Tilting at Windmills

The problem with judging spring scrimmages is that if the offense looks great, it could mean that the defense really sucks, and vice versa. And with that caveat in mind, based on Saturday’s Red and White Game, sophomore Frank Alexander is going to win the Lombardi, and senior Trent Williams is going to finish his OU football career in the same state of exile in which Brandon Crow currently resides.

You didn’t need to have the ghost of Isaac Newton again explaining the arcane scoring system to know that the white team (defense) had kicked the asses of the red team (offense). For the record, the defense won, 63-36, but even with the offense being awarded points for saying excuse me after belching or for linemen not noticeably staining their britches , the red team couldn’t make a game of it. Sure, the offense was missing more weapons — DeMarco Murray, Chris Brown, Jermaine Gresham, Brody Eldridge, Matt Clapp and maybe most importantly, Jarvis Jones and Stephen Good — but still, with the biggest questions being how would the Sooners replace the graduation-depleted offensive line and wide receiver corps, after Saturday’s game, those questions remain unanswered.

Now when you go from having Gresham as your main target at tight end to walk-on sophomore Trent Ratterree (sophomore James Hanna failed to distinguish himself), you’ve got a problem. But if you’re a freshman quarterback and you get precious little time to throw before Alexander or junior Jeremy Beal or a defensive tackle is all over your ass, you’ve got an even bigger problem. Williams, at left tackle, was slapped around by Alexander worse than Rihanna is by that other Chris Brown, and junior Cory Brandon didn’t fare much better against Beal on the other side. Now Beal’s really good, and Alexander, in the little time he played last season after recovering from a stabbing, showed a lot of potential, but still, your best OT has to block his guy at least some of the time. (Williams, who went most of the way at LT, held his own against the second-teamers, while sophomore Donald Stephenson, the second-team RT, was caught holding frequently.) Colorado State transfer junior Brian Lepak, who was playing LG and getting a lot of Good’s reps, was cast aside by whatever DT he was facing with the ease of Lindsay Lohan tossing away her show-biz career (but at least Lindsay got laid a lot in the process). Redshirt freshman center Ben Habern and senior quasi-starter Brian Simmons held up the best, but then, that’s probably akin to being the ace of 1962 Mets rotation.

And if what we learned about the OL is that they still need to get a whole lot better by fall, we learned even less about the receivers. Sophomore Ryan Broyles was hands-down the best of the bunch, which has been the assumption since January. Senior Pooh Tennell showed a couple of flashes of brilliance — like on the 23-yard TD pass he caught from Sam Bradford — but then he’s always showed flashes; his problem is staying healthy, and that remains to be seen. Youngsters like sophomores Jameel Owens and Dejuan Miller need to step up, and whereas Owens had a solid but not spectacular game, Miller was a nonfactor. Mossis Madu looked pretty good as the slot receiver (although he fell to the ground making a cut and allowing junior CB Dom Franks to get a pick for an easy score), but he was far and away the best of what was healthy at RB. Redshirt freshman Jermie Calhoun had a couple of nice runs early on, but after that, he was being met by three defenders in the backfield whenever he got the handoff. Sophomore Justin Johnson was pretty much the same thing only less so. It’d be nice to see what they could do with blocking.

At quarterback, well, hey, that Bradford kid looks like he could be a player. The Heisman-winner, despite facing the same limitations as freshmen Landry Jones and Drew Allen, managed to complete more passes than the other two combined. He seemed to be able to find an open WR against senior CB Brian Jackson (such as the TD pass to Tennell) or the tight end across the middle against senior MLB Mike Balogun whenever he needed to. Given the pass rush he was facing, Jones probably played acceptably, or at least as well Joey Halzle did in this game the last couple of years. And although their numbers were roughly the same (5 of 12 for 73 yards for Jones, 4 of 14 for 58 yards for Allen, with both throwing a pick), Allen looked significantly worse. Two or three more of Allen’s passes probably should have been picked off (freshman safety Javon Harris had a couple of drops) and he threw a couple of passes to nowhere. But hey, the guy should be getting ready for the prom, so what do you expect?

