The Sooners will scrimmage at 6 p.m. on Owen Field. No decision has been made concerning access to OU’s other scrimmages.
Smooth pedaling: Paul Thompson notices a few aches and pains since his move back to quarterback from wide receiver.
“I can feel it in different areas, definitely my hips from dropping back and rolling out a lot more,” Thompson said.
But Thompson said he mostly feels comfortable back under center.
“I didn’t think I’d be where I’m at this quick,” Thompson said. “I’m making few mental errors, and I’m throwing the ball pretty well as well. I’ve played it before. Everybody is like, ‘Is it like riding a bike?’ I guess so. I definitely feel comfortable out there.”
First practices in pads: OU practiced in full pads for the first time Monday and again Tuesday morning. Still, Stoops said practices involve a lot of upper-body contact even in days players are in helmets, shoulder pads and shorts.
“Anymore there’s not much difference,” Stoops said. “We’re not cutting (hitting or blocking on the legs) anyway, so we practice about the same way, whether we have pads in our pants or whether we’re in shorts. Anymore, we’re pretty physical even when we don’t have pads on in our pants. There’s not a lot of difference, really.”
Tight ends bigger, better: Offensive coordinator and tight ends coach Kevin Wilson lauded the Sooner tight ends Tuesday. Junior Joe Jon Finley, redshirt freshman Brody Eldridge and true freshman Jermaine Gresham are all big targets with good hands and are becoming better blockers.
“Brody is making progress, Joe Jon is playing well, and the young kid (Gresham) has a chance to be a great player,” Wilson said. “So I think we have three players who will give us some opportunities to do some different things. All of them came in between 257 and 263 (pounds). We’ve got more girth, we’ve got more size. Joe Jon weighed the most. So we’re in that 260 range, so we’ve got a little more in our pencil, a little more lead back there. (They’re) still running well and they had a great summer. They’re not winning Mackey Awards right now, but they’re better tight ends, and that’s going to help us.”
Sooners are healthy:Stoops said no injuries of significance have occurred during preseason camp. Offensive lineman Ben Barresi missed practice Tuesday due to illness.
By Justin Harper and
