Tulsa World: OU back is good, but he's no A.D.

TULSA WORLD HOMEPAGE | Wednesday, February 10, 2010 | WIRELESS

OU | OSU | TU | ORU | HIGH SCHOOLS | COLLEGE FOOTBALL | COLLEGE BASKETBALL | NFL | FANTASY | OUTDOORS | GOLF | PROS | ALL

HOMEPAGES

SPORTS EXTRA BLOGS

		Sports Editor Mike Strain
		Sports Columnist Dave Sittler
		The Picker Entertaining & Infuriating

LOCAL PROS

ALL SPORTS

PHOTOS & VIDEOS

OUTDOORS

FIND A STORY

Search the World's archives

EMAIL ALERTS

SOCIAL MEDIA

RSS FEEDS

CONTACT US

BUY PHOTOS & PAGES

Buy a published photo by clicking the "Order this Picture" link on the photo. For a full-color page reprint, call 732-8198 from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday-Friday or order online.

TULSA WORLD

ADVERTISE ON SPORTS EXTRA

Learn more about the site.

Newspaper View Print this story

Bookmark

OU back is good, but he's no A.D.

By JOHN E. HOOVER World Sports Writer
Published: 8/11/2008 2:07 AM
Last Modified: 8/11/2008 3:20 AM

NORMAN — When Adrian Peterson stepped into Memorial Stadium for his first scrimmage as an Oklahoma Sooner — well, the comparison ends right there.

The Sooners' latest, greatest running back recruit, Jermie Calhoun, on Saturday did what Peterson did in August 2004: he stepped on the field and, Bob Stoops said, "played a fair amount."

"Just looking at him, you can already tell that he's a specimen," cornerback Brian Jackson said. "But honestly, you can't compare anybody to Adrian Peterson."

Peterson, from Palestine, Texas, was the nation's No. 1 running back in '03. Calhoun, from Van, Texas, was a consensus No. 2 last season. When Peterson made his preseason debut, some 11,000 fans held their breath and didn't blink. When Calhoun made his, nobody was there to see it.

Nobody, that is, but his teammates and his coaches.

"Really works hard," Stoops said. "He is a fun guy to coach. He works hard and has a great attitude."

When Peterson first trotted onto the field, every teammate put down his water bottle, got off the bench, sneaked away from his coach and peeked onto the field to watch. Did OU players do that with Calhoun?

"Yeah, I did," linebacker Keenan Clayton said. "I sat back and watched him."

Said Jackson, "It looked like people were looking in on him."

Clayton, from Sulphur Springs, Texas, said before he was moved up to varsity, he'd skip his own team's games to get a look at Peterson.

"Every Friday night," Clayton said, "it was, 'Dad, we going to Palestine to watch Adrian play this weekend?'

Calhoun, like every other incoming freshman, is still trying to adjust to the speed of the college game. Even Peterson needed an adjustment period. Only, everyone else is trying to speed up. Peterson was often encouraged to slow down — too quick to the quarterback, too early to the handoff point, too far ahead of the blockers to the running lane. His NFL coach, Brad Childress, said the same thing in February.

"Yeah, but he never slowed down," Clayton said. "Even in the NFL, he's playing with men, but it seems like he's still moving so much faster than everybody else."

So, Sooner fans can be patient with Calhoun. He's no Adrian Peterson, but then, nobody is.

John E. Hoover 581-8384
john.hoover@tulsaworld.com By JOHN E. HOOVER World Sports Writer

Newspaper View Print this story

Bookmark

COMMENTS

Add your comment

Show: Most Recent Comment First

2 comments have been made for this team so far. Tell us what you think below!

Reporting Comments

If you see a comment that violates our terms and conditions, please help us by clicking the "Report this Comment" link next to a comment. That will alert the web staff to review the comment. Thank you. -- Web Editor Jason Collington

	Report Comment pat, Kiefer (8/11/2008 9:53:39 AM) Can't wait for opening day!
	Report Comment purple rain, (8/11/2008 1:47:25 PM) I hope this Calhoun kid has a great season. Maybe then we can move on from having Adrian Peterson crammed down our throats every five minutes.

Add Your Comment
In order to post a comment on this article, you must sign in to Tulsaworld.com. If you do not have a site account, you can create an account for free.