But then, the same can be said about the entire crew of second-team LBs, Jaydan “the Raptor” Bird at weak side, Tom “the English Football Hooligan” Wort at middle and Ronnell Lewis at strong side. Heck, they might have been the best-looking group the Sooners fielded Saturday. Bird has a nasty streak that the Sooners haven’t had at LB in a while. Not just the ability to be in the right place and make a play — Travis Lewis does that, and so did Rufus Alexander pre-knee injury — but the meanness to just blow people up as well. And if anything, Wort is even nastier. Ratterree could consistently catch a quick pass over the middle for a 4-yard gain against Balogun, but with Wort lowering the boom as the ball arrived, he couldn’t. Nobody could. I’m not sure when the Sooners have had an MLB who looked equally competent and vicious against both the pass and the run as Wort, and I can’t see how any Texas prep LB could have been ranked ahead of him. You’ve got to love this kid’s moxie. He was one of the few players who went over and signed autographs for fans after the game (Bradford, of course, was one of the others), and for a kid who has yet to play in a varsity game, that takes a lot of chutzpah. I think the last MLB we had with that level of talent and attitude was Brian Bosworth, and we did OK with him.

Anyway, not a lot to be said about the defense, other than the first- and second-team defensive fronts pretty much kicked ass. Franks had a great game at one corner, and Harris, other than the drops, had a nice game at safety, but once Bradford was out of the game, the DBs didn’t have a lot to do, and it didn’t seem to matter that Quinton Carter didn’t play. The quarterbacks didn’t have enough time to find receivers downfield, and the running game was getting stuffed without the DBs having to come up and help out. Keenan Clayton didn’t play either, and senior J.R. Bryant, who largely looked clueless last year, had a very good game in his place. Balogun’s still iffy against the pass, but Justin Johnson’s going to be checking for Balogun before sitting down for the next two weeks, because Balogun was always in his back pocket. Seniors DT DeMarcus Granger and DE Austin English didn’t play either, and and although they’re capable when healthy, we got along without them for a large part of last year. Sophomore LB Austin Box and junior LB Crow also didn’t play, but I think it’s safe to say they’re now both about as far behind Wort as a politician running as a Whig candidate, and Crow will be lucky if somebody e-mails him the practice schedule. But I do find consolation in the fact that the offense looked nearly as lousy in last year’s spring game, and that bunch wound up posting some fairly decent numbers, I seem to recall.

As for the kicking game, not to change the subject, but the weather for the spring game was really nice. Sunny, but not too hot, breezy, but not too windy. I mean last year, it really sucked, cloudy, colder than hell and a fierce wind. Redshirt freshman Tress Way had a couple of really great punts, but most of them looked like they could have come off the foot of Mike Knall. Maybe we can at least cover the damn things this year.

I’m just going to link to the stats, rankings, and accomplishments from the OU official site instead of rehashing them in the wrapup.

SoonerSports Signing Day Coverage

Instead I’ll try and add more commentary to how the recruiting at each position went.

QB:

Drew Allen 6-5, 200, 4.6 (Alamo Heights HS – SA, TX)

Heupel has a unique way of doing QB recruiting. He only offers one kid at a time and only until he’s absolutely sure that the QB is the one he wants. Heupel is presuming that he’s only going to offer one QB a year.  After losing out on a California QB that he loved, Josh went back to Jacob Karam (who had been close to an offer before the Cali kid). Karam stayed with his Tech commitment. Allen was the next QB that OU offered. He chose OU over Ole Miss which seemed kind of silly preseason, but now considering Ole Miss’s big year with Snead that seems like a bigger recruiting win. Allen is a big kid (6-5) with a huge arm and is very mobile. Like Sam’s senior year, Allen was kind of a one man gang and everyone knew it. The only knock with Allen is probably accuracy and forcing the ball too often. He’s already on campus and I would expect that he will be force fed a bunch of reps in spring along with Landry Jones. I mean really, what does Sam have to prove? One last thing, OU had several opportunities in the fall to go back to some of their QB recruits, but after getting Allen they never once made inquiries back to those recruits.

Quality Grade: B+ (Max Emfinger who has clearly lost his ability to keep up to date nationally, but still knows the Houston/San Antonio/Louisiana areas very well thinks that Allen is the 3^rd best passing QB he saw all year, just behind UT’s Gilbert and USC’s Barkley)

Quantity Grade: A (We needed a QB, and we got one who enrolled early)

RB:

Jonathon Miller 6-1, 190, 4.5

After signing two five star type power backs last year, OU only had room for one RB. That RB probably would have been David Oku save for him turning OU off with his attitude.  Oku is now on his 2^nd ignored verbal commitment and he still hasn’t signed with anyone. OU does not need that kind of drama. Miller is a pretty damned good RB, and OU stopped recruiting higher ranked names after his verbal – names like Michael Christine and Ronnie Wingo, for instance. Miller had back to back huge years, and personally I think he is badly underrated by the various services. OU coaches compare him to Allen Patrick physically, but I think he’s also a much more instinctive natural RB.

Quality Grade: A-

Quantity Grade: A (I really don’t think that OU needed to sign 2 RBs, and the RB class for 2010 looks awesome)

WR:

Jaz Reynolds 6-3, 185, 4.5

Cameron Kenney 6-2, 195, 4.5

Okay, here’s where all the teeth gnashing and character assassination begins. First, though, let’s review the actual facts. OU signed three blue chips WRs in 2008, and it wasn’t until August that OU was left with two of them, long after initial offers had gone out. It was a down year for WRs in Texas and Oklahoma. In fact, OU didn’t even offer UT’s top WR recruit, Timmons. OU got their best WR target in July with Eric Ward, so WR was kind of quiet with OU potentially looking at a JUCO WR. Jarboe gets bounced and OU finds themselves needing another blue chip WR. Norvell went looking nationwide and in November he nearly landed NC WR Jhay Boyd, who eventually goes with UNC (a home school trend that will plague OU recruiting at WR the next 3 months). OU offers Jaz Reynolds from Houston, who they actually prefer over Timmons, but he’s not a year one impact guy. Looking to add some immediate punch, OU offers JUCO WR Tyrese Gaines believing that he will be a mid term graduate. Eric Ward goes into hiding during December and instead of enrolling early at OU is now attending Texas Tech. Out of all the “defections” this year, losing Ward really hurt the most. The early graduation dream ends for Gaines in December and OU backs off Gaines considerably, changing their attention to JUCO WR Cameron Kenney who is now back on the market after ditching Auburn. Kenney is a big time WR and a great athlete who should be in the WR rotation in the fall. Finally, Sooner fans barely got to see Jameel Owens or Dejuan Miller during the season, so after the BCS game fans went a little crazy panicking about OU’s WR situation. OU came really close on a number of big time WRs, but in the end proximity won out.

Quality Grade B (Kenny is big time, but Reynolds had an injury plagued year and looks about two years away)

Quantity Grade: B (Really needed one more blue chip WR)

OL:

Josh Aladenoye 6-5, 330, 5.2

Tyler Evans 6-5, 290, 5.1

Jeff Vinson 6-8, 340, 5.3

Tavaris Jefferies 6-4,320, 5.3

It was not a great year for OL recruiting anywhere. OU really didn’t have many offers out early at all. The two high school  OL that OU got were both at their summer camps where OU really got to evaluate them. OU’s focusing on these known quantities grabbed both by the end of summer. After those verbals, OU decided to look for one JUCO to add depth and competition. OU targeted Vinson and a JUCO OL from Kansas who ended up signing with Alabama. OU got Vinson, but he’s not an early enrollee. OU eventually offered the in state guard twosome of Michael Bowie and Brandon Webb. They lost Webb early to OSU, and then later Bowie would commit for the 3^rd time to OSU. Looking for another OL to add depth, OU ended up offering Mississippi JUCO Tavaries Jefferies. This kid literally came out of nowhere but seems to have good flexibility and can play center as well.

