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September 19, 2007

Lofton coming along strong

By John Shinn

There were a lot of indications last Saturday wasn’t going to be Curtis Lofton’s day. The biggest was the mess he left on Owen Field while going through pregame drills.

“He was sick before the game,” Oklahoma defensive coordinator Brent Venables said. “There were noodles all over the 26-yard line, really.”

But Curtis Lofton spent two seasons waiting his turn to become the Sooners’ middle linebacker. A little thing like a stomach virus wasn’t going to keep him out of the game.

“I got through it,” he said.

Getting through it is an understatement.

Thriving is a more accurate way to describe Lofton’s 12-tackle performance that also included a 45-yard interception return for a touchdown. Those are the kinds of things linebackers like Torrance Marshall, Rocky Calmus and Teddy Lehman have done over the last seven years.

Is Lofton in their class.

Maybe?

“He’s playing as well as anyone we’ve had,” OU coach Bob Stoops said.

It’s a surprise to some. Lofton was one of the unanswered questions the Sooners had heading into the season. He and weakside linebacker Ryan Reynolds were both entering their first season as starters. There’s always an uneasiness when any player doesn’t have a rock-solid resume of on-the-field success.

It’s still there even for a player like Lofton, who came to Norman with much acclaim.

The Kingfisher native was one of the top linebacker recruits in the nation when he picked OU over the school he rooted for as a youngster, Oklahoma State. What he didn’t expect, was to spend two seasons as an understudy.

“It’s tough for any freshman. You’re in high school and you’re playing both ways and all special teams and you come here and you’re only on a couple special teams,” Lofton said. “I took it as (a chance to be) ready to play. When my chance comes I have to be ready to play.”

The chance arrived this season.

Zach Latimer left after two seasons at the position. Lofton was finally going to be the guy. He still had to fight off junior college recruit Mike Reed for the job in the spring and in August. But the competition brought out the best in Lofton and he’s bringing it to field on Saturdays.

“He plays very fast. The last 5 to 10 yards when he closes are as good as anyone out there,” Venables said. “He hits everyone flush. Very seldom do you see him on the edge of a tackle. He’s a knock-back tackler with good instincts. His awareness is improving every week.”

Those skills will be on display at 7 p.m. Friday when the fourth-ranked Sooners (3-0) face Tulsa (2-0) at Chapman Stadium.

Lofton will be in a middle of a defense that will face its stiffest challenge to date. The Golden Hurricane rank fourth in scoring offense among Division I teams and 15th in scoring offense.

The Sooners will be stretched by Tulsa’s spread offense. It’s the kind of game a middle linebacker can make all the difference, good or bad. Lofton waited two years to have that pressure on his broad shoulders and he’s excelling under the challenge.

“This is the dream scenario we planned on,” Lofton said. “It’s kind of living the dream right now.”

John Shinn

366-3536

jshinn@normantranscript.com

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