OU Football 2013 | Spring Practice Report

It's time for another one of your favorite segments where we scrape the bottom of the Internet barrel for any and all Oklahoma football spring practice information, or misinformation as it were.

The local media were provided access to Mike Stoops and a handful of defensive players following Wednesday's practice. Some things were said, here are some of those things.

While the media met with those on the defensive side of the ball, the hot topic of spring practice is obviously the quarterback battle. Something Oklahoma has not experienced since back in the days of Sam Bradford's redshirt season. Which, given that extended period, would lend some credence to the theory that those covering the team are so desperate for information that they will latch on to even the tiniest shred of information and run with hit.

Hence this week's apparent narrative with respect to said quarterback battle and Kendal Thompson's name emerging from the pack. Thompson, as many of you know, is the son for former OU quarterback Charles Thompson and a talented multipurpose threat both inside and outside the pocket.

The coaches have continued to reiterate that no one quarterback is currently ahead of another and anyone who knows anything about this coaching staff knows there won't be a decision on who the starter is until this summer. That doesn't mean Thompson has no chance of eventually winning the job, but any talk you hear about him this week is simply that, just talk.

It appears as though the experiment of Chuka Ndulua moving inside to defensive tackle is no longer an experiment. Both he and Mike Stoops indicated on Wednesday that the move is permanent, so much like David King did last year expect to see Ndulue on the inside this year.

Stoops said he still probably needs to at ten pounds, but that they like him on the inside to be able to take advantage of his quickness and speed against interior offensive linemen.

Oklahoma has also been using Rashod Favors some at defensive tackle in an effort to help with the lack of bodies there, but there was no mention of that move being permanent (at least for now).

True freshman and early enrollee Ahmad Thomas continues to draw praise from both coaches and players alike for his play early on at the safety position. Via Eric Bailey of the Tulsa World:

"He's got the maturity that you don't see in a lot of high school kids his age," (Mike) Stoops said. "He has a physical presence about him. He moves around the field. His instincts take over, and that's what you like to see."

Added cornerback Aaron Colvin: "He brings that thump. All the dudes on offense know when he's on the field, you better get ready to get hit. Ahmad loves to hit, but at the same time he does a really great job covering. We were watching one-on-ones today and he was out there making some plays."

In news that should make OU fans happy, new defensive line coach Jerry Montgomery was asked about his style of coaching and what to expect from his unit this year. Again, via Eric Bailey of the Tulsa World:

"Last year they were playing a two-gap style and they were doing more plugging. We're changing to a one-gap defense and we're going to be more gap control and we have to make plays," Montgomery said. "It's just different philosophies from what we're doing now to what we were doing a year ago."

The style has been embraced, Ndulue said.

"Now we're attack, attack, attack. A lot of my teammates in the D-line will benefit from that a lot. We can control the gap," Ndulue said.

If the season started today, Stoops indicated his starting secondary would be: Aaron Colvin & Cortez Johnson as corner, Julian Wilson at nickel, Quentin Hayes at strong safety, and Gabe Lynn at free safety.

Mike Stoops reiterated, as he's done since the season ended, that the linebackers will play a much larger role in the defense this year. He singled out Corey Nelson, Frank Shannon, and Aaron Franklin saying he'd "put them up against anybody." Eric Striker is also now reportedly working at middle linebacker.