Tulsa World: Sooner defense moves forward, starts to click

TULSA WORLD HOMEPAGE | Tuesday, February 09, 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

Sooner defense moves forward, starts to click

Frank Alexander (right) may play more at defensive end after Alan Davis' injury on Saturday against Texas A&M. MICHAEL WYKE/Tulsa World

By JOHN E. HOOVER World Sports Writer
Published: 11/10/2008 2:12 AM
Last Modified: 11/10/2008 3:28 AM

With a defense on the mend statistically, Oklahoma now must find a way to get healthy physically.

At Texas A&M on Saturday, the Sooners warmed up with just four defensive ends, and one of those — senior Alan Davis this time — was injured during OU's 66-28 triumph. Auston English might not be back any time soon, so that spot falls to redshirt freshman Frank Alexander and sophomore Jeremy Beal, backed up by sophomore Pryce Macon.

"We don't have any depth," defensive coordinator Brent Venables said.

One solution might be coming soon at cornerback, where Venables said he hopes to get Jonathan Nelson back at practice this week from a knee injury. Nelson's return would allow the Sooners to line up with an extra defensive back, which might be a good idea in two weeks when Texas Tech comes to town.

Numbers-wise, that fits with Venables' preferred Tech defensive package of three linemen, three linebackers and five defensive backs, what Venables calls "a good speed package."

And speaking of his linebackers, Venables enjoyed a told-you-so moment after the Sooners held A&M to 267 total yards and two touchdown drives. This was a marked improvement over the four consecutive weekends of giving up more than 400 yards, with a high of 550 at Kansas State.

"What you enjoyed," Venables said, "was going in the locker room and telling your guys, 'See? When we're all clicking, doing what we're supposed to do, just playing with some discipline, for the most part, it really works well. The system will work for you.' Having success lends to that credibility."

No. 5 OU (9-1 overall, 5-1 Big 12) is off this week, then hosts Tech and visits Oklahoma State, perhaps the two most explosive offenses the Sooners face this season.

With another week to work, Venables is confident his defense will continue to make strides. He reminded that middle linebacker Austin Box and weakside linebacker Travis Lewis are redshirt freshmen, and linebacker Keenan Clayton used to be a safety.

"Until this year, all three of those guys have never played linebacker," Venables said. "People think they're frustrated? You ought to be me. But I've been super pleased with their improvement. As small as it's seemed, trust me, it's happening."

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

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.