TULSA WORLD HOMEPAGE | Tuesday, February 09, 2010 | WIRELESS
CONTACT US | SUBSCRIBER SERVICES | SIGN IN SIGN OUT | MY PROFILE PAGE | MY ACCOUNT

Follow us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter Follow us on RSS
Sports Extra!
Follow us on ...
OU | OSU | TU | ORU | HIGH SCHOOLS | COLLEGE FOOTBALL | COLLEGE BASKETBALL | NFL | FANTASY | OUTDOORS | GOLF | PROS | ALL




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

EMAIL ALERTS

SOCIAL MEDIA

RSS FEEDS

CONTACT US
BUY PHOTOS & PAGES

TULSA WORLD

ADVERTISE ON SPORTS EXTRA



Newspaper View Newspaper View      Print this story Print      Email this story Email     
Share      Bookmark Bookmark

Stoops wants more from offensive linemen

University of Oklahoma head football coach Bob Stoops holds a press conference Tuesday in Norman. Stoops said he is disappointed in the lack of progress by offensive linemen so far this offseason. Steve Sisney/ The Oklahoman

 
By JOHN E. HOOVER World Sports Writer
Published: 3/4/2009  2:26 AM
Last Modified: 3/4/2009  4:18 AM

 NORMAN — Before the Oklahoma Sooners got one spring practice in, head coach Bob Stoops called his rebuilt offensive line the team's "weak link."

There's obviously plenty of time to turn that around before the Sooners open the 2009 season against BYU in September. But so far — particularly through winter conditioning workouts — Stoops is disappointed by the progress of players contending for jobs.

"Those guys, at this point — just everything, whether it's their work ethic, their attitude, those kinds of things — need to improve," Stoops said Tuesday during a spring preview press conference at the Stadium Club. "They're not nearly — they haven't had the winter everybody else has had. They, right now, are the weak link of the team."

OU opened spring practice Tuesday afternoon having lost four senior starters from an offensive line that helped produce the highest-scoring team in NCAA history, and paved the way for two 1,000-yard rushers as well as a Heisman Trophy and 50 touchdown passes for quarterback Sam Bradford.

Center Jon Cooper, left tackle Phil Loadholt, left guard Duke Robinson and right guard Brandon Walker all spent last week at the NFL Scouting Combine, leaving senior-to-be Trent Williams as the only returning starter.

The replacements — and Williams, for that matter — didn't draw high praise from Stoops.

"Myself, I haven't been expected to be a leader, and now I'm expected to be a leader," Williams said after Tuesday's practice. "I expected a few bumps in the road, but that's what makes a good line, that we can come together, get our camaraderie up and build a bond so that we can just handle adversity."

The only other player with extensive experience is senior Brian Simmons.

He said a number of offensive linemen have endured injuries since returning from the national championship game loss to Florida, but even when everyone was available, he could sense when workouts weren't going well.

"We've got a lot of shoes to fill. I understand a lot is expected of us. Everybody knows that in the trenches is where the game is played," Simmons said. "So I understand what (Stoops is) saying. We do have a lot of work to do. We need to step up and be more consistent."

Most explained it as a young, inexperienced group simply not realizing the offseason effort that had gone into the 160-plus career starts of the previous crew.

"We had a rough — the offensive line together didn't have the best winter that we've had," said Stephen Good, who redshirted as a freshman last season but got starting snaps on Tuesday. "(Stoops is) just saying that we need to improve."

Stoops didn't shy away from holding the current two-deep — which includes six sophomores, a junior and a senior who have yet to start a game — to the same standards and expectations of last year's group.

"We'll see if they can respond and have any kind of spring and summer to help us be a team that can contend for a Big 12 championship," Stoops said. "They'll be a big part of whether we will or not, depending on their attitude, work habits, those kinds of things, if we're gonna be able to do it. They've been very inconsistent that way in how they work and their toughness and discipline. So that'll be something that we'll just see as time goes whether they can develop that kind of toughness and attitude to get it done.

"To this point, they haven't done that. Right now, they need to make improvement if we're going to be any kind of team to contend for a championship next year. If they do, we'll have a chance. A good one. If they don't, we'll have a slim one."

