By John Shinn
Two games. Two convincing wins. It’s enough to signal Oklahoma is headed for big things this season. That could very well be the case. The third-ranked Sooners already have turned into a national title contender.
“We all feel like this our year,” defensive back Lendy Holmes said. “We set different goals for what we want to do. Our focus is a lot better than last year and everyone has just come together.”
The focus has been obvious. The first two games have featured dominant play in all three phases of the game.
But one thing also clear about the Sooners’ is they could easily be a year away from reaching their peak.
Take a look around the field Saturday when OU (2-0) faces Utah State (0-2) at Owen Field at 2:30 p.m.
The Sooners will send out a starting defense that features five seniors — defensive ends Alonzo Dotson and John Williams, linebacker Lewis Baker, strong safety D.J. Wolfe and cornerback Marcus Walker.
The other side of the ball is virtually all underclassmen. Only running back Allen Patrick, tight end Joe Jon Finley and fullback Dane Zaslaw are in their final seasons.
So, how do you explain OU’s hot start?
Well, teams take their lead from the leaders and OU’s seniors should be given a lot of credit.
“I think the seniors, definitely, it begins with them. But I think we just have a lot more maturity,” OU coach Bob Stoops said. “And the large group of juniors we have that have played a lot of football for us as well, I think, is another big factor.”
That junior class could go down as one of the best classes in Sooner history.
That group includes Malcolm Kelly, Juaquin Iglesias and Manuel Johnson: all three starting wide receivers. Four of the five starters on the offensive line: Phil Loadholt, Duke Robinson, Jon Cooper and Branndon Braxton. Three of the five starters in the secondary: Reggie Smith, Lendy Holmes and Nic Harris. And middle linebacker Curtis Lofton.
It shouldn’t surprise anyone that they’re hitting their stride after three seasons in the program. Most of those players have been starting since they were raw-boned freshmen in 2005.
It’s not an uncommon trait during Stoops’ tenure. Just about every team he’s led out onto the field was filled with underclassmen in key roles.
The 2000 national championship team had a senior quarterback in Josh Heupel, but the young core remained in place until the 2003 season.
The 2004 squad that won OU’s third Big 12 championship and reached the national championship game for the second straight year was the only one dominated by seniors.
One of the dynamics this season is a number of players, not yet seniors, have already achieved veteran and leadership status.
“We’ve all learned how to lead,” Lofton said. “It’s just kind of second nature to us.”
Most of OU’s teams over the last nine years were cut from that same mold. Young players playing big roles is the rule, not the exception.
Think of Derrick Strait, Dan Cody, Vince Carter, Quentin Griffin, Teddy Lehman, Rocky Calmus, Jimmy Wilkerson, Tommie Harris. All made real impacts within their first year or two in the program.
Stoops has claimed since preseason camp the work ethic and motivation this team has shown reminds him of some of the great teams he’s coached in the past. But starting the season with two straight blowout doesn’t yet put this year’s Sooners among those great teams of the past.
“It’s too early to say they’re like that,” Stoops said. “I’m saying, to this point, they’ve been very good that way.
“Everyone wants to get to the end of the year, we’re two games into it. They have exhibited a great maturity to them in how they’re handling everything and how they’re getting ready. It has to keep happening and we’ll see if it’s like some of our better years.”
But there’s no doubt the Sooners carry a trait of their predecessors. The future always looks brighter.
