Tulsa World: OU Football Notebook

TULSA WORLD HOMEPAGE | Saturday, November 21, 2009 | 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 Football Notebook

By JOHN E. HOOVER, World sports writer
Published: 10/29/2008 2:10 AM
Last Modified: 10/29/2008 2:52 AM

Injury update: Bob Stoops said Tuesday that wide receiver Manuel Johnson was "getting closer" to returning to the lineup for Saturday's game against Nebraska.

Johnson "caught some balls, did some drills yesterday, is supposed to do more today. So it should be just how comfortable he is at the end of the week and how much of the game plan, meaning in practice, he's able to execute. We'll just have to see by the end of the week."

Tight end Brody Eldridge was full speed at practice on Monday and is expected to play, Stoops said. Offensive lineman Branndon Braxton, coming off an ankle injury against TCU, sustained a shoulder injury last week, said offensive coordinator Kevin Wilson.

"I'm sure, being a senior, it's a little bit disappointing for him," Wilson said.

Shoulder burden: Austin Box, technically, still has yet to start at middle linebacker. Last week he was injured on the opening kickoff and took himself out, replaced for two defensive plays by Mike Balogun.

"I thought he had his shoulder ripped off," said linebackers coach Brent Venables. "I thought a shark bit him or something the way he was screaming and running off the field, 'Put it back! Put it back!' I thought, 'Oh, for the love of God.' It was so — it was so par for the course. He must never have had a stinger before. You feel like you're in boiling water."

Working out the kinks: Stoops said running back DeMarco Murray seems to be running with more confidence the past two weeks.

"It's

natural that he just has more confidence putting that foot in the ground and making sharper cuts and making sudden cuts. Those are cuts that I think sometimes those guys don't even think about," Stoops said.

That is not entirely true. Murray, coming back from offseason knee surgery, said he actually has been practicing his cuts, what he calls "one-legged sticks. One time, I was like, 'Wow, it's back.'

"I found myself, every time I wanted that cut, just stopping my feet, chopping. But the last couple weeks of practice, I found myself just sticking it here and sticking it there and going full speed." By JOHN E. HOOVER, World sports writer

Newspaper View Print this story

Bookmark

COMMENTS

Add your comment

Show: Most Recent Comment First

0 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

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.