You know who had a good game?

[Widescreen]

Curtis Lofton. I'm re-watching the game. He had several opportunities to overrun plays (heaven knows we've seen that happen a lot over the last few years) but he played with a lot of discipline.

[Newbomb Turk]

yes he did. He was all over the place.

[critical_phil]

you didn't even give me time to guess.


i was gonna say Lewis Baker.

[Widescreen]

I knew you'd be wrong so I decided to end the suspense.

[Newbomb Turk]

Baker had a nice game too - special teams and defense.

[IronSooner]

I was really impressed with Lofton too. Especially in the first half, he was in on a lot of plays and did a great job stuffing the run game. Can't wait to watch him in person next week.

[jk the sooner fan]

i agree, i kept watching for Ryan Reynolds to do something spectacular because we've heard so much hype, and while he did have some nice plays......it was Lofton I kept seeing

[oumartin]

Anyone else think one A. English is gonna be like Dan Cody was his frosh year. Cody was huge when he was freshman and English to me plays alot like Dan did

[KantoSooner]

Since we seem to be talking defense here, please tell someone (me) who could not see the game (not televised here) what our penetration was like. Yes, yes, it was UNT, but it seemed like we were getting into the backfield more yesterday than through all of last year combined.
Wishful thinking?

[LittleWingSooner]

Anyone else think one A. English is gonna be like Dan Cody was his frosh year. Cody was huge when he was freshman and English to me plays alot like Dan did

Dan Cody as a freshman had about 10 tackles and a sack. He didn't play in any of the big games outside of Florida State. His break out year was probably his RS Sophomore year. I can see English breaking out like that year. He'll start every game this year. He's is a stud

[oumartin]

I know exactly when Cody played and yes, he played big time as a freshman.
How you play is not measured solely by tackles

[zeke]

:D :D

[birddog]

http://newsok.com/article/3130663/1190340480

By Jake Trotter
OU Insider
NORMAN — Monday evening, Curtis Lofton pushed himself so hard in linebacker drills he lost his lunch.



"There's noodles on the 26-yard line right now,” defensive coordinator Brent Venables said after practice.

Before a dehydrated Lofton could speak with the media, he needed IV treatment.

That relentlessness has Lofton on track to be the next standout linebacker at Oklahoma.

And it's because of where he plays that makes him the most important player on OU's roster, other than quarterback Sam Bradford.

The Sooners are loaded with depth at every position, even at quarterback.

Not at middle linebacker.

Five-star transfer Mike Reed is a bust, so far. He's been unable to pick up the defensive scheme.

Because of Tulsa's wild alignments, the middle linebacker must consistently make sound calls tonight, or else.

"If we call the front wrong or miss one of our checks, that could easily be a touchdown,” Lofton said. "It's a big challenge for us.”

For that reason, Reed hasn't stepped on the field in the last two games, even though he's listed as Lofton's backup on the depth chart.

Half of Lofton's value is cerebral. The other half is his knack for running sideline to sideline and making one-on-one tackles.

It's critical to OU's success to have the 6-foot, 240-pound Lofton in the game.

Neither outside linebacker — Lewis Baker (210 pounds) nor Ryan Reynolds (230) — has the preferred size to slide over to the middle.

Sophomore Lamont Robinson is seeing time at linebacker ahead of Reed, but Robinson has played in just two career games.

For now, it's all on Lofton.

That's why he lost his noodles — Lofton's pushing himself to be conditioned to play a lot of snaps, perhaps more than any other OU defender.

"I think I've got a lot more to go,” said Lofton, who played high school ball at Class 3A Kingfisher. "I'm kind of getting there, but I've got a long, long way to go.”

This week, coaches have begun comparing Lofton to the likes of Teddy Lehman and Rufus Alexander.

"It's a pleasure to be mentioned in the same sentence with those guys,” Lofton said.

"Those guys are top athletes and top linebackers.”

Against Utah State, he took a pick 45 yards for a touchdown, bringing back memories of Torrance Marshall's game-winning interception return against Texas A&M seven seasons ago.

Lofton's statistics alone reveal his worth.

He has 28 tackles, 10 more than any other defender.

As the season rolls along, coaches need to develop OU's linebacker depth, so they aren't so reliant on Lofton.

Until then, though, Lofton can't leave the field.

He's too good.

He's too valuable.

[freshchris05]

BOOMER effin SOONER! anytime you hear about a player giving it all for his team, it's something to be proud of as a fan of that team, a fan of football, or any sport for that matter...

you can have all the talent in the world but if you never want to work for anything you'll never get anything...

hard work beats talent when talent.....




is a lazy bastard

[My Opinion Matters]

I never thought I would say this three weeks into the season but...

our starting linebackers this year are better than the starters from last year.

[CincySooner]

I never thought I would say this three weeks into the season but...

our starting linebackers this year are better than the starters from last year.

we'll see... that was a pretty good unit last year.

[Landthief 1972]

Lofton is a class act off the field, too, BTW. Kingfisher FTW!