Sooner Football Preview

SOONER FOOTBALL 2013

Near becoming OU’s all-time winningest football coach, Bob Stoops will try leading Sooners from uncertain crossroads See stories, Pages 4, 5, 16 Also: A complete look at the 2013 Sooners Local prep heroes who might help the cause, Getting inside with ‘The Voice,’ Toby Rowland

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SOONER FOOTBALL 2013

THE NORMAN TRANSCRIPT

Big Stories

UNCERTAIN SEASON

Sooners are at a crossroads entering 2013 campaign.

Page 5

Filling in blanks

n

With mobility at QB, Sooners will offer a different look.

Page 8 n

Defenders have chips on their shoulders after another tough season.

Page 10 n

Special teams shouldn’t be OU’s problem this season.

Page 12 n

Stoops enters 15th season primed to become the winningest skipper in program history.

Page 16 n

Local heroes Jordan Evans and Julian Wilson ready to make a difference.

Page 14, 15

n

n Toby Rowland has settled into being ‘The Voice’ with the help of his team.

Page 18

Forget about superstars; Sooners need a few guys to step up and be counted, but who? his is an odd way to begin a preseason discussion about 2013 Sooner football. Nonetheless, give it a shot and see what happens.

Consider Travis Lewis.

Clay See? Odd. Do it anyway.

Horning Consider Sports Editor Travis Lewis.

Four-year starter at linebacker, led Oklahoma tacklers all four of those years, 2011 being the last of them.

Even if his numbers said he was a better freshman and sophomore than he was a junior and senior, you always knew there was at least one guy on the Sooner defense you didn’t have to worry about and that was Travis Lewis.

How important would a guy like that be for OU this season?

You can go through all the great players of the previous 14 campaigns, the complete Bob Stoops era, and you can count out a long list of superstars.

Heisman Trophy winners and consensus All-Americans and first-round draft picks, from Sam

T

Oh, to have him again!

Bradford to Teddy Lehman to Mark Clayton to Roy Williams to Adrian Peterson to Tommie Harris to Jason White to Gerald McCoy to Ryan Broyles.

It’s a partial list.

Great players all.

They were huge, huge, huge players in the college game. They could lead SportsCenter.

You can win national championships with guys like that and you can sure give Chris Fowler and Kirk Herbstreit and Lee Corso plenty to talk about with guys like that.

But with the possible exception of wide receiver Jalen Saunders, who still needs somebody to get him the ball, this bunch of Sooners doesn’t count guys like that. It just doesn’t. Somebody could emerge, but it doesn’t.

Now think about Travis Lewis.

He was more All-Conference than All-American, but he was always there, in the middle of it and a great quote to boot. Over the Stoops era, OU has counted a bunch of guys like him, too.

Guys like Allen Patrick and Rufus Alexander, Curtis Fagan and Curtis Lofton, Frank

Travis Lewis intercepts a pass against Iowa State in 2011. Lewis was a four-year starter who led the Sooners in tackles in each of his four seasons. OU’s defense will be much improved if anybody can nail down their position the way Lewis nailed down the weakside linebacker spot.

Transcript File Photo

• See HORNING Page 24

Also 2013 Sooner roster 2012 Statistics Offense, defense, special teams two-deep chalkboard

Page 6

Upheaval creates wide open Big 12 conference race

Page 7

Top-heavy SEC will be hard to knock from its throne

Page 25

It still looks like Cardinal, Ducks remain class of Pac-12

Page 27

Page 26

Tulsa can exit Conference USA on a championship note

Page 30

THE NORMAN TRANSCRIPT

SOONER FOOTBALL 2013

NEXT CHAPTER BEGINS NOW

SL ATE

At a crossroads Amidst great change, Sooners will either march forward or begin to drop back toward pack

6 p.m. Saturday, Norman

Sept. 7, Norman

By John Shinn Transcript Sports Writer

Sept. 14, Norman

he hardest thing to do in college football stand still. Programs constantly rise and fall at the expense or benefit of rivals. For the vast majority of programs, success is akin to being on a see-saw rather than the top of a mountain.

OklaSooner homa, Insider though, John Shinn has somehow managed to tread water for the last two seasons, going 10-3 in both. Odds are that will change in 2013. This will likely be the year the Sooners either begin another march forward or recede. There are signs pointing both directions.

Last season, struggles to slow down the Big 12’s prolific offenses proved OU’s defense has some reputation building to do along with roster building.

Throw that into a mix that will include as many as seven first-year starters on defense, and a completely reworked secondary and defensive line, and this could be one of those rebuilding years programs dread.

On the offensive side, through success or failure,

T

Sept. 28, South Bend

Oct. 5, Norman

Oct. 12, Dallas

Oct. 19, Lawrence

Oct. 26, Norman

Nov. 7, Waco

Ty Russell / For The Transcript

Oklahoma coach Bob Stoops helps his players stretch out as he shakes their hands prior to kicking off against Kansas last season. Stoops and the Sooners are only one of many conference teams believed to be contenders for a Big 12 championship this season. it will be a transformative season. The only guarantee about the quarterback position is that it won’t be the guy who started the last four seasons, Landry Jones.

The days of an absolute pocket passing quarterback are gone as well.

Quarterbacks Blake Bell and Trevor Knight signal a new offensive direction for the Sooners. Both can run

and OU has geared itself for the last eight months to take advantage of their mobility.

But the one most in touch with the change being experienced by the

program should be the head coach himself. Bob Stoops has hired three new assistants since last season ended in offensive • See CHANGE Page 24

Nov. 16, Norman

Nov. 23, Manhattan

Dec. 7, Stillwater

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SOONER FOOTBALL BY THE NUMBERS ROSTER 1 1 2 3 4 5 6 6 7 8 9 9 10 10 11 12 13 14 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 22 23 24 24 25 25 26 26 27 28 29 29 31 32 33 34 38 38 39 40 40 41 42 43 44

2012 RESULTS

L.J. Moore Kendal Thompson Julian Wilson Sterling Shepard Hatari Byrd Durron Neal Dannon Cavil Stanvon Taylor Corey Nelson Jalen Saunders Trevor Knight Gabe Lynn Blake Bell Quentin Hayes Lacoltan Bester DTrrick Woods Ahmad Thomas Aaron Colvin Cody Thomas Zack Sanchez Jaz Reynolds Trey Metoyer Michael Hunnicutt Eric Striker Frank Shannon Keith Ford Roy Finch Cortez Johnson Kass Everett Brennan Clay Trey Franks Aaron Franklin David Smith Jordan Evans Damien Williams Dakota Austin Alex Ross Grant Bothun Rashod Favors Londell Taylor Seth Carter Trey Millard Daniel Brooks Jack Steed Brandon Young Nick Hodgson P. L. Lindley Julian Winters Joe Palange Dominique Alexander Ruben Hunter Jed Barnett

DB QB DB WR DB WR WR DB LB WR QB DB QB DB WR WR DB DB QB DB WR WR K LB LB RB RB DB DB RB DB LB RB LB RB DB RB WR DE LB DB FB DB P DB K DE WR FB LB LB P

6-1 6-1 6-2 5-10 6-1 5-11 6-5 5-11 6-1 5-9 6-1 6-0 6-6 6-0 6-3 6-1 6-1 6-0 6-5 5-11 6-2 6-1 6-1 6-0 6-1 5-11 5-7 6-2 5-10 5-11 5-10 6-1 5-10 6-3 5-11 5-11 6-1 5-11 6-1 6-0 5-11 6-2 5-8 6-5 5-10 6-2 6-2 5-11 6-2 6-2 6-2 6-2

166 199 199 193 198 199 214 173 226 157 201 204 252 193 195 188 215 192 209 176 198 185 176 219 229 205 167 201 189 201 200 222 199 216 211 151 209 188 261 213 177 253 176 210 178 193 254 169 224 216 204 227

Fr. Fresno, Calif. (Central East HS) R-So. Moore (Southmoore HS) R-Jr. Oklahoma City (Southmoore HS) So. Oklahoma City (Heritage Hall HS) Fr. Fresno, Calif. (Central East HS) So. St. Louis, Mo. (De Smet Jesuit HS) Fr. San Antonio, Texas (James Madison HS) Fr. Tulsa (East Central HS) Sr. Dallas, Texas (Skyline HS) Sr. Elk Grove, Calif. (Fresno State) R-Fr. San Antonio, Texas (Reagan HS) R-Sr. Tulsa (Jenks HS) R-Jr. Wichita, Kan. (Bishop Carroll HS) Jr. Lancaster, Texas (Lancaster HS) Sr. Scooba, Miss. (East Mississippi CC) R-Fr. Inglewood, Calif. (Inglewood HS) Fr. Miami, Fla. (Miami Central HS) Sr. Tulsa (Owasso HS) Fr. Colleyville, Texas (Heritage HS) R-Fr. Keller, Texas (Central HS) R-Sr. Houston, Texas (Eisenhower HS) So. Whitehouse, Texas (Hargrave Academy) R-Jr. Richardson, Texas (Pearce HS) So. Seffner, Fla. (Armwood HS) R-So. Dallas, Texas (Skyline HS) Fr. Cypress, Texas (Cypress Ranch HS) Sr. Niceville, Fla. (Niceville HS) R-So. New Orleans, La. (Arizona) Sr. Philadelphia, Pa. (Pierce College) Sr. San Diego, Calif. (Scripps Ranch HS) R-Jr. Orange, Texas (West Orange-Stark HS) R-Jr. Marshall, Texas (Marshall HS) R-Fr. Midlothian, Ill. (Bremen HS) Fr. Norman (Norman North HS) Sr. San Diego, Calif. (Arizona Western) Fr. Lancaster, Texas (Lancaster HS) R-Fr. Jenks (Jenks HS) So. Rowlett, Texas (Rowlett HS) R-Jr. Fort Worth, Texas (Dunbar HS) R-So. Vian (Rose State College) Sr. Wichita Falls, Texas (Rider HS) Sr. Columbia, Mo. (Rock Bridge HS) R-Fr. Port Lavaca, Texas (Calhoun HS) R-Fr. Katy, Texas (Cinco Ranch HS) Jr. Frisco, Texas (Frisco HS) Jr. N. Richland Hills, Texas (N. Richland Hills HS) R-So. Round Rock, Texas (Stony Point HS) Sr. Sacramento, Calif. (Christian Brothers HS) R-Fr. Cleveland, Ohio (William & Mary) Fr. Tulsa (Booker T. Washington HS) Fr. Oklahoma City (Putnam City North HS) Jr. Camas, Wash. (Laney College)

46 47 48 49 50 52 54 55 56 59 64 66 67 68 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 80 81 81 82 82 83 83 84 85 85 86 87 87 88 88 89 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99

Jack Braught Eric Hosek Aaron Ripkowski David Driskill Austin Woods John-Philip Hughes Nila Kasitati Josiah St. John Ty Darlington Tony Feo Gabe Ikard Riley Nolan Robert Hollis Bronson Irwin Christian Daimler Tyrus Thompson DTrek Farniok Dylan Hartsook Adam Shead Tyler Evans Jake Reed Dionte Savage Kyle Marrs Daryl Williams Jordan Phillips Jordan Smallwood Austin Brown Sam Grant Brannon Green Ogbonnia Okoronkwo Cody Barrow Austin Bennett Mike Onuoha Geneo Grissom K.J. Young Brandon Kitchens Zach Long D.J. Ward Cody Chancellor Taylor McNamara Ashton Bennett Connor Knight Matt Dimon Charles Tapper Matthew Romar Jordan Wade Torrea Peterson Quincy Russell Mitch Tate Charles Walker Chuka Ndulue Chaz Nelson

K K FB DE OL OL OL OL OL OL OL OL DT OL OL OL OL OL OL OL OL OL OL OL DT WR WR TE TE DE WR WR DE DE WR WR WR DE WR TE WR TE DE DE DT DT DT DT DE DT DE DE

6-3 5-10 6-1 6-1 6-4 6-4 6-4 6-6 6-3 6-4 6-3 6-3 6-4 6-5 6-6 6-5 6-9 6-5 6-4 6-5 6-4 6-5 6-5 6-6 6-6 6-2 6-3 6-7 6-2 6-3 5-10 6-0 6-5 6-4 6-1 5-11 5-11 6-2 6-3 6-5 5-10 6-4 6-2 6-4 6-3 6-4 6-3 6-4 6-4 6-3 6-3 6-2

