University of Oklahoma Athletics
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May 20, 2013 | Athletics
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 The Oklahoma football team completed its final session of preseason practice Friday afternoon at the rugby fields under sunny skies in Norman. Players celebrated by wearing another team member's practice jersey. Tradition also dictated that the seniors would display personal dance moves prior to the team stretching at midfield. The players will enjoy two days off before beginning the normal game-week schedule Monday. OU kicks off its 114th season of intercollegiate football on Saturday, Aug. 30, hosting Chattanooga at Owen Field. The game is slated for 6 p.m. The Sooner football team moved back outside Friday morning to begin its final session of two-a-days. View video coverage of the defensive line drilling with Coach Shipp and Coach Wilson by clicking the links to the right. • Senior Jon Cooper was named to the preseason watch list for the Rimington Award, which is presented annually to the top center in college football. Coop has been a mainstay on the Sooner offensive line since he broke in as a starter in 2005. • SoonerSports.com also released the top 10 plays of the 2000s as voted on by you, the fans, with more than 38,000 votes cast over the summer. In a landslide, the Roy Williams Superman play from the 2001 OU-Texas game was No. 1. View the complete coundown.
With the ground still saturated from all the wet weather this week, the OU football team went back to work Thursday morning inside the Everest Training Center. View video coverage of the linebackers, running backs, offensive line, defensive backs and wide receivers by clicking the links to the right. Thursday morning's session will be the only practice of the day for Oklahoma. The Sooners will wrap up the preseason with two practices on Friday before getting into their regular game-week routine next Monday. • OU kicks off the 2008 season against Chattanooga at 6 p.m., on Saturday, Aug. 30. A limited number of tickets are still available. Purchase online through the OU Athletics Ticket Office.
Oklahoma completed its next-to-last installment of two-a-days with an evening practice inside the Everest Training Center Wednesday. The team is back for a single practice on Thursday followed by two sessions on Friday. The Sooners begin their regular game-week schedule on Monday. View coverage of the linebackers, receivers and offensive line to the right. The Sooners worked Wednesday morning inside Everest. View video features of the tight ends and fullbacks, linebackers, wide receivers and defensive backs by clicking the links to the right. • A number of items in the OU Athletics Online Auction are coming to a close. Don't miss your chance to bid on one of the helmets from our vintage auction series, in addition to an authentic OU helmet signed by 2000 national championship quarterback Josh Heupel.
Oklahoma held one practice on Tuesday evening inside the Everest Training Facility as unseasonably wet and cool conditions persisted in Norman. View video coverage of the defensive tackles and ends, linebackers, secondary and a focus on specific offensive linemen during blocking drills from Tuesday's session (click tonight's multimedia links to the right). • There's nothing like joining 85,000 fellow Sooner fans in the stands above Owen Field and cheering OU to victory. Seats for Sooners, one of our favorite fan promotions, is back for the 2008 football season! Enter to win here. • Sooner fans cast more than 38,000 votes for their top 10 wins of the 2000s earlier this year and we've counted them down through the summer. Oklahoma's greatest win? Not even close: it's the 13-2 victory against Florida State in the Orange Bowl on January 3, 2001. OU's win secured the school's seventh National Championship.
With rain continuing to saturate the city of Norman, OU moved inside Everest Training Center for its evening practice session Monday. While it is unnecessary to point out the ubiquitous tradition of Sooner football, every time we step inside Everest we are reminded again of the championship standard here. Each of Oklahoma's 41 conference titles, seven national championships and all of its major bowl appearances are displayed prominently on the banners which adorn the indoor facility. Since most OU fans never have the opportunity to go inside Everest, we take you there. View additional video features from Monday evening's practice by clicking the links to the right. Oklahoma held its second open practice of the preseason Monday morning at the rugby fields west of the Lloyd Noble Center. Despite rainy conditions, a respectable crowd braved the elements to see the Sooners work out in full pads. • Sophomore QB Sam Bradford was named to the preseason watch list for the Walter Camp Award, which is presented annually to the top player in college football. Bradford already had been named to watch lists for the watch lists for the Maxwell (top player) and O'Brien (top quarterback) awards. • Plenty of features and articles this morning and over the weekend on the Sooners. Check out the latest edition of Boomer Bytes for a quick scan of the local and national focus on Oklahoma football. • Kickoff for the 2008 OU football season is less than two weeks away on Saturday, Aug. 30. Bid now for an opportunity to watch the team warm-up from field level, have your photo taken with the Schooner, see the band march out on the field and be front and center for the team intro video as the earth shakes with 85,000 Oklahoma fans welcoming the Sooners as they head out of the tunnel.
