OU practice report

Published: August 4, 2006

Play of the day
Just as Oklahoma coach Bob Stoops was leaving to head to Oklahoma City for the OU caravan stop, quarterback Paul Thompson lofted a high-arcing spiral down the left sideline toward the Sooners' best receiver Malcolm Kelly. The pass was close to perfect, but Kelly's athleticism made it look like Thompson threaded a pass through the eye of a needle. Kelly -- surrounded by three defensive backs -- circled into the center of the DBs and leapt high to snare the 50-yard pass.

Stoops clapped his hands over his head as he left.

Argh of the day
Backup quarterback Joey Halzle nearly had the second-best pass of the day when he fired a precision 40-yard bullet that descended just over the right shoulder of receiver Brandon Caleb. Unfortunately, Caleb saw the ball flutter through his grasp, prompting the crowd watching practice to let out a loud and collective groan.

Best weather
Although lightning in the area caused a 30-minute delay to the start of Thursday's practice at the OU Rugby Field, the weather could not have been better.

Temperatures in Norman have routinely been in the triple digits for well over a month, but Thursday the high was 93 degrees. And by the start of practice it had dipped into the 80s. Better yet, midway through the practice session, a cool breeze from the north swept in dropping the temperature another 10 degrees.

Pre-practice energy
OU president David Boren addressed the OU squad prior to the start of Thursday's practice. And after that, the players circled around and danced and sang out some semblance of a song that included the phrase "Go peg leg, go peg leg, go."

The enthusiasm backed up Stoops' assertion that the team is far from reeling after the dismissal of starting quarterback Rhett Bomar and offensive lineman J.D. Quinn.

"We were fired up and ready to go," said wideout Malcolm Kelly. "Everyone still has the same goals as before. We're going to go out and get done what we need to get done."

Practice schedule

Today: 5 p.m.

Saturday: 5 p.m.

Sunday: 5 p.m.

Monday: 5 p.m.

Tuesday: 9 a.m., 6 p.m.

*Unless otherwise noted, practices are open to the public. Practices are conducted at the OU rugby field just southwest of Lloyd Noble Center. Scrimmage are conducted at Gaylord Family-Oklahoma Memorial Stadium.

By Justin Harper