OU notebook

Published: September 1, 2006

Birdine chasing sacks
Oklahoma senior defensive end Larry Birdine ranks 26th on the Sooners' career sacks chart.

Still, he's got his sights on No. 1.

"I just want to get 22 sacks, that would make me the No. 1 sack leader in OU history over Cedric Jones," Birdine said.

With 11 sacks currently, Birdine would need just 21 sacks to overcome Jones, who heads the chart at 31½.

Jones and Martin Chase hold the OU record with 14 sacks in a season. Can Birdine get there?

"(Louisville's) Elvis Dumervil got 21," Birdine said. "I just need to have a couple great games. If I get four Saturday, then two the rest of the way out, I'll be alright."

Tight ends more involved: The tight end can be the anchor of a successful short passing game and the Sooners have a couple of good ones to go to in Joe Jon Finley and Jermaine Gresham.

Now, it's just a matter of getting quarterback Paul Thompson comfortable enough in the offense to incorporate those tight ends.

"We need to get them involved more," head coach Bob Stoops said.

"With their ability, we have a chance to get them involved more, the way they run and catch. We hope that will be the case as we go through the year."

But early on, their involvement in the passing game might be on the protection side, an area the tight ends have stressed recently, says Finley.

"We've got a young O-line," the junior said. "We're trying to get them more comfortable."

Rookie snapper solid: True freshman Derek Shaw, a walk-on from Sand Springs, won the deep-snapping job with a consistent month of workouts."He's been excellent," Stoops said. "He's had good speed on it and his protection's been good."

Shaw replaces Jacob Rice, a walk-on from Norman who spent the last four years in the deep snapper role.

By Scott Wright