Tulsa World: English out for Sooners

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English out for Sooners
Defensive end out for three weeks with knee injury.

By JOHN E. HOOVER World Sports Writer
Published: 11/4/2008 2:17 AM
Last Modified: 11/4/2008 3:15 AM

Defensive end out for three weeks with knee injury.

NORMAN — When Auston English went down with an injury last season, Oklahoma defensive coordinator Brent Venables became a Jeremy Beal fan.

So Venables was ready when the news came down Monday that English was out for three weeks, this time with a sprained left knee, and would be replaced by redshirt freshman Frank Alexander.

"I'm Frank's big fan," Venables said. "I'm in Frank Alexander's fan club right now. I'm pulling for big Frank. Frankie Frank. I'm rooting for him. I'm probably in a pretty long line, too."

English sustained a sprained left knee Saturday against Nebraska. Head coach Bob Stoops said English would miss this week's game at Texas A&M, and he did not expect him back for the Sooners' Nov. 22 game against No. 2-ranked Texas Tech. OU is off next weekend.

"We're disappointed for Auston, of course," Stoops said. "He's been a great leader for us, a tough player. He had an excellent game the other night. But you have to go on."

English, a junior from Canadian, Texas, ranks second on the team with 4 1/2 quarterback sacks. He was the Big 12 Conference preseason defensive player of the year. Last season, he led the Big 12 with 9 1/2 sacks before a broken bone in his leg sidelined him the last three regular-season games.

That injury, though, allowed Beal to step into the lineup and become a trusted playmaker. Now Beal is a starter. The Sooners hope Alexander, a redshirt freshman from Baton Rouge, La., can follow the same path.

"I hope so. And I believe so," head coach Bob Stoops said. "Frank has had a great three games. He's consistently made good plays and gotten pressure, and come up with big plays — the sacks, the tipped balls, the pressure. So hopefully, yeah, he'll just be able to maintain it and be able to improve, and I think he will."

The 6-foot-4, 249-pound Alexander returned to action after missing five games because of a knife wound sustained in an attack outside a Norman night club on Aug. 31. He has played in four games and has 2 1/2 sacks with a fumble recovery and a forced fumble.

"There are things that Frank does that I don't teach," said defensive ends coach Chris Wilson. "He's athletic for a big frame. He's got long arms, which creates a lot of separation. He's a 6-4, 6-5 guy, but he's probably got the wingspan of a 7-foot guy. So he's able to bend and get the edges, and that's really showed up in our pass rush for us."

Said Alexander, "We're definitely going to miss A-Town's leadership. He keeps us together on the defensive line. I know I've got to step up, though. Big shoes to fill. Just got to make plays."

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

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