Sooners crush ranked but outmanned BYU in the opener 52-14.
Junior DE Jeremy Beal stands over a defeated and demoralized BYU QB after a sack forced another punt.
http://cdn.content.easports.com/media2/ncaa10/56749/992A0001_1_JPEG_SCREENSHOT_mXO.jpg
Jr RB DeMarco Murray terrorized the BYU D all day in a rain soaked game. He ran inside, outside over and around an undersized BYU Dline. He tallied 153 yards and 2 tds.Sam Bradford was Murray's equal in the air as he passed for a game high 184 yards and 2 tds.
On D the Sooners shut BYU down outside of an opening drive TD that tied the game at 7 and a late TD against Oklahoma's second and third team Defense which saw plenty of time in this game.Overall a good opener but we can and will play better said Coach Russell.
We have a deep and talented roster and many players will get to play this season. Each and every player needs to be sharp game in and game out since there is a player just as talented backing them up.
We look forward to a huge home game next week against undefeated and #1 ranked defending national champion Florida.
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
2009 Sooners Offensive and Defensive outlook
2009 Sooners Offensive and Defensive outlook
Oklahoma Sooners Football: 2009 Preseason Outlook
The Sooners’ 2008-2009 season was full of great anticipation and severe disappointment. Oklahoma became the only team to score 60 points in five consecutive games in NCAA history.
A new Heisman Trophy, courtesy of Sam Bradford, now sits in the Switzer Center, along with a third consecutive Big XII title.
The only thing missing from these accolades? A National Championship trophy. Once again, the Sooners laid an egg in the postseason. The high-powered Sooner offense just couldn’t get its late season flow back when it reached Miami.
Can Oklahoma pick up the pieces and put together another championship run?
It seems like the Sooners have a lot of the pieces they need to get to Pasadena, but do they have all of them?
Offense
The Sooners’ offense was one of the most efficient in NCAA history last season. After the infamous 45-35 loss to Texas in the Red River Rivalry, Oklahoma went on a tear and demolished its late season opponents. Can they bring back that fire after losing one of the best offensive lines in college football?
Oklahoma lost six offensive linemen to graduation this year. The Sooners can have the most potent skill players in the entire country next year, but if Bob Stoops and his assistants can’t put this line back together, there is no hope for Oklahoma.
Outside of the line, the Sooner offense returns almost every key player from last season’s team. 2008 Heisman Trophy winner Sam Bradford is tasked with improving on a season where he reached the pinnacle of college football.
He is surrounded by an incredibly deep legion of running backs, headlined by the shifty DeMarco Murray and the bruiser Chris Brown.
The return of tight end Jermaine Gresham is a godsend for an Oklahoma receiving corps that must look to replace the big play capability of Manuel Johnson and the reliability of Juaquin Iglesias.
Ryan Broyles and Adron Tennell must step up and take their place, and the battle for the No. 1 receiver should make this an interesting spring.
Defense
Since the departure of Mike Stoops, the Sooner defense has only had glimpses of greatness. Ask any Sooner fan what their biggest fear about the team’s defense is, and almost every one of them will say “The Secondary.”
The Sooners lose two key pieces of its secondary in Lendy Holmes and Nic Harris. These two players brought a lot of experience and hitting power to the soft Sooner defense. What Oklahoma does to improve its secondary woes will, potentially, make or break the 2009 season.
The linebackers have always been a strength for Oklahoma.
This strength momentarily turned into a weakness last season with the loss of Ryan Reynolds to injury. Reynolds’ backups rallied in a few games and the combined effort of Austin Box and Mike Balogun helped to solidify the linebacker position. With no starter losses at this position, the Sooners can only improve over the offseason.
The defensive line for Oklahoma always seems to be a bright spot. The emergence of Frank Alexander last season, when Auston English was hurt, has helped make this part of the field a feared area for the Sooners’ opponents.
Oklahoma Sooners Football: 2009 Preseason Outlook
The Sooners’ 2008-2009 season was full of great anticipation and severe disappointment. Oklahoma became the only team to score 60 points in five consecutive games in NCAA history.
A new Heisman Trophy, courtesy of Sam Bradford, now sits in the Switzer Center, along with a third consecutive Big XII title.
The only thing missing from these accolades? A National Championship trophy. Once again, the Sooners laid an egg in the postseason. The high-powered Sooner offense just couldn’t get its late season flow back when it reached Miami.
Can Oklahoma pick up the pieces and put together another championship run?
It seems like the Sooners have a lot of the pieces they need to get to Pasadena, but do they have all of them?
Offense
The Sooners’ offense was one of the most efficient in NCAA history last season. After the infamous 45-35 loss to Texas in the Red River Rivalry, Oklahoma went on a tear and demolished its late season opponents. Can they bring back that fire after losing one of the best offensive lines in college football?
