Tulsa World: UPDATED: Stoops says he closed practices because of new offense

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UPDATED: Stoops says he closed practices because of new offense

By JOHN E. HOOVER World Sports Writer
Published: 9/23/2008 2:05 PM
Last Modified: 9/23/2008 6:26 PM

Audio: Listen to a 20-minute Q&A session with Bob Stoops in his weekly media conference.

NORMAN – Bob Stoops acknowledged Tuesday that he closed preseason scrimmages this season not because he was concerned about spies feeding information to this week's opponent, TCU, but because the Sooners were trying out a new offense.

"I think it's pretty obvious why we closed practices," Stoops said during his weekly press luncheon. "I think our no-huddle offense has been pretty obvious we didn't want to let on how much we were using it, all our terminology at the line of scrimmage – even defensively, our terminology going against it, all of that is pretty obvious why we didn't want anyone being at our practices."

Accusations arose in August of "friends" of the TCU program spying on the Sooners' scrimmages back when the teams played in the 2005 season-opener. TCU won that game 17-10.

Stoops said he didn't know where concerns about TCU spying "would come from. That doesn't come from us. In the end, I can't help what people speculate, or their opinions. I don't have anything to do with that. But I'm used to that. There's a lot (of things) that's said about us or me that aren't accurate or aren't true.

"In the end, I've made it very clear that when they beat us here, they out-toughed us, out-physicaled us, coached a lot better, because they had their players a whole

lot more prepared than we did, executed a lot better, took care of the ball better – in every part of the game."

Other highlights from Stoops' press conference:

On a players-only meeting held before the Washington game:
"I don't know that we've had a lot of those. You'd have to ask them. I wasn't in it. They didn't let me. In the end, it's a positive thing. I feel to this point we've had really good leadership. Not just from the captains, from juniors and seniors, not just seniors. There's a bunch of guys that are stepping up and taking some accountability for leading the team, and that's always a good thing."

On injured defensive tackle DeMarcus Granger:
"I expect him back this year. Everyone's going to want to know a timetable, and I don't have one. But Cordero Moore has a chance to play in there too. He has come on. He has made good improvement and we have been close to playing him all year. He will definitely have some time. . . . There was always a good chance if (Granger) didn't have surgery to be back. You knock wood and hopefully that's how it'll go."

On warning players about how good TCU is:
"Oh yeah. It's pretty obvious. Just to understand, 'Look, this is how well they played and this is how they beat us, and you need to understand that we've obviously got to perform a whole lot better to win.'

On whether true freshman defensive end R.J. Washington may play or redshirt:
"Yeah, you know, he's so close. What's hard about it is all that we do defensively. If we just played a 4-3, let those guys get wide and let go, you know, then he'd be in there. There's just so much when you zone blitz, who's dropping, who's blitzing, where are you blitzing, is he twisting around somebody or is he going straight? And R.J.'s a bright young guy and is doing great, but we're probably just a little bit too complex in all that we ask these guys to do. We just fear that we're going to play him and then through the whole year it's not going to be enough to warrant giving up his year. It's just one of those things that we're practicing him with the 1s and 2s, getting him some snaps – and we feel Frank (Alexander) will be back fairly soon; is he going to be ahead of him with all we ask these guys to do? We just don't want to burn his year and not warrant it and not give him enough snaps to where that's the right thing to do. It's been tough that way but R.J.'s got a great attitude and works hard. And you never know through the year what all's going to happen with injuries and all. Knock wood."

On who goes to the BCS national championship game if USC, OU and Florida finish the regular season undefeated:
"I'm not going there. You go there. You guys start that, like, three weeks earlier every year. . . . I'm not going there. . . . I don't know how it'll all play out." By JOHN E. HOOVER World Sports Writer

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Bluebird48, Sand Springs (9/23/2008 5:55:15 PM)

And here I thought he closed practice because the market crashed. :-D

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