Oklahoma head coach Bob Stoops was pleased with his team's play after Saturday's scrimmage at Gaylord Family - Oklahoma Memorial Stadium. It was the second full scrimmage of the August camp. "This one was better," Stoops said. "I thought we showed improvement from the last scrimmage to this one. We were definitely sharper." Stoops was particularly complimentary of QB Sam Bradford, terming the sophomore's play, "incredible." Many of the front line backs and receivers played sparingly, but others stepped up to excel. WR Brandon Caleb caught a pair of touchdowns and freshmen Jameel Owens and Dejuan Miller drew raves. CB Dominique Franks had a pair of interceptions for the defense. OU begins its last week of two-a-day drills on Monday. The morning practice, which begins at 9 a.m., is open to the public. The Sooners also have two workouts slated for Wednesday and Friday. • Oklahoma was ranked No. 4 in the Associated Press preseason poll released today (August 16). The Sooners were the highest-ranked team in the Big 12 followed by No. 6 Missouri, No. 11 Texas, No. 12 Texas Tech and No. 14 Kansas. OU was also ranked at No. 4 in the Coaches Poll.
The Sooners returned to the rugby fields for the second practice of the day Friday afternoon. The workout was highlighted by a visit from former Sooner head coach and Norman resident Barry Switzer. Coach Stoops greeted Switzer warmly and invited "the King" to say a few words to the team as the players took a knee and gathered around him on the field. Coach Switzer's message will remain a special memory for the players but we will share that he concluded his remarks with a simple charge: "Let's win a championship!" View practice photos and video coverage by clicking the multimedia links to the right. Friday marked the third installment of two-a-day practices. The team alternated between single and double-practice days the past week and will repeat the schedule next week. OU holds a closed scrimmage Saturday at the stadium. • Several fans have asked about the music blaring in the background during practice. Offensive coordinator Kevin Wilson explains: "We introduced the music at first for the quarterbacks -- to make it loud so they would speak up. You get out there and it's a very sterile environment at practice. All of a sudden you play in front of 80,000 people with all the distractions and it's hard to communicate. With the clock and playing faster -- getting checks -- (the noise) forces our guys to think and concentrate a little more."
The Sooners enjoyed cooler temps and partial cloud cover during Thursday morning's practice at the rugby fields. View photos and video coverage by clicking the multimedia links to the right. • OU announced further details about the pay-per-view telecast of the season-opener against Chattanooga on August 30. Of special note, former Sooner quarterback Paul Thompson will provide sideline reports during the broadcast. • Returning from practice, we snapped photos of the scoreboard structure at Owen Field. Workers appeared to be placing the finishing touches on the board while SoonerVision continues its testing of the video elements inside the stadium. • Finally, Oklahoma launched its online auction experience for the 2008 season opener against Chattanooga. Bid now for two pregame sideline passes, two Sooner Club tailgate passes and the opportunity to have your photo taken with Boomer and Sooner V just before they make their first official run across Owen Field.
OU began its second installment of two-a-day practices on Wednesday morning at the rugby fields. The Sooners worked in full pads beginning at 9 a.m. in Norman. The team was back on the field for a 6 p.m. practice. View photos and video from practice by clicking the links to the right. The Sooners are alternating between single and double-practice days. A closed scrimmage is scheduled for Saturday at the stadium. • The University of Oklahoma has a limited number of tickets remaining for each of its first two home games, the Aug. 30 opener against Tennessee-Chattanooga and the Sept. 6 contest against Cincinnati. The tickets became available when they were returned by the visiting teams. • OU also announced that redshirt freshman linebacker Austin Box underwent arthroscopic knee surgery Tuesday to repair torn cartilage in his left knee. OU head coach Bob Stoops said that the anticipated recovery time is three weeks. Stoops called Box "doubtful" for the season opener against Tennessee-Chattanooga, but "probable" for game two against Cincinnati.
Oklahoma's support team did a great job of prepping the practice field Tuesday morning after the recent heavy rains. As a result, the Sooners were back outside for the ninth day of preseason ball after spending Monday inside the Everest Training Facility. OU practiced for two-and-one-half hours in full pads at the rugby fields. View photos and video coverage with an emphasis on special teams from Tuesday's practice by clicking the multimedia links to the right. The Sooners resume two-a-days on Wednesday with sessions scheduled for 9 a.m. and 6 p.m. • Finally, check out the latest photos of the scoreboard project at Owen Field. New graphics on the south side of the board (facing Lindsey Street) are going up now that the skies have cleared.
