Duke o Brewery
8/18/2006, 07:45 AM
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2006/writers/stewart_mandel/08/17/oklahoma.postcard/index.html
Stewart Mandel
Postcard from camp: Oklahoma
Thompson's play helping Sooners forget about Bomar
NORMAN, Okla. -- Considering the overwhelming question mark hanging over the Oklahoma football team this preseason, this was a sight that would have pleased Sooner followers considerably. On the first play of a 45-minute scrimmage at the end of Wednesday evening's practice, man-on-the-spot Paul Thompson took the snap, faked a handoff and hit streaking tight end Brody Eldridge in stride for what would turn in to a 30-yard gain.
As encouraging as it was, the play also amounted to one of the few passing highlights for Thompson the entire scrimmage. Not that it diffused the praise bestowed upon the fifth-year senior afterward by his coaches and teammates. "He's played as well this week as he has the entire time he's been here," said offensive coordinator Kevin Wilson. "If he keeps playing the way he's playing, we're going to be awfully good."
Indeed, Thompson, pressed back into quarterback duties following Rhett Bomar's dismissal, looked nothing but sharp running the offense, and it's clear he has the universal respect of his teammates. He's also undeniably athletic, and whereas previous offensive coordinator Chuck Long was more of a pro-style guy, Wilson, who's shown an affinity in the past for the shotgun-spread, isn't afraid to utilize his QB's running ability. Back when Thompson made his one, ill-fated start against TCU in last year's season-opener, "We were still in the Jason White-Josh Heupel-Nate Hybl mode," said head coach Bob Stoops. "It's been awfully good for us, but did we play to Paul's strengths? I don't think that we totally did."
It remains to be seen, however, whether those strengths lie at all in the passing game. During Wednesday's practice, Thompson was mostly solid with the underneath routes but often floated the ball or underthrew his receivers when going downfield. With Adrian Peterson in the backfield and a defense that should be one of the nation's best, it's not like the Sooners need Thompson to throw for 3,000 yards. But they can't afford to be one-dimensional, either, particularly with stud receivers like Malcolm Kelly (who made two out-of-this world catches Wednesday) at their disposal.
"It will come down to what the line can handle and what Paul is comfortable with," said Wilson. "We have a good enough team, playmaker-wise, and defensively, that if we can take the negatives away, we could be explosive."
Three observations
1. Reggie Smith will emerge as a national star this season. After earning freshman All-America honors as a starting strong safety last season, Smith has moved to cornerback and it's easy to see why. He's a playmaker of the highest order who showed off his closing speed on multiple occasions Wednesday. "He's just so natural at corner," said Stoops. "He's got really good ball skills."
Smith's profile will also rise considerably if the coaches follow through on an experiment they began earlier this week. Smith, already set to serve as the Sooners' top punt returner, lined up exclusively at receiver during Wednesday's scrimmage. Stoops envisions using him both ways eventually like he did with former All-American Andre Woolfolk, but it's still early in Smith's initiation. "They've got me running about six plays," said Smith. "I think it would be great to get in there and make some things happen."
2. I didn't get to see much of Peterson in action Wednesday (he was largely held out of the scrimmage) but I did get to see him without a uniform or pads on afterward, and honestly, it's like someone chiseled him out of stone. After two years of work under renowned strength coach Jerry Schmidt, the 6-foot-2 Peterson has gone from 208 pounds as a freshman to 222, and if there's an ounce of fat on his body, you wouldn't know it. "I think I'm a lot more powerful [than as a freshman]," said Peterson. "I'm healthy and I'm feeling stronger."
After slipping from 1,925 yards as a freshman to 1,104 during an injury-marred sophomore campaign, most are expecting huge things from the former Heisman runner-up this season -- no one more so than Peterson himself. "One of my goals is to go for 2,500 yards," he said. When told that only one player in Division I-A history, Barry Sanders, has run for that many yards, Peterson smiled and replied, "If you prepare yourself, you know what you're capable of doing."
