There’s no definitive way to put a value on leadership on a football field. Coaches are hired and fired based upon their ability to lead. But there’s nothing they can do about making it mandatory in the huddle or the locker room.
It’s a very precious item for football teams. Great teams must have it in abundance. Those that fail to meet expectations typically point to the lack of it as the reason.
Oklahoma could have as many as six first-year starters on offense this season. It’s a scary thought considering it’s the biggest turnover since 2005 — the only time in the last decade the Sooners failed to win at least 10 games.
New starters on the offensive line and at receiver have been enough for some to predict a down year for the Sooners. If coaches are worried, their poker faces are in postseason form.
Bob Stoops said there’s a big reason he isn’t concerned about having first-year starters playing key offensive roles.
“They’re going to look around, and there’s a lot of guys that have played a lot of excellent football, and they feel they’ve got to live up to playing like these guys,” Stoops said. “I would expect and hope that that pressure would be there, that you guys need to play at this level. This is what we’re used to.”
Peer pressure isn’t always a negative. It can create a standard everyone agrees to maintain. Every college football program would love to have a high one that players strive every day to meet.
The belief is OU has enough experienced leaders in players like quarterback Sam Bradford, left tackle Trent Williams, tight end Jermaine Gresham, fullback Matt Clapp, tight end/fullback/center Brody Eldridge and running backs DeMarco Murray and Chris Brown, that going about things the right way will easily rub off upon those starting for the first time.
“It’s good to have these older guys who you can lean on,” redshirt freshman center Ben Habern said. “It makes things easier when you have guys who can tell you exactly how you need to play.”
That will be critical throughout the practices leading into the Sept. 5 season opener against BYU in Arlington, Texas. The preseason is usually a good barometer for the season ahead. Struggle through the dog days of August and things and you’re bound to carry those struggles into the season.
Coaches haven’t copped to any negative vibes. They’re pleased with the example the veterans are setting.
The veterans also know they’re being watched as they go about setting the standard for those less experienced.
“What you do really does wear off on other guys,” fullback Matt Clapp said. “When you see a guy drive block a guy off the field, other guys see that and elevate their play. It makes them more competitive.”
It’s something younger players have bought into through yhe offseason and early in preseason camp. They’re looking to be led and OU has plenty of leaders.
John Shinn
366-3536
jshinn@normantranscript.com
Sports
It's the vets job to lead
- Sports
-
-
Ricketts delivers early as Sooners cruise easily past Foxes in opener
Keilani Ricketts didn’t waste any time as she began her final postseason at Marita Hynes Field. The senior opened with her signature fastball to Marist’s leadoff batter Maureen Duddy. It sailed past for strike one. So she repeated the ...
-
Sooners remain in seventh place after two rounds of NCAA regional
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — In the second round of the 54-hole Tallahassee Regional, being played at the scoring-friendly Golden Eagle Country Club, the Oklahoma men stood still Friday on the 6.965-yard, par 72 layout. And still, the 25th-ranked ...
-
Orb favored to take Preakness, set up Triple Crown try
BALTIMORE — Everything’s a go for Orb. The Kentucky Derby winner was in a playful mood the day before the Preakness, making faces for photographers between nibbles of grass outside his stall at Pimlico Race Course....
-
Wildcats crush Sooners’ Big 12 title hopes
MANHATTAN, Kan. — Oklahoma watched a four-run league evaporate along with its Big 12 Conference title hopes in Friday night’s 6-5 loss to Kansas State....
-
Trio has Grizz in Western finals
MEMPHIS, Tenn. — The Miami Heat have LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh. The Spurs have dominated for years with the trio of Tim Duncan, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili. Now the Memphis Grizzlies, who traded their leading scorer in ...
-
Arkansas will meet OU
It’s the Razorbacks who await Oklahoma in today’s first game after No. 24 Arkansas defeated Fordham 5-1 in the opener of the Norman regional on Friday....
-
Pokes improve their standing in Big 12 race
STILLWATER — On the arm of left-hander Tyler Nurdin, Oklahoma State clinched more than just a series win Friday over West Virginia....
-
Cards hold off Brewers
ST. LOUIS — David Freese waited a long time for this curtain call. He was impressed with the patience of St. Louis’ fans....
-
Paul Hornung looks to score Preakness win
BALTIMORE — Former Green Bay Packers great Paul Hornung is looking to pull an upset in the Preakness with his 3-year-old colt Titletown Five — named for the number of NFL titles won by the Packers when Hornung played for them....
-
Postseason could depend on KSU series
Moods were light as Oklahoma boarded a bus for Manhattan, Kan., Thursday afternoon. What they’ll be like by Sunday depends on what transpires over the next three games. The Sooners’ season hinges on the outcome....
- More Sports Headlines
-