OU's second practice of the day began at 6 p.m. at the Everest Training Facility. The Sooners again worked inside despite clearing skies in Norman to allow the practice area at the rugby fields to dry. View video coverage of both practices by clicking on the multimedia links to the right. • Remember to visit Boomer Bytes each weekday morning for a quick scan of media coverage of the Sooners. OU also released the No. 2 Greatest Win of the 2000s as voted by fans and continued collecting votes for the Greatest Plays of the 2000s. • The official 2008 Oklahoma football guide is now available for sale online in the OU Athletics Multimedia Store. Fans can access the guide online by viewing these sections in PDF format. Heavy rain greeted the Sooners Monday morning as two-a-day practices commenced. The team worked inside the Everest Training Facility for the second time this preseason beginning at 9 a.m. Oklahoma will alternate between two-a-day and single practices this week with Monday, Wednesday and Friday scheduled as the double days. The team's second scrimmage will be Saturday at the stadium. The August 18th practices will be open to the public but all other practices and scrimmages are closed.
Oklahoma scrimmaged in full pads during a two-and-one-half hour session that ended under the lights at Owen Field Saturday evening. With the scrimmage, OU closed its first week of preseason practice. The Sooners open two-a-day practices on Monday at the rugby fields. Oklahoma's 2008 season begins Saturday, Aug. 30, when OU hosts Chattanooga at Owen Field.
The OU football team put on full pads and put on a show for Sooner fans attending the first of two open practices on Friday morning at the rugby fields. Players lined up in chutes and went one-on-one in the famed Oklahoma Drill in front of the berm where fans lined the field. Wide receivers matched up against defensive backs, offensive linemen took on defensive lineman, and fullbacks faced off against linebackers while running backs were forced to hit a hole and make contact with a defender. Developed by legendary Sooner coach Bud Wilkinson, the Oklahoma Drill is a tradition not only at OU, but at football practices across the country from high school to the pros.  08/08
- Oklahoma Drill Highlights No. 1Trent Williams vs. Alan Davis, Jon Cooper vs. Adrian Taylor, Duke Robinson vs. Gerald McCoy, Phil Loadholt vs. DeMarcus Granger, Brian Simmons vs. DeMarcus Granger, Jason Hannan vs. Casey Walker 08/08
- Oklahoma Drill Highlights No. 2 Brian Simmons vs. DeMarcus Granger, Alex Williams vs. Pryce Macon, Branndon Braxton vs. Cory Bennett, Stephen Good vs. DeMarcus Granger, Ben Habern vs. Stacy McGee, Kody Cooke vs. David King, Donald Stephenson vs. R.J. Washington, Alex Williams vs. Jonte Bumpus 08/08
- Oklahoma Drill Highlights No. 3 Brody Eldridge, Jermaine Gresham vs. Keenan Clayton, Matt Clapp vs. Lamont Robinson, Trent Ratterree, Kolby Smith vs. Box, James Hanna vs. Brandon Crow 08/08
- Oklahoma Drill Highlights No. 4 Jermaine Gresham vs. J.R. Bryant, Matt Clapp vs. Daniel Franklin, Trent Ratterree vs. Mike Balogun, James Hanna vs. Brandon Crow, Kolby Smith vs. Turner Troup, Trent Ratterree vs. Travis Lewis, Kolby Smith vs. Austin Box 08/08
- Oklahoma Drill Highlights No. 5 Jauquin Iglesias vs. Nic Harris, Manuel Johnson vs. Lendy Holmes, Quentin Chaney vs. Brian Jackson, Brandon Caleb vs. Dominique Franks, Adron Tennell vs. Desmond Jackson, Ryan Broyles vs. Sam Proctor, Carter Whitson vs. Joseph Ibiloye 08/08
- Oklahoma Drill Highlights No. 6Jameel Owens vs. Brett Bowers, Dejuan Miller vs. Jamell Fleming, Rashad Hutchins vs. Lamar Harris, Tyler Stradford vs. Cortney Carter, Cory Wilson vs. Desmond Jackson, Dejuan Miller vs. Brett Bowers The Sooners wrapped up practice on Owen Field, moving team drills inside the stadium in advance of Saturday's closed scrimmage. Head Coach Bob Stoops signed autographs for nearly two hours after practice. Stoops missed Wednesday's Meet the Sooners event while he attended a memorial service for former New York Yankees outfielder and broadcaster Bobby Murcer. Below are quotes from Stoops following practice: On Jay Norvell: "Jay has great experience. He's worked with Marvin Harrison and the Indianapolis Colts. He's been with the Oakland Raiders. Everywhere he's been he's been with great teams and players. He relates so much with his players and that motivates those guys." On Jimmy Stevens and Tress Way: On Ryan Broyles: On Mike Balogun: On Brody Eldridge:
