Oklahoma Sooners Football: Post-Spring Game Two-Deep Depth Chart

This Saturday's Red/White game was the first chance for Sooner fans to lay their eyes on the 2012 squad.

This version of the team isn't quite complete, seeing as a few big names did not participate.

Senior quarterback Landry Jones only played one series; RB Dominique Whaley, C Ben Habern and DB Aaron Colvin have yet to fully recover from their respective surgeries; and three seniors were missing from the defensive line.

Most of the recruiting class won't be on campus until this summer, either. There are a couple of players in that group that are expected to compete for playing time as soon as they get in town, namely WR Courtney Gardner and OT Will Latu.

With that being said, it is still the first real opportunity to get an idea of next season's depth chart. There have been a few heated battles at positions like cornerback, offensive tackle and defensive tackle, so it was nice to actually see if anyone had started distancing themselves from their competitors.

Let's take a look at the projected two-deep depth chart for the upcoming season.

Quarterback

Starter: Landry Jones

Backup: Drew Allen or Blake Bell

Blake Bell out-performed Drew Allen in Saturday's spring game, but this doesn't mean he has passed Allen on the depth chart. Offensive coordinator Josh Heupel put Bell's 14-for-19, 172-yard day in perspective, saying, "It's a body of work. It's not just one afternoon."

Bell will still see plenty of time on the field, however, if Heupel employs the Bell-Dozer package again next fall.

Running Back

Starter: Dominique Whaley

Backup: Brennan Clay, Roy Finch

Brennan Clay, donning No. 24 this season, continued his impressive spring Saturday with a ten-carry, 65-yard performance, including two very nice runs that showed off his power and elusiveness.

The defense kept Roy Finch bottled up, a feat in itself, but he still managed 40 yards on nine carries as well as two catches for 11 yards.

Both backs figure to get worked into the offense fairly heavily along with Whaley, who is still recovering from a broken ankle.

Freshman Danzel Williams had several impressive plays both on the ground and in the air. He caught four passes for 39 yards, including the game-winning touchdown.

Fullback

Starter: Trey Millard

Backup: Marshall Musil

If Millard can get enough touches this year to rack up some stats, he will be a shoe-in for All-Big 12. The dynamic talent can do much more than just lower the boom on linebackers and has been deployed at multiple positions this Spring.

Receiver

Wide Receivers

Starters: Kenny Stills, Jaz Reynolds

Backups: Trey Metoyer, Kameel Jackson

Slot Receiver

Starter: Trey Franks

Backup: Derrick Bradley

Freshman Trey Metoyer lived up to the hype, showing off his hands with a great day. It is going to be hard to keep him off the field this fall.

Trey Franks played very well in the slot. For now, his backup is senior Derrick Bradley, but watch for one of the incoming crop of recruits—most likely Courtney Gardner—to work into the mix.

Tight End

Starter: Brannon Green

Backup: Taylor McNamara

This was a big area of concern coming into the Spring, seeing that the Sooners only had one tight end on the roster. Thankfully, Green and McNamara were early enrollees and have adapted well.

Green, a JUCO transfer, is more developed physically and mentally and, depsite being labeled the "blocking" tight end, has been complimented by his teammates on his catching ability.

Left Tackle

Starter: Lane Johnson

Backup: Tyrus Thompson

Johnson comes to rest at his fourth position in as many years for the Sooners. He was recruited as a tight end, moved to defensive end, played right tackle last season and will start at left tackle this year.

Left Guard

Starter: Gabe Ikard

Backup: Adam Shead

Ikard is the most versatile athlete on the line and will be in the hunt for his second straight All-Big 12 First Team selection.

His backup, Adam Shead, would be starting for just about any other team and has a bright future in Norman.

Center

Starter: Ben Habern

Backup: Gabe Ikard

Habern has had quite an up-and-down career in Norman, none of it having to do with his on-field play, though.

