Two weeks before the Sept. 2 season opener, the Oklahoma Sooners were on Owen Field on Saturday for a two-hour closed scrimmage.
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It was the team’s last full workout before classes begin Monday.
The Sooners’ first opponent, Alabama-Birmingham, also went through an intrasquad scrimmage Saturday, which coach Watson Brown said was mostly for reserves and young players.
A limited number of tickets for the first game, which were returned by UAB, are still available at the OU ticket office, (800) 456-4668, or online at www.soonersports.com.
Reggie’s advantage: Starting cornerback Reggie Smith is expected to challenge defenses as a receiver.
But his advantage increases when he knows the defense he’s facing, says OU receivers coach Kevin Sumlin.
“He has a real advantage of at least knowing our defense when they line up and what they’re trying to do,” Sumlin said with a laugh. “I’m a little bit guarded on that. He kind of knows where to go because he’s looking up and seeing what’s happening.
“But there’s a little bit of an advantage to that with every other defense.”
Quarterbacks coach Josh Heupel has seen that knowledge benefit Smith in his first week working as a receiver.
“He understands leverage, you know, he understands coverages and where weaknesses are and where he needs to attack them,” Heupel said.
Okie coaches: Brown, who was the offensive coordinator at Oklahoma in 1993 and ’94 before taking the UAB job, isn’t the Blazers’ only coach with state ties.
UAB secondary coach Shawn Raney is a native of Erick, OK. He was a defensive coordinator and secondary coach at Yukon High School from 1993-99.
Raney, now in his second year with the Blazers, spent five seasons at Butler County Community College in El Dorado, Ks.
By Scott Wright
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