OU notebook

Injured receiver hopes to play
Oklahoma's No. 3 receiver, sophomore Manuel Johnson, has been running on his injured knee and could play in Saturday's season opener against visiting UAB.

Sooners offensive coordinator Kevin Wilson said at Tuesday's media luncheon that Johnson is hopeful that he'll be able to play, though no determination has been made.

If Johnson can't go, head coach Bob Stoops has said either Reggie Smith or Fred Strong will be used as the No. 3 receiver. Stoops said Johnson is the only player whose injury status for Saturday's game is currently in question.

O-line health: Sophomore Jon Cooper, the Sooners' starting center, said Tuesday that he is fully healthy heading into Saturday's game.

"My ankle is 100 percent," Cooper said. "I could play 100 plays, 120 plays, whatever it takes. There's been some doubt in my mind at times, but now, they gave me a little break and I went out (Monday) and practiced hard and there was no pain."

Cooper's presence on the field is important, not only because of the lack of depth along the offensive line, but because his backup is either true freshman Chase Beeler or starting tackle Chris Messner.

Moving Messner juggles other spots on the line and could create continuity problems.

The depth up front could get a boost shortly. Redshirt freshman guard Brian Simmons is close to returning to practice, Stoops said.

Simmons, suffering from a knee injury, has not practiced this fall after making an impression with a strong performance last spring.

"He's getting closer and closer," Stoops said. "We're hopeful Brian will be able to be back into some drills next week."

Dueling punters: Competition has produced good results between the two players vying for the punting job.

But neither Mike Knall nor Michael Cohen has separated himself from the other.

"I believe the positive of this is that they've both competed really well and made each other better."

Stoops has maintained the last two weeks that both are consistently averaging between 42 and 46 yards during practice.

He said Tuesday that each could get a chance to show what he can do on the big stage Saturday against UAB.

Replay disadvantage: Stoops detailed one of the biggest differences between the NFL instant replay system and the college version from a coach's standpoint.

"Our disadvantage, as opposed to NFL head coaches, are the TV monitors in the press box, in their own individual booths," he said. "We don't have that."

Stoops said college coaches are hopeful that the replay process will run smoother in its second year. Last season, coaches would occasionally have to call timeout to give the officials extra time to decide whether a replay was needed.

He added that coaches might be more drawn to replays on the big-screen video board when deciding if they want to throw the flag to request a replay.

"(The video board) is not nearly as clear as the high-definition televisions up in the box that (media members) get to look at. Why don't you guys come and tell me if you see something."

By Scott Wright