Bradford, Gresham, Williams to Stay

NORMAN, Okla. -- Oklahoma quarterback Sam Bradford, the 2008 Heisman Trophy winner, plans to return to the Sooner program for the 2009 season.

In addition to Sam Bradford's announcement today that he plans to remain at Oklahoma, two other Sooners also announced that they plan to play for the Sooners next year. Both tight end Jermaine Gresham and Trent Williams said they will return for the 2009 season.

Defensive tackle Gerald McCoy announced earlier that he also will return.

"We are pleased that these players are returning to our program," said OU head coach Bob Stoops. "They understand the value of gaining another year of experience and improving their position in the draft along with the value of either finishing their degree or being within a few hours of completing it.

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"I also think our players recognize the opportunities we have as a program to pursue more championships and that's something that means a lot to all of us."

Bradford was the national leader in passing efficiency for each of the last two seasons becoming only the third player in NCAA history to do so. For his career, he has completed 565-of-824 for 7,841 yards with 86 touchdowns and 16 interceptions.

Last season, Bradford, who will be a junior, was 328-of-483 for 4,720 yards with 50 touchdowns and eight interceptions.

Bradford set the OU record for total offense with in a season last season with 4,676 along with new marks in career touchdown passes, season touchdown passes and passing yards for a season.

Gresham caught 14 touchdown passes last season, the most ever by an Oklahoma tight end. With 26 in his career he is only five behind the career mark by all Sooners set by current Baltimore Raven Mark Clayton.

Williams started the season opener at left tackle then started the remaining 13 games at right tackle. He will be the only full-time starter returning along the OU offensive line.

"I feel like I can improve my draft status by staying one more year," Williams said. "I am also going to moving a lot farther along with my degree and I feel like we can compete for more championships."

Gresham said his experience at Oklahoma and in college football has been meaningful.

"I like my teammates and the coaches here and the atmosphere we practice and compete in," he said. "This is the best decision for me right now and I look forward to what we can accomplish next season. It also means a lot to me to graduate or be close to my degree when I finish my college career."

Sophomore QB Sam Bradford

Opening statement:
"I just wanted to thank my coaches, family and all of my friends who were helping me go through this process and make this decision. I want to thank everyone who was able to give me information that I needed to make this decision. Obviously, it's a very big decision.

"After looking at all of the information and weighing the pros and cons of both, the opportunities that I have, I feel that it is in my best interest to come back to the University of Oklahoma for my junior season.

"Looking at it, I've dreamed about playing at Oklahoma ever since I was little. My three years here have probably been the best three years of my life, and I really feel that there's no need to cut this experience short. I'm really looking forward to coming back and competing for a fourth straight Big 12 Championship and another opportunity at a national championship."

On the difficulty of making his decision to stay at OU:
"I did go back and forth. I think I really didn't put too much thought into it before the national championship game. There was a lot of information to comprehend, especially in just a short amount of time. There were a lot of things to think about, and I did go back and forth several times. I feel like this is where my heart is and this is where I want to be."

On the turning point of making his decision:
"I think just thinking back over the past three years and just think about the total experience and everything I've gone through here in Norman and knowing that I have another opportunity to spend another year here. I just think knowing that if I left, I'd be leaving a lot of teammates and a lot of guys that I've come really close to, so I think the ability for me to spend another year with them is really what I want to come back for."

On staying at OU because NFL rookie salaries would remain the same until 2011:
"I don't know if that gave me another reason to stay at Oklahoma, but obviously that was factored into my decision."

On talking with other teammates possibly going to the NFL draft:
"Obviously I was in touch with my teammates. All the guys that were thinking about leaving their classmates who came in together, we've kind of gone through everything together. So we did talk to each other and let each other know how we were feeling.

"I don't think we were trying to recruit each other because we all wanted each other to make the decision that was best for everyone. I feel like we were just sharing information like `what have you heard, who's talked to you, how has it been presented to you.'"

On how not winning the BCS title game influenced his return for the 2009 season:
"Obviously it's frustrating dealing with a loss. I want to come back and finish my career the right way on a win. So I would say it did have a little bit of an influence on my decision, but I really tried to keep that out of mind, because that could have limited myself to making the best decision for me."

On when he made his decision:
"Last night. I feel like if I would have gone one way or the other, it would have been the right decision for me. It was tough, but I do feel like I'm making the right decision for me."

On what he likes most about being a college football player:
"Everything. I come out here and get to play in front of 85,000 people. This state is a football state. Everyone knows about Oklahoma football. I've grown up watching it. Just having this experience and being able to live my dream."

On the confidence in his decision and his team:
"I'm very confident and the people that we have returning, obviously with Trent [Williams] and Jermaine [Gresham] coming back, actually I don't know if you guys knew that, but I think they are coming back, sorry coach, I feel like we're going to be very solid on offense again. I think that one of the strong points of this program is that we're able to replace players every year. We lost guys last year; we lost Malcolm Kelly and everyone wondered if we'd be able to fill in the wide receiver position and we did."