170 153 254 244 311 281 312 305 288 292 298 283 330 314 279 320 325 299 316 305 309 339 307 321 324 202 201 258 256 214 185 163 235 263 176 161 173 245 177 246 160 226 268 261 286 296 295 315 245 281 274 237

Fr. Duncan (Duncan HS) R-So. Sherman, Texas (Sherman HS) Jr. Dayton, Texas (Dayton HS) Jr. Oklahoma City (Casady HS) Sr. Rockwall, Texas (Rockwall-Heath HS) R-So. Tulsa (Edison HS) R-So. Euless, Texas (Trinity HS) Jr. Toronto, Canada (Trinity Valley CC) So. Apopka, Fla. (Apopka HS) R-Jr. Pago Pago, American Samoa (Fullerton College) R-Sr. Oklahoma City (Bishop McGuiness HS) R-Fr. Norman (Missouri Southern State) R-So. Tulsa (Edison HS) Sr. Mustang (Mustang HS) Fr. Houston, Texas (Stratford HS) R-Jr. Pfl ugerville, Texas (Pfl ugerville HS) R-So. Sioux Falls, S.D. (Washington HS) R-Fr. Midwest City (Choctaw HS) R-Jr. Cedar Hill, Texas (Cedar Hill HS) R-Sr. Straff ord, Mo. (Straff ord HS) Sr. Ardmore (Ardmore HS) Jr. Flint, Mich. (Arizona Western CC) R-Fr. San Antonio, Texas (Brandeis HS) R-Jr. Lake Dallas, Texas (Lake Dallas HS) R-So. Towanda, Kan. (Circle HS) Fr. Jenks (Jenks HS) R-So. Buff alo, S.D. (Sioux Falls) R-Fr. North Royalton, Ohio (St. Edward HS) Sr. Altamont, Kan. (Fort Scott CC) Fr. Houston, Texas (Alief Taylor HS) So. McKinney, Texas (Allen HS) Fr. Manvel, Texas (Manvel HS) So. Edmond (Santa Fe HS) R-Jr. Hutchinson, Kan. (Hutchinson HS) Fr. Perris, Calif. (Citrus Hill HS) R-Fr. Jenks (Jenks HS) Fr. Norman (Norman HS) Fr. Moore (Southmoore HS) Fr. Oklahoma City (Bishop McGuinness HS) R-Fr. San Diego, Calif. (Westview HS) R-Fr. Manvel, Texas (Manvel HS) R-Fr. San Antonio, Texas (Reagan HS) Fr. Katy, Texas (Katy HS) So. Baltimore, Md. (City College HS) Fr. Port Arthur, Texas (Memorial HS) R-Fr. Round Rock, Texas (Stony Point HS) R-Jr. San Antonio, Texas (East Central HS) Jr. San Antonio, Texas (Trinity Valley CC) R-So. Bartlesville (Bartlesville HS) Fr. Garland, Texas (South Garland HS) R-Jr. Dallas, Texas (Dallas Jesuit Prep) R-Sr. Columbus, Ohio (Garden City CC)

2012 TEAM STATS SCORING Points per game

OU 496 38.2

Opp. 321 25.5

FIRST DOWNS Rushing Passing Penalty

353 114 224 15

250 111 20 19

2098 2347

2499 2703

RUSHING YARDAGE Yards gained rushing

Yards lost rushing Rushing Attempts Average Per Rush Average Per Game TDs Rushing

249 434 4.8 161.4 30

204 485 5.2 192.2 27

PASSING YARDAGE 4374 2679 Com.-Att.-Int 376-571-11 220-420-13 Average per pass 7.7 6.4 Average per catch 11.6 12.2 Average per game 336.5 206.1

TDs Passing

30

11

6472 1005 6.4 497.8

5178 905 5.7 398.3

3rd-DOWN Conversions 96-184 Percentage 52% 4th-DOWN Conversions 7-11 Percentage 64%

84-202 42% 7-15 47%

TOTAL OFFENSE Total Plays Average per play Average per game

KICK returns: #-Yards PUNT returns: #-Yards INT returns: #-Yards KICK return average PUNT return average INT return average Fumbles-lost Penalties-Yards Average Per Game Punts-Yards

35-904 27-387 13-124 25.8 14.3 9.5

57-1040 12-87 11-208 18.2 7.2 18.9

20-9 74-598 46.0 54-2340

7-3 62-482 37.1 74-3227

Average Per Punt 43.3 Net punt average 38.8 Kickoffs-Yards 93-5785 Average Per Kick 62.2 Net kick average 51.9 Time of possession/Game 31:04

43.6 37.3 67-4086 61.0 35.9 28:56

Sept. 1 at UTEP W, 24-7 Sept. 8 Florida A&M W, 69-13 Sept. 22 Kansas St. L, 24-19 Oct. 6 at Texas Tech W, 41-20 Oct. 13 Texas W, 63-21 Oct. 20 Kansas W, 52-7 Oct. 27 Notre Dame L, 30-13 Nov. 3 at Iowa St. W, 35-20 Nov. 10 Baylor W, 42-34 Nov. 17 at W. Virginia W, 50-49 Nov. 24 OSU W, 51-48 Dec. 1 at TCU W, 24-17 Jan. 4 *Texas A&M L, 41-13 * Cotton Bowl Record: 10-3 Conference record: 8-1 Co-Big 12 Champion

2012 PLAYER STATS

Williams Clay Whaley Bell Millard Finch Stills Shepard Team Jones Total Opp.

Att 176 93 39 60 33 7 2 2 8 14 434 485

Rushing Yds Y/C 946 5.4 555 6.0 243 6.2 201 3.3 198 6.0 62 8.9 22 11.0 19 9.5 -38 -4.8 -110 -7.9 2098 4.8 2499 5.2

TD 11 6 1 11 0 1 0 0 0 0 30 27

Lg 95 41 18 55 20 17 13 13 0 5 95 74

Y/G 72.8 42.7 40.5 15.5 15.2 4.8 1.7 1.5 -5.4 -8.5 161.4 192.2

Passing Eff C-A-I Pct Yds. TD Jones 144.6 367-555-11 66.1 4267 30 Bell 112.4 9-16-0 56.2 107 0 Total 143.7 376-571-11 65.8 4374 30 Opp. 108.4 220-420-13 52.4 2679 11 Receiving No. Yds. Avg. Stills 82 959 11.7 Brown 73 879 12.0 Saunders 62 829 13.4 Shepard 45 621 13.8 Williams 34 320 9.4 Millard 30 337 11.2 Metoyer 17 148 8.7 Clay 15 100 6.7 Neal 5 75 15.0 Whaley 4 14 3.5 Green 3 45 15.0 Bester 3 29 9.7 Finch 2 6 3.0 Musil 1 12 12.0 Total 376 4374 11.6 Opp. 220 2679 12.2

TD 11 5 3 3 1 4 1 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 30 11

Lg A/G 68 73.8 46 67.6 76 92.1 52 47.8 38 24.6 73 25.9 27 13.5 25 7.7 25 7.5 13 2.3 18 3.8 13 2.4 5 0.5 12 6.0 76 336.5 80 206.1

Tackles (leaders) S A T Loss Jefferson 85 34 119 3.5-7 Harris 58 28 86 2.5-6 Colvin 47 14 61 2.5-15 Hurst 47 12 59 1.0-2 Wort 27 26 53 5.5-26 Nelson 23 24 47 3.5-13 Ndulue 23 22 45 6.0-13 Shannon 22 18 40 3.5-15 Lynn 29 8 37 2.5-4 Washington18 16 34 3.0-18 Wilson 23 8 31 2.0-3 McFarland 15 14 29 6.0-28 King 11 16 27 2.0-9 Walker 12 13 25 3.0-7 Franklin 14 7 21 1.0-8

Sack 0.5-3 2.0-14 1.0-2 2.0-15 1.0-8 5.0-12 2.0-12 1.5-12 3.0-23 2.5-8 1.0-8

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SOONER FOOTBALL 2013

T WO-DEEP CHALKBOARD Notable

RB: 26, Damien Williams 22, Brennan Clay 24, Roy Finch

FYI

TE: 33, Trey Millard 88, Taylor McNamara 82, Brannon Green

LT: 71, Tyrus Thompson 76, Jake Reed

QB: 10, Blake Bell 9, Trevor Knight 1, Kendal Thompson

LG: 74, Adam Shead 77, Dionte Savage

FB: 33, Trey Millard 48, Aaron Ripkowski

C: 64, Gabe Ikard 56, Ty Darlington

WR: 8, Jalen Saunders 16, Jaz Reynolds

RG: 68, Bronson Irwin 54, Nila Kasitati

SR: 3, Sterling Shepard 12, Derrick Woods

RT: 79, Daryl Williams 72, Derek Farniok

Oklahoma has not released an official preseason two-deep depth chart to date. Some of the positons, offensively, defensively and on secial teams are clear, while others remain undecided heading into Saturday’s season opener. The following depth chart is not official, but, relying on the expertise of longtime Sooner football beat writer John Shinn, should be very close.

The offensive side of this depth chart lists 12 positions, though only 11 may occupy the field at a time. At any given moment, the Sooners may choose to play without a tight end, without a fullback, without a third receiver or with a fourth reciever, yet no running back at all, leaving 11 offensive players on the field.

SPECIALISTS

K: 18, Michael Hunnicutt 39, Nick Hodgson

P: 44, Jed Barnett 38, Jack Steed WR: 11, Lacoltan Bester 17, Trey Metoyer

DS: 50, Austin Woods

H: 29, Grant Bothun CB: 14, Aaron Colvin 23, Kass Everett

DE: 85 Geneo Grissom 82, Ogbonnia Okornkwo

DT: 80, Jordan Phillips 93, Jordan Wade

DT: 98, Chuka Ndulue 95, Quincy Russell

DE: 91, Charles Tapper 40 P.L. Lindley

CB: 22, Cortez Johnson 15, Zach Sanchez

KR: 24, Brennan Clay 22, Roy Finch

LB: 7, Corey Nelson 25, Aaron Franklin

FS: 9, Gabe Lynn 13, Ahmad Thomas

LB: 20, Frank Shannon 19, Eric Striker

NB: 2, Julian Wilson 4, Hatari Byrd

SS: 10, Quentin Hayes 4, Hatari Byrd

PR: 8, Jalen Saunders 3, Sterling Shepard

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SOONER FOOTBALL 2013

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OFFENSE: THE RUNDOWN

Scramble Different kind of quarterback will give Sooners a new dimension

By John Shinn Transcript Sports Writer

Oklahoma coach Bob Stoops said there’s only been small tweaks made to the offense for this season.

“Not much different.

You’ll see a bunch of the same formations and plays,” he said. “Not much at all really.”

Believe him if you want, but there will be a major

contrast between the Sooners’ offense this season as opposed to previous years.

The era of the mobile quarterback has finally arrived in Norman. Blake Bell and Trevor Knight add the athletic ability to expand the playbook and create a new emphasis on running the ball.

OU has made it to the • See OFFENSE Page 9

“You look at the dimension it brings.

You look at (Texas A&M quarterback) Johnny Manziel.

Sometimes the worst thing you can do is cover everybody, and there he goes.”

Bob Stoops, on the running QB

On the run, Sooner quarterback Blake Bell looks for somebody to throw the ball to at OU’s spring game.

With Bell or Trevor Knight behind center, the Sooners may be in a position to put greater focus on an elusive running game.

Kyle Phillips / The Transcript

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SOONER FOOTBALL 2013

Offense: Something extra in mix • From Page 10 season with the deepest stable of running backs it’s ever had during Stoops’ tenure.

Damien Williams, Brennan Clay, Roy Finch and fullback Trey Millard are all seniors and have all offered big-play ability in the past.

The offensive line is a veteran group, which includes All-American center Gabe Ikard, that has beefed up in the offseason to become a more physical run-blocking unit. The Sooners claim a flock of talented receivers led by senior Jalen Saunders.

It’s a great time to be a Sooner quarterback.

Offensive coordinator Josh Heupel has been adamant in saying the ability to get the ball to those playmakers is the essential element the next quarterback must bring.

