Tulsa World: Practice Report: Oklahoma

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Practice Report: Oklahoma

By GUERIN EMIG World Sports Writer
Published: 8/9/2008 2:06 AM
Last Modified: 8/9/2008 2:50 AM

Position watch

Kicking game

The only certainty is that Mike Knall, who averaged 43.7 yards last year and was terrific in the Big 12 championship and Fiesta Bowl, returns to punt. Other than that, the Sooners' kicking game is somewhat of a mystery. Jimmy Stevens and Tress Way are the two freshmen competing to replace Garrett Hartley, the Sooners' kicker the past four years, and coach Bob Stoops has been impressed with both through a week of practice. There will also be a new holder to replace Hays McEachern, either Knall or Carter Whitson, a walk-on wide receiver. Derek Shaw of Sand Springs walked on to deep-snap for OU last year, but he's out with an Achilles injury. That leaves the snapping to Kyle Johnson, a senior walk-on from Konawa, and Ben Hampton and James Winchester, a pair of late additions.

"Whether Derek is healthy or not, those guys are in the mix," Stoops said. "We'll be fine."

News and notes

Let's get physical: The Sooners' first practice in full pads meant one thing Friday morning: the famed Oklahoma Drill, where an offensive player lines up with a defensive one to see who's stronger and tougher.

"It's great. It's always energetic, always fun," Stoops said. "Guys always like doing it."

Well, maybe not defensive guys who get down in a stance opposite Brody Eldridge. The OU tight end/fullback recognized as the best blocker on the team drove middle linebacker Ryan Reynolds 5 yards back and to the ground at one point.

"All those nice

runs, everybody loves to ooh and aah about DeMarco Murray," Stoops said. "If you look in front of him, it's Brody usually clearing somebody out of the way or knocking them off their feet, driving them back to create the room for that exciting run. It's an unheralded position, but he does it as well as anybody I've ever been around."

Sideline pattern: Auston English, recovering from his recent appendectomy, spent Friday's practice exercising and running sprints away from drills. That wasn't any surprise to the fans invited to watch a rare open practice. Seeing Murray, supposedly fit after undergoing offseason knee surgery, over with English was more of a jolt, however.

"He's fine," Stoops said after practice. "He had a slight sprain two days ago, his ankle. It's a minor one. We were limited in what we had him do today. Wasn't a big deal."

Music to their ears: The Sooners practiced with an assortment of music anything ranging from Manfred Mann to Bobby Brown blaring from nearby speakers.

"We've kept our music going through practice to force our guys to think and concentrate, and maybe it makes it a little more relaxing," offensive coordinator Kevin Wilson said. "Not that we're trying to chill out. The main thing was to communicate with the (new 40-second play) clock and playing faster and getting checks."

There is that, and the adjustment in going from closed practices to games in front of a sold-out Owen Field.

"It's very sterile at practice," Wilson said. "All of a sudden you play in front of 80,000 people with all those distractions, it's harder to communicate. We saw some teams (practicing with music). We thought it would be a nice thing to introduce to our guys."

Opponent watch

Cincinnati (Sept. 6)

Looks like the Sooners will be defending QB Dustin Grutza when Cincinnati comes to Owen Field. The NCAA has ruled against a sixth year of eligibility for Ben Mauk, the Bearcats QB who threw for 3,121 yards and a school-record 31 TDs last year.

Mauk enrolled at Cincinnati as a graduate student in 2007 after spending the four previous years at Wake Forest. He redshirted in 2003 and suffered a season-ending injury in the Deacons' 2006 opener.

Key dates

Today: Scrimmage, Owen Field. Closed to public, media.

Aug. 16: Scrimmage, also closed

Aug. 25: First day of classes By GUERIN EMIG World Sports Writer

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