By John Shinn
There will be several Oklahoma players contemplating early jumps to the NFL next month. Sooner cornerback Dominique Franks said Wednesday night he won't be one of them.
"I'm not worried about it all. I'm coming back," he said.
Franks, a junior, was selected to the All-Big 12 second-team this season after making 42 tackles and two interceptions, including one he returned for a touchdown. He also split time at punt returner with wide receiver Ryan Broyles.
Franks, linebacker Travis Lewis and defensive end Jeremy Beal were the only players to meet with reporters following Wednesday's practice. Lewis and Beal also will have decisions to make about their futures following the Sooners' Dec. 31 meeting with Stanford in the Sun Bowl.
Lewis, a redshirt sophomore, joined Franks in submitting paperwork to be evaluated by the NFL to see where he would be taken. Lewis didn't say he for sure would be back, but said there's more reasons to stay in school than leave early.
"Athletically, I think I can go to the combine and be one of the best there. One of the strengths I have is testing well. It's what got me looked at in high school. I didn't play on a good team and went to one of those little combines and ran the fastest 40 at the combine. That's what got me looked at," said Lewis, who made a team-high 100 tackles during the regular season.
"The thing about this thing is having the technique. It's about testing in one way, but it's also about (game) tape and how well you can attack downhill. Scouts love to see that. I need to get better in that area."
Beal, who was a finalist for the Hendricks Award that goes to college football's best defensive end, didn't say whether he had submitted paperwork to the NFL.
He said he wouldn't visit the subject until after the bowl game.
"Coach (Bob) Stoops does an excellent job that starts as soon as we get here about educating us about the draft process and what we need to do or what we should do. I've been educated through my four years here," Beal said. "There's no need to start thinking about it now."
Injured quarterback Sam Bradford has already stated he intends to enter the NFL draft. Defensive tackle Gerald McCoy hasn't announced what he'll do yet, but said before the season began this would likely his last season.
Reynolds healthy
OU middle linebacker Ryan Reynolds has returned to practice after missing the second half of the Texas Tech game and all of the Oklahoma State game with a hamstring injury.
"He practiced and was at full speed," defensive coordinator Brent Venables said.
Bad omen
Venables said he talked with Arizona coach Mike Stoops last week and got some bad news. Both figured OU would be heading to the Sun Bowl to face a Pac-10 opponent.
"He said, 'you better hope you don't play Stanford.' Here we are playing Stanford," Venables said. "He felt they were the most physical team in Pac-10, had the best offensive line and, obviously, had the best running back (Heisman Trophy finalist Toby Gerhart)."
Jones to transfer
Venables said freshman linebacker Gus Jones is no longer with the team and is expected to transfer at the conclusion of the fall semester. Jones did not play during the regular season.
John Shinn 366-3536 jshinn@normantranscript.com