“For us to win a championship and play at the highest level, he’s going to have to win football games for us throwing the football,” he said. “We’re not going to give up anything; whether recruiting or whoever our guy is, we want him to be able to distribute the football.”

It may be the overriding factor in picking OU’s first new starting quarterback since 2009. But OU’s shift toward more athletically inclined quarterbacks began with the signing of Bell in 2010.

Every quarterback the Sooners have brought to campus since — Kendal Thompson in 2011, Knight in 2012 and Cody Thomas prior to this season — brings the ability to escape the pocket and extend plays at a minumum. At the maximum, they give the Sooners

Sooner running back Brennan Clay breaks through the line of scrimmage against Oklahoma State last season. Clay is one of several running backs who hope to turn around OU’s ground game.

Kyle Phillips / The Transcript

another running back on the field capable of rushing for a touchdown from anywhere on the field.

No coach is willing to say how often the next quarterback will run. Bell’s proven over the last two years that he can take a hit and deliver a blow, too, in the shortyardage package that’s allowed him to score 24 touchdowns the last two seasons.

Knight is regarded as one of OU’s best all-around athletes, but he’s never been on the field without wearing the “hands-off” blue jersey.

“It’s one of those things where those guys are going to make a lot of plays with their feet,” Ikard said. “Both are very gifted athletically

and whenever Kendal can get back in the mix, he’s the same way, so (our job on the line), first and foremost, is to keep guys away from the quarterback … every once in a while, they’re going to make a play with their feet and it’s kind of convenient to have guys that can get away.”

The Sooners have seen over the last two seasons just what kind of havoc those kinds of quarterbacks can wreak. If they can also throw the ball at the level OU is accustomed to, all the makings are there for a prolific offense.

Knight or Bell will get to run into a situation with all the other pieces in place.

Adjustments have been

made to the offense to utilize their athletic ability.

“You look at the dimension it brings. You look at (Texas A&M quarterback) Johnny Manziel. Sometimes the worst thing you can do is cover everybody, and there he goes. When you have that dimension it can help you,” Stoops said. “But I think, too, we’ve got to be aware and smart about how often they’re hit and are they able to get the yards and get out of bounds and avoid that, too.”

How far it goes will be up to the coaching staff and the quarterback.

John Shinn Follow me @john_shinn jshinn@normantranscript.com

9

FIVE OFFENSIVE KEYS Become a run-first team: Offensive coordinator Josh Heupel said the goal this season is to average 5 yards per carry. It’s a lofty goal, considering OU hasn’t maintained that average the length of the Bob Stoops era. On the other hand, OU hasn’t had a running quarterback during that span either. Even Paul Thomspon, a very mobile quarterback, was not asked to be a dual threat, This will be the first time the Sooners have a realistic chance of a collapsing pocket turning into a positive play. Throw in a deep pool of running backs and a veteran offensive line, and OU has the resources to be a brawny, physical offense for the first time since 2008. Establishing the run is going to be a priority for this team. Doing it will be the key to get this offense rolling.

Rely on Saunders: OU’s breaking in a new quarterback at a great time. The experienced offensive line and running backs are a major plus, but wide receiver Jalen Saunders should also make the transition much easier. He’s a surehanded receiver with a knack for getting open against any coverage scheme. He has the ability to be Jason White’s Mark Clayton or Landry Jones’ Ryan Broyles. OU plans to move him around in formations this season and that should serve to approach maxing out Saunders’ effectiveness.

He’s a special receiver who should give a first-year quarterback a major security blanket.

Be bullish with Millard: The most frequently asked offensive question the previous two seasons has been why Trey Millard doesn’t get the ball more? OU wants that question to go away. If it will give the do-everything fullback/tight end the ball a dozen times a game, it will. The tight end spot should be where Millard makes an impression this season.

He’s worked on becoming a better in-line blocker since the spring. If he masters it, OU’s best personnel group could be with him and another running back on field. Under that scenario, defenses could be forced to remain in their stock sets and schemes, playing right into OU’s hands.

Go deep: Landry Jones had an NFL arm, but one thing he lacked during his four seasons as starting quarterback was the ability to consistently hit open receivers over the top. Big 12 defenses were aware of this going in and counted on it when developing coverage schemes against OU. If Blake Bell or Trevor Knight can hit receivers over the top, the Sooners will be a different team. In the master plan, running the ball opens up a ton of play-action opportunities that OU can then take advantage of by going deep.

Healthy offensive line: One of the keys to OU’s offensive philosophy for 2013 is a healthy and deep offensive line. It returns six players with starting experience from last season.

Add guard Nila Kasitati and junior college transfers Dionte Savage, Josiah St. John and Tony Feo, and the Sooners believe they have a unit that can wear teams down. This group will have the ultimate say over how good the Sooners are offensively. If the line stays healthy and plays well, OU could be the multi-dimensional offense the coaches seek. If not, OU could struggle to keep pace in the high-flying Big 12.

— John Shinn

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SOONER FOOTBALL 2013

THE NORMAN TRANSCRIPT

DEFENSE: CHIP ON ITS SHOULDER

Get back Sooners not close to satisfied with how they’ve played recently

By John Shinn Transcript Sports Writer

If Oklahoma’s defenders’ shoulder pads look a little bigger this season, it’s the giant chip each set is carrying. Clearly, it’s a unit that understands the value of perception.

Based on the way OU looked in its last game, the esteem OU’s defense once carried itself with has plum-

meted.

The lasting image came after Texas A&M rolled up four straight touchdown drives to begin the second half of the Cotton Bowl. The Sooners gave up more than 420 yards of total offense for the fourth time in a fivegame stretch to close last season.

“We have something to • See DEFENSE Page 11

“I just want to see us get back to that mindset of having that chip on our shoulder and going out and dominating … I’ll definitely take that into my game every game.”

Aaron Colvin, Sooner cornerback

Transcript File Photo

Linebacker Corey Nelson, left, and Chuka Ndulue combined to bring down Roy Finch in the 2012 spring game. Both defenders should play big roles this season.

THE NORMAN TRANSCRIPT

SOONER FOOTBALL 2013

Sooner defensive back Aaron Colvin makes a stop against Kansas State last season.

This season, Colvin will anchor a secondary that needs to perform better than it did a year ago.

Transcript File Photo

Defense: Time is now to get better • From Page 10 prove after last year and especially the last game,” OU linebacker Corey Nelson said. “We have a lot to prove.”

The validation process begins with defensive coordinator Mike Stoops making adjustments going into the second season of his second stint on the staff.

Changes have come in the form of new position coaches and a new look at defensive schemes.

Defensive line coach Jerry Montgomery was brought in to handle the entire group. Bobby Jack Wright moved to coaching the corner backs.

On the field, Stoops has vowed to make the linebackers an essential element in the defense after keeping them on the sidelines against four- and fivereceiver alignments last season.

The secondary is being reassembled around cornerback Aaron Colvin after losing three starters from last season.

The defensive line only returns one starter — Chuka Ndulue — but he has moved from defensive end to tackle.

It’s a rebuilding project in every sense, however, rebuilding the Sooners’ mindsets is where the construction begins.

“I just want to see us get back to that mindset of having that chip on our shoulder and going out and dominating that offense,” Colvin said. “I know as a leader, that’s what I’ll take. I’ll definitely take that into my game every game and I’ll just make sure that the guys are out there competing their hardest.”

That’s the easy part. The talent part will come down to new players settling into

roles. Can Jordan Phillips and juco transfer Quincy Russell become havoc creating defensive tackles. Can Gabe Lynn and Quinton Hayes become ball-hawking safeties?

Those questions will be answered over the course of the season. Another issue is how well OU and its second-year coordinator has adjusted to the conference and schedule loaded with explosive offenses.

Stoops believes last season was an adjustment period for him, but he’s better prepared for what OU’s about to face.

“I think it makes it a lot easier. I learned a lot about each team throughout the course of the year. Situational football, what they like. If you take this away, what will they do? I think that’s all stuff you catalogue, you understand situational football better.

“You look at it, you’re on the field, you start thinking about each situation, what they did to you and what hurt you. That’s what coaching is, trying to make adjustments and being sound in how we attack those situations.”

Getting back to playing an attacking defense is the ultimate goal. The Sooners weren’t in that position often in the second half of last season.

OU wants to show last season was an aberration.

The motivation is clearly there.

“We have to get back to that swagger. We have to have that chip on our shoulder this year,” Colvin said.

“Our tradition is being the best in the Big 12 and in the country and we have to get back to that.”

John Shinn Follow me @john_shinn jshinn@normantranscript.com

11

FIVE DEFENSIVE KEYS Creating turnovers: Among the many 2012 Sooner defensive deficiencies, this one was the most glaring. In 13 games, OU only came up with 16 turnovers. It was the lowest total of the Bob Stoops era by a pretty wide margin.

This preaseason, the secondary has stressed doing a better job of creating pre-snap confusion and catching passes — not simply batting them down. For OU to make the kind of defensive gains it seeks, it needs to force at least 25 turnovers. Getting into the mid 30s could be enough for the group to go from better to elite.

Stop the run: OU was a conservative defense last season.

It habitually played two safeties deep with man coverage underneath. The scheme was solid in that it prevented big plays in the passing game. However, it also made the Sooners susceptible to even marginal running games. OU can’t let this happen again. There’s a reason every good defense starts with stopping the run and fans out from there. The 5.2 yards per carry the Sooners allowed last season needs to be about 2 yards less per carry for OU’s defense to get anywhere near the level it has played for a majority of the Stoops era.

Disruptive defensive line play: The Sooners need a defensive lineman that can dictate blocking schemes. One player has to emerge that opposing offensive coordinators are made to account for in their schemes.. OU didn’t have that kind of defensive lineman last season and it doesn’t have anyone on the roster this season with a history of causing that kind of disruption. Defensive tackles Jordan Phillips and juco transfer Quincy Russell appear to have that kind of potential. The Sooners need that potential to become reality this season. They have to create more chaos between the tackles.

Re-establish the linebackers: You can’t put the blame for OU’s defensive struggles in 2012 on the linebackers. OU’s linebackers watched most of those big plays from the sideline, while the Sooners plugged more defensive backs into their scheme. The coaches are vowing to keep two on the field at all times this season. That may or may not come to pass, but weakside linebacker Corey Nelson has shown an ability to be a dominant and versatile defender. Middle linebacker Frank Shannon displayed the ability to match up with slot receivers and still play the run. They’re two of the defenders the Sooners need to play much better defense this season.

Force more negative plays: Lack of turnovers was a huge issue last season, but so were the lack of tackles for losses.

The Sooners only had 55 in 2012, about half of their typical total. The only way to get the upper hand on the uptempo spread offenses is to find a way to force third-and-long.

They only way to do that is to get sacks and tackles for losses. Getting more disruptive defensive line play and better utilizing the linebackers increases the chance of this happening. But it also means taking more chances and making them count. The Sooners need to make something happen.

— John Shinn

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SPECIAL TEAMS: SOLID FOUNDATION

Good stuff Sooners like their specialists and their specialists like their new coach

By John Shinn Transcript Sports Writer

For all the uncertainty that hangs over Oklahoma’s offense and defense, the Sooners will enter the 2013 season knowing that uncertainly should not spill over into its special teams.

These units are loaded with experience. More importantly, the Sooners have players back that have

been difference makers in the past.

“I feel really good about where we are there,” OU coach Bob Stoops said.

There’s little reason to doubt OU’s special teams.

The kicker job is completely settled.

Junior Michael Hunnicutt is back after connecting on 81 percent (17 of 21) of • See STRENGTH Page 13

“I’m just really excited for what he brings to the table. He’s really, really high on special teams so that’s going to be a big change for us.”

Jalen Saunders, Sooner return man on new special teams coach Jay Boulware

Oklahoma kicker Michael Hunnicutt watches a kick sail through the uprights.

Hunnicutt has given the Sooners consistency in the kicking game they’d lacked for years prior to his ascendance.

They’ll need another strong season from him this year.

Transcript File Photo

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Oklahoma receiver Jalen Saunders runs to daylight against Notre Dame last season. If Saunders can excel in the return game this season, it would be a great boost to the Sooners.

