Thompson cites progress at QB

NORMAN - Paul Thompson said he’s feeling “95 percent” like a quarterback again.

Paul Thompson breakdown
Carlson: Sooners should use short game
Notebook
Scrimmage report
Q&A with Lewis Baker

Late Saturday in Oklahoma’s first major scrimmage of the preseason, Thompson played more like a quarterback again, finishing strong before an estimated crowd of 12,000-plus at Owen Field.

Thompson, switched back behind center from wide receiver when Rhett Bomar was dismissed from the team just 11 days ago, completed 11 of 13 passes with two touchdown passes spanning his final five drives.

Receiver drops accounted for the two incompletions during that stretch, when the Sooners’ first offense scored all three its TDs.

“I felt real good,” said Thompson, who was smiling and still buzzing from his performance. “It’s my first time back at the position (before a crowd) in a while. I came out, was going through my reads and minimized my turnovers.

“I think I’m almost back. I’m probably 95 percent a quarterback again. We’ll work on these final five percent the next few days, but I definitely feel comfortable back there.”

It didn’t start so comfortably for Thompson. The fifth-year senior hit but two of his first seven passes and tossed an interception through his first five possessions. Several of his passes sailed high or wide and considerably off target.

Those series produced all of one first down.

Still, Thompson cautioned that some of those misses were more near-misses than might have seemed.

“It didn’t start off as bad as it might have looked,” Thompson said. “Some things, people on the outside looking in might not have noticed, but there were little mistakes where we were right there.

“To people on the outside, it might have looked like a total bust.”

In the end, it was anything but.

Despite the slow start, Thompson finished 15 of 26 for 133 yards and the two scores.

And for his first time back at the position taking measurable snaps since last winter, it was considered a solid beginning.

“I thought Paul managed the huddle, line of scrimmage, snap counts, his play, really all day,” said Sooners coach Bob Stoops. “He still has a lot of brushing up to do. But I think he got more in a rhythm as we went along.

“He was really good the second half of the scrimmage.”

The scrimmage script aided Thompson and the offense’s comfort zone.

The three scoring drives didn’t require long marches, covering 40, 17 and 17 yards.

Thompson completed all three of his passes on the 40-yard drive and was 4-for-4 on a drive from the 50 that ended with a stuffed run on fourth down at the 1.

“Coach (Stoops) gave us a couple short fields and we scored and thought we were good,” joked offensive coordinator Kevin Wilson.

Those late drives also came against a mix of the first and second defenses.

But the offense dealt with it’s own set of limitations.

Adrian Peterson was barely used, carrying the ball just once for one yard. Wide receiver Malcolm Kelly was missing, standing in as the best man at his brother’s wedding. another top wideout, Manuel Johnson, didn’t return after suffering a slightly sprained ankle on the first series.

“You take Malcolm and Manuel and A.D. out,” Stoops said, “it’s a little tougher to operate.”

And, one program insider said, the offense, which was mostly bland, bore a pale comparison to the attack being polished behind closed practice doors.

“We knew what we were going to work on today and what else is to come,” Stoops said. “So we’ll keep progressing that way.”

Thompson said he’ll take Saturday’s end result as progress.

Despite the circumstances that have thrust him back into the OU spotlight, he maintained that he was quite at ease. And he said he hoped that carried over to his teammates.

“Guys loosened up,” Thompson said. “For the first scrimmage, we definitely did a lot of good things. And we have a lot of things to build on.

“We did finish strong. It felt good.”