3. You can tell just how hurt Stoops was by Bomar's deceit in the now-infamous job scam by the way he overtly disses the one-time budding star when talking about Thompson's situation. "What everyone outside the program forgets is that we lost a guy that threw 10 touchdowns and 10 interceptions last year. We didn't lose Jason White," said Stoops. "Everyone was enamored with what this guy might have been."
While the Bomar story generated endless coverage across the country, talking to OU players and coaches it's almost as if he's been wiped from their memory (though part of that is due to Thompson's overwhelming popularity). His fellow Texan and classmate, Peterson, did express remorse, however. "I know I miss him," said Peterson. "It hurt me to lose him. But things happen, and you've got to be able to overcome it."
X-factor
The interior offensive line. Besides Thompson, the Sooners' biggest question mark -- and one that will play a direct role in the QB's success -- is the O-line. While starting tackles Chris Messner and Brandon Braxton are proven commodities, the center (sophomore Jon Cooper) and guards (sophomore George "Duke" Robinson and juco guard Brandon Walker) are inexperienced. J.D. Quinn, the other player dismissed with Bomar, would have started at guard, and there's very little depth.
The line has been surprisingly solid during the Sooners' first two scrimmages, allowing just one sack last Saturday against a D-line that includes senior pass-rushers C.J. Ah You, Calvin Thibodeaux and Larry Birdine. "They're holding up the protection well," said Thompson. They appeared to have less success opening up holes in the running game, though it's hard to say whether some of those 3-yard gains wouldn't have turned into 7 or 8 if Peterson was carrying the ball.
Keep an eye on
Freshman tight end Jermaine Gresham. One of the nation's top-ranked tight end recruits last winter, Greshman is currently listed as a backup to sophomore Joe Jon Finley, but that won't last long. The guy is absolutely huge --- 6-6, 250 pounds --- and he uses it to his advantage. At one point Wednesday, he caught a short pass over the middle and stretched it another 10 yards while dragging as many as six white jerseys. "Jermaine Greshman is really a special player," said Stoops. Smith said he's yet to have to tackle the tight end but he's not looking forward to it. "It's hard to believe he's so physically ready," said the cornerback. "He reminds me of [former Maryland star] Vernon Davis."
Factoid that may interest only me
One of the first things one sees upon arriving at the Oklahoma City airport is the "Big 12 Conference" store, which sells merchandise from all 12 league teams. This seems to be part of a growing trend. In my recent travels, I've also seen a Big Ten store at the Columbus, Ohio, airport and an ACC store at the Raleigh-Durham airport, though I can't remember which one (Jacksonville maybe?).
All three stores had one thing in common when I saw them: An absence of customers. I can see where it would make sense to open a store that sells the local teams' apparel, but I can't imagine the scenario where a random traveler headed to his gate or to baggage claim would stop and think, "Hmm. Maybe I'll buy that Iowa State cap I've had my eye on."
On the menu
Today for lunch I dined on a delectable, airport-concession stand hamburger with ... oh, sorry, wrong postcard.
Camp Confidential
Another promising young player for the Sooners is redshirt freshman DT DeMarcus Granger, who has shown he can be a force inside but still needs to master his responsibilities in the defense. ... Junior safety Darien Williams was the subject of a severe Stoops tongue-lashing after failing to pick up Kelly on a fade pattern down the sideline. "That stinks!" shouted Stoops. "He's 6-4, 220 pounds --- you couldn't see him coming?" ... OU practices on a field adjacent to OU's tennis courts, where someone inexplicably decided to blare a mix of pop and elevator music over the p.a. system throughout practice. Complaints could be heard throughout, but the song that set off near-universal groans was "Unfaithful" by teen star Rhianna. "Did you request this?" Peterson asked a staff member on the sideline. "No, but I heard you have it on your I-Pod," he replied. ... Finally, you can't miss the now-infamous Big Red Auto/Imports driving down I-35 south to Norman. It has stores on both sides of the road -- and both of them have made sure to post a giant banner out front that reads "Under New Management."