He received a medical hardship for his freshman season, went All-Big 12 the next year but missed the final three games with an ankle injury, started all 14 games his sophomore season, missed five games last season with a forearm injury, and is currently sidelined recovering from a neck procedure.

If he does go down, Ikard will slide over from left guard and handle the position. He played excellently last season in Harbern's stead and has been there all Spring just in case.

Right Guard

Starter: Tyler Evans

Backup: Bronson Irwin

Evans, in his third year as a starter, is as solid as they come and Irwin provides good depth. Nothing to worry about, here.

Right Tackle

Starter: Daryl Williams

Backup: Justin Farniok

Williams, who started last year but succumbed to injury during the first game, is back in the saddle on the right side. Farniok is an absolute monster at 6'9", 330 pounds and is the future at the position.

When JUCO transfer Will Latu arrives this Summer, he will likely take one of these two spots.

Defensive End

Starters: R.J. Washington, David King

Backups: Chaz Nelson, Chucka Ndulue

King had a great game Saturday, playing a little wider than we are used to seeing from Oklahoma ends. He looks ready for a big, big year.

Washington did not participate, so we got a good dose of the younger guys. Nelson and Ndulue got a ton of reps but didn't really stand out.

P.L. Lindley and Rashad Favors, both listed as linebackers on the roster, also saw a lot of time at end.

Defensive Tackle

Starters: Jamarkus McFarland, Casey Walker

Backups: Stacey McGee, Jordan Phillips

Phillips, one of the most talked-about players this spring, was very disruptive Saturday. Walker and McGee sat out, so he spent most of the day going up against the first-string offensive line and was giving them a lot of problems.

Linebacker

Middle Linebacker

Starter: Tom Wort

Backup: Jaydan Bird

Strong Side Linebacker

Starter: Joseph Ibiloye

Backup: Corey Nelson

As I wrote Sunday, the Sooners were in a two-linebacker, three-cornerback set almost the entire day instead of the nickelback set they have used for several years.

Wort and Ibiloye started, but in a three-linebacker formation Corey Nelson would be the extra 'backer on the field.

Rashod Favors and Aaron Franklin also saw a lot of time Saturday and played well. Depth is going to be an issue this year, seeing that only four players have in-game experience, so it was encouraging to see them make plays.

Cornerback

Starters: Demontre Hurst, Aaron Colvin, Lamar Harris

Backup: Gabe Lynn, Joe Powell, Kass Everette

The lack of depth at the position is expected to force last year's strong safety, Aaron Colvin, to corner this fall. This has been the most heated competition this spring, which will hopefully help develop the younger guys.

Free Safety

Starter: Tony Jefferson

Backup: Quentin Hayes

Jefferson, the most dynamic player on the defense, moved to free safety from nickelback this Spring. His size and skill set are better suited for the position and he should help shore up the porous pass defense from last season.

Strong Safety

Starter: Javon Harris

Backup: Jesse Paulson

Harris' name still makes many Sooner fans cringe a bit after his dreadful finish to the season, but his move to strong safety from free safety has been a positive one. He did, however, get turned around while trying to cover Jaz Reynolds on the 60-yard touchdown pass from Blake Bell on Saturday.

Paulson played with the second unit and is technically the backup, but if Harris goes down or is ineffective, Aaron Colvin could move back to his old position, instead.

Kickers

Place Kicker: Michael Hunnicutt

Punter: Tress Way

Tress Way averaged 48.5 yards on eight punts and got the crowed ooo-ing and aww-ing with a couple bombs, including a 69-yard long.

Michael Hunnicutt did well to go 3-for-4 on the blustery day. His long of 40 yards was directly into the wind.

Returners

Punt Return: Kenny Stills

Kickoff Return: Trey Franks, Roy Finch

It was hard to get a feel for Stills as a punt returner Saturday because they didn't return any punts to avoid injuries. He has been working hard all Spring on his return game, though.

Franks and Finch returned kickoffs last year, but watch for some of the incoming crop of freshman receivers to work their way onto the field here.