Tulsa World: It's now or never for Tennell

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It's now or never for Tennell

By JOHN E. HOOVER World Sports Writer
Published: 3/8/2009 4:15 AM
Last Modified: 3/9/2009 9:57 AM

NORMAN -- Ask Adron Tennell if he wishes he'd redshirted — either when he broke in as a freshman in 2006, or last season, as he was coming off reconstructive knee surgery — and his hesitation is apparent.

"Well I — it was all right," Tennell says. "I got the opportunity to be out there on the field and get the experience. So it's all good."

With so little time, college football players have little regard for regret.

Tennell soon will begin his senior season at OU. His first three were, many observers suggest, wasted. Now the player ranked by Rivals.com as the third-best high school wide receiver in the nation — behind Florida's Percy Harvin and Missouri's Jeremy Maclin — has to make great strides this spring to position himself for a rewarding senior year.

"It's not that frustrating," Tennell said. "I know I can go out there and perform. The people before me were good, so I know I've just got to sit back and wait and learn from them."

Having lost three senior receivers — two who consistently made plays for most of four years — the Sooners need someone to become a playmaker. When OU opened spring drills on Tuesday, Tennell was first in line.

Of course, Tennell seemed to be first in line — first to replace Malcolm Kelly as Oklahoma's big-play man, that is — when he arrived from Stephen F. Austin High School in Irving, Texas, three years ago.

But that first season was a washout. He played in 12 games as a fourth-quarter backup or on special teams. He caught just two passes for 26 yards.

His sophomore year was also a disappointment. He played in 11 games — again almost strictly as a reserve — and caught just five passes for 114 yards. The highlight was a 61-yard fourth-quarter TD against Miami. But his season ended in November when he tore knee ligaments while playing special teams against Texas Tech.

Having missed all of winter conditioning and every spring practice, Tennell started his junior season way down on the depth chart and never caught up. He played as a backup in 12 games and caught just nine passes for 68 yards.

He said his knee was never 100 percent last season, and he acknowledges playing on it with a lack of confidence.

"Yeah, I was a little nervous on cutting on it at first because I didn't want to hurt it any worse," he said. "But now I'm just full-out go."

That has become apparent to OU cornerback Dominique Franks, who came in with Tennell as a freshman.

"Since the time that we've been here, this is the first time I've seen him where he's like our freshman year," Franks said. "Just the way he goes out and runs, he looks like the Adron of our freshman year, just going out there and can fly. He's a fast guy."

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

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	Report Comment eamon, (3/8/2009 10:29:44 AM) Good story. I always wondered what happened to Adron. The offense will not miss a beat with him on the field.
	Report Comment SoonerDJ, Lisbon, Portugal (3/9/2009 7:30:13 AM) I didn't know he came in that highly regarded. I hope he has a most year like Malcolm Kelly did his junior season.

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