How deadly was OU's '08 offense? Trent Ratterree tells it like it was
Published: 11/17/2011 8:24 AM
Last Modified: 11/17/2011 8:24 AM
Trent Ratterree is a top-five talker on the Oklahoma team, and a top-one thinker.
There is a lot going on inside the senior tight end's head – it's going to be fascinating to see what he does with his post-football life – and it's pretty cool that he shares his thoughts with the rest of us.
An example: Tuesday, Ratterree was asked if OU's 2008 offense (he was a freshman on that juggernaut) set an impossible-to-reach bar his next three years.
"That's true," he replied. "That offense, there was nothing you could do. We'd put different people out there and we'd still score.
"I was in the Texas Tech game here. I actually got put into the game. I'm there blocking and Manny (Manuel Johnson) catches that one-handed touchdown, like a 70-yard touchdown. I was like, 'It's impossible for us to not score.'
"I went in one play against Missouri in Kansas City (at the Big 12 championship). We scored on a 50-yard touchdown run. It's 16 degrees and it's too dry to snow, but it was trying. They put in Mossis (Madu), he jukes on guy and jumps over two more and goes and scores. We didn't even block that well."
"James (Hanna, also a freshman at the time) played one play. He missed a block and was 0-for-1. We always joke that he was graded at zero percent in that game.
"That was the nature of that offense. I think this offense is pretty competitive. It's not as explosive."
Before the Sooners' national championship game against Florida in Miami, I thought Joey Johnston of the Tampa Tribune described OU's offense as well as it could be: "This attack is not for the faint of heart – or the short of breath."
Now, I like Ratterree's version much better.
-- Guerin Emig
Written by
Guerin Emig
Sports Writer
