The only thing that could have spoiled Stoops' draft party
Published: 4/25/2010 11:45 PM
Last Modified: 4/26/2010 6:56 AM
There was a lot for Bob Stoops to love about the NFL draft. Now, he can tell recruits, "Come play for me, you won't just go in the first round, you'll go in the first half-hour of the first round."
Also, Stoops gets the last word on the stay-or-go argument.
Sam Bradford returns to Oklahoma for another season, jacks up his shoulder... twice... and goes No. 1 overall. Gerald McCoy returns, he goes No. 3. Trent Williams returns, supposedly doesn't play to his capability, and goes No. 4. Jermaine Gresham returns, doesn't play a single down, and falls into a perfect first-round spot with the Bengals.
Oh, and Dominique Franks, who OU coaches believe would have been better served to come back and prove himself as the star of his secondary, instead leaves early and winds up in the fifth round.
So Stoops has all that going for him coming out of the weekend. Which is nice. Very nice.
The only problem, as written by SI.com Page 2 columnist D.J. Gallo after Williams was drafted by the Redskins...
"Bradford, McCoy and Williams mean three of the top four picks are Sooners. Somehow this is no longer impressive. So Bob Stoops had all this talent and won no BCS titles? And was 8-5 last year? If college football ever gives a Worst Coach of the Year Award, let's make sure the trophy is of Stoops."
Goodness.
Gallo came back after the Bengals grabbed Gresham, and wrote: "Now another Oklahoma player goes. I hope someone ran up behind Bob Stoops and fired him."
I think Gallo's tongue was at least partially in cheek while he was typing. Maybe.
Fact is, a lot of people were probably thinking what Deion Sanders was when, representing the NFL Network, he asked Williams on stage last Thursday night why the Sooners couldn't win a national title with three future top-4 draft picks.
A lot of people probably wanted to ask what the San Jose Mercury News' Jon Wilner did: "With all that talent, (Stoops) couldn’t do better than 8-5? (I know, I know: Sam Bradford was hurt most of the year. But why was the best option a freshman?)."
All right. More facts: They came awfully close two years ago. Also, OU's 2009 season was more bad mojo than bad coaching. Our own Dave Sittler covered that ground in his weekend column. If you missed it, here's a similar take from Andrea Adelson of the Orlando Sentinel:
"Some wondered how a team with that much talent could have such a mediocre record. That criticism must stop. That season is not an indictment on Stoops, but rather a clear case of what happens to a team when your Heisman Trophy winning quarterback misses nearly the entire season with a shoulder injury. Tight end Jermaine Gresham, who went No. 21 to the (Bengals), also missed the entire season with a knee injury."
Something tells me that if opposing coaches are using, "OK, sign with OU if you want to, but remember they don't know what they're doing with all that talent" on the recruiting trail, Stoops & Co aren't hiding from Thursday night's draft bounty. They're pushing it. Hard.
And scoring major points in the process.
-- Guerin Emig
Written by
Guerin Emig
Sports Writer
