Sooner Report: OU Focused and Ready

The Oklahoma football team completed its third practice session at Barry University in Miami on Monday afternoon, and with three total sessions in the books, there is little doubt that the Sooners are eager for game day to arrive. The team has practiced with an intensity and focus that has coaches and players alike feeling confident about the team's mental preparations.

“We feel good about it,” head coach Bob Stoops said. “The guys have worked hard so far. We have a couple more days, but guys have been great in meetings and in practice.”

Junior linebacker Jordan Evans has liked what he's seen from both sides of the ball so far.

"Everyone has been playing with high intensity and a high motor, trying to get better to be ready for this game."Junior LB Jordan Evans

“I would say that our intensity in practice has been really, really high,” Evans said. “The guys are excited to be out here in Miami and for what we are playing for first and foremost. Everyone has been playing with high intensity and a high motor, trying to get better to be ready for this game.”

The Sooners didn't just lock in upon arrival in South Florida. Senior wide receiver Sterling Shepard has seen the team carry the intensity and mental focus that helped it end the regular season on a seven-game win streak through workouts leading up to the bowl trip.

“I grade it a 9.5 for intensity,” Shepard said. “Everyone is fired up and ready to play this game. Practice has been really good for the past three weeks. I think everyone is there mentally.”

“They did a lot in the weeks leading up, even when we were out recruiting,” Stoops agreed. “They got together like they do in the summer, doing some pass skeleton and some pass rush on each other. They have worked hard and hopefully we will be ready.”

The intensity Evans and Shepard speak of is most evident when the offense and defense go “good against good,” with the first units squaring off against each other.

“We feel in everything we do that when we go good against good that we make each other better,” Stoops said. “That has always been our motto and that's what we try to do.”

“Man, it's just about competition,” Evans said. “For me personally, I don't want the offense to win and I know that the offense does not want us to win. That just adds more intensity to our practice and gives us more competition for the duration.”

Shepard sees the same value in the team sessions.

“That competition gets us ready for the game,” Shepard said. “It is going to be high intensity and high volume out there so everyone has to be ready to go. That extra competition against maybe the top defense in the nation gives us a good jump start on the intensity that will be happening in the game.”

Special Orange Bowl for Shepard

With two more wins the Sooners will be getting fitted for rings. But regardless of OU's College Football Playoff outcome, Sterling Shepard will walk away from his time at Oklahoma with at least one national title ring.

Shepard's late father, Derrick, was a member of the 1985 Oklahoma squad that defeated Penn State in the Orange Bowl to secure the Sooners' sixth national championship. When Sterling graduated just a week ago, his mother Cheri presented him with a special gift: his father's ring.

Sterling Shepard makes a difficult catch during Sunday's practice.

”It means a lot,” Shepard said. “It gives me a little bit of the carrot on the stick you could say. Her giving me the ring so that I could see it—I have a chance to get one of my own now.”

Sterling's opportunity to secure his own Orange Bowl legacy has been a long time in the making. Now in his fourth and final year, the two-time Biletnikoff Award semifinalist has totaled 3,395 yards receiving, second in OU history behind Ryan Broyles. He has 226 receptions, also second on OU's career list, and ranks tied for third in program history in receiving touchdowns (26) and owns 12 career games of more than 100 yards receiving.

Miami Dolphins wideout and former Sooner Kenny Stills, who stopped by Monday's practice for a visit, is not at all surprised by Shepard's growth and success.

“I feel like it's something we all expected,” Stills said. “I'm happy for him. Every offseason we get a chance to talk, and we got to work out a little bit this past offseason together. We knew his potential, and I'm happy he's a guy that didn't let all of that get to his head. He came in and kept working hard and it's showing on the field.”

So with at least one more game to play as a Sooner, Shepard has an opportunity to add another chapter to his family's Orange Bowl legacy.

“I had a lot of steps to get where I am now,” Shepard said. “I knew it was possible and it feels good to be here now. I have been waiting a long time for this. What better way would there be to go out than with an Orange Bowl victory?”

Well, perhaps he can think of one better way.

Punt Coverage Unit Ranked No. 1

seibert punt

It's not a statistic that most would probably notice, but entering the bowl season, no team in the country has been better defending punt returns than Oklahoma.

Opponents have returned only 10 punts this year and gained just seven yards in the process. That 0.7 yards per return figure ranks No. 1 in the country, and only one other team is even below 2.0 yards per return.

The seven total returns yards are also by far the fewest in the country. The next closest team is Baylor at 28 yards, four times as many.

So what is the key to success? According to special teams coordinator Jay Boulware and punter Austin Seibert, it's not just one person that can be given the credit.

“First of all, it's everybody, all 11 members,” Boulware said. “It's the snapper who get the ball to the punter and allows the punter to place the ball in the right spot, and it's the guys hustling down the field. Protection is part of it as well. It all goes into being an effective punt unit.”

No team in the country has been better defending punt returns than Oklahoma.

Tennessee gained three yards on two punt returns in the second game of the season and West Virginia returned three punts for six yards in the fourth contest of the year. Since then, OU has held opponents to minus-two yards on four returns in the final eight games of the year.

Seibert said that success has stemmed from trying to hit the hang time and distances that Boulware and head coach Bob Stoops have sought. Seibert has averaged 42.4 yards per punt on 51 kicks this year. Ten of his 51 punts have gone at least 50 yards, 20 have been downed inside the 20-yard line and 27 have been fair caught.

