Davin Joseph Online Journal No. 3

NORMAN, Okla. -- Oklahoma's Davin Joseph will interact with Sooner fans over the next year in his online journal at SoonerSports.com.

Joseph, a senior from Hallandale, Fla., has 27 career starts on the offensive line for OU. A stalwart at right guard for the Sooners for the past two seasons, Joseph shifted to left tackle this spring.

In his first journal, Joseph discussed what brought him to Oklahoma from the Sunshine State. In his second entry, Joseph reviewed his freshman season of 2002. In his third installment, Joseph shares his memories of the 2003 season.

Davin Joseph | Online Journal No. 3
We had our whole line coming back for 2003. Jammal Brown, Wes Sims, Vince Carter, Kelvin Chaisson and I were all coming back. This was going to be my first season with a full-time role. I was going through winter conditioning and spring ball preparing to be a starter.

It was totally different. My freshman year was all about just finding a place for me. Now, I was preparing to be a starter. I was more comfortable with being at Oklahoma.

There were still a lot of things I hadn't experienced. Splitting time with another guy is so different than being the starter. I had to be ready to be pounded and to endure the grind of the football season.

The thing I remember from that spring was all the hype that was building for the season. A lot of people were looking at all the experience we had coming back. A few people were worried because Quentin Griffin had gone on to the NFL and Jimmy Wilkerson had left early. There were some holes to fill but we had so many talented guys ready to step up.

Donte Nicholson arrived and we had Brodney Pool starting to play a lot in the secondary. Brandon Everage would be a senior. You still had Derrick Strait and Antonio Perkins in the corners. Teddy Lehman and Lance Mitchell at linebacker. Nobody really knew about Dan Cody yet on the defensive line. Looking back, there were big names all across the defense.

We were also trying to find a quarterback after the departure of Nate Hybl. Nobody knew what Jason White had in store for us that season. Nobody knew Mark Clayton was about to explode.

The pieces were coming together for an amazing season. The wrath of Oklahoma was about to be felt. We were preparing to dominate college football. We just didn't grasp it at the time.

Maybe, this season, we're looking to do the same.

OU broke a record for attendance at the 2003 spring game -- something like 40,000 people in the stands. ESPN was there and broadcast it live. We solidified a lot of things that spring.

Summer is the worst time for football players. It's the hardest work. Just waking up early and running, lifting, grinding. Everyone was on the same page -- we all wanted to work hard and win. We were all so focused, it went by fast.

Competition was high for two-a-days. Everyone -- the players, coaches and fans -- were ready for the season. It felt like that was the longest buildup for a season. We were ready to go.

We played North Texas in the season opener. We wore the throw-back jerseys for that game. We were so fired up for the game that I think it kind of hurt us. We tried to do too much. That game humbled us for the rest of the season.

That's an interesting thing to consider about the schedule. It's very difficult to play to your potential in that first game. That's why I think it's important to play your tougher games in the middle of the season or nearer the end. That's when you peak as a team.

When two great teams play at the beginning of the season, it won't be as good a game as it would be if it were later in the season. Performance-wise, both teams would be at a higher level later in the year. It would just be a better game for everyone.

Our next game was in Tuscaloosa against Alabama. I remember that game like it was yesterday. My folks came up for that game. We have family in Alabama so they stayed there. I remember that fake punt that just broke Alabama's back. Then, Jason White hit that long touchdown. They were on their heels.

Our running game had a hard time getting anything going against Alabama's great defense. But, Jason was so composed in the pocket. I think that was really his coming out party. It was a tough game but we grinded it out.

We came home and played Fresno State and UCLA. That game against the Bruins will always be remembered for Antonio Perkins' runs back for touchdowns when he broke the NCAA record. I mean, just don't kick it to the guy!

Losing Lance Mitchell for the season was a tough blow. But guys stepped in like Wayne Chambers and Gayron Allen. The defense just didn't miss a beat.

I think we really made a statement against Texas -- 65-13. It was my first game to play on the field against them. It was just special. My mug was on ABC and so many people were crammed inside the stadium -- it's just one of those games you always look forward to.

