I'm surprised nobody else has posted this yet, but here are some notes from this weekend's scrimmage.
This is from the football brainiacs...
* Have been told the starting OTs right now are Kenyon Frison (RT) and Josiah St. John (LT).
* Brandon already mentioned how good Joe Mixon has looked, but I will reiterate it because everyone I talked to said the same thing. “He’s the real deal” is something we continue to hear from just about everyone we speak with. Apparently he has been giving the LBs absolute fits. Was also told he (Mixon) can rival Samaje Perine in terms of overall work ethic. Apparently those two really push each other from a competitive standpoint.
* Was told both TEs, Carson Meier and Mark Andrews, had a solid scrimmage. And, as expected, the passing game is just more explosive in general. Imagining Meier and Andrews on the field in a double TE set with Mixon in the backfield and Dede Westbrook and Sterling Shepard out wide gets me excited, and I’m not normally particularly interested in the offensive side of the ball.
* Was also told that at a certain point the offense was so difficult to defend they had completed something like five straight 40-yard passes, followed immediately by a 30-yard run up the middle.
* It probably sounds like the offense torched the defense, but I was actually told that a lot of the production came against the second team defense. In fact, I one source told me the offense only scored once against the complete first team defense.
* In terms of defensive back alignments, I’m told the corners have the option to play a press or off technique. Which is new under Kerry Cooks as I’ve been told they weren’t given that kind of freedom last year.
* I’m told the coverages they’re working on are a mix of man and zone. Didn’t get a sense whether they were leaning one way or another, I’d guess there is plenty of disguise.
* Last year OU’s base defense was a Cover-1, and they played a lot of ‘3 shell.’ In practices so far, I’m told there is plenty of single high but also some split safety looks. Which sounds more like the 2013 OU defense.
* Many of you will recall after the first spring practice, I mentioned that Mike Stoops has mellowed quite a bit. From what we’ve been told that has continued to be the case. Hearing he has become much more of a teacher, which I thought was cool. I believe Mike’s intensity, when properly channeled, can be a great thing and it sounds like he’s finding the balance that better suits today’s player.
* Was told Jordan Thomas had a great scrimmage coming up with two interceptions.
– Trevor Knight and Baker Mayfield were the two best quarterbacks today. I’m told Hansen and Cody struggled a little. There were 4 interceptions thrown…Hansen threw one and Cody threw one.
– I am told that Knight threw two of the interceptions but don’t let that make you think he didn’t look good. I’m told that he did. I’m told he looked very comfortable in general. I was told that Knight and Mayfield both look similar in terms of their mechanics. I was also told that while Mayfield didn’t make the mistakes Knight did, Trevor has such a presence as a leader of the team that it’s hard to ignore.
– The scrimmage was a touch scrimmage. There was no tackling. I’m told that Mixon is so explosive that it was difficult for defenders to even touch him.
– Westbrook, Shepard, Mixon and Perine, I’m told are on another level than everyone else. Very real offensive threats.
– Sanchez, Hatari and JT all had interceptions.
– Striker had 3 sacks and Tapper apparently had a great scrimmage.
– I was told that the defense actually played pretty well.
– Carson Meier had a pretty big day. I heard from a source that he had multiple catches. Source couldn’t recall the exact number but said that it may have been 4 or 5 catches.
* Baker Mayfield threw 3 TDs in 4 possessions.
