Stoops Previews Spring

Oklahoma Sooners head coach Bob Stoops met with the media today to preview Spring Football. Here are the major notes from the presser.

Practice will be indoors on Monday as scheduled. The team has had a great winter. And Coach Stoops is happy with how the team has worked. It is an exciting time of year and the coaches love developing the young players. The team needs to improve in all areas and the team needs to build depth and bring players along to the winning level.

Coach thinks the team will be better at quarterback and has a lot of experience under his belt and progressed throughout the year. They were better at receiver at the end of the year and the team should be better along the offensive line. Ben Habern and Jarvis Jones could be back for much of the spring after spring break. The tight end position can only be better.

DeMarco Murray has a lot of experience and Mossis Madu is back at running back so the position will be better especially with the depth of Jermie Calhoun and Jonathon Miller and the young recruits coming in.

They will be fine up front on defense. Adrian Taylor’s surgery went well and he will be back down the line. The team is solid at linebacker. Jonathan Nelson is back at corner or safety and could play either depending on how it shakes out depth wise.

The team needs to improve at field goals and PAT’s and Patrick O’Hara and Jimmy Stevens will compete for the job all spring.

It helps to have guys that can play multiple positions. Gabe Ikard is a guy that is big strong physical guy and the coaches are anxious to see how he can help at center or guard. He could also be a big physical tight end. And the same goes for Eric Mensik.

Landry Jones was not a huge problem a year ago and with all of the changes on offense it was a huge challenge to find continuity and rhythm. Landry Jones and Drew Allen are going to get a ton of snaps this spring and they will both grow and improve from that. They should progress through the spring. Landry is much further along at this point from where he was one year ago.

This has been one of the best groups in off-season conditioning and coach seems really pleased with the work the team has done.

There are number of guys like Landry, Jeremy Beal, Travis Lewis, and Ryan Broyles are all emerging in to leaders. Cory Brandon is also developing in to a leader somewhat.

It will be competitive at linebacker. They are kind of thin but they are all pretty good players. If one guy goes down they have some talent behind. Tom Wort is an inside guy and Ronnell Lewis is more of an outside guy. Wort will be eased back in the first few days and bring him along.

Jamarcus McFarland and Stacey McGee have really come on. Justin Chaisson has been moved inside. David King came on strong at the end of the year as well. And the guys are going to be more matured and more prepared and the ability is there to play well.

Donald Stephenson has always been athletic. And on the field he has always been tough. He has made some bad choices off the field and hopefully this year he does the right things off the field to stay in it.

Receiver is a position that guys need to make improvement and there will be competition and Kenny Stills will get a lot of snaps.

Murray will not get a whole lot of action when the team is all out hitting or scrimmaging. Coach does not want to take the chance that something gets twisted.