Stewart Mandel
Postcard from camp: Oklahoma
Thompson's play helping Sooners forget about Bomar
NORMAN, Okla. -- Considering the overwhelming question mark hanging over the Oklahoma football team this preseason, this was a sight that would have pleased Sooner followers considerably. On the first play of a 45-minute scrimmage at the end of Wednesday evening's practice, man-on-the-spot Paul Thompson took the snap, faked a handoff and hit streaking tight end Brody Eldridge in stride for what would turn in to a 30-yard gain.
As encouraging as it was, the play also amounted to one of the few passing highlights for Thompson the entire scrimmage. Not that it diffused the praise bestowed upon the fifth-year senior afterward by his coaches and teammates. "He's played as well this week as he has the entire time he's been here," said offensive coordinator Kevin Wilson. "If he keeps playing the way he's playing, we're going to be awfully good."
Indeed, Thompson, pressed back into quarterback duties following Rhett Bomar's dismissal, looked nothing but sharp running the offense, and it's clear he has the universal respect of his teammates. He's also undeniably athletic, and whereas previous offensive coordinator Chuck Long was more of a pro-style guy, Wilson, who's shown an affinity in the past for the shotgun-spread, isn't afraid to utilize his QB's running ability. Back when Thompson made his one, ill-fated start against TCU in last year's season-opener, "We were still in the Jason White-Josh Heupel-Nate Hybl mode," said head coach Bob Stoops. "It's been awfully good for us, but did we play to Paul's strengths? I don't think that we totally did."
It remains to be seen, however, whether those strengths lie at all in the passing game. During Wednesday's practice, Thompson was mostly solid with the underneath routes but often floated the ball or underthrew his receivers when going downfield. With Adrian Peterson in the backfield and a defense that should be one of the nation's best, it's not like the Sooners need Thompson to throw for 3,000 yards. But they can't afford to be one-dimensional, either, particularly with stud receivers like Malcolm Kelly (who made two out-of-this world catches Wednesday) at their disposal.
"It will come down to what the line can handle and what Paul is comfortable with," said Wilson. "We have a good enough team, playmaker-wise, and defensively, that if we can take the negatives away, we could be explosive."
Three observations
1. Reggie Smith will emerge as a national star this season. After earning freshman All-America honors as a starting strong safety last season, Smith has moved to cornerback and it's easy to see why. He's a playmaker of the highest order who showed off his closing speed on multiple occasions Wednesday. "He's just so natural at corner," said Stoops. "He's got really good ball skills."
Smith's profile will also rise considerably if the coaches follow through on an experiment they began earlier this week. Smith, already set to serve as the Sooners' top punt returner, lined up exclusively at receiver during Wednesday's scrimmage. Stoops envisions using him both ways eventually like he did with former All-American Andre Woolfolk, but it's still early in Smith's initiation. "They've got me running about six plays," said Smith. "I think it would be great to get in there and make some things happen."
2. I didn't get to see much of Peterson in action Wednesday (he was largely held out of the scrimmage) but I did get to see him without a uniform or pads on afterward, and honestly, it's like someone chiseled him out of stone. After two years of work under renowned strength coach Jerry Schmidt, the 6-foot-2 Peterson has gone from 208 pounds as a freshman to 222, and if there's an ounce of fat on his body, you wouldn't know it. "I think I'm a lot more powerful [than as a freshman]," said Peterson. "I'm healthy and I'm feeling stronger."
After slipping from 1,925 yards as a freshman to 1,104 during an injury-marred sophomore campaign, most are expecting huge things from the former Heisman runner-up this season -- no one more so than Peterson himself. "One of my goals is to go for 2,500 yards," he said. When told that only one player in Division I-A history, Barry Sanders, has run for that many yards, Peterson smiled and replied, "If you prepare yourself, you know what you're capable of doing."
