QB Bradford states his case
Sooners scrimmage
Redshirt freshman puts up respectable numbers, directs impressive drive
QB Bradford states his case

By John Helsley

Published: April 1, 2007

NORMAN — Mum remains the word when it comes to Oklahoma's quarterback competition.

The candidates aren't talking — ruled off limits to the media.

The coaches aren't saying anything all that revealing, refusing to tip their hands while speaking only in generalities regarding the three contenders: Sam Bradford, Joey Halzle and Keith Nichol.

But at least for one day, the Sooners' second major scrimmage of the spring, Bradford may have sounded an alert with his play Saturday, suggesting he could be ready to step ahead in the bid to debut behind center in the Sept. 1 opener against North Texas.

Bradford, a redshirt freshman from Putnam North, completed 8-of-13 passes for 114 yards, respectable enough numbers before an estimated crowd of 5,000 at Gaylord Family — Oklahoma Memorial Stadium. And another 40 yards and a touchdown were taken away from Bradford's total when a swing pass to wide receiver Brandon Caleb was ruled a lateral.

There were two glaring negatives for Bradford, a pair of interceptions, although one came off a pass tipped at the line by defensive end Alonzo Dotson.

But Bradford directed the day's most impressive drive, taking the Sooners 70 yards to a score against a first-team defense that had been mostly dominant.

"Good series,” said quarterbacks coach Josh Heupel. "You saw Sam do a lot of good things.

"That shows the tip of the iceberg of what kind of players all three of them can be.”

And so it goes this spring.

All questions directed at one quarterback or another eventually lead to answers about "all three,” or "they,” or "those guys.”

Elsewhere Saturday, there were plenty of individual acknowledgements.

Running back DeMarco Murray continued his impressive spring, rushing 16 times for 132 yards and a touchdown and adding a 19-yard reception. Chris Brown added 72 yards and a score on 13 carries.

Tight end Jermaine Gresham caught three passes for 73 yards — including a long of 53 on a strike from Bradford — and a touchdown.

Defensively, Gerald McCoy showed his athletic ability in the middle at tackle, breaking into the backfield for 1½ sacks and dragging Mossis Madu down for a loss from behind. D.J. Wolfe, now at free safety, recorded seven tackles and picked off Halzle.

Overall, Bob Stoops was pleased.

"A lot different than our last major scrimmage,” Stoops said. "I just felt that the intensity and the effort and the enthusiasm to compete was all good. Liked it.”

The competition at quarterback, also spirited, seems far from finished, not likely to be decided by the end of these 15 spring workouts.

"You can't get enough snaps,” Stoops said. "Can't get enough experience out here on the field in practice or in a scrimmage. They need a lot of work.

"But I like what I see. The potential is there in all of them.”

If one leads or lags, he's not being singled out. And while Nichol lacks the playbook knowledge and recognition of defenses that his competitors hold, he'll be given the opportunity to close ground in those areas during the summer and early fall.

"We haven't had one meeting, as an offensive staff or with Coach Stoops, or me and Josh, talking about, ‘Hey, how's it going,'” said offensive coordinator Kevin Wilson. "They're all doing pretty well.”

Bradford, voted scout team Most Valuable Player last fall, did best Saturday.

His second INT was an unwise attempt, right into the arms of defensive back Dominique Franks in a red-zone drill.

But Bradford gave the Sooners what they need most on the 70-yard scoring march: efficiency, if nothing particularly flashy, for an offense that will surround the quarterback position with talent.

Going 4-for-4 passing for 32 yards, he led an 11-play drive that reached third down just once. And Bradford converted that with a nifty 7-yard scramble on third-and-6.

A 14-yard pass to Manuel Johnson set up the Sooners at the 16, where Brown ran twice for 8 yards to score.

Halzle finished 7-of-15 passing for 76 yards and had his best drive halted by a hanging toss intercepted by Wolfe. Nichol went 4-of-8 for 96 yards, with a 15-yard touchdown pass to Gresham, and was picked off once.

OU's players are well-versed in company policy. They, too, spread the praise on all three quarterback competitors.

As for Bradford:

"He's been on our scout team,” said wide receiver Adron Tennell. "He worked out with the receivers all last summer. He knows what to do. He's just coming in, trying to take it one step at a time.”

Maybe Saturday will prove to be a big step.

"We're just going to let them keep battling, keep fighting,” Wilson said. "They need to play a lot of ball, make some mistakes, see how they respond. They need to play bad and come back. They need to play good and keep playing good.

"They just need to keep playing. It's a long time before that thing to me can settle up.”