Tulsa World: Sam: Shoulder feels great

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Sam: Shoulder feels great
His return to the field allays concerns of Sooners.

Oklahoma quarterback Sam Bradford said he gained confidence from his performance against Baylor. MIKE SIMONS/Tulsa World

By GUERIN EMIG World Sports Writer
Published: 10/11/2009 2:28 AM
Last Modified: 10/11/2009 6:46 AM

NORMAN — The 84,000 hearts inside Owen Field raced a few times Saturday. In pregame warm-ups, Sam Bradford appeared for Oklahoma's first two quarterback drills but didn't throw one pass.

"Through the week we had him throwing somewhere between 30 and 40 balls each day," coach Bob Stoops said. "That's why we limited him warming up — just so we didn't wear (Bradford's injured shoulder) out. Kind of like when you golf and you hit all your good shots on the range. You've got to save some for the game."

Fair enough. But then what about the time backup Landry Jones started warming up on the sideline, right after OU's first drive when Bradford sat surrounded by trainers?

"It was a calf strain that goes back to two-a-days," Stoops said. "Just kind of pushing off on it, he strained it a little bit."

The shoulder Bradford separated against BYU held up fine through 49 passes, two carries off scrambles and one sack.

"It feels good, feels really good," he said. "It felt a lot better this week compared to last week. That's something we were all curious about here, how I would react to three-and-a-half or four hours in my pads, not throwing the whole time, sitting on the bench, coming back and making some throws."

One throw in particular eased everyone's minds.

"I think it was the third quarter. The pocket broke down a little bit. I went right and hit Jaz Reynolds on a comeback out there," Bradford said of his 12-yard completion on one of OU's field goal drives. "Just doing that, being able to throw on the run all the way across the field, it feels good. It gives me a lot of confidence."

What gives the program confidence is the postgame conversation between quarterback and coach.

"I asked (Bradford) how it felt," Stoops said. "He said it felt great. He doesn't have any discomfort. That's encouraging. He'll only get better from this in that practicing, he'll trust it now. I would think in another week he'll be stronger with his throws."

He'll have to be, considering who he'll be throwing against.

"It's gonna be a big game," defensive tackle Gerald McCoy said of OU-Texas. "We're gonna need him to be at his best."

Guerin Emig 581-8355
guerin.emig@tulsaworld.com By GUERIN EMIG World Sports Writer

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FUTURE WORLD, Tulsa (10/12/2009 12:26:00 AM)

I worry about Sam's shoulder. I don't see how a seperation could have healed so soon. But if it feels fine. I sure hope it stays that way. He's sure gonna need it on sat.

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