Quality Grade B (Vinson is the best name here. The HS guys were not highly rated, but again OU had in depth scouting on them and offered them early)

Quantity Grade A (OU added 4 OL total, and two JUCOs who can add depth and competition in the fall to the OL battle)

TE/FB/H-Back:

Gabe Ikard 6-4, 245, 4.8

Marshall Musil 6-3, 220, 4.6

Here’s where the rankings sometimes really annoy me. Musil had an unreal senior year at FB, but his rankings never changed. Musil dominated OU’s summer camp (this theme will continue, under ranked recruit had a great OU camp receives OU offer and then verbals), but mainly because of his position HBack/FB won’t receive a higher ranking. Ikard kind of fell into the same problem. Ikard will replace Brody Eldridge as the blocking TE in OU formations, but he has much better receiving skills than Eldridge. He’s not the stretch the field TE like Jermaine, but he will easily find holes in coverage for easy move the chains type catches (think of former ND TE John Carlson, and ND really wanted Ikard).

Quality Grade A (screw the rankings, OU needed two Hback/FB types and got the best guys in the Big 12 region)

Quantity Grade A (direct replacements for Clapp and Eldridge just in time to get a redshirt year in to increase strength)

DL:

Jamarkus McFarland 6-3, 285, 4.8

Justin Chaisson, 6-5, 275, 4.7

Terry Franklin 6-4, 215, 4.6

Jarrett Brown 6-4, 245, 4.6

Okay, I’m not really sure where Chaisson is going to play but I think that the OU coaches are going to move him to DT due to frame and build. He can easily carry 290+. So, I’m ranking the DL collectively. OU’s five-star DT hauls in the past several years have included Tommie Harris, Gerald McCoy, Demarcus Granger and now Jamarkus McFarland,  Jamarkus was easily the top DT in Texas which, with UT’s desparate need for DTs, makes him signing with OU the biggest recruiting blow for UT this year. For reasons never explained, McFarland was dropped in some rankings despite clearly outplaying other guys in the Army game. Chaisson just destroyed the OLine all day in the ESPN all-star game.  Franklin again was not rated as high, but offered by OU early.  He has amazing athleticism, but the jury is out on if he can add weight and strength without sacrificing speed.  The last recruit Brown was a very late addition. Brown has only really been playing football two years after concentrating on basketball. He had an awesome senior year and was attracting attention from a bunch of schools. OU coaches compare him to Frank Alexander, which is pretty high praise.

Quality Grade A- (Chaisson and McFarland are A+ talents)

Quantity Grade A (McFarland is expected to replace McCoy and just in time. I think Chaisson adds to OU’s DT depth while Brown and Franklin redshirt and add depth to OU’s most talented position, DE)

LB:

Gus Jones 6-2, 225, 4.7

Ronnell Lewis 6-3, 220, 4.5

Tom Wort, 6-1, 210, 4.5 (New Braunfels, TX HS)

Jayden Bird 6-3, 225, 4.6

This is the one area where OU badly need to add numbers. OU missed on LBs last year due to a number of weird circumstances. Not signing Lynn Katoa looks like a wise move and the Brown brothers appear to be nothing but drama as well. OU added four LBs for depth and easily signed the best LB duo in the nation in Lewis and Wort. In addition, three of the LBs are already on campus and will get a lot of instruction and attention with Box and Reynolds both out for spring. I honestly think that Ronnell Lewis might be the best player OU signed. He just dominated the ESPN game and looks like the perfect sideline-to-sideline LB to defend the spread. He’s just so physical and fast. The only reason he’s not a five star recruit is due to his level of HS competition. Venables is already raving about the kid in radio interviews. Wort is other half of his duo and again might have been even higher rated if not for an injury his senior. He has awesome speed and just smashes folks in his highlight reel.  Finally, Bird was a dominating performer at OU summer camp and had an awesome senior year where he was his team’s RB. Sounds like he’s even more athletic and faster than the OU coaches thought and could play any of the LB positions. Don’t be surprised if at least two of these guys don’t redshirt and reinforce/repair our special teams. Jones is the final kid, and will obviously have to play catchup with the rest. He’s a big physical kid who Venables offered early. He’s a pure MLB. There are some concerns if he has the speed to stay on the field with the current spread attacks. He just seems like more of a 6-2, 245, 4 .7 stop the I-formation type MLB. Jones also could end up at FB. Also, he was his HS team’s leading rusher.

