Out in front?

By John Shinn



Transcript Sports Writer



Oklahoma quarterbacks Paul Thompson and Rhett Bomar have been in a neck-and-neck race to replace Jason White since March. It’s a competition that has remained stalemated through the first 10 days of preseason practice.



However, Thompson appeared to push himself toward the front Saturday during the Sooners’ second preseason scrimmage at Owen Field.



Thompson completed 17-of-28 attempts for 192 yards, including a 2-yard touchdown pass to tight end Joe Jon Finley. Bomar connected on 16-of-36 attempts with a pair of touchdown passes. Both were to tight end Willie Roberts. The first was a 4-yard connection, capping an 11-play, 75-yard drive. The other was a 15-yard hookup on Bomar’s final series.



But it wasn’t the yards or touchdowns pushing the two quarterbacks in opposite directions.



Turnovers were the glaring difference. Thompson was mistake free. Bomar wasn’t, throwing a pair of interceptions, although both came off deflections.



He was bumped by the pass rush during the scrimmage’s fifth series and linebacker Rufus Alexander returned the errant toss 37 yards for a touchdown. True freshman linebacker Curtis Lofton also had an interception that bounced off a shoulder pad.



Bomar had three more potential interceptions dropped by Sooner defenders.



Offensive coordinator Chuck Long took notice.



“It’s part of it,” he said when asked how much the turnovers will factor into the quarterback decision. “I have to watch the tape before I answer all those questions, but you need a quarterback that can take care of the football. It’s that simple.”



OU coach Bob Stoops said the coaching staff is still a long way from deciding who the starter will be though. One scrimmage will not be the determining factor.



“That’s more our style than having every single day hang in the balance — that’s not it,” Stoops said. “It’s the overall play and who, overall, made the best plays, the most plays and avoided the bad ones.”



Bomar and Thompson alternated running the first and second teams, each going two series at a time.



“I think I was able to step it up from the last scrimmage,” Thompson said. “The last scrimmage, I was flat, but today I was able to make some plays.”



Thompson also finished with 12 yards on three carries. Bomar contributed seven yards to OU’s 72 yard rushing total.



Bomar knew he was a little off.



“It wasn’t as solid as the first scrimmage, but we also did more things today,” he said. “We ran more plays and things like that. I thought I started a little slow and picked it up a bit.”



OU’s defense had a lot to do with that.



“We were more competitive today,” co-defensive coordinator Brent Venables said. “Guys were chasing the ball hard and rushing hard and getting after it out there. A lot of good things happen when you do that.”



Lofton led all tacklers with nine, followed by Alexander’s eight, Clint Ingram’s seven and Zach Latimer’s six.



Besides the interceptions, the defense put a hand on 13 other passes.



“We didn’t get as many (turnovers) as we should have had,” cornerback Chijioke Onyenegecha said after leading the team with three pass deflections. “(Defensive backs coach Bobby Jack Wright) always stresses going after the ball when it’s in the air. There’s no rule that says only the receivers can get it.”



Onyenegecha, cornerback D.J. Wolfe and Ingram all dropped potential interceptions.



“Those are game-changing plays,” Venables said. “Those will comeback and bite you in the fanny if you don’t finish them.”



The Sooners have their first day off today since practices began Aug. 4. They will hold their final scrimmage Wednesday at Owen Field.



John Shinn366-3536jshinn@normantranscript.com