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Freshman wide receiver Sterling Shepard dives into the end zone for a late touchdown during the OU’s 24-19 loss against Kansas State on Saturday.
Sooner breaks through in loss Receiver Sterling Shepard totaled 108 yards, scored his first career touchdown TOBI NEIDY
Sports reporter
After a disappointing 24-19 loss to No. 15 Kansas State, freshman wide receiver Sterling Shepard didn’t have any time to celebrate his stellar performance. The Heritage Hall star became just the seventh freshman in OU’s history to finish with a 100yard receiving game — Shepard finished with 108 yards — during his first game as a starter. The 108 yards also were good enough to tie Shepard with two former OU wide receiver standouts — Mark Clayton (2001) and Tinker Owens (1972) — for the fourth-most receiving yards by a freshman in a single game. The last freshman to accomplish the feat went on to become the
FBS all-time receptions leader (Ryan Broyles in 2008). Regardless of what historic company he joined with Saturday’s performance, Shepard wouldn’t celebrate his accomplishments because the Sooners didn’t win the game. “I feel like even though I did my job, it’s still a group effort,” Shepard said. “We didn’t a get a ‘W,’ so it didn’t really matter.” Actually, it did matter to the OU offense. Shepard led all receivers with 108 yards on seven catches, averaging just more than 15 yards per catch. Junior wide receiver Kenny Stills finished the game with 60 yards while Kansas State’s Tramaine Thompson — a graduate of Jenks High School in
Tulsa — led the Wildcats with 49 yards to round out the top three receiving performances of the game. S h e p a rd’s f o u r t h q u a r t e r touchdown — a career first — with four minutes left to go in the game put the Sooners within striking distance of KSU. On a personal note, Shepard said getting that first touchdown catch also allowed him to become more confident with his own playing ability. “It’s nerve-racking to go out in front of all those people,” Shepard said. “So, I just tried to take a deep breath and stay calm. I was happy to get that first one, and hopefully there’s more to come.” Shepard’s success also was highlighted by the fact that he was the only bright spot on a Sooner offense that had three turnovers in the loss. On a night when the veteran
offensive playmakers were making mistakes, the freshman continued to step up down the middle of the field to make the catches to keep the offensive drives alive. “I just tried to look them off and get open and it worked tonight, and hopefully I can keep doing it,” Shepard said. He may not have the classification his other teammates carry, but Shepard’s understanding of the game c o u p l e d w i t h S a t u r d a y ’s performance is proof that OU has a star in the making in its newest wide receiver. “He’s playing at a different level than most freshmen, and he’s competitive, fast and strong,” coach Bob Stoops said. “He’s only going to get better.” Tobi Neidy tneidy@gmail.com
AWArDS
6 Sooners to compete for Marshall, Rhodes scholarships Students had to submit personal statements as part of process SARAH SMITH
Campus reporter
Going into his interview, economics senior Jerod Coker joked that he donned a pink tie because it was soothing. “I was pretty nervous,” Coker said. “I tend to psych myself out, so I just went in there like it was a conversation with friends rather than an interrogation.” After surviving the application process at OU, Coker is one of six current and former students looking forward to competing for the Marshall and Rhodes scholarships. The students were nominated by the university through an application and interview process at the end of August. “The nomination is the easy part,” he said. “[Applying,] that’s the intense part.” Coker said applying for the scholarships has been “quite tedious.” He’s been meeting with faculty twice a week since his endorsement to go over his personal statement and various essays. “It’s safe to say I got frustrated after having two drafts completely demolished [by the advisors],” Coker said. The third time was the charm for Coker, who said he finally let go and wrote his statement as a stream of consciousness. Instead of writing clichés, Coker said he wrote about his desire to study in the “motherland of his two favorite things,” — rock ‘n’ roll and entrepreneurship. “It won’t be stuffy academic prose … at least I can say I wasn’t outing up a façade,” he said. Coker said if he gets one of the scholarships he plans on studying philosophy and economics. Eventually, Coker plans on attending law school and getting his Master’s of Business. After almost missing the application deadline for OU’s selection process, history senior and candidate Scott Renner said he is looking forward to an easier application process for the actual scholarship. “I missed the official meeting,” he said. “And turns out, the morning I set up an alternate meeting
oud-2012-09-24-a-001,002.indd 1
