What Miller's injury means to Sooners' offense
Published: 10/21/2010 2:21 PM
Last Modified: 10/21/2010 2:21 PM
Oklahoma can overcome the loss of wide receiver Dejuan Miller. It won’t take anything special for Cameron Kenney other than to catch the football.
Miller, a junior from Metuchen, N.J., was lost for the year with a knee cartilage injury in practice Tuesday.
He was fourth on the team with 15 catches for 199 yards. Those aren’t huge numbers to have to replace, especially considering the Sooners’ offensive productivity.
But Miller made his first start of the season last week against Iowa State. That’s a commentary on how he has prepared himself recently in practice and played on Saturday — his two best games were in the Sooners’ two previous games, Texas (five catches, 61 yards) and Cincinnati (three catches, 66 yards).
Miller last week said he’s glad to be making the most of his opportunity, that he now understands the value of diligence in practice and preparation. Don’t worry. Miller should be 100 percent for his senior year, and he’ll have another chance if he rehabs hard.
But now, it’s Cameron Kenney’s turn.
Kenney was a junior college transfer last season. Like Miller, he has tremendous ability. He’s not as big (6-1, 193, compared to Miller’s 6-4, 221), but is faster and more explosive.
But like Miller, he has yet to maximize his ability. Kenney said last year he was too nervous to contribute with any consistency. That led to a series of dropped passes and got him benched early. This year, Kenny played with confidence early and even made two starts.
But dropped passes against Florida State, Air Force and Cincinnati — the last one wide open in the end zone — hurt that confidence and sent him back to the bench.
All Kenney needs to do now is catch the football.
And if he can’t, it might be time for the Sooner to dust off senior Brandon Caleb, who had two 100-yard games last season but has all but disappeared on offense, getting into just two games.
— John E. Hoover
Written by
John E. Hoover
Sports Columnist
