John Shinn
• OU’s offense continues to grow, and the receivers look to play a bigger part
Oklahoma’s offensive struggles have roots that spread in nearly every direction. The mixture of a young quarterback and young offensive line shouldered some of the blame, but haven’t bared all the responsibility.
Much like everywhere else, OU’s receiving corps has struggled. Through two games, the Sooners had only thrown for 160 yards.
When OU didn’t attempt a second-half pass against Tulsa, it looked like the wide receiver positions might go on the back-burner.
“Inside, it hurt a little,” wide receiver Travis Wilson said of the Sooners’ Game 2 performance, “but we won the game against Tulsa.”
However, any thoughts that OU was going to ignore its passing attack ended with the Sooners’ Sept. 17 performance against UCLA.
Rhett Bomar was 20-for-29 for 241 yards and Wilson, a preseason All-Big 12 selection, nabbed seven passes for 103 yards.
Just like the rest of the receiving corps, he expects more when OU opens Big 12 play at 6 p.m. Saturday at Owen Field against Kansas State.
OU’s passing game is going through growing pains just like the rest of the offense. Five freshmen receivers join Wilson in the offensive two-deep. Jejuan Rankins was expected to join Wilson as a one-two punch in the passing game, but an injured left ankle has limited what Rankins can do.
It leaves redshirt freshmen Quentin Chaney and Lendy Holmes and true freshmen Malcolm Kelly, Juaquin Iglesias and Manuel Johnson as primary targets. None have been able find the end zone.
So, when OU went through extended practices last week, those young receivers picked up some much-needed work.
“I think it was great for the guys,” receivers coach Darrell Wyatt said. “The number of repetitions has been valuable for these freshmen receivers. The game is starting to slow down for these guys and we’re really starting to see improvement. We’ve seen the improvement in the passing game and we expect, for the remainder of the year, to get better every week.”
And the Sooners’ passing game has to be better for them have consistent success. They’ve played three games and all three opponents — TCU, Tulsa and UCLA — have put all their focus on keeping Adrian Peterson stuck in neutral.
It won’t be any different Saturday, however, there’s some confidence starting to build among the unit.
Iglesias said the blurry parts of the game are starting to come into focus. He and the rest of the young receivers are starting to settle in.
“The more and more I get in, the more comfortable I get, and then it feels like I can settle down and start making more plays,” he said. “At first when you don’t really get a chance, it makes you kind of tense and there are 100 things running through your mind, but now with more playing time, it’s like you settle down and get more comfortable.”
And there should be a boost from Rankins return to the lineup. He’s excited about what he saw at UCLA and would could happen in the future.
“Seeing Rhett go 20-for-29, and it could have easily been 27-for-29, it was good thing to see,” he said. “We know we can run the ball and throw the ball. Now we just have to put all together.”
Against UCLA, OU passing attack emerged from hibernation. Where it goes from here is the next question.
But the Sooners don’t see it taking a step back.
“It’s going to happen one step at a time,” Wilson said. “All the other receivers, the young receivers, they’re ready to make plays.”
John Shinn366-3536jshinn@normantranscript.com