Transcript File Photo

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FIVE SPECIAL TEAMS KEYS Ignite the return game: Jalen Saunders is OU’s best receiver, but the 88-yard punt return for a touchdown he had in last year’s Bedlam game showed how electric he can be in the open field. The Sooners haven’t had that kind of special teams weapon in years. They need that kind of gamechanging player in their return game. OU has a lot of senior skill players this season. Running backs Brennan Clay and Roy Finch have also shown they can break tackles and make plays when fielding kicks. With so many running backs, this could be a place where one of them can make a major impact in every game. With all the veteran skill players at OU’s disposal, the return game should elevate a notch this season.

Barnett must settle in: Junior college transfer Jed Barnett could be the first-year player with the most pressure on him.

He’s replacing a four-year starter in Tress Way. OU believes Barnett has a strong enough leg to flip field position. He better. Big 12 teams don’t tend to punt very much, but when it happens, a punter better be able to pin teams deep and keep defenses from facing short fields. Way was good at both. Barnett must do the same.

Develop young players: The Sooners have recruited a lot of linebackers and defensive backs over the last two seasons.

If they haven’t cracked the two-deep depth chart yet, this is where those young players can make a positive impact. The return game and coverage teams need to be the where OU finds depth at both the secondary and linebacker spots.

There’s a lot of good athletes waiting to get their shot on the field. They’re the ideal candidates to become special teams standouts.

Strength: New coach and no drama • From Page 12 his field goals last season.

At the midway point of his college career, he’s already turned into the reliable kicker OU sought for so many seasons.

However, the overwhelming majority of the kicks Hunnicutt has made have been inside of 40 yards. OU brought in Jay Boulware to be special teams coordinator this season. One of his goals has been to build Hunnicutt’s leg into one that can be relied upon from a 50-yard range. Boulware also wants a kickoff specialist who can consistently put the ball in the end zone.

“That’s what I’m used to.

I’m used to a guy that can

put it in the stands. We should have that here. And we’re going to get that here,” Boulware said.

“We’re going to get a guy that can put the ball in the back of the end zone from the 35-yard line, which isn’t very far in my opinion, on a consistent basis.”

Hunnicutt and junior Nick Hodgson are competing for that spot.

Punter is the biggest hole the Sooners need to fill. OU recruited junior college transfer Jed Barnett to fill the job Tress Way vacated after four very good seasons. Stoops is pleased with the transition.

The explosive part of the Sooners’ special teams comes from the return

game. Jalen Saunders only returned five punts last season, but he averaged 17.6 yards per return, including an 89-yard touchdown return against Oklahoma State. He’ll handle those duties full time this season.

Running backs Roy Finch and Brennan Clay are slated to handle the kick return duties. Their ability excited Boulware when he took the job.

“None of these kids that I’ve been around at my last two stops are nearly as talented as these guys are as return men,” he said. “I tell those kids all the time, there’s no reason why they shouldn’t be one of the most feared return units in the country, because they are

that talented in my opinion.”

However, the biggest reason to be excited about special teams is the hiring of Boulware. He also coaches OU’s tight ends, but he showed a knack for creating explosive plays on special teams during prior stops at Iowa State and, most recently, Auburn.

“Coach Boulware’s brought a lot of energy into the special teams category for our team. I’m just really excited for what he brings to the table,” Saunders said.

“He’s really, really high on special teams, so that’s going to be a big change for us.”

John Shinn Follow me @john_shinn jshinn@normantranscript.com

Resort to tricks: Both Trevor Knight and Kendal Thompson are very athletic. Using either at the holder position would give the Sooners a weapon they have traditionally lacked.

Obviously, being able to handle a snap and get the ball down with the laces out for kicker Michael Hunnicutt is priority No. 1. However, being able to steal some points on special teams could be the difference between winning and losing a very competitive Big 12 Conference. The Sooners must take advantage of every possible advantage.

Let Boulware do his thing: OU brought in Jay Boulware to be special teams coordinator. It’s the first time the Sooners have given a coach that designation in more than two years.

It shows the importance Sooner coach Bob Stoops has placed on the special teams units. The impact won’t always be obvious. Special teams only seem to stand out when something goes wrong. But OU must be able to win close games to have the kind of record it is accustomed to.

Outplaying opponents on special teams is going to be essential.

— John Shinn

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HOMETOWN KID: THE FUTURE MAY BE NOW FOR JORDAN EVANS

Terrific potential Norman North product may be in the Sooner linebacker mix as soon as this year

By Corbin Hosler Transcript Sports Writer

ordan Evans was never the star of Oklahoma’s 2013 recruiting class. In fact, before becoming a star in every phase of the game as a senior at Norman North last year, he was barely even on the Sooners’ radar.

But Evans’ play during North’s run to the state championship game changed all that. Not only was he the unquestioned leader of a stifling defense, he also

J

starred as a return man on special teams and a fearless runner when he took snaps in the wildcat offense. He forced college coaches around the country to pay attention, and that included coaches a few miles down the road, where his father Scott was a three-time all-Big Eight defensive tackle from 1988-1990.

He may have been a late addition to the list, but once the Sooners added him, the process • See WILSON Page 20

“Jordan is such a great athlete and competitor, and his skills will translate well to college. I’m excited for what the future holds for him.”

Wade Standley, Norman North football coach

Then Norman North linebacker Jordan Evans exits the field at last season’s Class 6A state title game.

Kyle Phillips / The Transcript

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15

A SABERCAT’S RESURGENCE: HOW JULIAN WILSON GOT HIS GROOVE BACK

Where it all began Southmoore product took step back upon arrival, but his mojo has since returned

By Michael Kinney Transcript Sports Writer

ulian Wilson has never had a problem standing out from the crowd. As a junior at Southmoore, he once wore a pair of bright Playboy socks during a track meet.

Wilson’s unique personality had always been a trademark and his talent on the football field fell into place with it.

Despite that, more than two years into his college football

J

career at Oklahoma, Wilson wasn’t happy with himself. He believed he had lost track of his identity. So, one day late last season, he went looking for it.

“It probably started toward the end of the season last year,” Wilson said. “I wasn’t happy with the way I was playing at the beginning of the season. I was missing too many plays, thinking too much. I just had to sit myself down and say ‘You know you can • See WILSON Page 20

“It’s just stepping up and being confident and just making plays.

In high school, people who saw me said I was cocky on the field. I feel like in coming up here, I kind of got away from that.”

Julian Wilson, Sooner defensive back

Sooner defensive back Julian Wilson walks off the field following the 2013 spring game.

Kyle Phillips / The Transcript

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BOB AT 15 Nine wins will make Stoops OU’s all-time winningest coach. No matter how you look at it, it’s been quite a tenure

By Clay Horning Transcript Sports Editor

reatest win of the Bob Stoops era?

Well, that’s easy, of course.

G

It was Jan. 3, 2001, inside what was then called Pro Player Stadium, where Oklahoma stopped Florida State, yielding only a safety in a 13-2 national championship victory.

Right?

Well …

That’s the thing.

It’s not so easy.

There are so many.

And while this preseason — a time of • See TENURE Page 17

1999 Indiana State Baylor at Louisville at Notre Dame Texas Texas A&M at Colorado Missouri at Iowa State at Texas Tech Oklahoma State Mississippi

2000 W, 49-0 W, 41-10 W, 42-21 L, 24-30 L, 28-38 W, 51-6 L, 24-38 W, 37-0 W. 31-10 L, 28-38 W, 44-7 L, 27-25

UTEP Arkansas State Rice Kansas Texas at Kansas State Nebraska at Baylor at Texas A&M Texas Tech at Oklahoma State Kansas State Florida State

2001 W, 55-14 W, 45-7 W, 42-14 W, 34-16 W, 63-14 W, 41-31 W, 31-14 W, 56-7 W, 35-31 W, 27-13 W, 12-7 W, 27-24 W, 13-2

North Carolina at Air Force North Texas Kansas State Texas at Kansas Baylor at Nebraska Tulsa Texas A&M at Texas Tech Oklahoma State Arkansas

2002 W, 41-27 W, 44-3 W, 37-10 W, 38-37 W, 14-3 W, 38-0 W, 33-17 L, 10-20 W, 58-0 W, 31-10 W, 30-13 L, 13-16 W, 10-3

at Tulsa Alabama UTEP South Florida at Missouri Texas Iowa State Colorado at Texas A&M at Baylor Texas Tech at Oklahoma State Colorado Washington State

2003 W, 37-0 W, 37-27 W, 68-0 W, 31-14 W. 31-24 W, 35-24 W, 49-3 W, 27-11 L, 26-30 W, 49-9 W, 60-15 L, 28-38 W, 29-7 W, 34-14

North Texas at Alabama Fresno State UCLA at Iowa State Texas Missouri at Colorado Oklahoma State Texas A&M Baylor at Texas Tech Kansas State LSU

2004 W, 37-3 W, 20-13 W, 52-28 W, 50-24 W, 53-7 W, 65-13 W, 34-13 W, 34-20 W, 52-9 W, 77-0 W, 41-3 W, 56-25 L, 35-7 L, 21-14

Bowling Green Houston Oregon Texas Tech Texas at Kansas State Kansas at Oklahoma State at Texas A&M Nebraska at Baylor Colorado USC

2005 W, 40-24 W, 63-13 W, 31-7 W, 28-13 W, 12-0 W, 31-21 W, 41-10 W, 38-35 W, 42-35 W, 30-3 W, 35-0 W, 42-3 L, 19-55

TCU Tulsa at UCLA Kansas State Texas at Kansas Baylor at Nebraska Texas A&M at Texas Tech Oklahoma State Oregon

L, 10-17 W, 31-15 L, 24-41 W, 43-21 L, 12-45 W, 19-3 W, 37-30 W, 31-24 W, 36-30 L, 21-23 W, 42-14 W, 17-14

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17

Photos by Ty Russell / For The Transcript

Trailed by security, quarterback Blake Bell, his wife Carol and several photographers, Sooner coach Bob Stoops exits the field at TCU last season

Tenure: Stoops near catching Switzer • From Page 16 transition, quarterback controversy and a defense that should be better if only because it would to be hard for it to be a whole lot worse — may be a hard time to remember so many

2006 UAB Washington at Oregon M. Tennessee Texas Iowa State Colorado at Missouri at Texas A&M Texas Tech at Baylor at Oklahoma State Nebraska Boise State

fantastic wins, Stoops must still be given his fantastic due, which goes quite a bit deeper than a lone national title.

There were the three other times OU played for history, against LSU in New

2007 W, 24-17 W, 37-20 L, 33-34 W, 59-0 L, 10-28 W, 34-9 W, 24-3 W, 26-10 W, 17-16 W, 34-24 W, 36-10 W, 27-21 W, 21-7 L, 42-43

North Texas Miami Utah State at Tulsa at Colorado Texas Missouri at Iowa State Texas A&M Baylor at Texas Tech Oklahoma State Missouri West Virginia

Orleans, USC in Miami and Florida in Miami, only to come up short, as well as eight Big 12 championships that included a 7-1 mark in the now defunct Big 12 title game.

Still, you can find folks

2008 W, 79-10 W, 51-13 W, 54-3 W, 62-21 L, 24-27 W, 28-21 W, 43-31 W, 17-7 W, 42-14 W, 52-21 L, 27-34 W, 49-17 W, 38-17 L, 28-48

Tenn.-Chattanooga Cincinnati at Washington TCU at Baylor Texas Kansas at Kansas State Nebraska at Texas A&M Texas Tech at Oklahoma State Missouri Florida

who go back to any one of the three Red October, 2000, triumphs, when OU first beat No. 11 Texas 63-14 in Dallas, then No. 2 Kansas State 41-31 in Manhattan, then, two weeks later, No. 1 • See 15 Page 23

2009 W, 57-2 W, 52-26 W, 55-14 W, 35-10 W, 49-17 L, 35-45 W, 45-31 W, 58-35 W, 62-28 W, 66-28 W, 65-21 W, 61-41 W, 62-21 L, 14-24

BYU Idaho State Tulsa at Miami Baylor Texas at Kansas Kansas State at Nebraska Texas A&M at Texas Tech Oklahoma State Stanford

“I’ve been supported in a great way through great players, great assistant coaches and a great administration that’s built these incredible facilities that’s given us an opportunity to compete like we have in a positive way.”

