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August 24, 2008

Sooners ready to turn the page

By John Shinn

The two-a-days are over and Oklahoma’s Rugby Fields can now be used for their intended purpose. The preseason is over and the Sooners are now in game mode.

The previous three weeks were about building for the season. Whether OU was able to do that is a mystery to the public eye. Two open practices and scrimmages behind closed gates doesn’t allow for an outside perspective.

Coaches and players believe they’re about to enter the 2008 season in a position to compete for a conference and national championship.

“I think guys have had a great attitude and I’ve been very pleased with it,” OU coach Bob Stoops said.

What changes the Sooners have made will begin to be unveiled when they play host to Tennessee-Chattanooga at 6 p.m. Saturday at Owen Field.

The one potential change that will be watched with the most anticipation will be how much the Sooners will employ a no-huddle offense this season.

When questioned, offensive coordinator Kevin Wilson has treated it like an experiment. He doesn’t want to commit to it unless he’s absolutely sure his unit can handle it.

“It has its spots, and it is still a double-edge sword deal to me,” he said. “Are we going to be good enough in tempo and in communication where players are getting it? At the same time, in our practice format there are some times where we don’t do it ideally as much as I would like to. In some ways, I could see it being an Achilles’ heel where it is not a significantly different offense, but a way of communicating.

“Again, are we practicing, coaching our defense and working with a lot of young players? And are we practicing at a normal pace and not at a very fast pace? That being said, that may hurt us being as good as we want to be. We will wait as we go through our opening weeks, and we may decide whether this really looks good and continues to snowball and become a bigger part, or maybe it doesn’t.”

The work with younger players will slow as the season has arrived. Getting starters ready and figuring out how to attack opposing teams take precedence over team work.

Quarterback Sam Bradford sees a team that improved throughout preseason camp and one that made great leaps over the last three weeks.

“We made a big improvement week-to-week,” quarterback Sam Bradford said. “I feel like everyone is playing well right now and we’re playing together.”

Of course, the offensive side of the ball is where OU is loaded with experienced starters. For them, the spring was about rounding into form.

Defense is where the Sooners remain somewhat of a mystery. New starters at two spots in the secondary and at two of the linebacker positions leave lingering doubt.

For defensive coaches, August has been about identifying personnel, as opposed to polishing proven players.

“We are trying to gain them the experience and trying to figure out the best starting 11, and then trying to develop a two-deep from there,” defensive coordinator Brent Venables said. “Some of those guys, in order to get the kind of depth that we want, have to be swing guys and we obviously need to solidify the first team and then go to the second team.”

It may be several weeks into the season before everything is settled. In that way, it won’t be any different from any other season.

All a team can do in the preseason is get off on the right foot. There are many more steps to take over the next four months. But all signs indicate the Sooners haven’t stumbled out of the gate.

John Shinn

366-3536

jshinn@normantranscript.com

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