OU notebook

Time set; tickets available
The kickoff time for Oklahoma's Sept. 23 home game with Middle Tennessee has been set for 6 p.m.

The game will be televised on a pay-per-view basis, although details have not been finalized.

OU also has single-game tickets available for the season opener against UAB on Sept. 2, as well as for the Middle Tennessee game, because both schools returned tickets.

Tickets for both games are $57 each. They are available online at SoonerSports.com, over the phone at 1-800-456-GoOU or at the ticket office located in the Asp Avenue Parking Facility, just east of Memorial Stadium.

Faith up front: OU offensive coordinator Kevin Wilson is beginning to feel more secure about his offensive line. At least the starters on the offensive line.

"I think the first five is pretty good," Wilson said. "There's a drop to the second group, because we've got freshmen. But the first five is pretty solid."

Wilson said help will come from the tight ends -- Joe Jon Finley, Jermaine Gresham and Brody Eldridge -- all of whom are pushing 250 pounds or more.

And all of whom are impressing Wilson as blockers.

"No disrespect to any tight end that's been here, but these guys are better blocking tight ends than we've ever had," Wilson said. "So we have some things we can do there.

"Does that mean we play with one or two or three on the field? We'll see."

No looking back: Sooners defensive coordinator Brent Venables said he resists any frustration associated with the knee injury suffered by Ryan Reynolds in the offseason, an injury that will likely cause Reynolds to redshirt this fall.

The loss of Reynolds has left OU thin at linebacker. Yet Venables said his main concern is getting Reynolds back on a positive course.

"I don't want to even think about it now," Venables said. "I want to love him up, make him feel like part of the group and give him responsibilities so that he feels like part of the group.

"That's what's important to me."

Feeling fit: After shedding 52 pounds for spring practice, defensive tackle DeMarcus Granger stayed focused on staying fit through the summer.

"I just didn't want to pick up any bad habits," Granger said. "No bad snacks or snacks late at night. I just kept, not dieting, but watching what I ate, watching my calories to make sure I put the right stuff in my body."

Granger, who impressed with his play in the spring, said he gained a "good five pounds, muscle," for this fall. And the redshirt freshman said he notices a major difference between his first preseason and this August.

"It's made my running very different from last year," Granger said. "When you said running last year, it was, 'Ohhhhh.' This year, it's just like, 'Go out and do it.'"

By John Helsley