Bob Stoops, on his time as Sooner coach

2010 L, 13-14 W, 64-0 W, 45-0 L, 20-21 W, 33-7 L, 13-16 W, 35-13 W, 42-30 L, 3-10 W, 65-10 L, 13-41 W, 27-0 W, 31-27

Utah State Florida State Air Force at Cincinnati Texas Iowa State at Missouri Colorado at Texas A&M Texas Tech at Baylor at Oklahoma State Nebraska UConn

2011 W, 31-24 W, 47-17 W, 27-24 W, 31-29 W, 28-20 W, 52-0 L, 27-36 W, 43-10 L, 19-33 W, 45-7 W, 53-24 W, 47-41 W, 23-20 W, 48-20

Tulsa at Florida State Missouri Ball State Texas at Kansas Texas Tech at Kansas State Texas A&M at Baylor Iowa State at Oklahoma State Iowa

2012 W, 47-14 W, 23-13 W, 38-28 W, 62-6 W, 55-17 W, 47-17 L, 38-41 W, 58-17 W, 41-25 L, 38-45 W, 26-6 W, 47-41 W, 31-14

at UTEP Florida A&M Kansas State at Texas Tech Texas Kansas Notre Dame at Iowa State Baylor at West Virginia Oklahoma State at TCU Texas A&M

W, 24-7 W, 69-13 L, 19-24 W, 41-20 W, 63-21 W, 52-7 L, 13-30 W, 35-20 L, 38-45 W, 50-49 W, 51-48 W, 24-17 L, 41-13

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THE VOICE: ROWLAND LEADS TEAM EFFORT

Good call Succeeding a legend, play-by-play man now comfortable in the role

By Mack Burke Transcript Staff Writer

O

klahoma football, the final frontier.

These are the voyages of the voice of the Sooners.

Flanked by his crew: a co-host, statistician, spotter and engineer, Toby Rowland captains the OU football play-by-play radio broadcast.

“In the booth on Saturday you’re kind of sitting at the helm of the Starship Enterprise.

You’ve got boards surrounding you. If everything goes well I never have to open a book all day. Between your statistician and your spotter, you’ve got it all right there.”

• See VOICE Page 22

“He thinks outside the box. He doesn’t just do the straight stuff. He tries to find out what’s interesting to people.

That’s unique. You don’t hear that a lot on the radio.“ Dennis Kelly, OU football broadcast statistician

Toby Rowland, the football, basketball and baseball radio voice of the Sooners, looks over some of the handmade charts he constructs for every game.

This year will mark Rowland’s third season of calling games from high atop Owen Field.

Mack Burke / The Transcript

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Evans: North product could find himself in mix quickly • From Page 14 was swift. Evans attended a wild Sooner Bedlam victory in Norman and committed a few days later, shortly before leading North in the Class 6A title game.

Signing with his father’s alma mater was a “dream come true,” for Evans, who remained a Sooner despite growing up a Virginia Tech fan. So, when the opportunity arose, it didn’t take him long to decide to follow in his father’s footsteps.

The Sooners are glad he did.

Evans has left an impression on his coaches

and teammates during the preseason. While there’s no guarantee he’ll get on the field this season, coaches have praised his work ethic and left the door open that he may see playing time.

“Jordan Evans is a great athlete,” senior linebacker Corey Nelson said. “He’s a big guy. He can fly around.

He’ll be a great athlete in these upcoming years.”

OU’s determination to not forget its linebackers in its defensive scheme this season could work to Evans’ advantage. The new scheme benefits fast and anticipating playmakers like Evans who can cover a

lot of ground quickly.

“Jordan is doing great,” OU coch Bob Stoops said.

“He has a great feel in there and he’s an excellent athlete in there inside at the linebacker position and I’ve been really excited.

“I say it a lot, but linebackers and safeties, you shouldn’t have to tell them a whole bunch. The really great ones, they just feel their way.”

Evans isn’t the first homegrown star to move onto OU, nor will he be the last. But his skill set has fans hoping he’ll turn out a little like the last one.

Memories of Ryan Broyles, the last home-

“He has a great feel in there and he’s an excellent athlete in there inside at the linebacker position and I’ve been really excited.”

OU football coach Bob Stoops, on former Norman North LB Jordan Evans grown Norman product to star at OU and who holds the NCAA career receptions record, are fresh in the minds of Sooner fans.

While the two play on opposite sides of the ball, there are plenty of similarities. Besides drawing praise for their dedication, both are explosive kick returners who can break open a

game. Broyles returned more than 100 kicks as a Sooner, and Evans — who returned five kicks for touchdowns at North last year — could be given the same chance.

Also, Broyles, like Evans, had to wait for his scholarship offer from the Sooners.

Whatever his role may be, one person is very

confident Evans will make an impact. North coach Wade Standley, the man who watched and tutored Evans’ development from a self-professed basketball player into a borderlinecollege prospect into the leader of a state runner-up team and a top recruit, has no doubt that Evans’ future at OU is very bright.

“Jordan is such a great athlete and competitor, and his skills will translate well to college,” he said.

“I’m excited for what the future holds for him.”

Corbin Hosler Follow me @Chosler88 chosler@normantranscript.com

Wilson: Former Sabercat’s game has returned to its roots • From Page 15 play, so go out there and play. Just do you. They recruited you here for a reason. So do what they brought you here to do.’”

From that point, the 6-2, 199-pound Wilson said he his game began to transform. He was no longer tentative and hesitant. The aggressive nature he had always played with began to emerge again and he became a regular in OU’s secondary rotation.

“It’s just stepping up and being confident and just making plays,” Wilson said.

“In high school, people who saw me said I was cocky on the field. I feel like in coming up here, I kind of got away from that. Just being uptight … there were people older than you. Just have to go on the field and just be me. Talk noise, do what I do on the field.”

Wilson ended his redshirt sophomore season of with 31 tackles. He played in every game and started twice. Wilson headed into the offseason with plans to compete for a starting spot this season.

“I feel comfortable, but comfortable isn’t a word I like to use,” Wilson said.

“Because there is always somebody trying to get my spot. Really, I’m competing every day. I’m not comfortable yet, because my spot is not solid. I haven’t been named the starter yet.”

Wilson is working on being a playmaker. He said he left too many turnovers and big plays on the field last season. Wilson’s teammates have noticed a change.

“He is more physical now,” senior linebacker Cory Nelson said. “Just watching him out there,

he’s way more physical now. He is playing more like a linebacker whenever he has to roll into the box.”

Now in is second year to play for defensive coordinator Mike Stoops, Wilson is feeling more at home with what is expected of him from his coaches and teammates.

“The thing I love about Mike (Stoops) is he is just a real up-front coach,” Wilson said. “He’s not going to sugarcoat anything for you.

He’s going to tell you the way it is.

If you are practicing bad, he’s going to tell you to your face. I just like the way he keeps it real with you. I respond well to the things he does because since he’s got here he’s taught me a lot and made me a better player. The sky’s the limit.”

The same can be said about Wilson off the field.

While he had to rediscover himself on the field, he never lost track of his responsibilities in the classroom.

“School is going real good,” Wilson said. “That is something my mom instilled in me, that football is never guaranteed. You got offered a full scholarship and you need to take advantage of that. Coming into that freshman year, that has been in my heart.

Grades have always been a big thing. It’s always been school over sports. If I came home with a bad report card (and) I had a basketball tournament that weekend, I wasn’t going to that basketball tournament.

So really school is always first.”

Wilson’s been named to the Academic All-Big 12 First Team the past two years and is due to gradu-

ate in December, only 31⁄2 years after first stepping on campus. Depending on what happens with football, he has plans to enter grad school in the spring.

“I’m in college trying to get a degree that can help me the rest of my life,” Wilson said. “So really I have to invest my college degree as a plan A. My plan A is to succeed in football.

But my plan A is to get a degree, too. Everything is just split up 50-50. But at the end of the day, school is what determines (everything) because I could go into the first game and get hurt … I will have my degree in December.”

Like every highly recruited athlete that comes to Oklahoma, Wilson had aspirations of starting as a true freshman back in 2010. Those dreams were quickly

dashed when he redshirted. Yet, looking back on having to sit and watch those first couple of seasons has made the present that much more gratifying for Wilson.

“Patience is a virtue,” Wilson said. “I was patient, didn’t leave, stayed. And my time is here now to take advantage of it. I faced a lot of adversity. Coming here as a freshman, not playing, it really hurts. You’re thinking (your) not good enough. But really my redshirt year I just took it as the coaches just letting me know I’m not ready. I took it as a compliment. They don’t want me stepping on the field until I’m at the best of my ability.”

For Wilson, the future is now.

Michael Kinney Follow me @eyeamtruth mkinney@normantranscript.com

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Voice: Rowland has made his mark quickly • From Page 19 That’s how it’s done.

It’s only his third season, but he has the process down cold. He collects information all week, scouring newspapers and the Internet to prepare while juggling radio and TV shows.

Some of it is admittedly boring, like data entry, but the end result is the Sooner sportscaster’s Grail map.

He boils everything down to several spotter boards, elaborate colorcoded roster charts with notes of note squeezed into every margin. Players’ height and weight, statistics and name pronunciations. You don’t want to get caught unawares by a Ndulue or Metoyer.

It’s at his fingertips, ready to fire.

“The point is, when we’re in the middle of a broadcast I don’t ever want to be looking for anything, fumbling through books or notes. I want everything right in front of me so I can instantaneously find the information with my eyes.”

Anything he doesn’t catch, his extra eyes do.

Sitting to his left, spotter Greg Blackwood serves as an extension of Rowland’s vision, and sometimes, his cortex.

“A lot of times I’m following the football. So, I’ll see it was completed to Lacolton Bester, but I’m not concentrating on who tackled him necessarily because I’m focused on the play,” Rowland said.

That’s where Blackwood comes in, picking up

the names and numbers that fall through the cracks in the heat of the moment.

“We kind of have developed a chemistry. He knows if I leave something out to fill in the blanks.”

Blackwood has a mic that’s a direct line to Rowland’s headset, but more often than not they speak in hand signals and a kind of telepathy that has developed since Rowland’s first game in the booth.

“We started together. I wasn’t in sports anymore when he got the call. I said ‘If you need a spotter, let me know.’ A couple weeks later he offered me the job,” Blackwood said.

“It was kind of cool that I didn’t have to audition. I just had to have a little bit of knowledge about football and love OU and I had both. It’s a dream come true.”

Statistician and selfdescribed “numbers guy” Dennis Kelly is Rowland’s right-hand man, litterally.

Rowland’s not a one-man Sooner wiki, but with Kelly at his side he can sound like one.

“I’ve been a Sooner fan my whole life. I’m a CPA by trade. Numbers are sort of fun for me,” Kelly said. “I remember obscure facts because that’s what I do. I’ve always been that way. It’s a labor of love … a dream come true. It’s a great seat. I just can’t believe it.”

Kelly said he looks for the stats people really want to know — yardage, completions and beyond.

Is someone close to breaking a record?

Better tell Rowland.

That’s Butterfinger’s

fifth fumble on turf ...

Better tell Rowland.

“That’s what people really want to know …

That’s what I want to know. You try to keep track of important things like that.”

With a crew of Vulcanesque numbers runners, Rowland can focus on the task at hand. “(Rowland) really does a lot of preperation. He thinks outside the box. He doesn’t just do the straight stuff. He tries to find out what’s interesting to people. That’s unique. You don’t hear that a lot on the radio. The reason people are listening to this stuff is to know what’s going on in the game.

“He always keeps track of the score and the time.

People are coming in and out of the game, in and out of the car, work, etc., so that’s really important. He doesn’t get caught in some story he’s telling. It’s not about him. He keeps it about the game and that’s really important.”

The very first game, Rowland showed up having never really done this before with a crew of mostly rookies, save color analyst Merv Johnson and producer Michael Dean, Blackwood said.

But “It was like he’d been doing it for 50 years.

He was spot on. It was amazing to watch. I couldn’t believe this was his first time ever.”

“Every game we’ve done for the past two years, it’s like it’s the first time he stepped in the booth. He’s like a kid in a candy store.”

“It’s the greatest job in the world. I thought it

Mack Burke / The Transcript

Toby Rowland begins most days with his 6-9 a.m. weekday radio show on Norman station KREF. Most of the time, he conducts the show from his home. would be when I got it and after two years it’s been confirmed,” Rowland said.