“I just try to put our defense in the best position possible,” Seibert said. “If it's a sky punt, I know I'll have a little short yardage on it. I just do whatever I can to help this team win. I try to do the same thing every time.

“It helps to have Wesley [Horky] putting the snaps in the same spot every time. It allows me to have my operation done at the same time and be repetitive. And then just having guys like Strike [Eric Striker], Steven Parker and Jordan Thomas, guys who can fly down the field definitely helps a lot. I just do my job placing it down the field and those guys cover it. They've been doing it well the whole year.”

Boulware noted that punt return coverage is an area some may overlook, but he knows that Stoops is aware of its success.

“He understands what that unit has been doing and how effective they've been in neutralizing opposing teams' punt returners,” Boulware explained. “You don't realize you're doing a really good job, but you always notice when you do a bad job. All of those things come into play. Two years ago when we signed Wesley to a scholarship I know people were probably like, 'They signed a long snapper?' And then when he got here the head coach was like 'I'm so happy we got him.'

Former Sooners Stop by Practice

With Oklahoma in Miami for the Capital One Orange Bowl, former Sooners and current members of the Miami Dolphins Kenny Stills and Jordan Phillips were able to attend Monday's practice to say hello to their old teammates and coaches.

The pair, along with fellow former Sooner Damien Williams, are currently 5-10 in the AFC East with one game remaining. Most recently, they suffered an 18-12 loss to Indianapolis Sunday in Sun Life Stadium, where OU will play Thursday.

“Obviously it's been a frustrating year for us,” Stills said. “We've lost 10 games, and no one likes to lose. We had high expectations for ourselves coming into this season, and they haven't panned out. So it's been frustrating for us, but we've got another week left here with the Patriots and we want to finish out strong.”

stills viney

Former Sooner and current Miami Dolphins wide receiver Kenny Stills (left) chats with OU graduate assistant Marcus Walker during Monday's practice.

Stills is in his first season with the Dolphins after a trade sent him to Miami after he spent his first two years in the NFL in New Orleans. He's caught 26 passes this year for 429 yards (16.5 average) and three touchdowns. Those figures rank fifth, fourth, second and third on the team, respectively.

For Phillips, he's nearing the end of his rookie campaign after leaving Oklahoma following his redshirt junior season a year ago. He's played in 14 of 15 games with three starts and has recorded 17 tackles, 2.0 sacks and four passes defended.

Though he left a year early, Phillips feels that Oklahoma prepared him for life in the NFL.

“Oh yeah, coming out of a top program like this you're always going to be ready,” he said. “Aside from having to learn a new system, you're NFL-ready I feel like. The defense was a little more complicated so that took a little bit longer to learn, but it's been good.”

"Coming out of a top program like (Oklahoma) you're always going to be (NFL) ready."Miami Dolphins' DL Jordan Phillips

Playing with Phillips and Williams, Stills says it gives a sense of comfort to have former teammates in the locker room.

“It's always really nice to have familiar faces in the locker room,” he said. “I don't think I had any in New Orleans. I played against guys but never with any former teammates. It's just nice. During the week, like this upcoming game, we'll be talking trash to everyone. During the week when Oklahoma is playing against the former schools of current teammates we're always talking trash.”

In addition, Stills keeps an eye on other former Sooners around the league.

“Tony [Jefferson] is in Arizona; Jermaine [Gresham] is out there with him,” he said. “Obviously we keep watching Sam [Bradford] and DeMarco [Murray] and Adrian [Peterson]. Tony is my boy and my best friend, so I'm happy for them and the season that they're having. He's been playing really well, and I'm going to go check them out in the playoffs.”

phillips

Jordan Phillips, who played for OU last season and the Miami Dolphins this year, greets former teammate Zack Sanchez at the Sooners' practice Monday.

Both Stills and Phillips said they've had time to watch nearly all of the Sooners' games this year.

“I'm familiar with all the guys and we've got the last group of guys that I recruited a little bit,” Stills noted. “They're like my little brothers, and I'm so happy for them.

“I've just been telling them that we had a lot of talented teams when I was here, but we never got it done. I told them, 'You guys have the opportunity to do it, so you've got to. Stick to this right here and I'll catch you guys out in Arizona.'”

In particular, Stills has been impressed with the offense under the direction of offensive coordinator Lincoln Riley.

“I love it,” Stills said. “It's great. You've got Baker [Mayfield] out there making big plays and great players at every skill position. You've got the young tackles out there blocking everybody up. I'm happy for them, like I said. It's great to see everyone's talents being used and those guys are out there making big plays.”

Phillips highlighted the play of his former line mates on the defensive line.

“They're amazing, and they're relentless,” he said. “When they sub there's no dropoff. They all play physical and rowdy. Everybody demands something out of each other, and they're hard to block one-on-one.”

Stills hopes his presence at practice and in the stadium Thursday will pay off for the Sooners like last time he was around.

“I was in New Orleans when they came out for the Sugar Bowl, so it doesn't get much better than [OU playing in Miami],” he relayed. “I'm happy that they're here and hopefully I can be a good luck charm and we can get another victory.”

“It makes such a huge difference in everything we're doing. And then two years down the road, you get another specialist, a kicker/punter, and now you put the two pieces together and you come out with a really good operation.”

Special Orange Bowl for Shepard

Punt Coverage Unit Ranked No. 1

Former Sooners Stop by Practice

Players Mentioned

Jordan Evans

Steven Parker

Jordan Phillips

Zack Sanchez

Austin Seibert

Sterling Shepard

Eric Striker

Jordan Thomas

Sponsors

University of Oklahoma Athletics