Will Madu play? You figure it out

Commentary

By Clay Horning

I tried to find just the right question. But nothing seemed to work.

It was Tuesday, Oklahoma coach Bob Stoops’ weekly extended forum with the media, and there was one thing I wanted to know. I wanted to know if Mossis Madu was going to play. Because if he plays, and if he plays more than two or three snaps, like 10 or 12 and gets seven or eight carries for maybe 45 yards, or more, then you’ve got one whale of a story.

And I like whales of stories.

Because there was a time, a little more than a year ago, Norman High coach Butch Peters was telling anybody who would listen he had the best running back in the state. Peters liked his offensive line and that it came around last season was a big reason the Tigers went 9-2 and Madu had room to run wild. But Peters still knew it was a line in progress, and Madu’s numbers were just the start.

But the proof, like so many things, was in the pudding. Watching Madu run was always an education.

For the preps, he had enough size, and he could probably project bigger. And he had the moves. Boy did he have the moves.

It turns out Peters was right all the way around. More, Madu might not have been just the best running back in the state, but … the nation? Well, if he’s the best freshman among the Sooners, you can make a case.

So Adrian Peterson is out for who knows exactly how long.

And right after last Saturday’s game, when offensive coordinator Kevin Wilson addressed the issue for the first time, Madu’s name started coming up. There was Allen Patrick, there was Jacob Gutierrez, and there were the freshmen and, among the three — Madu, Chris Brown and DeMarco Murray — Madu looked like the guy.

But will he play?

Patrick has shown flashes. Gutierrez ran for 173 yards against Baylor last season. Could Madu’s redshirt really be burned.

“They’re doing a really good job,” Stoops said of the running backs in waiting.

He said Patrick had size enough to be a power back and moves, too. He said Gutierrez was “hard to tackle in a phone booth.” And he said “Mossis Madu is kind of a little bit of both.”

And why even bring Madu up if he’s not going to play?

Well, maybe, just to make it look good. Maybe to keep the heat on Patrick and Gutierrez. Maybe because he’ll go to Madu if he really, really has to and wants Madu to practice like he might, but in the end, the last thing he wants to do is burn the redshirt.

So my question to Stoops was, if he didn’t have to play any freshmen, would he prefer to not play any freshmen.

“Our mindset is to get them ready to play,” he said.

By them, he means Madu and Brown, even though everybody’s pretty sure if either plays it will be Madu and not Brown. Still, not really an answer.

Next in line: Wilson.

“I don’t think we have an exact plan or rotation,” he said. “We don’t have a plan, but I wouldn’t be surprised if several of those guys play.”

By several, one would think he means more than two, which would open the door to Madu. But if you think Wilson doesn’t have a plan, well, stop, because he has to have a plan.

Then he intimated he would simply start with Patrick and see how things went. If he can handle the load and hold onto the ball, the logic seemed to be, maybe Patrick could go all the way.

Then Wilson explained that 25, 30 or more carries, that’s a lot to ask from somebody who’s never been in the spot. So reinforcements may be needed. But would he really go three deep? I mean, if he only had Patrick and Gutierrez and nobody got hurt, wouldn’t it be enough?

Then, he started talking about the blessing in disguise part of Peterson’s injury, how it will foster competition at the position and how that’s terrific for right now and later.

“That’s why we want to include those freshmen,” he said.

So now he wants to throw away two redshirts instead of only one?

Want to know what I think?

I think, just maybe, Madu has been so good in practice, they really want to see him out there. Like maybe, just maybe, it won’t take a fumble to get him in the game. Maybe, just maybe, Madu’s time has come.

Be a great story.

Clay Horning366-3526cfhorning@normantranscript.com