There were big shoes to fill. Following the late Bob Barry and before him the likes of John Brooks and even, long ago, Walter Cronkite, Rowland took a second-hand piece of advice that Dodgers playby-play legend Vin Scully received from mentor Red Barber some 60 years ago: Stop trying to be like everybody else.

“I felt a lot of pressure

early on. I felt I could never be as good of a Bob Barry as Bob Barry was. I can never be as good of a John Brooks as John Brooks was. But I don’t have to be. I can be the best dadgum Toby Rowland that’s ever lived,” he said.

“It took a lot of pressure off myself. I didn’t have to try to have a better touchdown call than anybody else. I didn’t have to try to have a catch phrase like John Brooks

did. That was a very relieving moment. Ever since then, I feel like I’ve really settled in.”

Rowland continues to boldly go where he’s never gone before, but remembers those who sat in the chair before him with “tremendous respect.”

“There’s a reason I think it’s the best job in the world,” he said.

“Those guys made it that.”

Mack Burke 405 366-3530 mburke@normantranscript.com

THE NORMAN TRANSCRIPT

15:

Already, Stoops has passed the great Bud Wilkinson, who departed the program after going 14529-4 over 17 seasons. Only nine more wins will push him beyond ‘The King,’ Barry Switzer, who departed after going 157-29-4 over 16 • From Page 17 seasons.

Nebraska 31-14 at Owen There are so many ways Field. to look at it.

Still, there were others.

Stoops could have the The third game of the most wins in program Stoops era, a 42-21 victory at history in fewer seasons Louisville was huge, finally than both Wilkinson or announcing football was Switzer, but more games back at OU. Four weeks are played today. later, after narrow misses at Even if he catches Switzer Notre Dame and against this year, he’ll still trail both Texas, a 51-6 victory over of his legendary predecesNo. 13 Texas A&M only sors in two meaningful underlined the point. And a counts: winning percentage 44-7 Bedlam victory later and national championships. that season sure didn’t hurt. Stoops’ marks are .801 and What it has added up to is one against Wilkinson’s .826 this, Stoops’ 15th season, in and three and Switzer’s .837 which he brings a 149-37 and three. record to the Owen Field And while that’s comsideline. pared, it’s worth remember-

FOOTBALL 2013

ing that most college football observers believe the game has never enjoyed more parity, when almost any conference team can beat another conference team, an age in which no more than 85 scholarships may be awarded by FBS programs going back more than 20 years.

Yet, however it’s looked at, it’s some body of work.

Stoops tries to deflect credit.

Sometimes, he credits the program, one that had experienced greatness long before he arrived.

“I knew when I took the job, it was not a stepping stone job. You don’t come here and win to get another job,” he said. “I was taking a great job … I felt, with the history and tradition and championships and percentages and all those kinds of things.”

Sometimes, he credits

the leadership he’s been surrounded by since his arrival.

“I don’t look at it as me.

I’ve had a huge team of people that’s been a part of this,” Stoops said. “I’ve had the same administration, president (David) Boren and Joe Castiglione … Great coaches, great players. I look at it that I’ve been supported in an incredible way.”

Still, sometimes, he goes another rout.

“I don’t know if there’s much to talk about,” Stoops said. “All that means is I’ve been here for a long time.”

But on that count, he’s going to have to take some credit.

At different times, Stoops has been approached by Notre Dame and Florida, two programs with enough historic and personal relevance to tempt him into considering leaving, and yet he has stayed.

Further, he’s never experienced the circumstances that served as backdrop to Wilkinson’s and Switzer’s exits.

Wilkinson, it’s hard to remember, actually suffered two non-winning seasons near the end of his tenure, going 3-6-1 in 1960 and 5-5 in 1961 before going 16-5 over two more seasons and handing the reins of the program over to Gomer Jones.

Switzer left under the shadow of probation and criminal charges leveled against some of his players.

Stoops has endured no losing seasons and arguably no scandal. The only time the latter threatened to erupt, quarterback Rhett Bomar and offensive lineman J.D. Quinn were unceremoniously removed from the team prior to the 2005 season.

Fifteen years in, project-

23

ing another 15 may not be warranted, but another several seasons could well be on the table.

“There’s no way for me to have known I’d be with the same president and athletic director going on 15 years, which doesn’t happen that much in today’s world,” Stoops said. “When you’re working environment changes, sometimes you need to change. Fortunately for me, I haven’t had to.

“I’ve been supported in a great way through great players, great assistant coaches and a great administration that’s built these incredible facilities that’s given us an opportunity to compete like we have in a positive way.”

Who’d want to leave that?

Clay Horning Follow me @clayhorning cfhorning@normantranscript.com

24

SOONER FOOTBALL 2013

THE NORMAN TRANSCRIPT

Horning: Sooners have candidates to step forward • From Page 4 Romero and C.J. Ah You, Antonio Perkins and Davin Joseph, Trent Smith and Lance Mitchell.

Those guys were never stars like the superstars were stars, but you can do just about anything you want with the guys on that list just like you can do about anything you want with the guys on the first list.

Who are those guys on this team?

Who are the players who, put into the right places by their coaches,

might experience a light bulb moment, a little success and gain a little confidence that changes everything?

Geneo Grissom could be a guy like that at defensive end. Roy Finch could be a guy like that — three seasons after he was first a guy like that — in the Sooner backfield.

Any number of already solid offensive linemen could take another step forward and the Sooner ground game might really get moving, by committee

or pulled by Finch or Brennan Clay or Damien Williams.

The secondary needs players to step forward.

Everybody’s glad there’s a guy like Aaron Colvin back, but he still has to lead, still has to make it happen. And, unless Trey Millard’s going to be used like a real tight end, the Sooners could really use a real tight end to do something.

Now, consider the state of the conversation, because it’s a pretty good indicator of the Sooners’

new place in the college football world.

Because it’s not a question of how far OU’s superstars can take it.

There are none.

Nor is it a question of how far a few strong, proven and experienced pieces can steer a team. There’s not a whole lot of guys like that either, That doesn’t work either when you’ve got a new quarterback, no returning dominant running back, no tight end, period, and a defense

that only brings back four starters with double-digit starts in their career pocket from a unit that spent much of last season getting torched.

Is Tavon Austin still running free in Morgantown?

What OU has is candidates. Players that have played a little and players that haven’t played at all, bound to receive every chance to make a difference.

If it has to be this way, and it does, it’s a great

time for it, in a conference nobody’s predicted to dominate, a league in which everybody can beat everybody, save maybe Kansas.

It’s year one of the next phase of Sooner football and there’s so much we don’t know, leaving oh, so many blanks to be filled.

It will be interesting and hardly easy. We’ve been here before, but it was a long time ago.

Buckle up.

Clay Horning Follow me @clayhorning cfhorning@normantranscript.com

Change: Sooners have treaded water long enough • From Page 5 line coach Bill Bedenbaugh, defensive line coach Jerry Montgomery and special teams coordinator/tight ends coach Jay Boulware. All three will tutor positions in which the Sooners have experienced a talent dip in recent years.

Clearly, Stoops believed changes had to be made.

“It’s hard to continually

be at the top. We were 10 wins last year, co-champs in the Big 12, and lost to Texas A&M in the Cotton Bowl. No, we’re not pleased about that, but there’s improvement to be made, and our guys are excited about making that improvement.”

The goal remains the same.

The Sooners expect to win a Big 12 championship and compete for a national

championship. For the first time in years those seem like goals that, on their face, may be well out of reach. The Sooners will join most of the conference in believing they can win a league that’s experiencing greater parity than ever, yet appears to lack a dominant presence.

For the last decade, OU was that presence. But it hasn’t remained in the

national title hunt into late November since 2008.

There’s a growing feeling the Sooners have fallen further away from that standard after back-toback 10-3 seasons.

OU will begin the season ranked No. 16, outside of the preseason top 10 for the first time since 2000, when the program last claimed a national championship. If that’s a nice thing to

remember, it’s nonetheless difficult to find many other similarities between that team and this one, which opens the season Saturday night against Louisiana-Monroe.

Fifteen years ago, OU was a program yearning for success after a decadelong descent. In 2000, OU played with a chip on its shoulder and seemed to get a little better in every game.

The current Sooners all arrived believing they’d play for national championships because that’s what their predecessors had done. It was the standard.

The Sooners will either start moving back toward that level this season or fall further away. It’s too hard to stand still.

John Shinn Follow me @john_shinn jshinn@normantranscript.com

THE NORMAN TRANSCRIPT

SOONER FOOTBALL 2013

25

BIG 12 CONFERENCE PREVIEW

CONFERENCE STORYLINES

It’s wide open

1. Quarterback quandary: Seven of the 10 teams had senior quarterbacks last season, so change is in the air.

One of the most experienced QBs in the league hasn’t even taken a Big 12 snap: Before transferring to Kansas and sitting out last season, junior Jake Heaps started 16 of his 22 games at BYU. Texas junior David Ash has started a league-high 18 games while going through plenty of ups and downs. TCU senior Casey Pachall has 17 starts, but played only the first four games last season before leaving school for a substance-abuse program. Even Oklahoma State had two freshman quarterbacks who started multiple games last season.

OU, OSU, Texas, TCU, Baylor, K-State all believe they have a chance It’s been a rough few seasons for Texas coach Mack Brown, who believes the Longhorns are in a strong position to put together its best season in several years.

By Stephen Hawkins AP Sports Writer

For the first time in three years, the Big 12 Conference has the same teams coming back from the previous season.

While the seven-time defending national champion SEC and the Pac-12, among other leagues, have expanded during all the shuffling of conference affiliations the past few summers, the Big 12 has settled into a 10team league.

There is no league championship game in early December to determine the Big 12 champion. Instead, every team plays the other nine league schools in a roundrobin schedule that stretches over three full months — from West Virginia going to Oklahoma on Sept. 7, until two final regular-season games Dec. 7.

The title is seemingly up for grabs in the league that has lost four teams and added two since 2010.

Consider the curious case of Texas, whose coach Mack Brown responded “Who knows?” when asked about being picked fourth in the Big 12 preseason poll by media who cover the league and as high as fourth nationally by at least one national magazine.

“I do think that we have

AP Photo

the most balanced league in the country right now, top to bottom,” Brown said. “Everybody else can beat anybody else in the league on a given day, and that’s not happening across the country. ...

People are confused on who they think may win this conference championship, and that’s a compliment to our league.”

Oklahoma State is the

media’s choice to win the league this time around.

Kansas State and Oklahoma shared the title last year, with the Wildcats getting the league’s automatic BCS berth because of their head-tohead victory over the Sooners.

With Heisman Trophy finalist quarterback Collin Klein gone, K-State is a preseason pick to finish in the bottom half of the

league — just like the last two years, when the Wildcats instead finished in the top two.

“I said last year that, if I were given the opportunity, I would have picked us 99th” K-State coach Bill Snyder said. “As I look at it this year where we stand, I’d probably echo the same thought. It’s precarious trying to make those kinds of decisions as the season gets started.”

2. Sophomore seasons: West Virginia and TCU both had their Big 12 debuts last season, when each were the reigning champs of their previous leagues. Both started the season in the Top 25 and got through September undefeated.

But both finished 4-5 in league play, part of a four-team tie for fifth place. “It’s as competitive a conference as there is in college football,” said Mountaineers coach Dana Holgorsen, whose team lost QB Geno Smith and nine other offensive starters. TCU returns nine starters from a defense that led the Big 12 in total defense — a staple for coach Gary Patterson’s teams through all their conference-hopping. “I don’t think there’s any magic formula, but you can’t allow offenses to dictate,” he said.

3. Speed freaks: Baylor, Oklahoma State and Oklahoma each ran more than 1,000 offensive plays last season, while West Virginia and Texas Tech were within 10 of reaching that plateau. All averaged more than 37 points a game.

Expect more of the same up-tempo offense this season.

Oklahoma State coach Mike Gundy is talking about going even faster. Texas, which had only 891 offensive snaps, plans for co-offensive coordinator Major Applewhite, the former Longhorns quarterback, to help turn up the tempo there.

4. Back home: Kliff Kingsbury excited Texas Tech fans with his big-passing ways as a quarterback from 19992002. Now he’s back in Lubbock as head coach after spending last season as offensive coordinator at Texas A&M , helping tutor Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Johnny Manziel. Kingsbury will be 34 when the season begins, the youngest head coach in any BCS-automatic qualifying conference. Kingsbury joins Oklahoma State’s Mike Gundy as a former standout quarterback now coach at his Big 12 alma mater.

