the man in the camera tower on more than one occasion...at one point in time, that was probably the most interesting going on, because the man in the tower had to scramble to avoid some of the kicks...the punting was, well, in one word, WEAK...there were three people that punted...Michael Cohen punted and had about one or two good kicks (40+ yard punts)...also, number 13, who I'm guessing is Micah Knall (I know it wasn't Mossis Madu) also punted and had one or two good punts as well...the one thing I saw about those two that I did not like was that they seemed to take forever to release the ball....on a few occasions, I said to myself that the punts probably would've been blocked had anyone actually gone after them...Garrett Hartley was actually the surprise, IMO, of the punters, because he only took three punts that I noticed, and two of them were really good (with one being a shank, in part, because of a bad snap...it was a little high)....he also seemed to have the quickest release...

The kick returners did well....Allen Patrick and Reggie Smith were the starting kick returners, however, I wouldn't be surprised if at some point during the year, you see two number 3s out there...DeMarco Murray looked good returning punts and kicks...also, they had Johnathan Nelson returning punts, as well....

That's about all I've got...I didn't stay until the end, so I'm not too sure what happened after about 6:40 or so....


The thing about the OL is that I've always focused on them...I used to be on the OL, so it's just who I've always paid attention to...I really thought that they did a pretty good job, especially those starting five at opening up some good running lanes....Duke's move to guard seems to be working out right now, and Walker is fitting right in as well...as soon as they have a surefire starting 5 and they start to gel even more, that line will be good....

I should specify...Murray got a lot of touches...but a good amount of those were returning kicks and punts...he seemed to get a limited amount during the front 7 drill...Brown probably did get the bulk during that specific drill (I was trying to watch that and the one on ones between WRs/DBs at the same time), but each of the freshman seemed to get somewhat limited touches, in my book...Patrick got a good amount, it seemed...

And yeah, Brown was definitely impressive...he's a pretty fluid runner and makes good solid reads and cuts....

jrod
I was at practice this evening as well and have to disagree with your assesment of Chris Brown. If number 24 is Chris Brown then he got the bulk of the carries between the three freshmen (Madu - 13, Brown - 24 & Murray - 3). I didn't think Murray had as many carries as C. Brown. I do believe Murray has very high potential, he's currently a backup kick returner for Reggie Smith.

OU48A1-SI
I watched some of the one on one drills with the linemen tonight and I was impressed with Duke and Cooper. With hard work both players should have a good shot at playing on Sundays.

I was also very impressed with Bradford’s ability to accurately throw with touch and drop the ball exactly were it was needed. His vision of the field also seemed good.
Keep an eye on him for next year because IMO he is the best passer on the team but he still needs lots of work in other areas. This young man was an under ranked recruited based on his raw abilities.

Gute was cutting like he normally does and looked good cutting on his knee.

[BOOMERBRADLEY]

Play of the day
True freshman tight end Jermaine Gresham continued to have an impressive fall camp Sunday. The 6-foot-7, 240-pound rookie drew the biggest reaction from the crowd on hand with one of many standout plays he's made in the first four practices.

Sunday, Gresham ran a route down the middle of the field and turned to see quarterback Paul Thompson's pass headed his way. Only problem was that the big youngster was surrounded by linebacker Lewis Baker, strong safety Jason Carter and free safety Nic Harris. Still, Gresham used his height and reach advantage to its fullest, going up between all three defenders and coming down with a 30-yard reception.

Stoops likes energy level of team
OU practiced for 2½ hours Sunday at the OU rugby field. The session was the fourth practice of fall drills.

"It was good, I loved it," coach Bob Stoops said. "I thought the guys were running around, working hard and had a lot of energy to them. I was very pleased."

Stoops also lauded Thompson's progress.

"I thought he looked really good today. In our blitz drill, right off the bat he completed his first four or five in a row. So he's coming along in a really good way."

Sooners to break out pads, close drills
Today's practice will be the Sooners' first in full pads and will be the first closed to the public and media. Whether OU's scheduled scrimmages on Aug. 12 and Aug. 19 will be open to the public has yet to be decided.
"There will be some different wrinkles we're going to work, and there's no need in broadcasting it to everyone we're going to play in the first couple of games," Stoops said. "I thought it just doesn't make any sense to have it wide open anymore. So we'll just lock it down and try to work some things that are maybe a little different than in the past." .

[BOOMERBRADLEY]

OU practice report
By GUERIN EMIG World Sports Writer
8/7/2006

POSITION BATTLE
Defensive line

The Sooners are stacked at defensive end, returning what amounts to three starters in Calvin Thibodeaux, C.J. Ah You and Larry Birdine, and two players who could start about anywhere else in Alonzo Dotson and John Williams.

Right now, Thibodeaux and Ah You are on the first line, as they were all last year.

Birdine and Dotson are on the second, with Williams, coming off a torn knee ligament sustained in the 2005 opener, coming in next.

At defensive tackle, OU is using Carl Pendleton and Steven Coleman with the first group.

Cory Bennett and DeMarcus Granger, a heralded signee in '05, are with the second.

NEWS AND NOTES
Strike one: Quarterback Paul Thompson made the first pass he threw in 7-on-7 drills Sunday his prettiest. He laid a 20-yarder down the middle, over the linebackers and into the hands of tight end Joe Jon Finley.

Then cornerback Lendy Holmes made a play to match Thompson's, shooting in to strip Finley of the ball just as the tight end was gathering it in.

"I think in our blitz drill (7-on-7) right off the bat, he completed his first four or five in a row," coach Bob Stoops said of Thompson. "He's coming along in a good way."

Moving right along: With D.J. Wolfe resting a tweaked hamstring, Holmes played first-team corner opposite Reggie Smith and continued to make the most of his move from wide receiver last spring.

"He's handled the transition well," Stoops said. "He's shown he has a knack for playing that position, understands it.

"He understands routes, he understands how people are trying to attack the corners. He's got great athletic ability and great awareness.

"I think he has a chance to be an oustanding corner."

You never know: Sunday marked the final time fans or media could attend preseason practice.

"There's too much information out there," Stoops said. "Who knows who's watching your practices, or who's videoing them? It's amazing."

Asked if he's ever caught a spy in the act, Stoops said: "Oh, sort of. I'm not going into that." .

[sooneron]

I'm kind of glad that Stoops is locking practice down. I think one open scrimmage would be good for the fans, though.

[I_Live_In_OK]

that guy's got free time.