OSU Notebook: Richetti Jones is healthier this season
BY MATT BAKER World Sports Writer
Wednesday, September 01, 2010
9/01/10 at 4:04 AM
After a highly decorated high school career, junior defensive end Richetti Jones has been slow to recover from a hip injury.
After Jones impressed coaches during the offseason, OSU has high hopes for the Dallas native.
"He's healthier now than he was a year ago," defensive coordinator Bill Young said. "His hip doesn't give him the same issues it did. He's shown a lot of improvement, and he needs to. He'll be playing a lot of football Saturday."
As impressive as Jones has been, Young said Jamie Blatnick's legal problems are the reason Jones is first on depth chart against Washington State.
"If it weren't for the situation, Jamie would be the starter," Young said.
Head coach Mike Gundy said he'll meet with Blatnick later this week to resolve the player's status after Blatnick pleaded guilty to misdemeanor assault and battery last week.
Backup QB questions: Offensive coordinator Dana Holgorsen said he's not sure if true freshman Johnny Deaton or redshirt freshmen Clint Chelf will be the No. 2 quarterback for Saturday's game against Washington State.
Because neither has played in a college game before, Holgorsen said he'd like to get the backup some playing time against the Cougars, should one team take a big lead in the fourth quarter.
"We'd like to get those guys some game reps," Holgorsen said. "Like I said, I don't know which one it's going to be. It just depends on how they practice this week."
Honoring Fenimore: OSU will honor legendary running back Bob Fenimore with a decal on its helmets. Fenimore died in July at age 84. Nicknamed the Blond Bomber, Fenimore was a two-time All-American at Oklahoma A&M and helped OSU finish its only perfect season in 1945. His jersey number, 55, is not in use for the Cowboys this season.
Littlehead catching up: True freshman defensive tackle Christian Littlehead from Tahlequah Sequoyah is catching up slowly after not being cleared by the NCAA until mid-August.
"He missed 17, 18 practices and came in a little overweight," Young said. "It is real tough to come back and catch up, but we will continue to do that and work with him as an individual."
Original Print Headline: OSU Notebook: Jones healthier in 2010
