Wort, Whaley, Colvin must make healthy difference for OU
Published: 6/25/2012 7:16 AM
Last Modified: 6/25/2012 7:16 AM
We're still two months from the opener, but Oklahoma football crazies might be making a few wishes already. As in "Please let Trey Metoyer be as good as he looked in the spring." "Please let Texas' offense be as bad as it was last season." And "Please let someone at ESPN see the light and politely put Lou Holtz out to pasture."
Here's where I'd start: "Please let the Sooners stay healthy."
You have to be three things to win a national championship: talented, lucky and fit. Nobody knows this like Bob Stoops, who won his only title in 2000 because his men somehow played four months of football without a single serious injury.
Stoops knows the other side of axiom too. OU's 2009 team was finished before it ever really got started (see: Sam Bradford and Jermaine Gresham). Last year's Sooners faded after Ryan Broyles tore his ACL.
Maybe OU beats LSU in the '04 Sugar Bowl if Lance Mitchell is playing middle linebacker instead of watching with a knee injury. Maybe the Sooners overcome Florida in the '09 Orange if DeMarco Murray doesn't rupture his hamstring in the Big 12 championship.
How does this apply to OU's present condition? Consider three players – Dominique Whaley, Tom Wort and Aaron Colvin.
Whaley is trying to come back from a terrible mid-2011 ankle injury. The Sooners need him to. He led them with 627 rushing yards in seven games, topping 100 yards in three of them.
After Whaley went down at Kansas State, the Sooners didn't have a single 100-yard rusher. Roy Finch came awfully close, with 99 against Texas A&M, and he was productive. He just wasn't the decisive runner Whaley was.
It's questionable whether Whaley can be that strong again. If he can, though, the benefit should be twofold: The Sooners will be more equipped to take advantage of their hefty, experienced offensive line, and will be able to remove pressure from a somewhat rebuilt passing game adjusting to life without Broyles (and quite likely three other suspended wide receivers.)
Whaley wasn't the only Sooner sidelined last spring. Defensive back Aaron Colvin sat out after undergoing shoulder surgery. Colvin's situation wasn't as serious – the procedure was labeled "minor" – but his recovery will be just as crucial.
No OU unit bogged down like the secondary last year. It got so bad that the self-proclaimed "Sharks" were mocked at OSU by the playing of the Jaws theme on the Pickens speakers.
Seven months later, corner Jamell Fleming, the one defensive back the Sooners could count on, is an Arizona Cardinal. Mike Stoops has arrived to fix the D in general and that secondary specifically.
Here's a potential equation: OU – Fleming + Stoops = Colvin at cornerback.
The Sooners have raved about Colvin since his arrival from Owasso two years ago. They kept raving when he cameo'd at corner as a 2010 freshman. Then Colvin moved to strong safety in '11. He played well enough to make a team-leading 84 tackles, but there is a suspicion he could play even better back on the corner.
Now that Stoops has returned Tony Jefferson to a more traditional safety position, Colvin is free to return to his original position. I sort of think he will given that he represents OU's best chance to replace Fleming opposite Demontre Hurst, and corner is better suited for his skill set than safety.
Before the switch happens, however, Colvin must protect that shoulder. Then, assuming it does happen, he must continue to protect it.
At linebacker Tom Wort isn't moving anywhere. He's set to start his third straight season as the man in OU's middle.
What Wort must cope with is a body that's been through the ringer. He's had knee, back, shoulder and ankle issues. Considering no OU defender plays with more zeal, he'll continue to have issues.
Considering that the only teammate with more career tackles is Jefferson, not to mention the lack of depth at his position, Wort must continue to fight through them.
Written by
Guerin Emig
Sports Writer
