His name is Shae Farmer, and how he even became a Sooner fan is a pretty good story in its own right.
A lifelong bleeder of crimson and cream, he’d never even set foot in the state, much less shown up Oklahoma offensive coordinator Kevin Wilson.
Maybe that’s not fair to Wilson, and after all the hospitality shown the man and his family for its whirlwind weekend all the way from Carrollton, Ga., not even Farmer would want it portrayed that way.
On the other hand, all he did was turn the one play he won the right to call from the press box, where he sat right alongside Wilson, into a 51-yard touchdown pass from Sam Bradford to Jermaine Gresham.
Not before nor after did OU execute as productive an offensive play Saturday afternoon.
“I held the reverse,” Wilson said. “I held the flea-flicker for him.”
But with 1:04 left in the first quarter, after Sooner quarterbacks had already been picked off three times, with the offense taking over at its own 49-yard line, Farmer had one instruction.
“He said,” said Wilson, “‘I want something to Jermaine.’”
How tough is this playcalling thing, really?
“I wanted to go after a touchdown,” Farmer said, still enjoying his moment down on the field after the Red/White Game, “and he’s an awesome player and a big-time threat.”
Gresham appeared equally pleased upon learning who had called his number, spending his postgame time arranging autographs for Farmer.
Talk about a great day.
When Bob Stoops arrived on campus the first time, he talked of painting his sneakers silver just like Joe Washington. Still, you never got the idea little Bobby Stoops ever turned his Youngstown, Ohio, home into a Rust Belt shrine to Sooner football.
Farmer, though, is down for the cause.
It all started with his great grandfather, John, originally from Muldrow, who married a Georgia bride. Apparently, John was willing to change his geography, but not his college football team.
John’s son, Johnny, kept the Sooner flame lit for his son, Doyle, who named his son Shae.
“I started following (OU) as a kid and stayed interested all the way through,” he said. “My grandfather’s house was filled with OU stuff and I have been a fan ever since I was old enough to watch college football.”
Farmer has his wife, Kimberly, to thank for his one shining Sooner moment. She’s the one who signed up to receive athletic e-mail notices on OU’s athletics Web site. Through one of those notices, called “Boomerblasts,” she learned of an online auction, the winner to attend the spring game on the sidelines and, for one offensive series, don the headset and call the plays from above.
Farmer had to fork over $2,900 for the opportunity, but needed only one play to find the end zone.
Upon hearing the play, Wilson told Farmer it might not work, the last three times the offense had set in the alignment, the defense had set up to blitz. But when Bradford came to the line, he had a feeling he was about to link up with Gresham.
“The coverage they were in told us,” he said.
Likewise, not long after the snap, Farmer had a pretty good idea his play was going to work.
“We saw it opening up and said, ‘Please, catch it.’” he said, “because we had a touchdown.”
The moment wasn’t lost on Wilson, either.
“I said, ‘Hey, you’re going to take my job here,’” he said.
Such a smashing success, Farmer stuck around in the press box for the second quarter. He not only saw how Wilson and the offensive coaches interact through game-type conditions, but had Wilson explaining it directly to him as they went along.
“I fuss at them sometimes on the couch, you know,” Farmer said. “But it’s a whole different experience up there.”
But how hard can it be?
Guy shows up all the way from Georgia, calls his play and the Sooners go the distance.
Clay Horning
366-3526
cfhorning@normantranscript.com
OU Sports
Coach for one play, that's all he needed
Commentary
- OU Sports
-
-
Sooners make winning look easy
As Oklahoma’s players locked arms around the pitching circle, coming together for what passed as a celebration following Saturday’s 7-1 NCAA Super Regional-clinching victory over Arizona, three gloves remained near second base....
-
There are no easy outs in the lineup
Looking for a gameplan to stop Oklahoma? Well, one may or may not be available, but walking two of the first three Sooners you face certainly isn’t part of it. Just ask Arizona’s Kenzie Fowler....
-
Sooners will play for Big 12 championship
OKLAHOMA CITY, — It’s been 16 years since Oklahoma won the Big 12 tournament. It’s closer now than its ever been to ending the streak. The Sooners rolled through Baylor, 7-2, on Saturday at Bricktown Ballpark to advance to the tournament’s ...
-
Sooners send five more to nationals
AUSTIN, Texas — Oklahoma track and field teams had five more individuals qualify for the NCAA Championship on Saturday evening at the NCAA West Preliminary. The men’s 4x100-meter relay team also advanced to the national semifinals....
-
OU sophomore Jao-Javanil wins NCAA golf title
FRANKLIN, Tenn. — Oklahoma’s Chirapat Jao-Javanil made Oklahoma golf history Friday, becoming the first Sooner, man or woman, to win an individual NCAA national championship....
-
Pitching staff is exactly where Golloway wants it to be
When the Big 12 tournament began, Oklahoma felt like it had the pitching staff to make a deep run. Dillon Overton, Jordan John, Jonathan Gray and Damien Magnifico gave them four quality starters and a closer — Steven Okert — capable of ...
-
Sooners shut out Wildcats, need one more win for WCWS entry
Oklahoma might have scored more runs, not committed an error and starting pitcher Keilani Ricketts could have been just a little more efficient along the way....
-
Sooners send 4 more to NCAAs
AUSTIN, Texas – Oklahoma’s track and field teams added four individuals to the list of Sooners advancing to the NCAA championship Friday at the NCAA West Preliminary. In addition to the four new qualifiers, Brittany Borman advanced to the ...
-
Big 12, SEC deal breaks the mold
It is unclear what the on-the-field product of the game-for-which-there-is-not-yet-a-name will be. Indeed, all we really know is the Big 12 and SEC plan to play a game on Jan. 1, 2015 (and on every Jan. 1, thereafter) that will include ...
-
Rivalry helped shape program
For coach Patty Gasso, it goes all the way back to 1995, her first year at Oklahoma. That was when her Sooners played Arizona six times throughout the season. Those Sooners were “annihilated” in all six of those contests....
- More OU Sports Headlines
-
Sooners make winning look easy
