NORMAN - Although only one day had passed since quarterback Rhett Bomar and offensive lineman J.D. Quinn were dismissed from the Oklahoma football team, Sooner players were mostly positive after their first practice Friday of the preseason.
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They insisted that the dismissals were just a bump in the road for the team and that fifth-year senior Paul Thompson is more than capable of taking over the starting quarterback job.
"Everybody was disappointed, but, you know, you can't change it. Things happen," running back Adrian Peterson said. "He (Bomar) just made a bad decision. That's it. We've just got to get over it and look forward.
"One player is not going to determine the future of a whole team. We've got to make the best of it."
Nearly every player interviewed by The Oklahoman expressed confidence in Thompson, who will likely replace Bomar as the starter. Thompson spent most of last season playing wide receiver after losing the starting QB job to Bomar.
"Paul's a great guy, a great athlete, a great team player," cornerback D.J. Wolfe said. "It's on the rest of the team to rally around him and give him our best."
Although Peterson said he was confident in Thompson, the junior said it would be interesting to operate behind a completely different player.
"It'll be different when you've got a totally different quarterback back there. You've got to wait and see. He's got talent. If he didn't, he wouldn't beat the University of Oklahoma, so it's up to him to step up to the plate and get it done.
"And I feel like he will."
Several players pointed out that Bomar and Quinn were only two players. The rest of the team remains intact, including a nationally lauded defense.
"We didn't lose anybody on defense," linebacker Rufus Alexander said. "We've still got a chance to be the dominant defense everybody is saying we could be."
Players talked about the importance of avoiding --or being careful -- in situations involving people offering money to players.
Bomar and Quinn were dismissed for violating NCAA rules by clocking in for hours at that they didn't actually work at the Big Red Sports and Imports car dealership.
"It's not just a high-profile player, it's any player. They all get approached with different stuff. It's just the decisions you make," Peterson said. "I'm pretty sure it does (happen all the time). All over the world."
Said Alexander: "I don't put myself in that situation. You put yourself in that situation to have things like that happen to you. After games, I'm with my family. I'm usually at home. I'm never out there too much."
