John Shinn
Norman, Okla. — Oklahoma’s offense evolves from season to season. Balance is always the goal, but how the Sooners go about reaching it is where the changes occur.
For the last two seasons, OU’s experience-laden wide receivers were the targets for quarterback Jason White. The tight end position was left to block and, occasionally, catch a dump pass or two.
That started to change last season with the tight end trio of James “Bubba” Moses, Joe Jon Finley and Willie Roberts, who combined for 25 receptions, 258 yards and four touchdowns.
After one scrimmage, it appears those numbers will rise dramatically in 2005.
“I wouldn’t say we’re the No. 1 option, but we are more involved in the passing game,” Moses said.
Last Monday, the Sooners hit Owen Field for their first preseason scrimmage. Quarterbacks Paul Thompson and Rhett Bomar had no problem finding their tight ends.
Bomar said the reasoning was simple.
“When you have big guys, you’re going to create mismatches,” he said. “You want to get them the ball as much as possible.”
Of the 197 yards the two quarterbacks accumulated through the air, 82 went to tight ends.
Roberts was the biggest recipient with four catches for 77 yards.
Offensive coordinator Chuck Long said the group has aided the maturing process for the rest of the offense.
Neither Thompson nor Bomar has starting experience. Outside of wide receivers Travis Wilson and Jejuan Rankins, the receiving corps is green, too.
“They’re really a solid group in terms of their production this training camp,” Long said. “We’re still searching for those No. 3 and No. 4 receivers and they’ve really taken some pressure off that.”
That will be on display at 11 a.m. today when the Sooners conduct their second scrimmage of the preseason at Owen Field.
There’s another reason why the position has risen in importance to the passing game. Unlike the last two seasons, experience runs deep at the spot. In fact, it might be the deepest position the Sooners have.
“Bubba has been here since time began,” Roberts joked. “I have three years under my belt and Joe Jon has three years under his belt. We’re probably the most experienced group around here right now.”
Tight ends coach Kevin Sumlin said the group has come a long way in three years. Moses, Roberts and Finley have gone from young players into the prototypical tight ends OU wants for its offense.
It’s been a long time since 2002, when Moses was still undersized, Roberts had just arrived from Northeastern Oklahoma A&M;, and Finley was making the transition to tight end after playing quarterback his junior and senior seasons of high school.
Sumlin said all three have grown in terms of size and knowledge. He expects more from them this season, as will the Sooner offense.
“Our expectations are a little bit different in that room than they have been before,” Sumlin said. “Sometimes, I’ll come to them and before I can get the words out of my mouth, they’re already saying it. They know what they’ve done wrong without being told. That’s part of being a veteran group.”
John Shinn, 366-3536, jshinn@normantranscript.com
