J.D. Runnels Online Journal: Week Five

NORMAN, Okla. -- J.D. Runnels records his fifth installment of his player journal to take Sooner fans behind the scenes. This week, J.D. recalls the Oregon game, discusses his relationships with his former coaches and describes what he will do with the bye week.

There is also a link at the bottom of the page so you can submit questions for J.D. to reply to in his next entry.

J.D. Runnels
Journal Entry No. 5 (Sept. 21, 2004)

Last week was a pretty rough week with us losing one of our soldiers. It was a tough game against Oregon. They came in really fired up.

We had a little trouble getting started, but once we did we started pounding them and wore them down. We got the running game going and really showed off. It really didn't look to lopsided but I felt that we dominated the game.

Our defense played extremely well. That was a really positive sign after losing one of our starters. It was good for them to step up. Oregon's a good program. They came down to our house and fought hard, but we came out on top.

I got the ball. How about that? I should have done a little more with it. I was thinking about jumping over that guy, but I held back I'm not A.D. (Adrian Peterson's abbreviated nickname)

We have a bye week this week and I am going to relax and get some rest. I'm going to watch Carl Albert play Noble this Friday. It's only five minutes down the road so I'm going to check them out. It's a great opportunity to see my old coaches and buddies that I don't get to see very often during the season.

I'll also spend the week catching up on everything and enjoying my time off.

Now, I'll answer some of my favorite questions from the past week.

I am a grad from Carl Albert and was part of building the winning football tradition now present. How does the current C.A. coach Gary Rose compare to Bob Stoops? Is he college material? Are there any similarities? Keep up the great work Sooners and Titans.

Jay from Lake Texoma, Okla.

Definitely. There are a lot of similarities. Coach Rose and Coach Stoops are very respectable men. They are men of God. They are men of integrity and they have good morals. They are great players' coaches. They have great social skills and interact well with their respective teams. There is something about them they make them great leaders something that would make you want to run through a brick wall for them.

How hard is it to keep up in your classes when football takes so much of your time?

Don from Las Vegas, Nev.

It's pretty hard, but our coaches stay on us. We have class checkers that make sure we're attending and we have several hours of study hall each week. OU provides us with a lot of resources to help us with our school work. It's really hard to balance football and school when the sport takes up so much of our time, but you always find time because classes are what we are here for first.

My daughter has expressed to me that she wants to play football next year on the fifth grade team. What is your opinion on girls playing football? It's not going to be her career; she just wants to have fun.

Heather from Inola, Okla.

I'm definitely sure she can have fun. I am not really sure about a woman's career in football either, but she should go out for it. Football is just as mentally demanding as it is physically and I'm sure at that age she can definitely play the game and contribute just as well as the boys can.

I've been told that I live in your old dorm room in the Bud. I was just wondering if you knew anything about how that hole in the bathroom got there?

Alex from Norman, Okla.

Ask Jason Carter.

J.D., I want to know what you think of freshman tailback Adrian Peterson. Is he the real deal?

Robbie from Houston, Texas

Yes, he's a great player. He's everything they say he is and hopefully he continues to work hard and improve.

J.D., how important are the video guys to the teams preparation for each week?

Mike from Lake Villa, Ill. (OU's Assistant Video Coordinator)

Let me think, Mike. Well, I have to say that without the film guys our season would literally go down the drain. Our film crew is our heart and soul they are our first, our last...our everything.

J.D., why do you have to run in the Carl Albert Ada score? It was a good game.

John from Ada, Okla.

That Titan-Cougar rivalry goes back even farther than when Dan Cody and I played in it. I wasn't rubbing it in, believe me. Although, had I been there, I might have.

I was fortunate enough to have you in a college class and realize just how nice of a person you are off the field. Coach Matt Weber was a coach of yours at Carl Albert and his dad was my coach at Davis High School and now coaches at Mount St. Mary's with your brother. Do you stay in contact with the Weber family and did they have as great of an impact on your life as they have on so many others who have played for them?

Bronc from Davis, Okla.

Yes, I do stay in contact with Matt Weber. He's the head coach at Marlow now. I still call him and get advice from him. Matt gave me the greatest advice that I ever had when I was coming into college. He's the reason that I didn't redshirt my freshman season. I can't even put into words my respect for Matt, his father and his family. Matt was my offensive coordinator in high school and he helped me so much. I can honestly say that I wouldn't be here if it weren't for him.

I was wondering if the blocking schemes or techniques change with the different running backs. Do you use a different block for Kejuan Jones than you do for Adrian Peterson?

Dean from Bethlehem, Pa.

No. I block the same way and use the same technique for each play no matter who is at running back. It is the same philosophy for the same play.

Thank you for your questions this week and your support at the football games. I've gotten a lot of encouragement and I really appreciate every word each of you has to say.

Until next week, Boomer Sooner!

- #38 J.D. Runnels

Jammal Brown
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