Offensive line coach James Patton gave the assurance there was no sense of entitlement among this year's group. Instead, he said, the players are still gaining an understanding of how to work.

"They're learning that now," Patton said. "Moving from offseason, from winter conditioning to spring ball and then to summer — the summer part of it will be huge — now they know what the expectation level is, and they're going to continue to get better.

"They should know. But they haven't been put in the spotlight (with) guys counting on them all the time. Guys redshirted last year, or didn't play enough. Their expectation level now raises up."

Stoops' "weak link" assessment, Patton suggested, should serve as its own motivation.

"You've got a bunch of great players around us," Patton said. "You've got a Heisman Trophy winner at quarterback. You've got two or three great tailbacks. You've got great tight ends Man, that should be a pretty motivating factor."

OU FOOTBALL SCHEDULE



Sept. 5 BYU

(at Arlington, Texas)

Sept. 12 Idaho State

Sept. 19 Tulsa

Oct. 3 at Miami, Fla.

Oct. 10 Baylor

Oct. 17 Texas (at Dallas)

Oct. 24 at Kansas

Oct. 31 Kansas State

Nov. 7 at Nebraska

Nov. 14 Texas A&M

Nov 21 at Texas Tech

Nov. 28 Oklahoma State

OU SPRING PRACTICE DATES



March: 5 (no pads), 7, 10, 12 (scrimmage), 25, 27, 28 (scrimmage)

April: 2, 3, 6, 8, 10 (no pads), 11 (Red/White Game)



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

Newspaper View Newspaper View      Print this story Print      Email this story Email     
Share      Bookmark Bookmark


COMMENTS 
      Add your comment Show: Most Recent Comment First

7 comments have been made for this team so far. Tell us what you think below!
Report Comment 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
 

 
Report Comment
seymore1965, Tulsa (3/4/2009 7:10:30 AM)
Along with the Heisman Trophy quarterback, there's 60+ the last five games and a national championship that just embarrassingly withered away. As a fan I feel motivated to see another nc. I don't know about the players, though.
Report Comment
2curious, Tulsa, OK 74104 (3/4/2009 7:13:06 AM)
Looks like he's laid down a serious challenge to five young men.

Wonder if they'll rise to meet it...or be satisfied with the status quo.
Report Comment
sidster, Tulsa (3/4/2009 8:16:59 AM)
I could really care less if those Sooners come together or not. If they don't work hard now send them to a car lot and see if they will work hard there. Sooners vs Hurricanes will be a different game this time. Miami and Tulsa. Last time they played a team from the Florida area, they got bit by some gators, this time they will knocked around by a Hurricane.
Report Comment
soonersrule, (3/4/2009 12:03:38 PM)
They will beat the crap out of TU and Miami. OU was within 3 point of the Gators with less than 4 minutes left in the game. OU will beat Miami by at least 14 points.
Report Comment
Arbythree, Tulsa (3/4/2009 3:40:49 PM)
BOOMER SOONER!!!
Report Comment
trapper john, (3/4/2009 8:23:32 PM)
o.k.sooner fans, let's get ready for some ball....about miami..they're young with a skinny fast quarterback that may not be as good as he thinks he is. More about him later. However, they will have a good D, and by the time they play us, they will be well tested-check out miami's schedule-brutal. If most of their players are still around by 10/09, it will be a test, and I'll be there.
Report Comment
Shepard, (3/9/2009 7:25:17 PM)
At least the O-Line is understanding what the problem could be. I have a feeling that they'll get it together eventually. Whether they can start off by whipping BYU will be their biggest test in my opinion. They will get stronger as it goes along, but BYU is no slouch, so they really have only BYU and Idaho State to work out the kinks, before a tough Tulsa game. The schedule is kind of tough.. Good Team, Doormat, Good Team, (Miami is a question mark, but it's Miami), then Baylor (not too tough). The way the doormats and good teams are interspersed might cause problems in the Sooners rhythm. That O-line is flat out critical to the Sooners success.
 

 
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.

 
Post Your Comment
 



Home | About Tulsa World | Advertise With Us | Privacy | Usage Agreement | FAQ and Help | Contact Us | Today's Headlines
Copyright © 2010, World Publishing Co. All rights reserved.