• Sooners ditch scrimmage on final day of spring practice
Oklahoma coach Bob Stoops has a gambling reputation on the field. Over the years, he’s been willing to take chances other coaches wouldn’t.
Thursday wasn’t one of those days.
The Sooners’ final spring practice was as uneventful as the first 14 and that’s the way Stoops wanted to leave it.
Earlier in the week, he said the spring would end with a short scrimmage at Owen Field. But it was scrapped at the last second.
“I chickened out,” Stoops said. “We’ve gone through the entire spring and didn’t have any injuries. I wanted to keep it that way.”
There was no sense ending the spring on a down note. The Sooners had completed their month-long return to the field and accomplished plenty.
The defense dominated from the first practice and showed the potential to be dominant next season.
The offense benefited from Adrian Peterson going through all practices and getting a young offensive line a ton of practice time.
“We have a long ways from where we want to be,” offensive coordinator Kevin Wilson said, “but there’s a lot of talent and a lot of good players going the right way.”
The offense was limited by what it could due to injuries and low numbers in the offensive line. OU only had seven offensive linemen at its disposal for most practices and scrimmages.
But Stoops said the unit made significant strides in a short time.
“They’ve made it,” Stoops said. “They’ve hung together the whole time and shown a lot of toughness without having much rotation and competed well. There’s good ability there that’s gaining really valuable experience.”
But the work for next season is far from over.
Coaches will begin breaking down video from the spring and the players will dive into offseason conditioning until practice begins in August.
In that sense, Stoops said he wasn’t ready to say the Sooners achieved much in the spring.
“I don’t know if anything is truly accomplished yet,” he said. “I’d be careful to say we’re there in any area. This team is so young and has so much potential for improvement that every area needs to get better.”
He’ll find out in August whether they have.
John Shinn366-3536jshinn@normantranscript.com
OU Sports
Related Photos
-
Kevin Ellis
Discussion
Sooner football wraps up spring
- OU Sports
-
-
Sooners make winning look easy
As Oklahoma’s players locked arms around the pitching circle, coming together for what passed as a celebration following Saturday’s 7-1 NCAA Super Regional-clinching victory over Arizona, three gloves remained near second base....
-
There are no easy outs in the lineup
Looking for a gameplan to stop Oklahoma? Well, one may or may not be available, but walking two of the first three Sooners you face certainly isn’t part of it. Just ask Arizona’s Kenzie Fowler....
-
Sooners will play for Big 12 championship
OKLAHOMA CITY, — It’s been 16 years since Oklahoma won the Big 12 tournament. It’s closer now than its ever been to ending the streak. The Sooners rolled through Baylor, 7-2, on Saturday at Bricktown Ballpark to advance to the tournament’s ...
-
Sooners send five more to nationals
AUSTIN, Texas — Oklahoma track and field teams had five more individuals qualify for the NCAA Championship on Saturday evening at the NCAA West Preliminary. The men’s 4x100-meter relay team also advanced to the national semifinals....
-
OU sophomore Jao-Javanil wins NCAA golf title
FRANKLIN, Tenn. — Oklahoma’s Chirapat Jao-Javanil made Oklahoma golf history Friday, becoming the first Sooner, man or woman, to win an individual NCAA national championship....
-
Pitching staff is exactly where Golloway wants it to be
When the Big 12 tournament began, Oklahoma felt like it had the pitching staff to make a deep run. Dillon Overton, Jordan John, Jonathan Gray and Damien Magnifico gave them four quality starters and a closer — Steven Okert — capable of ...
-
Sooners shut out Wildcats, need one more win for WCWS entry
Oklahoma might have scored more runs, not committed an error and starting pitcher Keilani Ricketts could have been just a little more efficient along the way....
-
Sooners send 4 more to NCAAs
AUSTIN, Texas – Oklahoma’s track and field teams added four individuals to the list of Sooners advancing to the NCAA championship Friday at the NCAA West Preliminary. In addition to the four new qualifiers, Brittany Borman advanced to the ...
-
Big 12, SEC deal breaks the mold
It is unclear what the on-the-field product of the game-for-which-there-is-not-yet-a-name will be. Indeed, all we really know is the Big 12 and SEC plan to play a game on Jan. 1, 2015 (and on every Jan. 1, thereafter) that will include ...
-
Rivalry helped shape program
For coach Patty Gasso, it goes all the way back to 1995, her first year at Oklahoma. That was when her Sooners played Arizona six times throughout the season. Those Sooners were “annihilated” in all six of those contests....
- More OU Sports Headlines
-
Sooners make winning look easy
