Stoops' Spring Press Conference Quotes

Head Coach Bob Stoops

Opening statement:
"We are, like always, anxious to get started with our players and get on the field today and start spring ball. To me, it is one of my more fun times of the year. It's an exciting time of the year when you get a chance to go out and start working football again with the guys and with the new team. The younger guys are coming up ready to play. It's an exciting time. I think they really have a lot of anticipation for it, as well. We are starting a little bit earlier this year. My goal was to have six practices and one major scrimmage in before spring break. There are several reasons for that, getting a chance to spread the practices out more and if you get an ankle injury or some type of slight injury that might sideline a guy for a week. By the time they go onto break and get back there's about 10 or 11 days before we are on the field again. So, we don't miss as much time with them, either. That is our plan. We will go out the first two days in just helmets here this afternoon and Wednesday and then work from there. Guys have done a great job here through the winter. I am really excited about what they have done in the weight room and the way they have trained and run in conditioning. From there we are just excited to get them back on the field and start working some football."

On WR Jaz Reynolds' status:
"Jaz has been cleared for the last probably three weeks and has really gotten back to full strength and looks good. He is cleared to go. In all likelihood, we are set to have a procedure at the end of spring. We will sideline him for probably three weeks.

On any concerns getting the team ready for the 2012 season:
"I don't have any big concerns; it is just like every year. It is never going to change. Players graduate and players leave early, you got other guys that you have been working with and developing and ready to play. I am excited about what the potential is so we will just see. Concerns are with everything. I want to see everyone get better, even guys that have played. At this level of football players, by the time they are sophomores or juniors they ought to be better junior to senior year they should take strides. That is what we are after, more development. Not just with everyone focusing on where you lost guys. I want to see guys who were here a year ago play better and work to make improvement."

On getting QB Landry Jones comfortable with the new receivers:
"We can practice by executing route running and catching the football, timing and precision in what you are trying to do, working your offense. That is what we will be trying to do from the start today all through."

On WR Trey Metoyer:
"It has been exciting just how hard he has worked. A lot of young guys when they first get here have a hard time maybe handling the pace of everything. He has really handled it well. It has really been exciting to watch how he has worked and how competitive he has been and the work ethic and the physical ability to handle it all, the strength the running all of it. That is exciting. So, we definitely will look to him to make a big jump out on the field with the other guys."

On the competition at the wide receiver position:
"That is what you want - as many receivers as we like to play and as fast as sometimes we play - we need to play six receivers at least. Hopefully they will all make improvement and have consistency and do the things we need so that we can play that many."

On the tight end position:
"Again, they will get a lot of snaps. Taylor McNamara and Brandon Green, the two new tight ends, are again have had a really good winter. That shows you a lot. So now we can get them out there of the field and get them learning and executing and playing well. I believe in 15 practices they will have a chance to get a lot of work done and make a lot of improvement."

On the difference in QB Blake Bell throwing the ball out of the "Belldozer" formation:
"It is because usually people are playing you head up man-to-man with no free safeties and without any help back there because they need the extra people to stop the run game. It is definitely different, but to be quite honest with you if I am going to throw the ball on fourth-and-half-a-yard, I am going to leave Landry (Jones) in there to throw it. That isn't going to change. The whole issue is even of they have the extra guy and he is on the other side of the formation to come get him, you are going to get that yard a lot more than you're not. Fortunately that is how it worked for us. If it something that evolves into something more than that, we will see. Then, we do have great faith in Blake throwing the football. We would never have signed him if we didn't like how he throws the ball. He will continue to develop as a quarterback in other ways outside of that package. He is doing a great job with that, he and Drew (Allen)."

On the impact on Landry Jones' return for his senior season and the advantage of having a seasoned starter at that position:
"He makes a great impact. He is a tremendous leader. He is a very talented quarterback in everything that he does, not just throwing the football. So, again with another year under his belt here and time here in the spring and summer to work with these receivers I am excited about the possibilities of course. We expect him to be a special player."

"I think it is a big advantage, just the leadership, the poise and being able to hopefully avoid the really poor plays that put you in bad position with turnovers. Hopefully there is increase precision in execution. That is what you usually get with a more mature and experienced quarterback."

On OU's running back situation:
"We have a lot of good guys coming in. We are sure happy about the guys we have here, Roy Finch, Brennan Clay, Denzel Williams and Dominique Whaley. Dom has made good progress. Of course, he won't be practicing but continues to make improvement. Then with the other guys coming in it is good competition. Again, we proved a year ago you need more than a couple guys. Sometimes you need four and five and unfortunately we weren't able to finish the year that way. Hopefully we will have better luck with injuries next year. In my mind I still believe with the number of snaps we get and the length of the season having four and five players and rotating them in and having them be fresh and healthy through the year is a good thing. We feel confident in all those guys."

On Trey Millard and Marshall Musil helping out at the running back position:
"He and Marshall M will. If you remember Marshall was the star in the spring game a couple years ago. Those guys always get their fair carries. Trey Millard does in the season as well and does well with them."

