DeMarco Murray has never played a single down of regular season football at the University of Oklahoma and yet he is already a legend. Almost immediately after stepping on campus last fall he developed an almost cult like following of people who were constantly hyping his playmaking ability and despite the fact that the Sooners already had an All-Conference back in Adrian Peterson were crushed when Murray was given the redshirt last season.
With Peterson gone and the running back position as deep as it is all eyes were on number 7 this weekend and there was no disappointment. At the end of the day his stat line read like this; Kick Returns: 3-60, Receiving: 1-4, Rushing: 4-103 - 1 TD.
A 25 yard-per-carry average will only increase your legend status not matter who you are playing for or replacing. Thanks to YouTube, and some guy named kansasooner, we once again have access to highlights from the Red/White game.
Here's a quick position breakdown.
Quarterbacks, Grade: C+
Joey Halzle put up the most passing yards but Sam Bradford made the most impressive passes. In my opinion Bradford has the best grasp on this offense and shows tremendous poise for a redshirt freshman. He's my leader at this point to get the starting position.
Running Backs, Grade: A
Allen Patrick's fumble kept this unit from getting an A+. At this point Patrick appears to be the third best running back on the team, at best, but he does have the most starting experience at his advantage.
We've already chimed in on DeMarco Murray but Chris Brown also had a solid outing putting him number two on my depth chart.
Receivers/Tight Ends, Grade: C+
Malcolm Kelly didn't play, because he is sitting the spring out to rehab his knee, and he was sorely missed. Several receivers made some big plays but their overall effort was marred by way to many dropped passes. The offense was very vanilla as it normally is for a spring game but I would have liked to have seen the tight ends a little more involved in the passing game.
Offensive Line, Grade: B+
This unit is light years ahead of where it was at this time last spring. They are big, strong and cohesive. The running backs had huge holes to run through and the quarterbacks had adequate time. I'm not really concerned about the 9 sacks for two reasons. One, it was the Oklahoma defense they were going up against and two, it's a lot easier to sack a quarterback when all you have to do is just touch him.
Defensive Backs, Grade: B-
The defensive backs dropped almost as many interceptions as the receivers dropped receptions. There were still a few blown assignments but I like the move of Reggie Smith back to corner and DJ Wolfe to safety.
Linebackers, Grade: B
Mike Reed set the tone early for the linebackers with his hit on Allen Patrick and they played pretty well. While not quite up to last year's standard this unit will one again be very solid.
Defensive Line, Grade: B
Gerald McCoy was a last minute scratch but DeMarcus Granger proved that he will be a force up front by living in the Sooners backfield. If McCoy can provide similar productivity this line will be dominating because opposing teams won't be able to effectively double team both guys.
Red/White Game Stats
Scoring Plays
Murray 18 yard run
Whitson 23 yard pass from Bradford
Tennell fumble recovery in end zone
Patrick 1 yard run.
Tennell 45 yard pass from Halzle
Passing
Halzle -- 7-18-162, 1 TD, 1 INT
Bradford -- 9-14-110, 1 TD
Nichol -- 3-7-25
Rushing
Murray -- 4-103, 1 TD (18)
Brown -- 11-67
Patrick -- 8-20
Gutierrez -- 9-15
Nichol -- 6-15
Anderson -- 2-(-3)
Bradford -- 1-(-7)
Halzle -- 1-(-8)
McEachern -- 3-(-13)
Receiving
Chaney -- 2-65
Tennell -- 2-64, 1 TD
Whitson -- 2-45, 1 TD
Brow -- 2-35
Johnson -- 2-23
Zaslaw -- 2-19
Gresham -- 1-14
Caleb -- 1-11
Strong -- 1-8
Eldridge -- 1-5
Finley -- 1-5
Murray -- 1-4
Gutierrez -- 1-(-1)
Kicking
Hartley -- 4-for-4 PATs, 0-1 FG (52)
Moreland -- 1-for-1 PAT
Punting
Knall -- 6 punts, 33.7 avg.
Cohen -- 5 punts, 41.6 avg.
Kick Returns
Murray -- 3-60 (20.0 avg.)
Johnson -- 2-24 (12.0 avg.)
Iglesias -- 1-18 (18.0 avg.)
Tackles
Harris -- 8
Reed -- 7, 1 TFL (-2), 1 FF, 1 PBU
Lofton -- 7, 1 TFL (-3), 1 FR
L. Robinson -- 6, 2 PBU
Bowers -- 6, 1 sack (-3)
Smith -- 6
Nelson -- 6
Wolfe -- 6
Granger -- 5, 3 sacks (-12)
B. Jackson -- 5, 1 PBU
Holmes -- 4, 2 PBU
Davis -- 4
Franks -- 3
A. Taylor -- 3, 2 sacks (-6)
Baker -- 2, 1 INT (13 yards), 1 FF
Clayton -- 2, PBU
D. Pleasant -- 2, 1 TFL
English -- 2, 2 sacks (-12)
M. Walker -- 1, 2 PBU
Beal -- 1, 1 sack (-3)
J. Williams -- 1, 1 TFL (-3)
Bennett -- 1
Crow -- 1
Box -- 1
Macon -- 1
Taggart -- 1