The Sooners headed inside the Everest Training Facility on Thursday afternoon as storm clouds rolled through the Norman area. OU practiced in shells for the fourth day of preseason workouts. View video coverage from the Indoor by clicking the links to the right. Redshirt freshman Sam Proctor was among the young players Coach Stoops praised during his preseason press conference on Wednesday. Proctor's performance during spring ball proved there's plenty of talent available for a secondary some discount as short on experience. Proctor shared his goals for the DBs once the season begins: "We just want to get better every game. We want to show people that we can play fundamentally sound, stay aggressive and show that we can make plays in the secondary." The 2008 Sooners enjoy a wealth of experience along the lines. Senior offensive tackle Branndon Braxton shared his thoughts going one-on-one against the Sooner defensive linemen: "Every day, it's a battle. You might win some one day and come back and the next day you lose. You just have to do what you can to get better." • LSU offensive line transfer Jarvis Jones joined the Sooners inside Everest wearing jersey No. 75. The 6-7, 294-pound Jones will first be eligible to compete at OU in the 2009 season. • Oklahoma will hold an open practice beginning at 9:30 Friday morning at the rugby fields west of the Lloyd Noble Center. Fans should park in the southwest LNC lots and proceed to the berm on the south sideline along Blankenship Ave. • Coach Stoops will sign autographs after the practice and that session will begin at approximately 11:45 a.m. inside the Lloyd Noble Center. Fans will be restricted to one item to be autographed. Fans are encouraged to bring their own bottled water but no other outside food or drink will be allowed.
Oklahoma held its third practice of the preseason on Wednesday afternoon, capping a full day that began with media and fan activities in the morning. The Sooners practiced at the regularly-scheduled 4:15 time slot with temps in the relatively cool mid-90s after record 100+ heat on Monday and Tuesday. View photos and video features from practice by clicking the links to the right. Head Coach Bob Stoops and the Sooner football team held annual media day activities Wednesday morning at Gaylord Family - Oklahoma Memorial Stadium. Click the links to the right to view each of the morning's press conferences in their entirety, and read quotes from Oklahoma's coaching staff and players. The team also greeted members of the Sooner Kids Club and Sooner fans for two hours during the program's annual Meet the Sooners Day at the rugby fields. View photos here.
The 2008 Sooners returned to the OU rugby fields on Tuesday evening for the second installment of preseason practice and a another round with the August heat. Coach Stoops again altered the practice schedule, shifting the start time back an hour. The team worked in shirts, shorts and helmets for the second consecutive day and closed the two-and-one-half hour practice as the sun set to the west over Chautauqua Avenue. • The team welcomes fans to the rugby fields beginning at 11 a.m. on Wednesday. Complete information on the 2008 Meet the Sooners Day presented by Alltel is available here. • OU will hold single practices each day for the remainder of the week prior to a closed scrimmage on Saturday. Two-a-day practices begin next week. Coach Stoops announced that the August 8th and 18th practices would be open to the public. All other practices and scrimmages are closed. SoonerSports.com released an updated printable roster for 2008 preseason practice. Defensive Ends Coach Chris Wilson: On Frank Alexander: "The key for Frank is repetition We want him to know the defense like the back of his hand. He's a smart kid and a very willing learner. He has all of the intangibles. He's physical and explosive." On the younger ends: "R.J. Washington and David King are getting a lot of reps. We want to see what they can do. Obviously they're behind our more experienced players, but if we can get a handle on where they are in their development we can start to move them forward." On Auston English: "We're still waiting on Auston to get back with us. He has started conditioning a coach and he's taking a lot of mental reps. For me, he's like a second coach on the field. We would love to have him on the field. He's such a leader for us, but he does know the system so he is one that can afford some time away. Mostly we miss his leadership. He's a leader for this whole team." Wide receivers coach Jay Norvell: On his position overall: "I see a lot of good carry over mentally. We were a little rusty the first day, but we played a lot faster on Tuesday." On young players: "They're getting a lot of work. I can sense that they're gaining confidence. It's a learning process for those guys and they've invested themselves in getting the scheme and improving." On areas he would like to see improve: "I think just the comfort level in the calls and then to play faster. They're catching the ball and making plays." Offensive line coach James Patton: On the first two practices: "I felt like we were mentally sharp. We've been able to work in some younger players too and they've done well." On big players keeping up with a quicker tempo: "Our guys came back in good shape. I know our guys are big, but they're capable of handling the faster tempo. I haven't seen anything yet to make me think otherwise." On competition for playing time: "We've got competition. Branndon Braxton has been playing well. He has also gotten some time at guard while Brandon Walker has been slowed with some minor muscle stuff. It's nice to have a player like Branndon who can help us in a couple positions. He had a good summer and has emerged as a leader for us. I also like what I am seeing from Cory Brandon and Donald Stephenson, a couple of young guys who are working hard to increase they're playing time."
