Lots of redshirts

By John Shinn
The Norman Transcript

September 14, 2007 01:14 am

— Through two games, the only true freshman to play is quarterback Keith Nichol and that was for a handful of plays against North Texas. That means the rest are on pace to redshirt this season.
There weren’t many freshmen the coaches thought would get on the field this season. When the season began, the coaching staff mentioned Nichol, wide receiver Ryan Broyles and linebacker Austin Box as having the potential to play this season.
Broyles is indefinitely suspended from the team and very likely won’t play this season, though he continues to practice. Defensive coordinator Brent Venables said there’s no point wasting a year for a player to only play a handful of snaps on special teams.
“What happens is you put them out there and they start the first few games on special teams, and then they screw up and they’re not where they’re supposed to be and they don’t tackle, they don’t cover and they don’t block. Then you fire them and the next thing you know you’ve wasted a year on 15-20 snaps,” he said. “You just have to calculate that in a way that every year’s a little bit different. Sometimes your hand’s forced, and fortunately right now our hand’s not.”
The only thing that could force some true freshmen into game action would be injuries.

Pay to see
Saturday’s game isn’t being televised on free or cable television. It marks the first time a Sooner game hasn’t been televised nationally or regionally in 59 games. The last OU game that wasn’t broadcast was in the 2002 season.
The Utah State game will be available on a pay-per-view basis. Both Cox Cable, DirecTV and Dish Network are offering the game for $29.95.
Bill Land (play-by-play), KWTV sports director Dean Blevins (analyst), and Emily Jones (sideline reporter) will call the action. The game will be replayed on FSN Southwest at 11 a.m. Sunday.

Injury report
The only injury that affects the Sooners’ depth chart is wide receiver Brandon Caleb. The sophomore suffered a knee injury in the days leading up to the Miami game and has been sidelined since.
OU coach Bob Stoops was hopeful Caleb would be healthy enough to play against Utah State, but receivers coach Kevin Sumlin confirmed that would not happen.

Tough history
Utah State will be playing the Sooners for the fourth time Saturday. All of the games have been played at Owen Field.
The last meeting occurred in 1991 with OU rolling to a 55-21 victory. The Sooners also rolled to a 72-3 victory in 1974 and a 49-0 romp in 1972.
The Aggies, who are members of the WAC, will be going against a Big 12 team for the 50th time. They are 9-39-1 in the previous 49. OU is 7-1 against WAC teams. The only loss was in last season’s Fiesta Bowl against Boise State.

State connections
Utah State coach Brent Guy graduated from Oklahoma State in 1983 and served as graduate assistant and linebackers coach at OSU. But he has downplayed the significance of returning to Oklahoma Saturday.
“That’s not what the game is about,” he said. “The game will be about our guys going in there and playing against a team that’s ranked in the top three in the country.
“Of all 119 teams in the country, here’s number three, so here’s the opportunity to play against what is right now, the very best in the country. That’s the challenge that guys like. This is an opportunity of a lifetime. You may not ever get to play a team ranked this high again, so what are you going to do with it.”
John Shinn
366-3536
jshinn@normantranscript.com