3. You can tell just how hurt Stoops was by Bomar's deceit in the now-infamous job scam by the way he overtly disses the one-time budding star when talking about Thompson's situation. "What everyone outside the program forgets is that we lost a guy that threw 10 touchdowns and 10 interceptions last year. We didn't lose Jason White," said Stoops. "Everyone was enamored with what this guy might have been."
While the Bomar story generated endless coverage across the country, talking to OU players and coaches it's almost as if he's been wiped from their memory (though part of that is due to Thompson's overwhelming popularity). His fellow Texan and classmate, Peterson, did express remorse, however. "I know I miss him," said Peterson. "It hurt me to lose him. But things happen, and you've got to be able to overcome it."
X-factor
The interior offensive line. Besides Thompson, the Sooners' biggest question mark -- and one that will play a direct role in the QB's success -- is the O-line. While starting tackles Chris Messner and Brandon Braxton are proven commodities, the center (sophomore Jon Cooper) and guards (sophomore George "Duke" Robinson and juco guard Brandon Walker) are inexperienced. J.D. Quinn, the other player dismissed with Bomar, would have started at guard, and there's very little depth.
The line has been surprisingly solid during the Sooners' first two scrimmages, allowing just one sack last Saturday against a D-line that includes senior pass-rushers C.J. Ah You, Calvin Thibodeaux and Larry Birdine. "They're holding up the protection well," said Thompson. They appeared to have less success opening up holes in the running game, though it's hard to say whether some of those 3-yard gains wouldn't have turned into 7 or 8 if Peterson was carrying the ball.
Keep an eye on
Freshman tight end Jermaine Gresham. One of the nation's top-ranked tight end recruits last winter, Greshman is currently listed as a backup to sophomore Joe Jon Finley, but that won't last long. The guy is absolutely huge --- 6-6, 250 pounds --- and he uses it to his advantage. At one point Wednesday, he caught a short pass over the middle and stretched it another 10 yards while dragging as many as six white jerseys. "Jermaine Greshman is really a special player," said Stoops. Smith said he's yet to have to tackle the tight end but he's not looking forward to it. "It's hard to believe he's so physically ready," said the cornerback. "He reminds me of [former Maryland star] Vernon Davis."
Factoid that may interest only me
One of the first things one sees upon arriving at the Oklahoma City airport is the "Big 12 Conference" store, which sells merchandise from all 12 league teams. This seems to be part of a growing trend. In my recent travels, I've also seen a Big Ten store at the Columbus, Ohio, airport and an ACC store at the Raleigh-Durham airport, though I can't remember which one (Jacksonville maybe?).
All three stores had one thing in common when I saw them: An absence of customers. I can see where it would make sense to open a store that sells the local teams' apparel, but I can't imagine the scenario where a random traveler headed to his gate or to baggage claim would stop and think, "Hmm. Maybe I'll buy that Iowa State cap I've had my eye on."
On the menu
Today for lunch I dined on a delectable, airport-concession stand hamburger with ... oh, sorry, wrong postcard.
Camp Confidential
Another promising young player for the Sooners is redshirt freshman DT DeMarcus Granger, who has shown he can be a force inside but still needs to master his responsibilities in the defense. ... Junior safety Darien Williams was the subject of a severe Stoops tongue-lashing after failing to pick up Kelly on a fade pattern down the sideline. "That stinks!" shouted Stoops. "He's 6-4, 220 pounds --- you couldn't see him coming?" ... OU practices on a field adjacent to OU's tennis courts, where someone inexplicably decided to blare a mix of pop and elevator music over the p.a. system throughout practice. Complaints could be heard throughout, but the song that set off near-universal groans was "Unfaithful" by teen star Rhianna. "Did you request this?" Peterson asked a staff member on the sideline. "No, but I heard you have it on your I-Pod," he replied. ... Finally, you can't miss the now-infamous Big Red Auto/Imports driving down I-35 south to Norman. It has stores on both sides of the road -- and both of them have made sure to post a giant banner out front that reads "Under New Management."