Oklahoma lost six offensive linemen to graduation this year. The Sooners can have the most potent skill players in the entire country next year, but if Bob Stoops and his assistants can’t put this line back together, there is no hope for Oklahoma.
Outside of the line, the Sooner offense returns almost every key player from last season’s team. 2008 Heisman Trophy winner Sam Bradford is tasked with improving on a season where he reached the pinnacle of college football.
He is surrounded by an incredibly deep legion of running backs, headlined by the shifty DeMarco Murray and the bruiser Chris Brown.
The return of tight end Jermaine Gresham is a godsend for an Oklahoma receiving corps that must look to replace the big play capability of Manuel Johnson and the reliability of Juaquin Iglesias.
Ryan Broyles and Adron Tennell must step up and take their place, and the battle for the No. 1 receiver should make this an interesting spring.
Defense
Since the departure of Mike Stoops, the Sooner defense has only had glimpses of greatness. Ask any Sooner fan what their biggest fear about the team’s defense is, and almost every one of them will say “The Secondary.”
The Sooners lose two key pieces of its secondary in Lendy Holmes and Nic Harris. These two players brought a lot of experience and hitting power to the soft Sooner defense. What Oklahoma does to improve its secondary woes will, potentially, make or break the 2009 season.
The linebackers have always been a strength for Oklahoma.
This strength momentarily turned into a weakness last season with the loss of Ryan Reynolds to injury. Reynolds’ backups rallied in a few games and the combined effort of Austin Box and Mike Balogun helped to solidify the linebacker position. With no starter losses at this position, the Sooners can only improve over the offseason.
The defensive line for Oklahoma always seems to be a bright spot. The emergence of Frank Alexander last season, when Auston English was hurt, has helped make this part of the field a feared area for the Sooners’ opponents.
Not even Alabama coach Nick Saban could lower the ever-building expectations throughout the 2008 season. The opening blowout of Clemson. The blackout beat-down at Georgia. The overtime dramatics at LSU. The Iron Bowl thumping of reeling rival Auburn.
It all culminated in a No. 1 ranking and perfect regular season, feeding a starving fan base. Saban worried his team would get full.
“When you get satisfied and fall in love with yourself,” Saban says, “you lose your desire.”
That might not be a problem this season in the wake of two season-ending defeats. The loss in the Southeastern Conference title game to Florida left a bad taste in many mouths. But the Sugar Bowl embarrassment administered by Utah did more than that. There’s motivation aplenty for the Crimson Tide.
Alabama may return nine starters on an already-stout defense and several key members of its offense. The Tide may have a new quarterback in junior Greg McElroy. But it wants to take care of some old business from 2008. And Alabama has a serious opportunity to finish what it started, beginning with the high-powered opener against Virginia Tech in Atlanta on national TV.
“We didn’t do what we were supposed to do last year,” nosetackle Terrence Cody says, “and that’s what made us hungry to come back this year.”
Quarterbacks
A three-year starter, John Parker Wilson exited as the program’s leader in nearly every statistical category. This year, the plan was for an open quarterback competition between McElroy, redshirt freshman Star Jackson and sophomore walk-on Thomas Darrah. But McElroy blew away the field. “Everybody knows who our players have the most respect for,” Saban says, “who has the best knowledge and experience. He’s far and away our best quarterback right now. He knows that somebody’s got to beat him out.” The whiz kid McElroy is used to waiting his turn. He did so in high school behind future Missouri star Chase Daniel. At Alabama, too. His highlight is a 34-yard touchdown pass against Auburn. “I know I haven’t started a game yet,” McElroy says. “I know I haven’t really done anything up to this point that’s proven myself.” While the athletic Jackson and the strong-armed Darrah battle to be his backup, they face another challenge this fall with talented freshman A.J. McCarron.
Running backs
Alabama’s physical ground game produced plenty of big leads and wore down many a defense. The focus of that attack was All-SEC running back Glen Coffee (1,383 yards, 10 touchdowns), who decided to leave school early for the NFL Draft. But there is talent on hand with Mark Ingram, a bruiser who gained 728 yards with 12 scores as a freshman last season, and senior Roy Upchurch, a versatile performer who gained 350 yards with four touchdowns. However, the running back position was blurred this spring because Ingram’s hamstring injury and Upchurch’s pinched nerve held them out of scrimmages. And scatback Terry Grant was inconsistent. Though the picture likely will be clearer this fall when injuries figure to be healing and blue-chip running back Trent Richardson arrives, Saban isn’t buying the notion that this unit is deep. “Just because you have numbers, how does that make you deep?” Saban says. “How many guys do we have that have done anything in the game?”
