O'Hara Calmly Handles OU Kicking Duties; Will It Calm Stoops' Blood Pressure?

Patrick O'Hara never played a down of high school football. Now, he's doing field goals and extra points in front of 85,000 screaming fans.

Patrick O'Hara is a walk-on at the University of Oklahoma and he's starting in front of two scholarship kickers, one a high school All-American.

O'Hara transferred from tiny Washburn University in Topeka, Kansas to chase a dream. "It's a long ways from crushing the football on the practice field at Washburn with my twin, Steven, to blasting them in a huge stadium. But it feels good."

We wish Mr. O'Hara well. Walk-ons that work out, a kicker with growing confidence; it has a feel good Rudy-ish story sense about it. We know Bob Stoops hopes his kicking woes might be solved.

For sure! You wish! Because in 2009, Stoops had his fill of place-kicker frustrations. Lost games, hair tearing, visor throwing frustrations. Stoops has had, during his head coaching career, his share of place kicker flakiness.

I bet you were wondering where to find the Silliman angle. Nice heart-warming story and all that but certainly not satirical as you are used to reading. No bite?  No parody? Well, here it comes.

As I mentioned, some major place kicker flakiness landed on Stoops lap. None more so than giving a scholarship to a high-school All-American kicker from Montana back in 2003. Enjoy:

The Kicker Comes to Broadway

Oklahoma freshman football place-kicker recruit, Josh Roberts, failed to report to practice.  Later it was reported the Malta, Montana recruit, considered one of the two best high school place-kickers last year, was giving up football, giving up his scholarship and moving to New York. 

There are many theories as to the no-show and one centers on the confluence of news traveling slowly to Montana and a possible confusion upon hearing that “Oklahoma” will pre-season in New York City.  We surmise Roberts may have showed up at the Gershwin Theatre, home of the musical “Oklahoma” and heard they need kickers.  Really high kickers.

                We also surmise a conversation took place at 222 W. 51^st Street – the Gershwin – something like this between Josh Roberts (JR) and the Big Shot Broadway Guy (BSBG):

BSBG:  Hey kid. Hey, blondie. Whattaya doin’ here?

JR:  I…er…

BSBG:  Don’t you know where you’re at, kid?  This is ……Broadway!  The lights.  The Boulevard of Broken Dreams.  The Great White Way!

JR:  I’m looking for Oklahoma, the….

BSBG:  You found it, kid.  IS there a bright sunny haze on your noodle, blondie?  This is it.  This is Oklahoma – the greatest musical of all time:  the show that defined the modern musical.  Where you from, kid?

JR:  Malta.

BSBG:  An island off Italy, huh?  From your island to the Manhattan island, huh?

JR:  No…It’s…

BSBG:  Never mind, kid.  Surely, you know the show?  Curley and Jud and pretty little Laurey.  She’s  just a girl who can’t say…  This is the first show to use music to tell the story.  Rogers and Hammerstein?  You ever seen a cowboy, blondie?

JR:  Of course, I’m from Montana.

BSBG:  You Are?  I thought you said Malta.

JR:  No, I’m from Malta, Montana and I’ve been on many ranches.

BSBG:  Well, land sakes.  How’s dat, kid?  Pretty good, huh.  Land sakes.  I did it again.  So what do you do?

JR:  I’m a kicker.

BSBG:  A kicker?  A kicker, kid?  A really high kicker?

JR:  Yes, sir.

BSBG:  Can you do cartwheels, kid?  Can you handle a lasso?

JR:  Well, yeah, but…

BSBG:  There’s a lot of fringe on your surrey, kid.  Are you familiar with the Will Parker role:  Can you sing, kid?