John Shinn
When Oklahoma announced Rhett Bomar would be its starting quarterback, Paul Thompson vowed he would do whatever ever it took to get back on the field. He couldn’t handle watching the games from the sidelines.
Now, he’ll get his chance — at wide receiver.
OU coach Bob Stoops announced the position change Monday.
“Paul has been an excellent player here and a great team guy,” Stoops said. “The selfish, or the team thing, would be to just keep him at quarterback, just in case. But I believe, because he’s a junior and he’s worked so hard, we can’t do that. I believe he deserves an opportunity to be on the field.”
Thompson, a fourth-year junior, began the season as OU’s starting quarterback, but struggled in the Sooners’ season-opening 17-10 loss to TCU. He completed 11-of-26 passes for 102 yards, along with an interception and a lost fumble.
Even as Stoops and offensive coordinator Chuck Long did not publicly represent the quarterback situation as stable or settled prior to Monday, Bomar still took every snap in OU’s victory over Tulsa and loss to UCLA.
Still, Thompson liked his chances to get on the field better at a new position and had been asking coaches to permit the move since giving up the the quarterback slot to Bomar.
“I knew I had to do something,” he said.
“I can’t sit around anymore. I’ll do whatever it takes to get on the field and play. I also feel it’s a position I can be successful at as well.”
Thompson, who stands 6-foot-4 and weighs 210 pounds, was highly recruited out of high school and most programs wanted him to play wide receiver.
Offensive coordinator Chuck Long doesn’t believe Thompson will have any problems making the switch.
“I don’t think it will be that hard,” he said. “As a quarterback, you have to know all the routes. As a receiver, you just have know that one route. He knows the routes. It’s just a matter of learning the physical nuances of running them. Mentally, it’s going to be pretty easy for him because he knows what to do.”
The coaches made the decision Sunday and Thompson practiced at his new position for the first time Monday.
“I’ve been waiting for this,” Thompson said. “Coach Long talked to me about it yesterday and I was more nervous than I was when I started my first game.”
Despite the switch, it’s not inconceivable Thompson might find himself behind center again.
Out of necessity, he will remain Bomar’s backup. He will continue wearing a blue jersey in practice and won’t be hit like other receivers.
That means Thompson will have to spend time in meetings with both the quarterbacks and receivers.
Monday’s announcement also signaled the end of the quarterback competition.
Now there’s no doubt as to who is the Sooners’ present, and future, quarterback.
“We believe, with the progress he’s made, as well as the years he has left, that there’s great potential there,” Stoops said of Bomar. “We’re committed, at this point right now, to going that way.”