On the left tackle position:
"Lane (Johnson) will be at the left tackle and Darrell Williams will be at the right tackle along with Tyrus Thompson. All those guys have done really well. Derek Farniok, a young guy, has had a huge winter. He is a totally different guy then when we walked in here. It is really exciting to see how hard he has worked and how well he is running. He may be the biggest of all of them, not may be, he is. So that has been exciting. The other guys are all doing well."

On what spring football can show you:
"This is a time of year where a lot of guys are on and you start to see who is making the most plays most consistently. I am kind of excited even because of Mike Stoops being here and Tim Kish being new. To allow them to see for themselves moving these guys around of who they feel are playing the most consistently and who they can count on."

On players playing multiple positions:
DB Javon (Harris) is capable of playing several positions. Again, that will be part of tinkering around through the spring of what fits the best. I think it is always good for players too, to play multiple positions to know the entire defense. Then that gives you depth when one guy can play a couple of sports. We will do that with several players."

On being able to make defensive improvement quickly:
"I don't think there is any need for magic fixes. We are coming off a 10-3 season. We had a couple of games where sure we didn't play as well as we do defensively. But, in our league I don't know where we were. I think we were in the top one or two in scoring defense and total defense. So, I don't know that there is a drastic fix that needs to happen.

"There were the three games we lost that we didn't play nearly as well as we overall have. But, also what you discount there is how did the offense play in those games? How many three-and-outs and how many turnovers? As a team we really helped each other lose those games. But, give the other team credit. In the end I think players still make plays and I think players win the game. Our players hopefully, whether we are coaching them better or they are paying closer attention and through teaching and work on the field they can develop better skills in what we are trying to do. All of it together takes all of that. It won't take one guy walking in here and changing, it's going to take everybody."

On the new members of the coaching staff and how much he'll miss Brent Venables:
"I know Tim (Kish) and how hard he works and how bright he is, how he relates to players. So I am not looking for him to do anything other than what he does. Tim has been an excellent coach for a long time. Again, he and Mike (Stoops) speak the same language which has made it really positive. Missing Brent, sure. We have been around each other for a long time. But, that's life. I talk about that, very little stays the same forever."

On the defensive end position:
"I think it's going to be a good group. R.J. Washington has had a great winter. He has really stepped up in leadership in what he is doing. That has been a real positive. Chuka Ndulue has had a great winter and really by the end of the year last year we were excited about his progress on the field. David King is an excellent player and Geneo Grissom continues to look good. Chaz (Nelson) has been really great in the winter. When they come in and work like he has, he is going to help too. So, I think we are going to be in good shape."

On what he expects out of QB Landry Jones:
"In the end I think in this game, it isn't what can Landry do, it is what can everybody do, more precision in in everything that we are doing, but he can't do that alone. He always has been an excellent leader, but I think working with the receivers and being very precise with route running and catching and timing and running the offense. Again, I don't think Landry can do it on his own. It has to be everybody."

On his opinion of the new kickoff rule:
"I like it, the new kickoff rule. I think anything to avoid those huge and major collisions is a positive. I like it both ways, kicking off from the 35, but also I like the touchback and you can get it out to the 25. Again, it is encouraging you more and more again if you don't have a good go at it, then take a knee and take it on the 25. I think it's positive and I think it will eliminate some big injuries that happen to everybody."

On QB Kendal Thompson:
"Kendal has worked well and looks good out there in what he is running around. I haven't seen him throw it at this time of year. But, he has worked really hard and well. But, yeah, we are anxious to see him thrown the football out there and doing more."

On the new configuration of the Big 12 Conference:
"When you look at what these guys have done, we are bringing in two ranked teams at the end of the year and the two that left I don't know that they were. I can't remember. All I know is these guys are excellent teams. They are coached well and have great athletes. We have got to go on the road and play them both. That is challenging. You look around and look at our schedule and you throw Notre Dane in there, the rest of it makes it tough."

On the 2012 schedule:
"The big hurdle and problem for us was that TCU, we were set to play them and Notre Dame and go to TCU as a non-conference game. That date was then moved to a conference game later in the year. We didn't have much choice to have to find a game and not to have another I-AA in anyway. It was about all we could do, to go to UTEP. It is a place we have been before, playing not long ago there in the Sun Bowl."

On playing so many night games in the 2011 season:
"Hopefully there will be some regulation on that. I don't think it played to our advantage whatsoever to have so many late, late night games. To come back from Kansas and get back at three or four in the morning, to have so many, you would think in a TV contract in a league that would dispersed that everybody had their late games and everybody has their afternoon games and not one team should have to play six, seven, eight all night games. It seems to be taking advantage of one team and giving the other some pretty good advantage of being able to get home. Even on away trips it just isn't right."

On Donald Stevenson's performance in the NFL combine:
"This really doesn't surprise me. I think the exciting part for Donald too, or for me, is seeing his maturation over these last four years. I thought he really took a big step in the last year or year and a half. I think he will do well as a pro, now that he has taken all of those steps. Obviously talent wise, he is a special guy.

"He has really become a hard worker, a leader. In the last year and a half he has been really special in how he has played but also in his whole attitude about everything. That is not uncommon with a lot of guys. Some guys just figure it out for the better a little earlier than others."