5. When does basketball start: The Kansas football team has lost 21 consecutive Big 12 games since 2010. For his second season, Charlie Weis has more than 20 junior college transfers on the roster. That’s not a long-term fix, but more a short-term necessity for a coach who has dismissed 29 scholarship players for a variety of off-the-field issues. “Not one of those players did I get rid of because they weren’t any good. You can’t do it for that reason,” said Weis, who was 1-11 his first season. “So now I took a team that already wasn’t very good, and I made them worse talent-wise. So that led to we need to fill the holes right now.”

— AP

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SEC PREVIEW

CONFERENCE STORYLINES

Top heavy

1. Chasing the Tide: Alabama might be the team to beat nationally after claiming three of the past four championships, but navigating the competitive SEC is a challenge for any team. Johnny Manziel and Texas A&M are in pursuit, and so are Georgia, South Carolina and Florida. All four finished last season among the nation’s top nine teams. It’s hard to count out still-talented LSU, even after 11 underclassmen departed for the NFL. The Crimson Tide, though, remains loaded with talent and has a talented group of tailbacks and receivers to go with the always sturdy defense led by the All-America linebacker Mosley.

Once again, the conference will claim some of nation’s best teams

By John Zenor

1. Made-for-TV-games: This list clearly begins with the Sept. 14 rematch in College Station between Alabama and Texas A&M, the only team to beat the Tide last season.

That game was a Heisman moment for Manziel. Alabama gets a bye week to change gears for the no-huddle offense.

A week earlier, defending East champion Georgia tries to avenge a 35-7 loss to South Carolina. Florida and LSU, perhaps somewhat overlooked in the preseason, meet on Oct. 12 a year after Will Muschamp’s team managed to end the Tigers’ 18-game regular-season win streak, 14-6.

AP Sports Writer

The players are providing the star power in the Southeastern Conference’s drive for an eighth-straight national title not those millionaire coaches.

Hop in the backseat, Nick Saban and Steve Spurrier, and enjoy the ride.

There’s plenty of headliners on the field, starting at quarterback with Texas A&M’s Johnny Manziel, Alabama’s AJ McCarron and Georgia’s Aaron Murray plus a bounty of dangerous receivers. Tailbacks Georgia’s Todd Gurley and ‘Bama’s T.J. Yeldon are superb sophomore runners.

Defensively, South Carolina end Jadeveon Clowney and Crimson Tide linebacker C.J. Mosley lead the way.

That bounty of talent gives the SEC ample hope that the league can maintain its seven-year grip on the BCS title.

Manziel, who won the Heisman Trophy as a freshman, and Clowney are regarded as favorites to claim the league’s fifth Heisman in seven years.

But like Aggies coach Kevin Sumlin said of his team, it’s time to “hit the reset button.” Or at least the challengers of Saban and the two-time defend-

3. SEC newbies: Arkansas nabbed a proven winner in Bret Bielemma, Auburn landed offensive whiz Gus Malzahn, Kentucky got a spark with Mark Stoops and Tennessee turned to Butch Jones, who is already making waves on the recruiting trail. Now, if only all four of the league’s new head coaches can find a starting quarterback. In the meantime, it’s no coincidence that those teams had the SEC’s four most generous defenses before the bosses made changes at the top. The result: A combined mark of 3-29 in league play, $15 million in buyouts and fresh starts.

4. Rising stock: Vanderbilt is coming off its best record since 1915, going 9-4 two years after a second straight two-win season led to the hiring of James Franklin. Backto-back bowl game is also a first for the Commodores, who have gone from doormats to respected foe under the everconfident coach. They’re led by one of the SEC’s top wide receivers in Jordan Matthews. Mississippi’s turnaround in Hugh Freeze’s first season was impressive, too. The Rebels won seven games, including the BBVA Compass Bowl.

Freeze then made even bigger waves with a highly touted recruiting class. Back are quarterback Bo Wallace and linebacker Denzel Nkemdiche.

AP Photo

LSU running back Jeremy Hill (33) breaks free against Alabama last season. This season, the Tigers will open the season against TCU. ing national champion Tide are hoping that button is working. So are the other power conferences, for that matter.

Saban’s peers aren’t backing down.

LSU’s Les Miles: “I like us in any game.”

South Carolina’s

Spurrier, in humbleconfident mode: “We may fall flat on our face but that’s what we’re going to try to do, try to win the conference.”

Win the SEC, and a national title shot seems likely to come.

Georgia defensive end

Garrison Smith’s take on the SEC: Crystal balls don’t win crystal trophies.

“There’s no telling which team is going to come from where with the amount of talent,” Smith said. “Nobody can predict the future.”

5. Youth movement: From five-star newcomers to talented players with a year under their belt, the SEC is full of youngsters with the potential to emerge as stars. Missouri wide receiver and prized 2012 signee Dorial Green-Beckham racked up 21 catches for 267 yards and four touchdowns in the final five games. Alabama’s Yeldon ran for 258 yards in the SEC and BCS championship games plus freshman runner Derrick Henry, linebacker Reuben Foster and tight end O.J. Howard could develop significant roles. Ole Miss defensive end Robert Nkemdiche, defensive tackle Lavon Hooks and wideout Laquon Treadwell are freshmen to watch, along with Florida cornerback Vernon Hargreaves and defensive ends Carl Lawson (Auburn) and Chris Jones (Mississippi State)— among others.

— AP

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SOONER FOOTBALL 2013

27

PAC-12 PREVIEW

CONFERENCE STORYLINES

Same story

1. Mariota is the man: Helfrich and Shaw agree on one thing: Marcus Mariota, the Ducks’ sophomore quarterback, is the best quarterback in the country — even better than Texas A&M’s Johnny Manziel, the onetime Oregon commit who won the Heisman last season. The Ducks’ rangy passer is a strong Heisman candidate after passing for 2,677 yards and 32 TDs as a freshman. Mariota seems wellequipped to handle the challenges of additional scrutiny as the Pac-12’s pre-eminent passer after the recent departures of Andrew Luck and Matt Barkley. “I think we still are a league of great quarterbacks,” Mariota said.

Yet again, Oregon and Stanford look like the class of the West Coast

By Greg Beacham

2. The big shift: A conference dominated by 4-3 defensive fronts a half-decade ago is now populated mostly by 3-4 defensive schemes, creating great opportunities for passrushing defensive ends and versatile linebackers to become stars. Keep an eye out for the best: Arizona State DT Will Sutton added offseason muscle and weighed in at more than 300 pounds in his quest to become the conference’s first repeat Defensive Player of the Year in more than two decades, while USC’s destructive Leonard Williams is poised for a dominant season after moving to defensive end in new coordinator Clancy Pendergast’s scheme.

AP Sports Writer

LOS ANGELES — Oregon and Stanford have given no indication they’re ready to give up their thrones atop the Pac-12 this fall.

That won’t stop the other 10 schools from working each week to unseat the best in the West.

The Pac-12 is a deep, talented conference heading into the 2013 season, featuring rosters studded with veteran returnees and emerging talent. But after Southern California’s much-documented tumble from preseason hype to lateseason embarrassment last year, there’s no doubt who’s expected to reign again.

“Stanford and Oregon have absolutely earned the right to be up there on top of the list, and everybody else has to go after that challenge,” UCLA coach Jim Mora said.

Oregon and Stanford both return fresh off BCS bowl victories last season.

While the Ducks are under new coach Mark Helfrich, not much has really changed in Eugene, apart from their new Taj Mahal of a training center.

The Cardinal host Oregon at Stanford Stadium on Nov. 7. Stanford beat Oregon 17-14 last season in overtime, but the West Coast powers realize their

3. Starting over: While Oregon shouldn’t miss a beat under Helfrich, two other Pac-12 schools have new coaches hoping to restore the luster to once-proud programs.

California hired quick-strike offensive guru Sonny Dykes away from Louisiana Tech to replace Jeff Tedford, while Colorado hopes to get back to respectability with former San Jose State coach Mike MacIntyre. Not much is expected from the Bears or the Buffs this fall, but both new coaches are used to winning early and often — and Dykes has plenty of talent in place from Tedford’s recruiting efforts.

AP Photo

First-year Oregon football coach Mark Helfrich, right, chats with quarterback Marcus Mariota during the Ducks’ spring game. meeting is just one step in a season-long test to see if either team is capable of challenging the SEC for a national title.

“We all have a gauntlet we’ve got to run,” Stanford coach David Shaw said.

“That’s what makes the season such a challenge, and so much fun. Every week it’s a test to see if you can survive.”

The Pac-12 features its usual bumper crop of

exceptional offensive talent.

USC receiver Marqise Lee is back for his junior season with the Biletnikoff Award already on his shelf, while do-everything star De’Anthony Thomas should cause another year of misery for any defense facing Oregon — even if a new coach is orchestrating the plan.

When Chip Kelly departed for the Philadelphia Eagles just ahead of

NCAA sanctions that turned out to be a slap on the beak, Helfrich took charge — but no Oregon coach is ever alone in his quest to build a winner. The Ducks always have help from Nike’s Phil Knight, who wrote most of the checks for their training center — a $68 million palace with Italian tile showers, Ferrari leather chairs and six stories of recruit-enticing opulence.

4. Ka’Deem the dream: The nation’s leading rusher is back for another season in Tucson after emerging (mostly) unscathed from a rough offseason. Arizona’s Ka’Deem Carey rushed for 1,929 yards and a school-record 23 TDs, but got into minor scrapes with authority during his down time. He was arrested on a domestic violence charge that was later dismissed, and he got kicked out of a Wildcats basketball game for verbally tussling with campus police.

Carey could still face discipline from coach Rich Rodriguez, but he’s eager to put the summer behind him. With the offseason departures of Oregon’s Kenjon Barner, UCLA’s Johnathan Franklin and Stanford’s Stepfan Taylor, Carey is the Pac-12 ball carrier with the biggest name.

5. Secondary stars: Everybody knows about the Pac-12’s prolific passing offenses, but it’s a fairly well-kept secret that they’ll be defended by some of the best defensive secondaries in the BCS this fall. Stanford has a dynamic safety duo in Ed Reynolds and Jordan Richards, while Oregon’s peerless cornerbacks are led by Ifo Ekpre-Olomu and Terrance Mitchell. At USC, freshman safety Su’a Cravens is already being touted for a place in the Trojans’ lineage of excellence at the position from Ronnie Lott to Troy Polamalu.

— AP

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BIG TEN PREVIEW

CONFERENCE STORYLINES

Urban sprawl

1. Tough up front: If you love the big guys up front, check out the offensive linemen of the Big Ten. Senior Jack Mewhort leads an experienced group for Ohio State, and Martinez raves about the unit at Nebraska. Michigan left tackle Taylor Lewan flirted with the NFL draft before deciding to return for one more season. He prepared for his final year by adopting a strict diet that he said helped increase his strength and quickness. “I’ve cheated a couple times, here and there,” Lewan said. “I’m a sucker for ice cream.”

Buckeye coach has rekindled national championship hopes in Columbus

By Jay Cohen AP Sports Writer

CHICAGO — By every measure, Urban Meyer’s first season at Ohio State was a smashing success.

The Buckeyes won all 12 games, and Braxton Miller developed into a superstar quarterback along the way.

That’s all gone now, practically ancient history in football-mad Columbus.

The pressure is on for a blockbuster sequel.

“Our job is to compete for championships in November. That’s all I want them to think about,” Meyer said. “A team is a complex animal that you got to be really careful how you approach things. Start talking about things that are way beyond even, I don’t want to say expectations, but we don’t talk about those things. We talk about we have to get to November to compete for a championship and that’s complicated enough.”

It sure is. While Miller and Ohio State begin the year as the Big Ten favorite, there are plenty of potential challengers.

Dynamic quarterback Devin Gardner thinks he’s ready to lead Michigan back to the top of the conference. Taylor Martinez wants to put together another great year in his final season at Nebraska.

Then there’s Wisconsin, coming off a Rose Bowl trip

2. Dual threats: Miller, Gardner and Martinez will grab all the headlines, but they aren’t the only Big Ten quarterbacks who can score through the air or on the ground.

Northwestern’s Kain Kolter helped the Wildcats to a 10-3 record last season and their first bowl victory since 1949.