Oklahoma officially kicked off the 2008 season with the team's first preseason practice Monday evening. With record heat in the Norman area, head coach Bob Stoops moved the opener back by 90 minutes to 6 p.m. The Sooners worked in shells at the OU Rugby Fields just west of the Lloyd Noble Center. The practice session culminated a full day of activities for the players including conditioning and lifting tests plus an extensive slate of position and team meetings. Newcomers officially wore their OU numbers for the first time on the practice field including junior transfer Mike Balogun (10) at linebacker, freshman running back Jermie Calhoun (23) and freshman Stephen Good (77) at offensive line. SoonerSports.com released an updated printable roster to assist fans in learning the new jersey numbers. OU will hold single practices each day for the remainder of the week prior to a closed scrimmage on Saturday. Two-a-day practices begin next week. Coach Stoops announced that the August 8th and 18th practices would be open to the public. All other practices and scrimmages are closed. • The OU Athletics Department holds its annual football media activities and Meet the Sooners Day on Wednesday. Complete information is available here. As always, SoonerSports.com will provide complete coverage throughout preseason practice including video highlights, features, interviews and photo galleries direct from Norman. OU Head Coach Bob Stoops: "We worked on just about everything, every part of the game," said Stoops. "I saw a lot of good things. There was excellent carry over from spring practice and that's always something you look for in your early August workouts. The guys really looked good. "We got a chance to look at a lot of young guys. We would like to play every one of them this season if that's the way it work outs. "We worked on the no-huddle some. I was pleased. "The heat was no factor at all. They've worked out in this heat for a lot of the summer. "I thought our specialists looked good. We've got a couple new long snappers (James Winchester, Ben Hampton) and both of them were impressive." Defensive Coordinator Brent Venables: "We had a lot of ball disruption which showed me a lot of awareness. We saw a terrific attitude out of these guys." "I think we found some players. We've had a few question marks, but I was pleased with the development. Now we're pretty simplistic right now and we'll put more in every day, so we'll see how much we progress, but overall I was pretty happy." "Pushing the practice time back not only got us out of the worst heat of the day, but it gave us a little more meeting time and you can't over-estimate how much that means to us right now." Offensive Coordinator Kevin Wilson: "It's hard to get a real good handle on it without pads because there's no true blocking, but I can't complain about what I saw out there. The tempo was good. We have a lot of guys back so we threw out a lot of multiple formations; a lot more than we would on a normal first day." "All eight of the freshmen played with the two's. They have the skill level to be on the field. We need to see how they hold up and how much they learn. Our job is to get them up to speed." "We had the 40-second clock working and we may even consider moving that up to 30 or 35 seconds during practice just to get them in the mode of working quicker. The challenge we have at this point is to make sure they finish every play and not start thinking ahead to the next one. That's a fine line, but the most important thing is to be good on the current play.
Oklahoma's football team, ranked No. 4 in the USA Today/Coaches preseason poll, arrived in Norman Sunday to begin preparations for the 2008 season. The squad went through a lengthy orientation session during afternoon in the Kerr-McGee Stadium Club. Dinner was served at 6 p.m., and the players dispersed for the evening.
Oklahoma head coach Bob Stoops took the podium Wednesday morning for a question and answer session at the annual Big 12 Football Media Days. In addition to Coach Stoops, representing the Sooners in Kansas City were seniors Jon Cooper, Nic Harris and Manuel Johnson. Quotes &
More... Multimedia Coverage  Big
12 Media Day Photo Gallery Kenny
Mossman Briefs OU's Players on the Plane Coach
Stoops on OU Quarterback Sam Bradford Center
Jon Cooper on Sam Bradford's Leadership Senior
WR Manuel Johnson Discusses the Offense Highlights
from Big 12 Media Day in Kansas City |
| 2008
Preseason Practice |
Jason Matheson, Tory Kukowski and Luke Mildren of OU Athletics Internet Services will post practice reports, video features, photo galleries and more during 2008 preseason football practice direct from Norman. Please monitor SoonerSports.com for the latest official information from the OU Athletics Department.
Sooner Sports Talk - 9/1/25
Monday, September 01
The Huddle - 9/1/25
Monday, September 01
The Huddle - 8/25/25
Monday, August 25
Joe Castiglione Press Conference
Tuesday, July 08
