John Shinn
The Norman Transcript
August 11, 2007 11:39 pm
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Allen Patrick wasn’t Oklahoma’s only projected starter held out of Saturday’s scrimmage.
Offensive tackle Branndon Braxton, safety Darien Williams and cornerback Reggie Smith were also kept on the sidelines.
OU coach Bob Stoops expects Braxton and Williams to both return to practice Monday. Braxton suffered an ankle injury last week. Williams has been recovering from offseason knee surgery.
Stoops said Smith’s day off was a preventive decision.
“Reggie’s got just a slight nagging deal in his leg. It isn’t anything serious. We’re just making sure this is the time to get it healed,” Stoops said. “He could have gone today, but we’re going to make sure it’s healed and where it needs to be. I don’t want it to bother him through the year.”
Patrick wore a medical boot on his right leg and was on crutches due to the ankle injury he suffered Wednesday. He’s expected to be out at least another week.
Patrick missed the Texas Tech and Baylor games with a similar injury last season.
“Talking to him, he doesn’t feel it’s as bad as last year when he sprained it,” Stoops said. “Hopefully it won’t be too long.”
Running woes
The offense struggled to run the ball Saturday. The defense had a lot to do with the problems.
Offensive coordinator Kevin Wilson also said the main emphasis was pass plays for the quarterbacks. But he was still ticked that his group only managed 117 yards on 30 attempts.
“For us to be a good offense, we’ve got to run the ball and have some balance. Today, I don’t think we did that very well,” Wilson said. “I think we’re trying to force the pass a little bit. Every play we can throw at those quarterbacks is one more play before game day. Maybe that gets me a little one-dimensional, and I don’t want to be.
“But in reality, we didn’t block and we didn’t run and we didn’t execute the run game cleanly.”
Kicking game
Stoops was impressed with his kicking game Saturday. The NCAA has moved kickoffs from the 35 to the 30-yard line this season. Those extra yards will create more return opportunities.
OU kicker Garrett Hartley was still able to get most of his kicks to the end zone.
“Garrett’s hitting the ball incredibly well,” Stoops said. “Last year that was a question coming into the year, and I think it’s going to be a strong point for us this year, punting and kicking. Garrett’s well-conditioned. He’s got a powerful leg and he’s hitting it great right now. Some of our practices, heck, he’s hitting it five yards deep in the end zone from the 30.”
Hartley’s longest field goal of the day was a 58-yarder into a slight breeze.
The kicking job is all Hartley’s, but the punting job could be up for grabs.
Last season, Michael Cohen handled most of the chores and Mike Knall was used in short-field situations.
That could change though.
“Mike Knall has made great improvement and is really pushing Mike Cohen right now,” Stoops said.
Consistency for Reed
Middle linebacker Mike Reed delivered several big hits and also had a sack Saturday. He had a productive afternoon, but Stoops and defensive coordinator Brent Venables both agreed Reed needs to become more consistent.
“He had a good day, and we need to see him have a couple good days together,” Venables said. “That would be nice.
“As frustrating as it has been for him, it’s been even more frustrating for me. He’s been so close, but it’s been one step forward and two steps back.”
Depth is an issue for OU’s linebacker corps. Reed is currently working as the No. 2 middle linebacker behind Curtis Lofton.
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