Questions about 8-22 scrimmage

[cs6000]

Had loosely planned to go to the scrimmage on 8-22. An article in today's Tulsa World mentioned that Stoops was so pleased in Saturday's scrimmage that he won't be having any of his first-teamers delivering anymore heavy contact.
Anyone think this means the 8-22 scrimmage may be a walk-thru; or closed; cancelled; boring?
Haven't heard any more info on the subject, but figured the "big ears" all come here.

[goingoneight]

Had loosely planned to go to the scrimmage on 8-22. An article in today's Tulsa World mentioned that Stoops was so pleased in Saturday's scrimmage that he won't be having any of his first-teamers delivering anymore heavy contact.
Anyone think this means the 8-22 scrimmage may be a walk-thru; or closed; cancelled; boring?
Haven't heard any more info on the subject, but figured the "big ears" all come here.

That kind of crap is what causes whiffed tackles in the early season. Guys taking time off. I'm pretty sure he'll tell them to play smart, but he won't have 'em go all two-touch. Personally I think that AD's blue jersey combined with not being able to wrap up and tackle the quarterback is why we got off to such an ugly start last year. Too many guys letting go because the whistle blows.

[SoonerKnight]

http://www.tulsaworld.com/sports/article.aspx?articleID=070819_2_B1_NoArt71154


Still no answer at QB: Expect the Sooners to make Sam their man

EARLY FAVORITE?
Sam Bradford: Took the first snaps for the Sooners during Saturday’s scrimmage, but OU coaches noted they may name a starter Sunday when they look at the film.




By DAVE SITTLER World Sports Columnist
8/19/2007


NORMAN -- It's over.

Bob Stoops might not be ready to announce who he will start at quarterback when Oklahoma opens the season in two weeks against North Texas, but I am.

The only way Sam Bradford doesn't take the first snap on Owen Field in the Sept. 1 contest against the Mean Green is if the redshirt freshman suffers an injury in practice.

And the odds of that hap pening grew longer Saturday night. After Stoops put the Sooners through a two-hour scrimmage, the OU coach announced he was so pleased with his team's progress that it would be the last time the top-tier players did any major hitting.
The 97-play scrimmage, which was conducted at times in a steady rain, finally saw the end of the three-man race for the quarterback job that has been raging since last spring. Bradford definitely put some separation between himself and the other two contenders -- junior Joey Halzle and true freshman Keith Nichol.

Bradford completed 12-of-17 passes for 130 yards and four touchdowns. Nichol and Halzle had their moments, but neither displayed the consistency and deft passing touch of the 6-foot-3, 213-pound Bradford.

Despite Bradford's strong outing, Stoops declined to declare him the winner. But he indicated a decision is "fairly close. We've got a good feeling though where it's going."

I'd look for that decision to come as early as Monday. And I think Stoops and his staff knew it was going to be Bradford before last night's scrimmage. But they've declined to tip their hand because they wanted to continue the high intensity level of competition as long as possible to see how the three inexperienced players responded under the consistent pressure.

"Everyone acts like we have no clue," Stoops said of those who have criticized him for stringing out the quarterback decision. "We've been paying attention, we know.

"Just because we haven't made it public, or spoke to anyone about it, it's not like we don't have our ideas and talk as a staff and know what we feel about how the guys are playing."
Stoops had said earlier he might go with two quarterbacks early in the season. If that's the case, look for Nichol to be the backup early because he has progressed faster than Stoops and offensive coordinator Kevin Wilson anticipated.

But logic suggests Nichol is headed for a redshirt year if Bradford plays as well when the lights come on and 85,000 people are jammed into Memorial Stadium as he did Saturday with 5,000 spectators enduring the wet conditions.

Halzle suffered the biggest no-no of the night when he had a pass intercepted and returned for a touchdown. But if the 6-3, 208-pound Californian can convince Stoops he's a reliable backup, it would allow the Sooners to save a year of eligibility for Nichol with a redshirt season.

"He (Nichol) is going to be a really, really good player," Wilson said. "Personally, he's exceeding my expectations.

"We thought he was good, but he's playing well before his time."

When Stoops, Wilson and quarterback coach Josh Heupel watch videotape of the final scrimmage, they can't help but be even more impressed with Bradford. Although he has yet to play a down of college football, the former Putnam City North High School standout was the unquestioned standout last night.

He started the scrimmage and immediately directed a 75-yard touchdown drive on four plays. Of course, running back DeMarco Murray did most of the work as he compiled 72 of the 75 yards, including a 7-yard touchdown pass from Bradford.

Bradford hooked up twice with wide receiver Adron Tennell on scor ing strikes of 34 and 17 yards. His final touchdown pass was a 15-yarder to fullback Matt Clapp.

The last two TD tosses to Tennell and Clapp came when the Sooners worked on their red-zone offense by starting on the 20-yardline. Bradford proved effective all over the field.

"He did a really nice job," Stoops said of Bradford. "He threw some balls in really tight spots. Even balls that were contested, he put them where the (receivers) had a chance to fight for it.

"I didn't see him make any poor decisions."

After he analyzed Bradford's play, Stoops hinted that he's made up his mind by his reaction when asked his impression of Nichol's play.

"I'm not sitting here and going through each guy," he said. "I don't like to critique them in the media."

Ah, but he did critique Bradford. As I said, it's over: Sam's the man.

[CatfishSooner]

nice article...Lets go Sam!

[LiL10(s)ArEaJoKe]

Not to get off the QB situation, but is Patrick over his injury? If not, will Murray start early in the season? Murray was very highly recruited, if I remember correctly he was a five star recruit, and in the top ten in the nation. He has looked good in the scrimmages, any chance if he blows up early that he sees the bulk of the carries this year????

[NormanPride]

Supposedly, Patrick should be good to go sometime this week. The boot he wears is just to protect his foot while he's not rehabbing it. Personally, I'll believe he's okay when I see him breaking tackles on the field.

Now, as for the no contact thing, I think Stoops is just talking about real top-tier guys like Kelly, Eldridge, Gresham, Reggie, and Reynolds. I can't imagine he wouldn't let any of the 1s hit for two weeks...

[nolesooner1984]

I don't think they are going to take time off, they are just not going to have an all out scrimmage. This is ok so that nobody gets injured. They can still do their drills and all so that they don't get rusty.

[KYHonorarySooner]

Demarco was listed as a 5 star on rivals during most of the recruiting process but ended up ranked a 4 star and in the 30-40 range in rival's final rankings for the 2006 class.