Quality Grade A (Wort and Lewis are elite talents. Bird is badly under rated)

Quantity Grade A (Lost Mahoney to grades late, but getting three of them enrolling early is a big boost to the depth at LB)

DB:

Kevin Brent 6-0, 195, 4.5

Gabe Lynn 6-1, 180, 4.5

Marcus Trice 5-8, 170, 4.4

Javon Harris 5-11, 195, 4.5

Demontre Hurst 5-10, 170, 4.4

This is a great DB class for OU. The highlights are the All-American pair of Lynn and Brent. Both are threats for playing time this fall. Lynn arguably was a five star CB, and Brent is very close at FS. Javon Harris is already on campus and with some uncertainty around Desmond Jackson (suspended for the bowl game) and Jameel Fleming (at a JUCO, allegedly) may see more reps than previously thought during spring. Bob has never signed a CB under 5-10. Marcus Trice is 5-8, so he has to be something special. In my mind, Trice is the perfect Nickel/Dime CB to matchup with slot WRs in 4-WR looks. Trice is also a great special teams performer/return specialist. Finally right before signing day, OU recruited Hurst away from OSU. Hurst takes some of the sting out of losing Steve Williams to Cal. Mike Stoops really wanted Hurst, feeling like he was an ideal cover 2 CB.

Quality Grade A+ (2 Elite talents, and 3 four star talents to go with them)

Quantity Grade A (with the ever increasing spread attacks, OU badly needs to have quality depth to put 5 or 6 DBs out on the field)

K

Bryce Easly 6-1, 190

Not an official signing, but quite possibly the most important one. Special teams, FG kicking, kickoff distance and accuracy … all were a total abomination last year. Stevens rallied a little bit end of year, but his BCS bowl game attempt really highlighted that without some huge improvement, he’s just not a Div 1 kicker. On kickoffs, Moreland made some progress, but often consistently kicked short without much hang time. If Easly along with Tress Way can eliminate these weaknesses it would help OU greatly.

Grades?? Incomplete, let’s see the kid kick.

Overall Class.

OU signed perhaps their best defensive class ever. OU had six All Americans on defense, two on each level, so it’s also a class with depth at every position. Add in the fact that OU has four early enrollees on the defensive side of the ball, and this defensive class could start having an impact this year. OU reloaded at LB and DB and added the kind of players needed to defense the spread. OU has again added DTs who can both stop the run and rush the passer and speed rush ends. It’s a defensive class without a weakness. Offensively, this was more of a depth class to build upon the stars signed last year (Landry Jones, Jermie Calhoun, James Hanna, Jameel Owens, DaJuan Miller, Stephen Good). OU found key replacements at FB/Hback/TE which was huge considering how often OU uses those positions in the no huddle for both run and pass plays with the same personnel groupings. Also, those two kids, Ikard and Musil, might be better athletes and bring more big play potential in the passing game to those positions. OU added depth at QB, RB and OL. Again, they’re not the elite kids that OU added last year at those positions, but players that have high upsides that OU evaluated in person at camps and offered early by OU.  These were not second or third tier guys that OU offered late in the year after losing out on all their top targets.  There has been some hand wringing over the fact that OU got zero five star players. This is really just ridiculous. OU signed at least three 5 star players

Ronnell Lewis completely dominated the ESPN All Star game at LB and was not a 5 star simply due to playing small school Oklahoma HS football.

Justin Chaissson  did same thing from his DE position. He was dropped because of concern over whether he was a DT or DE. He easily has the frame and athleticism to play both.

Jamarkus McFarland played a high level at the Army game and no one had any in season evidence for dropping him other than the fact that he dumped UT.

Overall Grades

Quality A- (Only a HS blue chip WR away from an A grade)

Quantity A- (Again, only one more WR away from an A grade)