Trio pitches in on OU defensive line
BY JOHN E. HOOVER World Sports Writer
Friday, January 01, 2010
1/01/10 at 7:18 AM
EL PASO, Texas — Who were these guys?
For much of the fourth quarter of Oklahoma's 31-27 Sun Bowl victory over Stanford on Thursday, the Sooner defense played with three linemen who hadn't played virtually all season.
Defensive tackle Adrian Taylor suffered a broken leg in the first quarter. Defensive end Jeremy Beal sustained an ankle sprain in the third quarter. And, for a time in the fourth quarter, even indomitable Gerald McCoy sat out with a sore hip.
In their place, freshman Jamarkus McFarland stepped in at tackle. He had only seen spot duty and some late-game mop-up time, maybe 30 plays all season. Redshirt freshman David King stepped in at end. He had only gotten in a few games during garbage time this year. And senior DeMarcus Granger stepped in at tackle. He hadn't played a down all year because of nerve damage in his back and was being counted this time only for short-yardage and goal-line plays.
"Everybody was out," linebacker Travis Lewis said. "But everybody that came in just fed off the energy we had."
After Beal's injury, things looked bleak. Stanford's power running game had gained 100 yards in the first half, and the defensive line was depleted. But the Cardinal gained just 79 yards of total offense after halftime.
When a Stanford field goal cut OU's lead to 31-27 early in the fourth quarter, the Sooner defensive line — inexperience, youth and all — only got stronger. With two opportunities to take the lead in the final minutes, Stanford managed just 22 yards.
OU's biggest defensive play down the stretch came when Stanford tried a misdirection pass to tailback Toby Gerhart on third down. The play worked previously to tight end Ryan Whalen for 42 yards. But when Tavita Pritchard tried to throw it again to Gerhart, King recognized it, dropped back to make Pritchard throw a high pass, then chased down Gerhart before he picked up the first down.
"That's why we practice," King said. "Just got to be ready. Man goes down, you've got to step in and be ready, like Coach says. Got to be capable of coming in and playing 100 percent like the starter does."
Then on fourth-and-2, Pritchard had to scramble and threw up a prayer that was incomplete with 2:18 to play.
"The depth of our team is always going to save us," McCoy said. "To see guys come in and step up at a crucial time like that, it just shows how much heart this team has."
John E. Hoover 581-8384
john.hoover@tulsaworld.com
Associated Images:
PRESSED INTO ACTION
Jamarkus McFarland, David King and DeMarcus Granger: Sooner defensive linemen had seen limited playing time this season before Thursday, but injuries to Adrian Taylor and Jeremy Beal led to the trio seeing extensive duty against Stanford in the Sun Bowl.
PRESSED INTO ACTION
Jamarkus McFarland, David King and DeMarcus Granger: Sooner defensive linemen had seen limited playing time this season before Thursday, but injuries to Adrian Taylor and Jeremy Beal led to the trio seeing extensive duty against Stanford in the Sun Bowl.
PRESSED INTO ACTION
Jamarkus McFarland, David King and DeMarcus Granger: Sooner defensive linemen had seen limited playing time this season before Thursday, but injuries to Adrian Taylor and Jeremy Beal led to the trio seeing extensive duty against Stanford in the Sun Bowl.
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