Illinois’ Nathan Scheelhaase rushed for 303 yards and four touchdowns last year.

Purdue has put its football fortunes in the hands of new coach Darrell Hazell.

AP Photo

AP Photo

Ohio State quarterback Braxton Miller throws against Indiana last season. This season, the Buckeyes are thinking about challenging for a national championship. and looking to make a smooth transition to new coach Gary Andersen, and Michigan State and more.

“I like our football team,” Michigan coach Brady Hoke said. “I usually don’t say that. I said it after the spring. I will continue to say it because I like how they’ve handled themselves on the field and off the field so far this summer.

Denard Robinson is gone after a stellar career, but Gardner is back to provide the same sort of sizzle in Michigan’s backfield. The 6foot-4 junior began last

season at wide receiver, and then played quarterback for the last five games. He threw for 1,219 yards and 11 touchdowns against five interceptions, and also had 101 yards and seven TDs on the ground.

While Gardner is the toast of Ann Arbor, he has a ways to go to match the celebrity that Martinez enjoys in Nebraska. The senior star, who accounted for a school-record 3,890 yards of offense and 33 touchdowns last season, spent more than an hour signing autographs during

one recent trip to the mall.

Martinez has started 39 consecutive games for the Cornhuskers and will leave the school with several offensive records. While he will go down as one of the best players ever at the powerhouse program, he doesn’t seem too concerned with his legacy headed into his final year.

“I’ve done a lot so far in my career, so I’ve just got to take this season for what it’s worth and just enjoy it and just remember everything that happens,” Martinez said.

3. Who’s the new guy: There are two new head coaches this year, with Andersen taking over at Wisconsin and Darrell Hazell going from Kent State to Purdue. The Badgers routed Nebraska in the Big Ten title game on Dec. 1, but Bret Bielema still decided to leave for Arkansas before Wisconsin’s narrow loss to Stanford in the Rose Bowl. Enter Andersen, who left Utah State for quite the unusual transition with the Badgers. “There’s going to be differences when you take over a program,” Andersen said.

“It’s important to put your own stamp on it.”

4. Sleepers: Pat Fitzgerald has coached Northwestern to five consecutive bowl berths, culminating in the Wildcats’ 34-20 victory over Mississippi State in the Gator Bowl in January. Ohio State, Michigan and Michigan State come to Evanston this year, where Northwestern doesn’t enjoy much of a home-field advantage but could begin to build one with a couple victories. Indiana also could surprise people, with 19 starters back from last year’s 4-8 team.

5. Go deep: Penn State star Allen Robinson is the big name, but there are plenty of other solid receivers spread throughout the Big Ten. Kenny Bell (Nebraska), Jared Abbrederis (Wisconsin) and Jeremy Gallon (Michigan) each had over 800 yards receiving last season while averaging at least 16.9 yards per catch. Also keep a close eye on Cody Latimer (Indiana) and Corey Brown (Ohio State).

— AP

THE NORMAN TRANSCRIPT

SOONER FOOTBALL 2013

29

ACC PREVIEW

CONFERENCE STORYLINES

Movin’ on up?

1. Put up or shut up: The ACC has plenty of early season chances to raise its profile. In addition to that ClemsonGeorgia game, Virginia Tech-Alabama and Miami-Florida are among the high-profile matchups that could either make people take notice of the basketball-first league — or simply shrug their shoulders at another missed opportunity.

It went just 4-11 in 2012 against the four other heavyweight leagues, and was winless in four final-week matchups with the mighty Southeastern Conference.

Conference has grown but that’s not the same as being more relevant

By Joedy McCreary AP Sports Writer

GREENSBORO, N.C. — The Atlantic Coast Conference got bigger.

Now it’s time to find out if it got better.

Syracuse and Pittsburgh are finally in after nearly two years of Big East purgatory, bringing the ACC up to 14 teams and helping to solidify its status as a power conference.

The league has plenty of things going for it. It’s wedded to the Orange Bowl for at least 13 more years with an attractive lineup of other bowls behind it. The new grantof-rights agreement makes it highly unlikely that anybody follows Maryland out the door.

But there’s still work to do as the ACC once again tries to make itself nationally relevant on the field — and the league’s preseason favorite, Clemson, has the best chance to raise the profile of the conference.

The Tigers have the league’s most likely Heisman Trophy contender in quarterback Tajh Boyd and a schedule bookended by Southeastern Conference heavyweights Georgia and South Carolina.

They made people take them seriously by beating LSU in the Chick-fil-A Bowl last December, and

2. Clemson’s chance: The Tigers shape up as the ACC’s best shot at a serious national title contender, with Boyd, the league’s reigning player of the year throwing to 2011 breakout star Sammy Watkins. But the last time Clemson was picked to win the ACC (2008) the Tigers stumbled to a 3-4 start that led to a midseason coaching change. In the ACC’s neverending fight against its public perception, the league can ill afford a faceplant from its preseason favorite.

They host Florida State on Oct. 19 in a game that likely will decide the Atlantic Division race.

3. Dark horses: The league’s parity — or is it mediocrity?

— usually means a team or two can come out of nowhere to challenge for a division title. Duke was in the mix in the Coastal Division last year, Virginia did it the year before, and it’s hard forget Wake Forest’s surprise run to the title in 2006. This year it could be North Carolina, which lost 10 players but has enough talent back — led by QB Bryn Renner, TE Eric Ebron and DE Kareem Martin — to make coach Larry Fedora’s second season an interesting one. Or maybe there’s a surprise coming at Maryland, where all those injuries in 2012 mean plenty of players got at least some game experience and WR Stefon Diggs could be one of the league’s top playmakers. And don’t look past coach Paul Johnson’s triple-option at Georgia Tech, which returns virtually its entire offensive line.

4. The new guys: Unlike the ACC’s 2003 expansion, nobody’s expecting much of a football upgrade from Syracuse and Pitt. Those schools have combined for two 10-win seasons since 1992 and one outright Big East title in the past 15 years (Syracuse, 1998). Other new faces to keep an eye on: Boston College coach Steve Addazio will try to turn around a program coming off its first consecutive losing seasons since 1997-98, N.C. State coach Dave Doeren arrives after leading Northern Illinois to back-toback Mid-American Conference titles and takes over for the fired Tom O’Brien — who’s now on Virginia’s staff.

AP Photo

Many believe this could be Clemson’s year, but that will have plenty to do with the success of this man, former Sooner and current Tiger defensive coordinator Brent Venables. how they deal with the increased attention that came along with that victory could determine whether they’re in contention for their second ACC title in three years — if not a bigger

prize.

“I told them last year (that) we didn’t handle success very good” in 2011, coach Dabo Swinney said. “We’re going to have success again, and how we handle that is going to

determine our season.

And they did a much better job last year.

“We have to focus on Clemson and our formula for success, our preparation,” he added. “That’s what matters.”

5. Coaching ranks: None of the ACC’s coaches appear to be in serious danger of being fired — at least, not yet.

Twelve of the 14 schools have changed coaches since 2007, and the other two — Virginia Tech’s Frank Beamer and Wake Forest’s Jim Grobe — are institutions. But that’s not to say they aren’t feeling any pressure. A fifth straight losing season for Grobe would make that 2006 Orange Bowl run feel like a lifetime ago, and all eyes in Blacksburg are on Beamer’s overhauled offensive staff after last year’s out-of-character 7-6 finish.

— AP

30

SOONER FOOTBALL 2013

THE NORMAN TRANSCRIPT

CONFERENCE USA PREVIEW

CONFERENCE STORYLINES

Another shot

1. Welcome — and stay awhile: There are four first-year coaches in C-USA, and all are at schools set to still be in the league next season. Sean Kugler is a UTEP alum and former assistant (1993-2000) who then coached for three NFL teams before getting his first head coaching job as Mike Price’s replacement. Former Oklahoma State offensive coordinator Todd Monken takes over at Southern Miss, which was the only winless FBS team last season at 0-12, coming a year after the Golden Eagles were 12-2 and C-USA champs. Southern Miss next season will be the only team remaining from the original 1996 C-USA lineup.

Holtz spent the last three seasons in the Big East with South Florida. Ron Turner is in his first season at FIU after working for three different NFL teams since his stint at Illinois’ head coach from 1997-2004.

Both Tulsa, East Carolina have chance to exit league on highest note

By Stephen Hawkins AP Sports Writer

Tulsa and East Carolina get one more chance to win another Conference USA title before moving to a new league.

Or maybe a newcomer like Louisiana Tech or Middle Tennessee can get started with a championship in C-USA, which still has plenty of teams coming and going.

The Bulldogs and Blue Raiders are among six new teams this season in Conference USA, those additions more than offsetting the four that left.

Tulane joins Tulsa and East Carolina as schools in their final season in the league — and that trio will be fully replaced over the next two years.

“Honestly, it’s exciting to me. I think that having the fact that it’s already out there that there’s going to be transition when the year’s over, it takes away the concern,” said Tulsa coach Bill Blankenship.

“What I’m more excited about is getting to play Texas-San Antonio and Larry Coker, and North Texas and Dan McCarney, and Skip Holtz and Louisiana Tech.”

Defending C-USA champion Tulsa lost eight starters from the league’s top defense but is still the West Division favorite. The Golden Hurricane also won

2. A while lotta Lone Star: Four of the league’s 14 teams are in Texas — North Texas, Rice, UTEP and UTSA. That should help build some regional rivalries, especially with all of them in the West Division. “You look back at the Southwest Conference days, all the great rivalries existed because of the locations of the universities,” Rice coach David Bailiff said. And Louisiana Tech, which had been in the WAC, isn’t too far away. “All of a sudden you’ve got car-ride trips for your fan base, where people get in the car and put the flag in the window,” Holtz said. “Their fans can also come to our place, which I think is going to be a completely different atmosphere for Louisiana Tech. Because being in the WAC, every trip’s been a plane ride.”

3. Passing herd: With Rakeem Cato throwing the ball at Marshall, expect more video game-like numbers the offense. Cato led the FBS last year with 350 yards passing and 34 completions a game, along with a league-best 37 touchdowns. His career 66 percent completion rate is current the best in school history, ahead of Byron Leftwich or Chad Pennington. And Cato has his top receiver back in junior Tommy Shuler, who had a school-record 110 catches last season for 1,138 yards and six touchdowns.

AP Photo

Tulsa’s Alec Henry, left, tries to make teammate and former Norman High standout Jack Jewell a little more presentable on Golden Hurricane picture day. the league’s first championship game in 2005. East Carolina, which has also won two titles in that span, returns eight starters on both offense and defense and is favored in the East on its way out.

“It’s not that awkward and being picked always just makes it a real challenge, but it shows great respect for your program,” Pirates coach Ruffin

McNeill said.

McNeill is in his fourth season at East Carolina, where he replaced Skip Holtz, who is back in CUSA in his first season at Louisiana Tech. The Bulldogs didn’t play in a bowl last season even after going 9-3 while averaging 51 points and 578 yards per game. Sonny Dykes, another son of a wellknown head coach, left for

California and there are also 32 seniors gone from that squad.

The only way Holtz faces East Carolina is if both teams make it to the league championship game.

When Tulsa, East Carolina and Tulane head to the American Athletic Conference, there will be seven former C-USA teams next season in the league that used to be the Big East.

4. A sunny outlook?: Middle Tennessee, going into its 99th football season, was part of a three-way tie for second in the Sun Belt Conference last season. Florida Atlantic and FIU were both 2-6 in the Sun Belt, and the only team to finish below them in that league was South Alabama, a transitioning FBS team that wasn’t even eligible for the league title. FIU lost eight starters on both sides of the ball, but Florida Atlantic has 15 starters back (seven on offense, eight on defense).

5. Now for the kicker(s): Tulane kicker Cairo Santos made all 21 of his field goal attempts last season, including a 57yarder that matched Rice’s Chris Boswell for the longest in the conference. Boswell made an FBS-high six kicks of at least 50 yards last season and has 11 in his career. UAB’s Ty Long was 14 of 17 with a 54-yarder. Half of the league’s teams have returning kickers who made kicks of at least 51 yards. The others are UTSA’s Sean Ianno, Southern Miss’ Corey Acosta, Florida Atlantic’s Mitch Anderson and East Carolina’s Warren Harvey.

— AP