OU Football Notepad

By John Shinn
The Norman Transcript

April 04, 2008 12:20 pm

— Oklahoma returned to spring practice Thursday afternoon for the first time since last Saturday's scrimmage. The workout was the ninth since the workouts began March 5.
OU coach Bob Stoops said the time off allowed a few injured players to return since the scrimmage. He wouldn�t identify which ones, however. As usual, practice was closed to media.
Offensive coordinator Kevin Wilson said wide receiver Manuel Johnson returned Thursday, but offensive lineman Duke Robinson isn't expected to be back on the field until next week.

What no-huddle?
OU has been working on a no-huddle offense throughout the spring with hopes of using it this fall. It didn't use any of it during last Saturday�s scrimmage and Wilson isn�t sure if it will be used when the Sooners scrimmage again at 1 p.m. Saturday at Owen Field.
"I'd like to, but I'll have to wait and visit with coach Stoops and (defensive coordinator) Brent Venables on that," Wilson said.
The reason it wasn't unveiled to the public last week was injuries to the defense. OU only had four healthy linebackers - Keenan Clayton, Brandon Crow, Travis Lewis and Lamont Robinson - last week.
All four are relatively new to their positions and could have been overwhelmed in a scrimmage setting. It was scratched for that reason.
"We're trying to develop both sides (of the ball)," Wilson said. "We have to do what�s best for everyone."

Ahead of the curve
True freshman running back Justin Johnson has been getting most of the snaps with the No. 2 offense this spring due to injuries to DeMarco Murray and Chris Brown.
He was a workhorse in the first scrimmage with 17 carries for 57 yards. It's a lot of work for a guy who was playing for Gilmer (Texas) High School six months ago.
Johnson graduated from high school a semester early so he could go through spring practice.
Stoops expects that to be a benefit when preseason practice begins in August.
"He'll be way ahead of the game when we comes back after the summer because he's been through all this," the coach said.

Bored group
Thirteen potential starters missed the first scrimmage due to injury. Those players are typically relegated to running the first-down chains for scrimmages. Murray did it for the first scrimmage and will likely be doing it again Saturday. He would much prefer playing.
"It's real boring," Murray said. "We try to have a little fun and switch the guys around every possession. But it's still boring. We don't really know what we're doing."
John Shinn
366-3536
jshinn@normantranscript.com