Receivers
By the end of the Sugar Bowl loss, it was clear that receiver Julio Jones had established himself as one of the top freshman receivers in the country. He finished with 58 catches for 924 yards and four scores last season. But expect improvement this year as offensive coordinator Jim McElwain utilizes the 6'4" Jones all over the field. “Because of his knowledge of the offense,” Saban says, “we can use Julio in more ways now. It makes him a more difficult player to defend.” The coaches are hoping several players will emerge to complement Jones. Among the possibilities are senior Mike McCoy (16 catches, 191 yards), who must be more consistent; the physical Earl Alexander, who must stay healthy; and sophomore Marquis Maze, who must mature. There is ample opportunity for freshmen, including Kenny Bell, Kendall Kelly and Kevin Norwood, to contribute. “We’ve got some speed guys coming in,” Saban says. The Tide will surely benefit from the addition of senior transfer Colin Peek, a former Georgia Tech tight end who immediately becomes Alabama’s top receiving tight end.
Offensive linemen
A sure sign of strength in 2008, the line was one reason Alabama averaged 4.6 yards per rush and possessed the ball for more than 32 minutes per game. Whether this unit can match that unit is a huge question mark. Junior college transfer James Carpenter is the first candidate to replace Outland Trophy winner Andre Smith, though he will have to hold off 6'5", 340-pound recruit D.J. Fluker to gain that opportunity. Junior William Vlachos, a 6'0", 305-pounder and the team’s strongest lineman, looks to take the place of All-SEC center Antoine Caldwell. The right guard spot remained unsettled coming out of spring drills, but the line’s two returning starters are as solid as can be. Left guard Mike Johnson is a sound, workmanlike leader, and right tackle Drew Davis will keep pressure off the edge. But if this unit doesn’t jell, the running game will suffer.
Next week we preview the D.
It all culminated in a No. 1 ranking and perfect regular season, feeding a starving fan base. Saban worried his team would get full.
“When you get satisfied and fall in love with yourself,” Saban says, “you lose your desire.”
That might not be a problem this season in the wake of two season-ending defeats. The loss in the Southeastern Conference title game to Florida left a bad taste in many mouths. But the Sugar Bowl embarrassment administered by Utah did more than that. There’s motivation aplenty for the Crimson Tide.
Alabama may return nine starters on an already-stout defense and several key members of its offense. The Tide may have a new quarterback in junior Greg McElroy. But it wants to take care of some old business from 2008. And Alabama has a serious opportunity to finish what it started, beginning with the high-powered opener against Virginia Tech in Atlanta on national TV.
“We didn’t do what we were supposed to do last year,” nosetackle Terrence Cody says, “and that’s what made us hungry to come back this year.”
Quarterbacks
A three-year starter, John Parker Wilson exited as the program’s leader in nearly every statistical category. This year, the plan was for an open quarterback competition between McElroy, redshirt freshman Star Jackson and sophomore walk-on Thomas Darrah. But McElroy blew away the field. “Everybody knows who our players have the most respect for,” Saban says, “who has the best knowledge and experience. He’s far and away our best quarterback right now. He knows that somebody’s got to beat him out.” The whiz kid McElroy is used to waiting his turn. He did so in high school behind future Missouri star Chase Daniel. At Alabama, too. His highlight is a 34-yard touchdown pass against Auburn. “I know I haven’t started a game yet,” McElroy says. “I know I haven’t really done anything up to this point that’s proven myself.” While the athletic Jackson and the strong-armed Darrah battle to be his backup, they face another challenge this fall with talented freshman A.J. McCarron.
Running backs
Alabama’s physical ground game produced plenty of big leads and wore down many a defense. The focus of that attack was All-SEC running back Glen Coffee (1,383 yards, 10 touchdowns), who decided to leave school early for the NFL Draft. But there is talent on hand with Mark Ingram, a bruiser who gained 728 yards with 12 scores as a freshman last season, and senior Roy Upchurch, a versatile performer who gained 350 yards with four touchdowns. However, the running back position was blurred this spring because Ingram’s hamstring injury and Upchurch’s pinched nerve held them out of scrimmages. And scatback Terry Grant was inconsistent. Though the picture likely will be clearer this fall when injuries figure to be healing and blue-chip running back Trent Richardson arrives, Saban isn’t buying the notion that this unit is deep. “Just because you have numbers, how does that make you deep?” Saban says. “How many guys do we have that have done anything in the game?”
