NORMAN — Each year, Oklahoma defensive coordinator Brent Venables shows his linebackers a highlight film of what former players did under his tutelage.
It begins all the way back in 1999 and the point is to show players how the position is supposed to be played and how the linebackers have played it since Venables has been at OU.
“I tell them (the linebackers) all the time we can get a circus monkey and plug him in there and he’s going to have 100 tackles and five sacks and 10 for loss,” Venables said. “And I say that in jest, so that’s to take nothing away from the talent and the work that those guys put in. But it really is a system that over time has really proven itself year in and year out.”
Of course, current OU linebacker Travis Lewis, who enters this season as one of the best linebackers in the country, wanted to know why it was only former players in the video.
“I said it’s because you’re no good, I can’t find any tape, and that’s just our way of humbling …that’s just how we do it. Don’t think that you’re bigger than anybody else,” Venables said. “You’ll get on there when you’re gone.”
Backup plan
Landry Jones enters this season as the No. 1 quarterback. Barring injury or some very lackluster play, he will be the Sooners’ starter this season.
The battle for the backup job could be intense. Redshirt freshman Drew Allen and true freshman Blake Bell are vying for the spot on the depth chart.
Bell, who was rated by some recruiting outlets as the best pro-style quarterback in the 2010 recruiting class, has impressed players and coaches since he arrived on campus.
“He is a very big, strong athlete. Very bright guy that you see when you visit with him, he catches on quickly,” OU head coach Bob Stoops said of Bell. “And more importantly in the locker room you can tell the players like working with him because he is one of the guys. He has all the personality traits to really be an exceptional player and looking at him running, physically he is definitely ahead as a freshman of about anyone we’ve had come in here that is that big and strong already.”
Wait until next year
The lines were noticeably shorter for Friday’s Meet the Sooners autograph session than last season. The obvious reason is the Sooners don’t have a returning Heisman Trophy winner or the obvious NFL first-round draft picks going into this season like they did a year ago with Sam Bradford, Gerald McCoy, Trent Williams and Jermaine Gresham.
Stoops joked the lines were probably shorter in 2005 for the event after Jason White and players like Mark Clayton and Jammal Brown had left.
“And next year hopefully they will be longer because Landry’s back — or whoever else is back,” he said.
The time is now
Sophomore running backs Jonathan Miller and Jermie Calhoun have entered a very critical preseason. Both were highly recruited but have done little on the field. Miller had 18 carries last season and Calhoun had 45.
Offensive coordinator Kevin Wilson believes it is time for the sophomores to be prove they can be quality running backs.
“A comment to a couple guys was, “You’ve been here long enough, you’ve got a track record of what you can do, you need to have a greater sense of urgency,’” Wilson said. “It’s not Day One. You’ve got a year under your belt, a year and a half. Those guys need to have a heightened sense of readiness to go, to seize the moment.”
Both are expected to get pushed for spots on the depth chart. Freshmen Brennan Clay and Roy Finch are expected to battle for playing time.
John Shinn 366-3536 jshinn@normantranscript.com
