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University of Oklahoma Athletics
First Week of Spring Ball in the Books
March 25, 2005 | Football
NORMAN, Okla. -- The first week of spring football at Oklahoma for 2005 is in the books. The Sooners worked Thursday afternoon on the practice fields south of Gaylord Family - Oklahoma Memorial Stadium in their third consecutive session. OU opened spring ball on Tuesday indoors and held the first outdoor practice on Wednesday.
Thursday marked the warmest practice so far of the spring. Oklahoma breaks for the weekend and returns to work on Monday at 3:30 p.m. OU is scheduled for three weeks of Monday-Wednesday-Friday practices with scrimmages on Saturday, April 2, at 10 a.m. and Saturday, April 9, at 1 p.m.
The spring game is slated for Saturday, April 16, at 1 p.m.
Printable Roster
Head coach Bob Stoops met with the media following Thursday's practice. "The guys looked good," said Stoops. "There was a lot of enthusiasm and good, physical play. I was happy with them."
Is it an adjustment the first day in pads?
"Oh, not really. I bet we could go out and scrimmage right now. It would be a little sloppy but they're used to it. Anymore, they train, run and lift so it hasn't really been that long. It really doesn't take them much time at all."
On the secondary...
"Seemed to be a little better today. They're picking things up. Certain ones do pretty well, certain ones struggle. Certain guys are trying to be twos instead of threes and they've got a lot to learn. That's just a part of spring. The guys that we really think have a chance to play are making good strides."
On Darien Williams...
"He could play either. He has the speed to play corner but he's also got great punch and pop to him as a safety. So, yeah, we just wanted to give him the best opportunity to play because he's worked hard. So, we're going to keep looking at him in there."
On the quarterbacks...
"They seemed to do alright. You'll have to check with Coach Long. I'm back there probably paying more attention defensively and sometimes I don't know who even threw the ball. Of course, we watch the tape and go back and look at the other side."
On Lewis Baker and D.J. Wolfe...
"Oh, they looked good -- they're fine. They still need polish but they have what it takes and I think they're out there making good progress in the few days we've been working."
On Wolfe's attitude moving from offense to defense...
"He's always been a tough guy and a hard worker. He's got good ability so it just comes down to being competitive. If you're that way on one side of the ball, you're bound to be the same way on the other."
On the linebackers...
"I think Clint (Ingram) and Rufus (Alexander) have made a lot of plays here and they had pretty good years last season. Zach (Latimer) has looked good the past few days. We'll see who can step up and make the big plays and become the guy."
On Bobby Jack Wright's move to secondary...
"He's been in our meetings for six years, going on seven and every single meeting we're talking about our strategies and what we're doing -- where our safeties need to fit, where our corners need to fit. When you're in a defensive meeting, the defensive ends coach is listening to everything we're doing with the secondary. He's been there doing it with us for seven years. It's natural. Coaching is coaching and he's very particular, very demanding as a secondary coach and again, he fits perfectly with what we've been doing here for six, seven years. He probably favors Mike's (Stoops) and our style of a few years ago with the way we're playing. It's a perfect fit and it's easy for me to work with him."
On moving Wright to secondary before or after Fabris deciding to stay at Georgia...
"That's why we hired Fabris. Because my first thought was to move Bobby Jack into the secondary position. So that's why we went and looked for a defensive ends coach. The first decision was Bobby Jack to secondary."
Thursday marked the warmest practice so far of the spring. Oklahoma breaks for the weekend and returns to work on Monday at 3:30 p.m. OU is scheduled for three weeks of Monday-Wednesday-Friday practices with scrimmages on Saturday, April 2, at 10 a.m. and Saturday, April 9, at 1 p.m.
The spring game is slated for Saturday, April 16, at 1 p.m.
Printable RosterHead coach Bob Stoops met with the media following Thursday's practice. "The guys looked good," said Stoops. "There was a lot of enthusiasm and good, physical play. I was happy with them."
Is it an adjustment the first day in pads?
"Oh, not really. I bet we could go out and scrimmage right now. It would be a little sloppy but they're used to it. Anymore, they train, run and lift so it hasn't really been that long. It really doesn't take them much time at all."
On the secondary...
"Seemed to be a little better today. They're picking things up. Certain ones do pretty well, certain ones struggle. Certain guys are trying to be twos instead of threes and they've got a lot to learn. That's just a part of spring. The guys that we really think have a chance to play are making good strides."
On Darien Williams...
"He could play either. He has the speed to play corner but he's also got great punch and pop to him as a safety. So, yeah, we just wanted to give him the best opportunity to play because he's worked hard. So, we're going to keep looking at him in there."
On the quarterbacks...
"They seemed to do alright. You'll have to check with Coach Long. I'm back there probably paying more attention defensively and sometimes I don't know who even threw the ball. Of course, we watch the tape and go back and look at the other side."
On Lewis Baker and D.J. Wolfe...
"Oh, they looked good -- they're fine. They still need polish but they have what it takes and I think they're out there making good progress in the few days we've been working."
On Wolfe's attitude moving from offense to defense...
"He's always been a tough guy and a hard worker. He's got good ability so it just comes down to being competitive. If you're that way on one side of the ball, you're bound to be the same way on the other."
On the linebackers...
"I think Clint (Ingram) and Rufus (Alexander) have made a lot of plays here and they had pretty good years last season. Zach (Latimer) has looked good the past few days. We'll see who can step up and make the big plays and become the guy."
On Bobby Jack Wright's move to secondary...
"He's been in our meetings for six years, going on seven and every single meeting we're talking about our strategies and what we're doing -- where our safeties need to fit, where our corners need to fit. When you're in a defensive meeting, the defensive ends coach is listening to everything we're doing with the secondary. He's been there doing it with us for seven years. It's natural. Coaching is coaching and he's very particular, very demanding as a secondary coach and again, he fits perfectly with what we've been doing here for six, seven years. He probably favors Mike's (Stoops) and our style of a few years ago with the way we're playing. It's a perfect fit and it's easy for me to work with him."
On moving Wright to secondary before or after Fabris deciding to stay at Georgia...
"That's why we hired Fabris. Because my first thought was to move Bobby Jack into the secondary position. So that's why we went and looked for a defensive ends coach. The first decision was Bobby Jack to secondary."
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