Sooners Complete First Practice

Oklahoma completed its first practice of the 2003 season Wednesday evening at the OU Intramural Fields. The workout lasted two and one-half hours.

OU head coach Bob Stoops said he was pleased with the practice, which included 104 players.

The Sooners completed strength and conditioning testing during the day. Results should be available on Thursday.

Stoops said Friday's practice will likely be moved from the morning to the early afternoon to allow members of the team to travel to the funeral of Kathie Runnels, the mother of fullback J.D. Runnels. Mrs. Runnels passed away Tuesday following an illness.

Here are Stoops' quotes to the media following Wednesday's practice ...

Opening comment: "It was a very good practice. I was excited about it, very pleased."

On players reporting in condition: "We had some guys who need to get in better shape, but that happens. They know well find out once we line up out here and can check them. We have some who need to get in better shape. Overall they all performed well once we got into practice. For the most part, the team is in incredible condition. I believe there is no question that this is the fastest and best conditioned we've had in terms of testing."

On walk-ons: "Some will probably decide to leave Im sure within the next couple weeks. We'll adjust as we go. There will be another five or 10 that will be added once school starts."

On throwing and catching: "I thought Will Peoples was excellent. Jason (White) threw the ball awfully well and so did Paul. It was just fun to see Jason to look happy and excited to be in the huddle. He looked at home and relaxed. He threw a lot of nice balls. Hes been running this offense for a long time. It's very familiar to him and he looked sharp."

On Jason White wearing knee braces: "He may wear just the one. In practice we always wear them when we get into team sessions. I thought Jason looked really good. He got bumped around a few times. Brodney Pool about took his legs out on him. He side stepped and avoided and ran out of the pocket. He made Dan Cody miss him one time so that's pretty good. Not many people do that to Dan."

On players sitting out for heat reasons and the amount of time they must spend out of drills: "That's the doctors and trainers making that decision. Its totally up to them."

On defense: "It would be easier to talk about who didn't look good. I am very pleased. They all looked like I hoped they would."

University of Oklahoma Athletics

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