By John Shinn
Oklahoma quarterback Landry Jones closed the regular season with a solid performance in the 27-0 victory over Oklahoma State.
OU coach Bob Stoops said despite the ups and downs of the 7-5 regular season, he's pleased with the way the redshirt freshman handled himself.
"We are pleased with his progress. When he was supported well, he played well also. That's the case for any quarterback," Stoops said. "If the supporting cast is catching balls and you're able to get some run game with it, protect him. Then he handled it well. There were a few spots where he could have handled some things better. We understand that. But he made good progress. We're pleased with it and he'll continue to improve."
Freshmen go to work
OU will return to practice next week after taking this week off. Stoops and his assistants were on the road recruiting this past week and some will stay on the road this coming week.
Stoops said this week he will put an added emphasis on developing younger players over the next couple weeks. The Sooners have 25 true freshmen on the roster. Only nine didn't redshirt.
"They've been a good group overall. They've worked well and there's a lot of potential with them," Stoops said of the freshmen. "I'm excited about them."
It is what it is
The Sooners dealt with major injuries all season. That won't change for the bowl game. Stoops said offensive tackle Trent Williams, who missed the Oklahoma State game with a concussion, will likely be back. But that was the only given.
"We're not going to get guys back that are injured, for the most part," he said. "That isn't going to change. It's still going to be difficult. Going into that game, wherever it is against whoever it's against, it will be tough piecing it together."
Linebacker Ryan Reynolds, who missed the OSU game with a hamstring injury, could return. Stoops said wide receiver Brandon Caleb, who suffered a knee injury against Oklahoma State, could also be back.
Sooners to sign autographs tonight
Members of the OU football team will sign autographs prior to tonight's 6 p.m. men's basketball game against Arizona. The autograph session will take place from 4:30 to 5:30 p.m. in the Clinton Lounge (Lloyd Noble Center's upper concourse, east side). Fans will be allowed to bring one item per person to be autographed (no larger than 10 inches by 10 inches).
John Shinn 366-3536 jshinn@normantranscript.com