Receivers
By the end of the Sugar Bowl loss, it was clear that receiver Julio Jones had established himself as one of the top freshman receivers in the country. He finished with 58 catches for 924 yards and four scores last season. But expect improvement this year as offensive coordinator Jim McElwain utilizes the 6'4" Jones all over the field. “Because of his knowledge of the offense,” Saban says, “we can use Julio in more ways now. It makes him a more difficult player to defend.” The coaches are hoping several players will emerge to complement Jones. Among the possibilities are senior Mike McCoy (16 catches, 191 yards), who must be more consistent; the physical Earl Alexander, who must stay healthy; and sophomore Marquis Maze, who must mature. There is ample opportunity for freshmen, including Kenny Bell, Kendall Kelly and Kevin Norwood, to contribute. “We’ve got some speed guys coming in,” Saban says. The Tide will surely benefit from the addition of senior transfer Colin Peek, a former Georgia Tech tight end who immediately becomes Alabama’s top receiving tight end.
Offensive linemen
A sure sign of strength in 2008, the line was one reason Alabama averaged 4.6 yards per rush and possessed the ball for more than 32 minutes per game. Whether this unit can match that unit is a huge question mark. Junior college transfer James Carpenter is the first candidate to replace Outland Trophy winner Andre Smith, though he will have to hold off 6'5", 340-pound recruit D.J. Fluker to gain that opportunity. Junior William Vlachos, a 6'0", 305-pounder and the team’s strongest lineman, looks to take the place of All-SEC center Antoine Caldwell. The right guard spot remained unsettled coming out of spring drills, but the line’s two returning starters are as solid as can be. Left guard Mike Johnson is a sound, workmanlike leader, and right tackle Drew Davis will keep pressure off the edge. But if this unit doesn’t jell, the running game will suffer.
Next week we preview the D.
Saturday, May 23, 2009
Tide outlook for 2009-2010
http://bleacherreport.com/articles/174208-2009-alabama-football-outlook
Credit to the link above.
There's only one logical question concerning Alabama's potential for the upcoming football season: Starting with Virginia Tech, will Nick Saban have them mentally prepared, week after week, to come out on top? Because if you only go by depth and overall talent, the Tide will win every regular season game.
That opener against Va. Tech will be a huge indicator of how far Alabama will be able to go in the 2009 season. I'm guessing the Tide will be favored by six-and-a-half or seven points come game time, and for good reason, but the mental conditioning and preparedness will be the biggest factor, not the talent level.
There is no doubt Tech is good enough to beat Alabama. The key will be whether the Tide comes playing to win or playing not to lose.
I don't agree with the perception that the SEC West will be a tug of war between Alabama, LSU, and Ole Miss either. The 2009 recruiting class LSU landed brings an influx of offensive skill to their roster, but they'll be way too young to challenge Bama's experienced defense, especially in Tuscaloosa.
Houston Nutt also scored on the recruiting front with some potential immediate impact-type players, but there is only one player on that roster who can singlehandedly change the game for the Rebels. He also happens to occupy the most important individual position on the field, but, again, team talent is the deciding factor.
There is currently one team in the country with better team talent than Alabama. You'll have to humor me to a certain extent, because the cards would have to hit in an exact, specific way, but Bama just might face them twice. Granted, that would mean the SEC championship game and a rematch in the national championship, but hey, anything is possible in college football today.
My prediction is that Alabama will go undefeated in the regular season, again, and face Florida, again, in Atlanta. There's no questioning the fact that the Tide can beat Florida. It all just comes down to the players being mentally prepared to do it.
Credit to the link above.
There's only one logical question concerning Alabama's potential for the upcoming football season: Starting with Virginia Tech, will Nick Saban have them mentally prepared, week after week, to come out on top? Because if you only go by depth and overall talent, the Tide will win every regular season game.
That opener against Va. Tech will be a huge indicator of how far Alabama will be able to go in the 2009 season. I'm guessing the Tide will be favored by six-and-a-half or seven points come game time, and for good reason, but the mental conditioning and preparedness will be the biggest factor, not the talent level.
There is no doubt Tech is good enough to beat Alabama. The key will be whether the Tide comes playing to win or playing not to lose.
I don't agree with the perception that the SEC West will be a tug of war between Alabama, LSU, and Ole Miss either. The 2009 recruiting class LSU landed brings an influx of offensive skill to their roster, but they'll be way too young to challenge Bama's experienced defense, especially in Tuscaloosa.
Houston Nutt also scored on the recruiting front with some potential immediate impact-type players, but there is only one player on that roster who can singlehandedly change the game for the Rebels. He also happens to occupy the most important individual position on the field, but, again, team talent is the deciding factor.
There is currently one team in the country with better team talent than Alabama. You'll have to humor me to a certain extent, because the cards would have to hit in an exact, specific way, but Bama just might face them twice. Granted, that would mean the SEC championship game and a rematch in the national championship, but hey, anything is possible in college football today.
My prediction is that Alabama will go undefeated in the regular season, again, and face Florida, again, in Atlanta. There's no questioning the fact that the Tide can beat Florida. It all just comes down to the players being mentally prepared to do it.
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