… was the morning that the first application was due, so I had to prepare it in six hours, including a 1,000-word personal statement and a letter of recommendation.” Renner said after that morning, the rest of the application process — which includes a couple personal statements, some more letters of recommendation and JErOD then filling out a rather lengthy COKEr digital form — will be “a piece of cake.” Renner, a candidate for both the Marshall and Rhodes scholarships, said although he went through the formal OU application at the last minute, he has been preparing himself as a candidate for several years. “In the summer after my freshman year, I spent six weeks in Italy doing an archaeological excavation on Roman ruins,” Renner said. “We uncovered a floor that hadn’t been used in a SCOTT thousand years, and we got to rENNEr walk on it.” Ta k i n g a d v a n t a g e o f opportunities such as that have helped him diversify his experience and prepare his application in “little pieces here and there all the time,” he said. If he gets one of the scholarships, Renner said he plans to pursue a Master’s degree in medieval history for a year then a doctorate degree the next year. Renner isn’t the only candidate who has prepared himself as an applicant well in advance. G r a d u a t e s t u d e n t H o l l y CHriSTiNE Berrigan, a candidate for both HOAGLUND t h e R h o d e s a n d Ma r s h a l l scholarships, is in her final year of OU’s International Studies Accelerated Program. Berrigan said she also spent the summer preparing in her own way, by participating in the
U.S.-U.K. Fulbright Commission. She said this enhances her application because it shows her “previous interest in the country.” Because she will graduate with a Master’s from OU, Berrigan said if she wins one of the scholarships she plans to apply to the D.Phil program at Oxford in international relations, researching “soft power initiatives and public diplomacy.” OU graduate Christine Hoaglund, who is applying for the Marshall scholarship, said she had an exhaustive preparation process. Hoagland — a Fulbright scholar doing graduate work in Mexico — said she spent all summer reading about her proposed research project — an extra aspect of the application for her because she’s applying for a Doctorate and not just a Master’s degree. “In preparing for the essays, I emailed just about every person I know who has any experience with writing or my topic,” Hoaglund said in an email. “I revised my essays at least 20 times (I lost count a long time ago).” Hoaglund said she plans to study “the use of military force in humanitarian interventions” if she gets the scholarship and currently is “interested in working either as a professor studying international relations or at the U.N. as a researcher/advisor.” Biochemistry junior Mubeen Shakir said the applications are a step closer to help him achieve his career goals. “I ultimately hope to become a physicianscientist at an academic institution,” Shakir said in an email. If Shakir is awarded one of the scholarships, he said he plans to obtain a Master’s degree in Oncology at either Oxford or Cambridge. Scholarship winners will be announced in November. “It’s kind of terrifying to think about the fact that there’s however many universities in [this region] and I’m trying to be one of [the recipients], ultimately,” Renner said. “That’s kind of exciting.”
A woman working to improve the standard of water in Africa was named this year’s International Water Prize winner on Friday. The OU WaTER Center held its third biennial water symposium to discuss water and sanitation issues as well as name Ada Oko-Williams this year’s International Water Prize winner. Oko-Williams, the associate director of Water and Sanitation for Africa, h a s w o rk e d f o r m o re than a decade to improve the standard of water, sanitation and hygiene in Africa, according to the center’s website. The award is allotted to an individual for a lifetime achievement or significant contribution in the field of water and sanitation in emerging regions, said Randall Kolar, associate director of OU WaTER Center. “A d a i s a n a r d e n t believer that the problems of African have African solutions,” said Idrissa Doucoure, chief executive officer of Water and Sanitation for Africa. “Her focus on community engagement in solving Africa’s water problems was a key factor in the decision-making process.” The WaTER Center — or Water Technologies for Emerging Regions Center — works to help establish new and sustainable ways to bring sanitary water to developing countries, according to the center’s website. The center hosted its symposium see PURIFY PAGe 2
Stoops’ success is reason for fans’ disappointment
Sports: sooner fans are devastated after ou was upset at home by Kansas state, but they’ve been spoiled by stoops’ stellar track record. (Page 5)
Innovation, creativity will strengthen U.S. Opinion: student starts nonprofit to find creative solutions to environmental problems. (Page 3)
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