2002 Statistics

written by Ryan Hockensmith

The Sooners will need every score they can get. Quarterback Nate Hybl, workhorse tailback Quentin Griffin and senior receivers Curtis Fagan and Antwone Savage are all gone, so points are at a premium.

Stoops is confident in runners Kejuan Jones and Renaldo Works. Neither are Griffin, but won't have to be, either. Jones carried almost 12 times-a-game and runs harder than you'd expect from a 5'9", 187-pounder. He was Oklahoma's short-yardage bowling ball and should see at least half the load. Works, who bench presses a linebacker-esque 420 pounds, is no tackle-dummy himself and will push Jones for touches. The way Oklahoma spreads out the defense, there will be slivers in the defensive front. Both/either should be effective, if not game-breaking, runners. And with their defense, that's all the Sooners need to stay on top. SPRING UPDATE: There appears to be a (legitimate) three-way battle for running back, featuring Kejuan Jones, Donte Hickson and Reynaldo Works. Look for Works primarily as a blocker/receiver. Jones and Hickson will get the bulk of the carries while attempting to get the ground game going, but Works will be utilized as more of a receiving back.

Same with the quarterback position. Hybl wasn't Dan Marino, or even Josh Heupel, but he won 20 of his 23 starts as a Sooner. Norman-eers hope to get similar mileage out of a bunched-up group of sophomores and hard-luck senior Jason White. If he's healthy, this job is White's to lose, which is what's happened twice in the past two seasons. White destroyed his left ACL in 2001, then ripped up the ACL and MCL in his right leg last season. Unbelievably, both were non-contact injuries and came after beating out Hybl twice for the starting job.

White has a decent-sized frame and the all-important passing skills to hands-down win the job … except for the injuries, which preclude his 2003 mobility and confidence.. Last spring, he bounced back to practice throughout March and April, but was held out of scrimmages. He's likely to miss most of spring practices this season, and will avoid his first hits until summer. Even that's a stretch for somebody to be ready with a pair of damaged legs.

Sophomores Paul Thompson, Brent Rawls and Noah Allen are all skilled pocket presences. They just don't have much experience. Thompson has the most. An important factor for Oklahoma will be spring and summer snaps. With four players dicing up repetitions with the offense, it'll be very difficult for the eventual quarterback derby winner to make normal pre-season progress. Don't be surprised if the August 30 starter against North Texas looks rusty, a little unprepared and extremely cautious because of limited practice time with the first team.

Whoever's under center may have trouble finding somebody known at which to throw. With the two senior wideouts, top-shelf tight end Trent Smith and Griffin all gone, Oklahoma loses 146 receptions from the 68th-ranked passing offense in the country. Expect to see lots of short tosses to wideouts Will Peoples and Mark Clayton, sandwiched around a slew of dump-offs to running backs. Smith replacement candidates Lance Donley, James "Bubba" Moses, and Chris Chester all have game experience, but the Sooners staff still is contemplating shifting fullback J.D. Runnels to tight end. All will see time but don't expect numbers anywhere in the Trent Smith area code.

WR Will Peoples

written by Ryan Hockensmith

Bank on the defense being Top-10 caliber again, even with cornerback Andre Woolfolk heading to the NFL. Everything starts up front, where dinged-up junior Tommie Harris, if healthy, can be scary good. He's a 6'3", 280-pound pest in the middle, a package of brute strength (440-pound bench press) and disgusting speed for a down lineman (4.67 40-yard dash). Harris is the kind of player around which entire defenses can be built and entire offense's game-plans are drawn. Both are true with Harris, a potential Top 10 pick down the road. Cohort Kory Klein, he too a 440-pound bench presser with serious push, is not someone to be left alone. He will demand double-teams if not checked early as Harris distracts opponents. SPRING UPDATE: Larry Birdine and Calvin Thibodeaux are two players to keep an eye on at the defensive end position. Dan Cody and Jonathan Jackson are the unquestioned starters, but Birdine and Thibodeaux will be relied upon to provide depth. Birdine has had an impressive spring and might even find himself in the starting lineup.

With Harris and Klein disrupting things up the middle, expect more of the same constant pressure, and it'll come from all over. Oklahoma racked up 126 tackles for loss (TFLs) and 36 sacks, accounting for 658 lost yards. That's about five drive-killing defensive plays per game, and that number should increase. The Sooners will bring pressure from everywhere, which is how linebackers Lance Mitchell and Teddy Lehman led the team with 19 and 17 TFLs, respectively. With Harris and Klein demanding multiple blockers, seniors Mitchell and Lehman ought to be licking their chops again with all the potential space to maneuver.

Other chop-lickers include the senior LB corps that will assure opponents of little-if-no-success in 2003. The seasoned group led the nation's 10th ranked overall defense to levels of consistency not seen since their championship year. Any of these member's reactions to play-fakes and misdirection-plays rarely cause over-pursuit. Only smash-mouth football and a better opponent beat this defense, never themselves. And it all comes back to these three as the grease that makes this machine work as well as it does.

The secondary has the ability to shut down passing games when most needed. The nation's 9th ranked pass efficiency defense has unteachable instincts opposing coaches cannot counter. Redshirt sophomore Eric Bassey, a 4.32 40-yard blazer with killer instincts, struggled living up to the immense shoes of 2001 first-round draft pick Roy Williams. But he just turned 20 in January, has three more seasons to improve and still looks like a terrific prospect. Bassey's versatility will allow Stoops and company to rotate him between his normal strong safety spot and cornerback, depending on down and situation.

That frees up veteran corners Derrick Strait and Antonio Perkins (Woolfolk's replacement) to be opportunistic in the secondary, like they were last year (a combined 10 interceptions). Safety Brandon Everage's sharp-break-ability is back, too. Although his future has been made less clear due to some off-the-field issues as well as with a shoulder problem. Coaches claim he will not participate this spring. Should he not make it back in time for September, look for any number of players to fill the void. Regardless, any opposing QBs not able to look the secondary off (and also pump-fake) will have these keen DBs breaking on their passes for ultimate success. That means at least four more defensive touchdowns in 2003. SPRING UPDATE: Five-star cornerback JUCO recruit Chijioke Onyenegecha is now a Sooner. The only question left remaining is whether he will be eligible to suit up this fall. Some have projected him as a possible starter with his amazing talent. As it stands right now, Onyenegecha would have to sit out a season as a Division I transfer, but has filed the paperwork for an appeal and is holding out hope that he can be on the field to start August practice as an eligible participant. He originally signed with Arizona State this February, but changed his mind after the Sun Devil assistant that recruited him moved on.

DT Tommie Harris