Oklahoma Sooners: Camp Update And Personnel Review – Offense

QB:

This is Landry’s job to lose.  Drew Allen seems to have the No. 2 job on lockdown, and yet they are STILL talking about putting Blake Bell on the field in red zone situations.  If he throws even one goofy little shotput pass, I’m having someone shave his head in his sleep.  Either way, he’s a hell of an athletic specimen, and I think he’s best suited to give us a run-pass threat.  

There are rumors that Stoops has figured out that Allen needs to get significant playing time in blowouts if possible after repeatedly losing starting QBs and having backups with no preparation whatsoever.  I’m from Missouri on that one.

Landry noted that his level of focus and preparation reached their peak at Nebraska and the Sun Bowl, respectively.  Stoops and the players are saying that the difference is night and day between last year and this year for Jones.  I still don’t expect him to be the same asset that Bradford was, but the coaches are convinced he won’t be a liability.  If so, we’re a 10 win team.  We don’t need him to win games, we need him not to lose them.

Bottom Line:  As Landry goes, so the offense goes.

RB/FB:

DeMarco Murray and Co., that’s been the theme of the fall camp.  The bulk of Murray’s injuries have come from special teams play which the coaches seem intent on keeping him out of this year.  If the coaches keep their word on that, Murray will finish the year first team All-Big 12.  

He’s got about a half step back, and he’s still lethal out of the backfield.  I’ll go ahead and call for 1,600 total yards (1,100 rushing, 500 receiving) and about 12-14 TDs with two games missed.

The news has been with the backups.  Madu has continued to be just decent, and he’s suspended for the Utah State game.  So we’ll get to see a LOT of the other RBs.

Jonathon Miller, a guy who’s only real playing time last year was the Idaho State game, will be the first off of the sideline.  He’s got a very strong Allen Patrick vibe to him:  he’s not going to be a backbreaker, but he’ll gash you for 15 to 20 yards if you let him.   Jermie Calhoun is still battling with putting the ball on the turf, but he’s improved since last year in this regard.  Miller is simply having a more consistent camp.

Of the freshmen, Roy Finch is the one most likely to see the field.  Clay has been just as good to date, but we’ve already got his skill set on the field with Murray.  Finch provides a Quentin Griffin type skill set with better acceleration and top end speed.  Whether he has Q’s legendary balance is yet to be seen.

True freshman Trey Millard, whom the coaches raved about from the day he committed, has made a move for the starting FB job, and he may have taken it.  At the very least, he’ll see time in the red zone.  Marshall Musil has been good, but he can’t match Millard’s athletic ability.  

How many 240-pound guys do you know run legit 4.5 40′s and long jump 18′ 2″? If Millard gets the start and isn’t getting at least three to five touches a game, then we’re wasting him.

Bottom Line:  This is a strength for us.  I’d be okay with starting Miller, Calhoun, or even Finch if Murray went down.  Millard may make a few mistakes as a starting FB that we can’t afford, so I’m not 100% convinced he’s the right man for the job.  He whiffed on a block during a bubble screen at the last scrimmage and the result was a pick six.  Not that we’ll run that play often.  But he makes up for it by requiring every front seven to account for him because he has the kind of speed that makes a fullback counter trap with a misdirection toss to the other side look like a very viable play.

WR/TE:

Ryan Broyles and Kenny Stills are the only guys who coaches don’t use the word “inconsistent” about.  Stills came back to practice over the weekend from a groin pull that was reported to be only “mild”. He only missed about a week, but we need him to get every practice snap he can get.  

DeJuan Miller continues to vacillate between unbelievably great and believably average depending on the date and time.  Translation: A nice possession receiver.

If the light bulb ever comes on for him, he’s worth a top 15 NFL draft pick.  Brandon Caleb will get some opportunities because he’s the best edge blocker we’ve got by far. If you want to know when OU is going to be running, look for Caleb out wide.

Joe Powell has been impressing the coaches with his overall level of play, and Trey Franks has been getting looks just for his speed.

Go ahead and pencil in Trent Ratterree as the first team TE.  James Hanna has had a very good camp as well.  Neither is going to knock a good DE off of the point of attack, but they’ll do what we need them do to: chip superior edge rushers.  

Austin Haywood is, by far, the best receiving TE we’ve got, and he’s got far more upside than anyone else at the position. If he steps up his learning curve, he’s starting sometime around week eight or nine.  Lane Johnson will be in the ace formation with Millard and probably Hanna in goal line situations as Johnson is probably the best pure blocker of the group.

Bottom Line:  The best receivers aren’t good blockers, and the best blockers are very average receivers.  Broyles is a Mark Clayton type.  We need someone to step up and be the Brandon Jones of this group to give us a downfield threat.  Miller looks to be the only hope there for now.  If Stills stays healthy, he’ll have a 900 yd, seven TD year because of all the attention going to Broyles.

OL:

This group isn’t going to be a liability this year unless health issues strike, and it may even be a strength.  Not that health issues are unheard of with this group.   The starting five seems to be set at this point:

Stephenson
Good
Habern
Evans
Mensik
sixth OL: Jarvis Jones (can rotate at guard or tackle)

We can’t afford any more than one of these guys to be gone at any time.  Jones is good enough for the production to not drop if he has to fill in for someone.  But if two starters are injured at one time, this group becomes a zero sum unit.  Their mistakes will offset their production.

Kickers:

We don’t have a single guy on campus who can hit from beyond 40 yards with any reliability.  If this isn’t fixed, and soon, it will cost us at least one road game.

From The FanTake Blog: Boomer And Sooner

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