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Gameday: Spring edition -- Taking a look at OU football
Published: 3/23/2012 7:38 PM
Last Modified: 3/23/2012 7:38 PM

After some time off for spring break, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State and Tulsa get back to football spring drills next week.
So in the spirit of spring practice, I'll give you a little knowledge on the three schools over the next week starting with Oklahoma.

Oklahoma
2011 record (Big 12):10-3 (6-3, fourth)
Returning starters: 8 offense; 6 defense
Remaining spring practice dates: March 27, 28, 30, 31; April 3, 5, 10, 12.
Spring game: April 14, open to the public

Don't worry about...
1. Mike Stoops
Stoops is back at Oklahoma after a less than successful tenure as head coach at Arizona. But his lack of success in Arizona doesn't mean he's forgotten how to coach. Some people are meant to be assistant coaches. Maybe that's the case with Stoops. And really, no matter how much respect you have for former OU defensive coordinator Brent Venables, the Sooners have looked like a team needing a defensive change for the last couple of years. Stoops' resume as a defensive coordinator is impressive. Can he recapture the magic of his first run in Norman? Maybe not, but his hiring hardly seems a big risk.

2. Landry Jones
Is it possible Landry Jones is the most disrespected record-setting quarterback in recent NCAA history? Jones owns 13 OU passing records, has completed more than 62 percent of his passes and thrown for more than 12,000 yards. But there were more than a few sighs when Jones decided to return for his senior season. Despite his struggles last year when Ryan Broyles was lost for the season, Jones' experience should help an offense lacking a little star power. But here's the biggest reason not to worry about Jones -- it's wasted energy. Baring injury, Jones is the starter and that's not going to change.

3. Experience
Although OU lists 14 returning starters officially, the team's experience runs much deeper. The Sooners return 18 starters from the lineup that faced off against Iowa in the Insight Bowl. And OU has 26 players who have made at least two career starts. Perhaps most importantly, the Sooners have four offensive lineman who have a combined 96 college starts.

It's worth worrying about...
1. The junior college signees
OU signed six junior college players on signing day, an indication of big misses on previous signing days and a lack of confidence in certain players currently on campus. JUCOs can provide a quick fix, but typically junior college signees offer just as many misses. JUCO receiver Courtney Gardner has a really nice story (read John Hoover's feature here), but less than two weeks after that story ran he was arrested during a traffic stop in Reno (read about it here). With junior college players, you take your chances.

2. A lack of star power
OU has a lot of returning experience, but with the exception of Landry Jones, the Sooners lost most of their biggest names. No one really stepped in for Ryan Broyles when OU's record-setting receiver was injured in November. Maybe that's why the Sooners signed five receivers in February. And although OU returns a dozen guys on defense with two or more career starts, gone are names like Travis Lewis, Frank Alexander, Jamell Fleming and Ronnell Lewis.

3. The running game
Dominique Whaley went from walk-on to star last year before a season-ending ankle injury. Coaches say Whaley's rehab is progressing, but he isn't practicing this spring. OU rushed for less than 115 yards as a team in its final two games of the season and didn't have a 100-yard rusher in the seven games Whaley didn't play. Roy Finch and Brennan Clay are the two tailbacks practicing this spring, but Finch's carries decreased every game after a 26-carry, 99-yard performance against Texas A&M down to just six against Iowa in the bowl game.

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GeorgeNolandII (11 months ago)

I believe not having a specific go to receiver may be a positive. Landry can spread the ball around to a talented group of "no-named" young receivers. That makes it harder for the opponent's defense. See 2000 season.

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Tulsa World Sports Editor Michael Peters has nearly 20 years of daily newspaper experience. A 1993 graduate of Texas A&M, he worked at papers in Bryan-College Station, Texas, Beaumont, Texas, and Galveston, Texas, before joining the Houston Chronicle as High School Sports Editor in 2008. While in Houston, he coordinated coverage of the 2008 Texas Class 5A state football championships and the 2011 NCAA Men's Final Four.

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