Oklahoma gave Adrian Peterson most of the night off Saturday, but for a rare occasion the Heisman Trophy candidate wasn’t the main attraction at Owen Field.
Instead, most of the 12,000 in attendance were focused on Paul Thompson in the Sooners’ first preseason scrimmage. He didn’t exactly light up the scoreboard. But for a guy who didn’t know he’d be playing quarterback this season until 11 days ago, he didn’t disappoint either.
“I felt comfortable out there” Thompson said after completing 15-of-26 passes for 133 yards.
And making Thompson comfortable has been the Sooners’ goal since practice began Aug. 3. He has undertaken a crash course in the position since Rhett Bomar was dismissed from the team.
Saturday, he didn’t start like a blaze of fire, but he got better as the sun began to set.
He completed 11 of his last 13 attempts with two going for touchdowns to fullbacks Matt Clapp and Ian Pleasant.
“From the beginning to the end I thought it was pretty noticeable, not just with me, but with the entire offense,” Thompson said. “We started feeling more comfortable and started moving the ball.”
As expected, defense still dominated the night. Cornerback Lindy Holmes swiped a pair of passes from backup quarterback Joey Halzle, who completed 11-of-25 for 111 yards. Defensive end Alonzo Dotson added a pick off of Thompson.
“Defensively, very few mistakes,” Stoops said. “Very good play. We have a chance to be very, very good if we keep progressing.”
The Sooners only rushed for 78 yards and 26 carries. Peterson saw very limited action and freshmen Mossis Madu and Chris Brown combined for 18 of the carries. Both tallied 1-yard touchdown runs.
The same was true for the receiving corps. Freshman Adron Tennell was the leading receiver with a four catches for 37 yards. Brown added three catches for 47.
“I thought we played pretty well considering we had a lot of young guys going today,” Halzle said. “We had a lot of freshmen on the offensive line and wide receiver and running back. We didn’t have many busts as far as knowing what to do. We played hard.”
The numbers weren’t the major concern for the Sooner coaching staff. It was looking for solid play. And in that respect, the players delivered.
The offense did not fumble and penalties were minimal.
“I was very pleased,” Stoops said. “You go into these situations having only had one week of work with pads on. I thought it was really good. Clean line of scrimmage, clean play.”
It was a major turnaround from last season, when OU’s preseason scrimmages were marred by penalties and turnovers.
The scrimmage consisted of 75 plays, most of which were controlled by the defense. But that didn’t seem to bother offensive coordinator Kevin Wilson.
“We needed to see who would play hard, not necessarily see who would execute everything properly,” he said. “We have three more weeks before we play a game. We had to see who would play physical, who would play hard and who would compete.”
In that sense, OU got what it needed out of its first scrimmage. The players have today off before returning the practice field. The next scrimmage is slated for 11 a.m. Saturday.
The Sooners expect to see more improvement when they return to Owen Field.
“We have something to build on,” Thompson said. “There were mistakes we need to fix, but I think we’re right where we need to be.”
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Coaches pleased with Sooners after first scrimmage
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