OU Head Coach Bob Stoops

Opening statement:
"Of course we'll all excited that Sam is coming back and the other guys that Sam alluded to, Jermaine Gresham and Trent Williams, that hadn't announced yet and the rest of the juniors. Gerald McCoy already said that he was coming back.

"We're excited about that for a couple of reasons. Obviously, it makes our team stronger with that experience and that kind of talent back for another year.

"But I think also hopefully it sends a clear message to other young guys out there that these guys value their experience in college, they value their education. Every one of them said that either graduating or being within a few hours of their degree made a difference and they wanted to be at that point when they left school. Everyone says you can always go back, but that's kind of hard when four or five years down the road you may have a family, you may have children, you're a lot older than everyone else in class. It's not so easy. I think it's really easier said than done. These guys value their education, and that was part of their decision.

"The atmosphere that they competed in here was a factor. They see it as incredibly positive in being with their teammates and us and the way we do things. I think they all see the value in another years' experience improving their draft position. Every time you improved five spots, eight spots, ten spots, if you improve a round, you have three or four times your money. That's a factor. They all want to take care of their parents, they want to be able to take care of their family.

"The second and third round money you're going to be able to take care of yourself and that's about it. First round, you're talking about taking care of yourself and some other people. They want to solidify those positions and be in as strong a position as they can be when they enter the draft. So when you do it that way and you jump draft positions forward, you really make a more significant amount of money and you're more experienced and prepared for that atmosphere. So they see the value in that, and I appreciate those guys.

"Again, I think they're sending a great message to lot of other young people and the value of that last year and going as far as you can in your college career. We appreciate them and we're excited about them, and not just those guys but all of our juniors. There are the DeMarco Murrays, the Chris Browns that are excellent players as well and it goes on and on that we're excited about being back."

On today being a bigger day than signing day:
"I would say much bigger. A lot of times those guys that you project on signing day aren't quite what you thought."

On draft projections:
"It's really easy to think back on a year ago. Just look back on where our guys were projected; the juniors that went out. Not one of them went where they were projected on TV or where everyone talked about. They went where their draft projection were. None of them were ahead of their draft projection, but TV all had them above their draft projection.

"So none of these people are in draft rooms, and you know how these guys are, these G.M.'s, these guys who do the draft projections, they don't want anyone to know who they like. Because when someone finds out Bill Belichick likes this guy, you don't think that matters to the people in front of him? No one knows. Those guys are very secretive about it and you can speculate all you want. Sometimes there are some obvious guys that you can be correct about. But overall, I think rarely does the TV monitor have it like it happens. I'm guessing here just a little bit from what I've watched."

On tight end Jermaine Gresham's decision to return for another season:
"Just talking to Jermaine and the things he values, he brought up immediately his teammates; that he wanted to compete with them. Jermaine's a loyal guy and wants to finish and compete more.

"In this situation, he feels like there's more to do. He feels like he can make himself even stronger in the draft next year and I agree with him. He's only going to get better. Jermaine also knows he wants to graduate, or he's going to be awfully close when he does have to go. Those are all strong reasons to come back."

On the challenge of replacing the offensive line for next year:
"All of those guys have played already for us and have played this year. We rotated quite a few guys, so it's not like those guys haven't played. I will say too though, that we have a pretty good track record of protecting our quarterback.

"You want to go back through all the years, we're pretty smart; Coach Wilson and Coach Patton and our offensive staff on how we do that. That's always a priority for us and of course it will be this year. We're not a team that's asking Sam to run around and take a bunch of risks. We're smart about how we use our guy and we've always made a major priority of protecting him. Of course we will again this year."

On moving forward after the BCS title game:
"The loss, of course it's difficult, and I've already addressed all that, but we've moved on. We're already on to next year and our focus and what we're looking at. I look back on the year and look at all of the good fortune and the positives of a great year, and we have a fun team to work with everyday.

"The prospects for next year are really exciting when you look at all the people on defense and now all of these guys back on offense, we have a chance at another really special year next year because of quality depth and experience factors."

On giving the guys space to make their decisions:
"I think they'll all tell you I gave them all space after our last game until just a day or so ago to visit with their families, to really check their own feelings. To me, that matters first, and then let's communicate what you're thinking or if you have questions for me; I want to be in the process.

"You need to really understand the difference in where you go in the draft. If you're not in a strong position, you're giving up too much. I think more and more of our guys are seeing that and see the value of school and all of the things I've already talked about.

"I've been with these guys a number of years and explained the process and making sure you're making a wise choice. Assistants and I have had communication and I've given them some space afterwards and then I want them to talk and see what they are thinking."

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