OU practice report

Published: August 11, 2006

Stock Report
Up: Freshmen running backs: The Sooners added three high school running backs -- DeMarco Murray, Chris Brown and Mossis Madu -- through their February recruiting class. Each has shown glimpses of why all were highly touted.

So, if as expected, Adrian Peterson leaves after this season for the NFL, the running back slot will hardly be vacant.

The question now is who, if any, of the freshmen won't be redshirted, with Allen Patrick and Jacob Gutierrez capably backing up Peterson.

Catching on
Most of the faces are the same, yet quarterback Paul Thompson sees a much different looking receiving crew than the one he worked with early last season.

Malcolm Kelly, Juaquin Iglesias, Manuel Johnson and Quentin Chaney all caught passes as freshmen a year ago.

The difference: the guys are growing up.

"Last year, they were kind of wide-eyed and in the moment," Thompson said.

"Now they've got two full seasons of offseason work. They're a lot stronger, they're faster and they're more knowledgeable in the game."

No free ride: Bob Stoops expects his defense to be improved, perhaps good enough to rank with his best at OU. But he doesn't expect the defense to carry any added burden early because of the shuffling at quarterback.

"I expect our offense to be on its game early as well," Stoops said. "It needs to happen. And I believe it will. From Day 1, we know what direction we're going.

"We're not walking in there with a freshman. We're walking in there with a guy who's a fifth-year senior (Thompson) who's taken snaps at center for us for four years."

Spring dings: Brian Simmons and Ryan Reynolds made major progress in the spring, only to suffer knee injuries in non-contact workouts.

Reynolds, the starter at the strongside linebacker spot, isn't likely to play this season after surgery to repair a torn ligament.

Simmons, whose injury wasn't as severe, could be re-join practice in some capacity in a couple of weeks, but probably won't be ready for game action until the third or fourth contest. Moving from the defensive line to offense, Simmons was expected to compete for a starting guard spot.

The loss of Reynolds leaves the Sooners thin at linebacker. Lewis Baker and Curtis Lofton are the primary backups to starters Rufus Alexander, Zach Latimer and Demarrio Pleasant. Nic Harris can also provide depth.

"I can swing guys," said defensive coordinator Brent Venables. "I have options. I haven't just taught these guys one position.

"Rufus Alexander can play all three. Zach Latimer has already played Sam. So I've got some options if guys go down are things are playing like they need to be played out."

Missing persons: Chris Patterson still hasn't found his way to OU and may never. Daniel Tabon may yet.

Patterson signed with the Sooners as one of the nation's top-ranked linebackers in 2004, but spent the '05 season at NEO trying to get eligible. He's still trying, moving to Joliet Junior College in Illinois this semester.

Tabon, a freshman linebacker out of Altus, hasn't reported and isn't listed on OU's latest roster, but is still trying to become eligible.

By John Helsley and Justin Harper