Mark Clayton and Jason White played a great game. Everyone played well. It inspired the whole team. Derrick Strait just locked Roy Williams down. Jonathan Jackson ran a turnover back for a touchdown. We were ranked No. 1 and just rolling over everyone.

We went up to Colorado and really slugged it out. Their fans aren't as bad as they're made out to be -- I even like their stadium. But, we did have a little bad blood because we beat them the year before in the Big 12 Championship game.

We fumbled the ball a lot on offense. It seems like we were holding ourselves back. But our defense was solid -- they were forcing three and outs.

Then, Jason hit Mark Clayton on that incredible pass. I think it went for over thirty yards. I was thinking, 'Thank you Mark!'

We returned to Norman to host OSU. We had lost to them two years in a row and we were tired of hearing about that. There was so much buildup for that game. ESPN Gameday was there and we were live on ABC.

Our crowd was just jacked for that game. It was so loud. Man, when everyone yelled before the kickoff -- it was just ridiculous. We played every snap that game. Dan Cody had a great game. Derrick Strait shut down Rashaun Woods. We changed our defensive scheme for that game and guys were with the gameplan like I've never seen it. We beat them, 52-9, and made it look easy.

If that wasn't high-powered enough, we then beat Texas A&M, 77-0. We played lights out. Our defense smothered them.My friends were calling me and asking, 'Are you serious?'

You were starting to hear Jason White in Heisman talk. Jason didn't want to hear about it. All he ever wanted to do was play the game and win. He gave it all he had.

We wrapped up the regular season undefeated by taking care of Texas Tech. We were the solid No. 1.

I remember when we started watching film on Kansas State for the Big 12 Championship game, the team was wondering why they weren't undefeated. Their quarterback, Ell Roberson, was hurt for some games and I think that was the reason.

But, you looked at Kansas State and saw an all-senior team with a great defense and great offense with Darren Sproles back there. We were sitting there wondering why this team wasn't undefeated.

I don't think our fans and the media had picked up on that. But Kansas State had our team's attention. We knew it was going to be a tough game. We wanted to be Big 12 champs. There was no overlooking Kansas State or anything like some suggested afterwards.

We got up to Kansas City and it was cold. But, you knew it was going to be cold in December in Kansas City. Kejuan scored on an end around right at the beginning. We went up, 7-0.

In went downhill for us after that. We just did not play to our ability. I think one of the problems was that we were so used to doing what we wanted to do. You know, it had been a while since I had a played a whole game due to our dominance. We just made mistakes all over the field.

No one on the offensive line had a good game. We made Jason look bad. I personally had a bad game. There's no one that should blame Jason for that game. We all played poorly.

Kansas State had really done their homework. They had uncovered our tendencies and took advantage of our mistakes. We hung our defense out to dry. You can't drive up and down the field and not score. You can't expect the defense to hold up. It just didn't happen.

That night, I just remember thinking that I wanted another chance. I wanted us to get to the National Championship and prove all the doubters wrong. Then, we heard that we got to the Sugar Bowl.

I remember everyone saying that we didn't deserve to go. But, we had been more consistent than anyone else up to that game. Everyone in the mix had at least one loss. Their losses were just towards the beginning of the season and people's memories are short.

I remember the environment surrounding the Sugar Bowl. We were on LSU's home turf. We heard them yell Tiger Bait so often. They were all around us. People forget that is was a great game. There were some huge momentum swings. Our defense played extremely well -- especially in the second half when we virtually shut them down.

We had a final drive to win the game. So many things could have happened differently on that drive. I remember it ended when LSU had a delayed blitz and sacked Jason.

Looking back, I think we put too much pressure on ourselves. We were trying to redeem ourselves from the Big 12 Championship game. Jason put too much pressure on himself. All of us did -- it cost us.

I'll always remember it as a great game. I wouldn't trade the experience.

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Sooner fans can submit their own questions to Davin Joseph by clicking the link below. We'll select the best each week and Davin will respond in his next journal entry. Boomer Sooner!

Ask Davin a Question | Sooner Online Journals

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