Sam the Man

by ccmachine on Aug 21, 2007 5:26 PM CDT in Football Comment 10 comments

We've speculated for weeks and have been most certain since Saturday but now it is official. Redshirt freshman Sam Bradford has been named Oklahoma's starting quarterback.

"We feel very good about all three of those guys," Bob Stoops said. "All three have made great improvement and contributed a lot to our program.

"We are going with Sam because he earned the position. We expect both Joey and Keith to continue working hard and competing for playing time just like all our players do at every position. There may be an opportunity for them at some point and it will be important for them to be ready."

Rumors were swirling yesterday that Stoops had a sit down meeting with Bradford before practice to let him know that he would be the starter. Apparently it was more than just speculations as Bradford led the first team offense in practice as the Sooners began game preparations.

While Sam Bradford doesn't have the strongest arm among the three quarterbacks who were competing for the job he does bring a ton of athleticism and poise to the table. He just has a knack for making plays and proved that Saturday night. While a driving rain storm left Joey Halzle and Keith Nichol almost ineffective Bradford prospered throwing four touchdowns and no picks.

With the talent that OU has on offense an athletic guy with proven talent making ability that protects the ball is what the Sooners need to be a championship contender.

As far a Nichol goes the Sooner Nation is divided on whether he should be redshirted or not. I say go ahead and slap the redshirt on him and keep him eligible for four more seasons. I realize he has a ton of talent but he doesn't appear to be quite ready to play effectively at this level. His future is ahead of him and it is a bright one at that. For now though this is Bradford's time to shine and Halzle can play back up.

Unless Bradford gets injured or just falls on his face Nichol shouldn't be on the field this season, at any position. In my humble opinion!

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Not totally surprised

Bradford had the best night saturday, he was opurtunistic, and the others faltered. Prior to the scrim I thought Halzle still was in the mix but Bradford showed something (esspecially in the redzone), and in the end thats what seemed to decide it.
Nichols should take the redshirt, he will be awsome in a few seasons if hes still around.
Halzle, well he should stick around (and probably will for obvious reasons)because as we can all recall, you never know what is going to, and can happen.

I thought this was a close compitition and I think most would agree, and i can only hope the best man truly won.

by AngryAngel65 on Aug 21, 2007 6:35 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

Not totally surprised

How patient do you think the coaching staff
are going to be with the QB's? How patient would you want them to be? I still think they were a little premature with their decision with Paul and Rhett. I just hope we're not going to see the same thing this year.

OU shouldn't have trouble with North Texas but for the sake of conversation, say NT stacks the line and has success stopping the run and forces Bradford to throw into coverage and he throws an interception or two. I hope the staff doesn't jump ship and throw Nichol into the game. That could be detrimental to the confidance of the offense not to mention Bradford.

by Coach Blake on Aug 22, 2007 8:53 AM CDT reply actions 0 recs

I think they'll stick with Bradford

The competition was a lot closer between Bomar and Thompson. I think Bradford will need and have the freedom to grow into the position. That means he'll have to make some mistakes and learn from them but as long as the mistakes become limited and he makes positive plays along with them he'll be the man.

by ccmachine on Aug 22, 2007 10:10 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

jumping ship

man I hope the same thing, but my guess is if they did jump ship it would be to halzle, but they wont, due to past lessons learned, about not letting, as ccmachine says, the qb grow into his postion.

by AngryAngel65 on Aug 22, 2007 6:42 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

Next Question

How many reps if any should Nichol get in blow-out games? I feel the coaches want Nichol to be OU's 'franchise' QB. He, in the eyes of the staff is the future. Do they burn his redshirt or play him as often as possible in case of a season ending injury to Bradford?

by Coach Blake on Aug 24, 2007 9:02 AM CDT reply actions 0 recs

Syicking it Out!

He's already said that he's sticking out at OU no matter what.

I've got mixed emotions about the redshirt. I'd like to keep him around as long as possible but I also think he'd be the best choice for back up and could contribute during this season.

by ccmachine on Aug 25, 2007 12:23 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Sticking around

I hope so, but im just throwing it out there as a possiblity

by AngryAngel65 on Aug 25, 2007 1:47 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Redshirt

Nichols himself has shown disdain for a redshirt, but he said he would do what was best for the team, and redshirt is best, it gives him another year of eligibility, so a year starting if bradford plays amazingly and goes to the NFL early
(my math may be wrong if so correct me)(not good at math.) Or we could see a white/Hybl ish compitition, injuries and all, and of course the inevitable transfers in a qb race(I'm thinking big picture here not just this season)
Expect a two qb system this year if nichols doesnt get the red shirt, but in limited situations simlier to tim tebow last year to highlight Nichols Escapability if not the same physicality tebow displayed.
So if he does not take the redshirt i would expect him to play in some capacity most games, not just blowouts, e.g. halzle last season.

by AngryAngel65 on Aug 24, 2007 5:59 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

coach blake

where do you coach at? jus wondering...got a cousin whose o line at yukon...yeah i know the records, but their getting better so no need to comment on that.

by AngryAngel65 on Aug 24, 2007 7:53 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

Coach

I'm not really a coach. I was given that nickname a long time ago and it just stayed with me. I'm in the medical imaging profession and some of the students that rotate through my department call me "coach"

by Coach Blake on Aug 27, 2007 3:21 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs