Between the Hashmarks: Volume 2

Tuesday marked the first two-a-day of fall camp for the Oklahoma football team with practices five and six on the schedule. To see how camp is progressing, SoonerSports.com spoke with assistant defensive coordinator and defensive backs coach Kerry Cooks, sophomore kicker/punter Austin Seibert and senior wide receiver Jarvis Baxter in the second installment of "Between the Hashmarks."

ASSISTANT DEFENSIVE COORDINATOR, DEFENSIVE BACKS COACH KERRY COOKS

What are your impressions of the secondary so far in fall camp?
“For the secondary I think it's been very competitive. I think the guys have come out here with a lot of energy; I think they've come out wanting to get better every day. They're not paying attention to the heat or paying attention to “it's day five” or not paying attention to “hey, we've got two-a-days.” I think they've come out here and they're trying to grind. Not everything has been perfect, but they're pushing through some things so I'm very pleased from that standpoint.”

What has the battle been like for the other cornerback spot opposite Jordan Thomas?
“I've seen tons of competition. I've seen guys understanding that there's no room for error here between Dakota (Austin), P.J. (Mbanasor), (Michiah) Quick and even the young freshman (Parnell) Motley right now; he's really playing at a higher level than what I would have anticipated. And not only are they looking for who's going to secure that other (cornerback) spot, but who's going to secure No. 2, No. 3 and No. 4. There's a lot of competition going on right now, and the guys are handling it well.”

Can you explain the mindset behind your “key starters” and “starters” in the secondary?
“So the mindset is, being in this league, every week we average like 85 plays and sometimes we go up to 115 plays. My thought process is, if we play 100 plays a game, if I can get my key starters to be 100 percent on point, fully focused, raring and ready to go for 80 plays and I can get a starter, or a backup, to own those 20 plays that they get and play like a No. 1, to me that builds depth and also keeps guys fresh for not only that game, but it keeps them fresh throughout the season. What I'm telling those guys is whomever the competition is between, you've got to show that you're able to be a key starter, No. 1, and that if you go in there, there's no dropoff. We want to keep this thing at a high level.”

What do you see as Will Johnson's role this year?
“Will Johnson is a phenomenal player and one of the unsung, underrated heroes of this defense. I see us being a huge nickel team, as well as playing some big people, as we call it. His role now is to take another step and begin to lead not just by example, but grabbing the guys when he knows they're a little bit off or when we need that pick-me-up. So I'm looking for him to have a little bit more of a leadership role from a fundamental standpoint and position standpoint. He's always a hard worker; he's always doing the right things, so I'm not worried about that. He's come out here and picked up right where he left off last season.”

How different is camp this year compared to last year when it was your first season at OU?
“It's hotter, that's for sure. It's always different from year to year because I'm used to seeing Zack (Sanchez) out there dancing, giggling and acting up with (Eric) Striker, so it's a whole new team; you've got to build all new chemistry. The biggest thing is that it doesn't matter what we did last year. That's over with. Those guys aren't guaranteed that same success, so continuing that mindset that you have to work every day like you did last year to even have a chance to be successful. The biggest thing is that we're more comfortable with each other; we have a little more fun with each other. They understand how I coach and I understand their personalities, but they also have to understand that this is a new year, new team and new secondary. We've got to rebuild all that chemistry we had last year because it's not automatic that it's going to be there.”

What did it mean to you to be promoted to Assistant Defensive Coordinator last month?
“It meant a lot to me. It was something that was unexpected. I wanted to just come here and embrace the secondary, coach the secondary, help these guys get Oklahoma back to where it should be, not just as a defense but as a program. When Bob (Stoops) shared with me that he was going to give me that title, I was honored; one, being at Oklahoma, and two, shocked because I didn't expect it. It just shows me that everything I heard about Coach Stoops coming in from the outside about what kind of man he is, how he takes care of his coaches, how he's a man of integrity and he's going to do right by you and wants to promote his assistant coaches. To me, it just brought it home. It held true so I was very appreciative.”

SENIOR WIDE RECEIVER JARVIS BAXTER

With a few practices under your belt do you feel like you're getting back into the groove of things?
“I feel like I'm getting better and definitely getting better and back into things quicker than last year. Everything is starting to fall into place right now.”

Do you have more of a leadership role this year now that you've been in the system for a season?
“I feel like I have more of a leadership role. I'm more vocal this year and trying to be the one who talks a lot. I always try to get the guys going. It's preparation, as well. I try to lead by example so the guys younger than me will look up to me and follow what I do.”

What are some of your personal goals for camp?
“I just want to get better. I want to be one of the targets going into this season. I want to contribute. I've been working on route running, being consistent and blocking. I've been going over blocking with coaches in film study and learning how to be in the right spot at the right time.”

Will there be more room for group production with the absence of Sterling Shepard this season?
“It's going to be more of a group production. We have a pretty good group right now. We're building. We have work to do but we'll get there. AD (Miller), Mark Andrews, myself and Geno (Lewis) have been stepping up.”

Who is a young guy that might surprise fans?
“A.D. Miller is that man. His competitiveness and willingness to put in work every day has been great.”

Are there any NFL players you look up to?
“I try to resemble my game after Antonio Brown and Percy Harvin. I like Antonio's route running and Percy's speed. He's always able to get open.”

SOPHOMORE KICKER/PUNTER AUSTIN SEIBERT

Austin Seibert

How were your summer workouts?
“They were good. I dropped a lot of body fat during the spring and summer and really got into shape. That definitely helped a lot, and I feel a lot better than I did last year.”

What has the competition been like for the kickoff position?
“That's going good. Kyle (Pfau) and I are both hitting it really well right now. I don't know what the plan is yet, but we're both hitting it really good. For me, all I have to do is work on my steps. Kickoffs are very violent so I don't want to hurt myself. I just need to limit my reps and work on my approach to the ball.”

What sort of extra preparations have you done for the season?
“I have been doing some yoga and extra stretches on my own. I've been doing a lot of core work to keep that strong and be ready for the season. It's more tiring than people think. We go out an hour and a half before the game and warm up, and then we have to stay warm until the game and throughout the game we have to be loose. Then you go into the locker room at halftime and get cold and you have to come back out and warm up. You do get tired and sore the next day but you have to be ready. A big thing I have been doing since last year is limiting my reps so I don't get hurt or come close to it.”

What did you work on the most over the offseason?
“I'd say I have improved on everything. I can go both directions on kickoffs. On field goals I've stayed solid and on punts I have increased my hang time and distance. I think the summer workouts have helped a lot, and then just practicing on the things I need to.”

Is there an NFL kicker you look up to?:
“My favorite NFL kicker is Greg Zuerlein (St. Louis Rams). My senior year in high school we kicked together all the time. We definitely stay in touch. He's a good guy and we talk all the time.”

ASSISTANT DEFENSIVE COORDINATOR, DEFENSIVE BACKS COACH KERRY COOKS

SENIOR WIDE RECEIVER JARVIS BAXTER

SOPHOMORE KICKER/PUNTER AUSTIN SEIBERT

Players Mentioned

Mark Andrews

Mark Andrews

Jarvis Baxter

Will Johnson

A.D. Miller

A.D. Miller

Austin Seibert

Sterling Shepard

Jordan Thomas

Sponsors

University of Oklahoma Athletics