E very year we come to the Red/White and every year we leave knowing very little more than we did on the way into Owen Field.
Only maybe not this time.
This time we learned some things.
We learned the lords of Oklahoma football are capable of coming up with a scoring system more complicated than that golf tournament they used to play at Castle Pines and less complicated than, say, calculus.
We learned, on the ESPN broadcast, the phrase “Oklahoma is on the scoreboard,” means absolutely nothing at the annual spring game.
We learned the best offense, at the Red/White, can be a turnover-prone offense, because a turnover deep in your own territory may be worth three points to the defense, but a quick six to the offense going the other way.
We learned Allen Patrick may be a returning starter, but he may have to stand in line behind DeMarco Murray, who looked better running the ball at any Red/White affair since John Blake brought back the bone and put first teamers against fourth teamers the spring before he was axed.
And we learned Sam Bradford will be the starting quarterback.
No, that’s not official.
“That position has to be earned,” Bob Stoops said.
And it’s hard for a true freshman, a redshirt freshman and a guy who’s barely seen a Division I field from inside the lines to earn anything in April.
But everybody can see what’s going on.
Bradford’s strong arm had already been established, as had the idea the 6-foot-5, 197-pound prospect out of Putnam City North was just that, a legitimate prospect and not some young Turk all-stater destined for NAIA until the Sooners found themselves saddled with a scholarship they could use or burn.
“When we feel a guy has earned it,” Stoops said, “we’ll say so.”
So expect Bradford to earn it about a week before opening day. And call Saturday the day it became clear.
“To me, it’s a long way from being settled,” offensive coordinator Kevin Wilson said. “You saw today a lot of good from all of them, and we just need to keep battling.”
He’s telling the truth.
August is a long way away.
It’s not settled. Only clear.
Here’s how it became clear to me.
Second-and-5 at his own 44 and Halzle drops back to pass and pump fakes. My press box eyes immediately scan the field. Somebody’s supposed to be open after that pump fake. Well somebody was open and it was tight end Joe Jon Finley, who had beaten early coverage and not yet encountered safeties.
But Halzle held the ball.
He finally threw it, just not to Finley or anybody else.
Next play, third-and-5 from the 44, Halzle tried to hit Brody Eldridge underneath only to have Lewis Baker step in front and pick it off.
So, the way things worked at the Red/White, the offense turned around to head the other way. This time it was Bradford behind center.
First play, first-and-10 from the 47, he found Jermaine Gresham for a 13-yard gain. Not long after, he hit Carter Whitson, a sophomore from Shawnee, for a touchdown.
It was like night and day.
One appeared unsure. The other confident.
Halzle looked like a right-handed Josh Heupel without the 300 football IQ and the uncanny knack for making all the right plays. Bradford looked like a major college quarterback.
Wilson says such evidence can’t possibly make the case just yet.
No matter how good anybody might have been this day, he said, “To us, he’s not earned it yet.”
Even assuming Wilson’s “he” to be universal and not Bradford — and that’s just giving Wilson the benefit of the doubt — it fails to cloud Bradford’s ascendancy.
Because nobody’s going to earn anything in Stoops’ or Wilson’s eyes, not really, until he’s produced in the fall. But somebody’s going to have to take the first snap.
And that guy’s Bradford.
Clay Horning
366-3526
cfhorning@normantranscript.com
OU Sports
What we learned at Red/White
Column by Sports Editor Clay Horning
- OU Sports
-
-
Sooners did not show up to play
Texas had something to play for. So there’s that. If the Longhorns are to receive an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament, this was just the kind of game they absolutely had to win....
-
With W.V. set free by Big East, Big 12 schedule’s out and it’s backloaded for Sooners
With West Virginia finally receiving its release from the Big East Conference on Tuesday, the Big 12 Conference was finally able to release its conference football schedule for the 2012 season....
-
Red River rut
The rut Oklahoma has been trying to escape for the last two weeks continued to grow deeper with a 69-58 loss to Texas Tuesday night at Lloyd Noble Center....
-
OU gearing up for Texas’ Brown
If Oklahoma guard Steven Pledger had his way, tonight’s meeting with Texas will come down to two players: himself and Longhorn guard J’Covan Brown....
-
Sooners will have a dramatically new look up and down the order, on the mound
The clubhouse at L. Dale Mitchell Park hasn’t changed over the last year. Just about everything else has since the 2011 baseball season ended. The locker stalls have 20 new nameplates. The coaches’ locker room has two new ones as well. ...
-
Despite hard fight, UConn wins big
By its own standards, the Connecticut team that took the floor Monday night at Lloyd Noble Center was not in the same class as its previous incarnations. But a down year for the seven-time national champions is still better than just ...
-
Believe it or not, OU women are progressing
Connecticut coach Geno Auriemma appeared plenty willing to embarrass Oklahoma for a third time in seven games....
-
OU reeling from stunning loss to Texas Tech
As Oklahoma’s players headed toward the exit at United Spirit Arena on Saturday night, most had dazed looks on their faces. The 65-47 loss to Texas Tech was something they didn’t see coming....
-
Husky challenge
No time might seem like a good time to face Connecticut. The Huskies are always terrific and this season will enter Lloyd Noble Center likely ranked No. 2 following Notre Dame’s Sunday loss to West Virginia....
-
Sooners put finishing touches on perfect opener
Oklahoma capped off a perfect opening weekend of softball on Sunday with an 11-1 victory over Kent State. The Sooners were led by another strong outing from pitcher Keilani Rickets and an offensive explosion by Allee Allen....
- More OU Sports Headlines
-
Sooners did not show up to play
