Oklahoma Sooners Spring Football Preview | Quarterbacks

A year ago the race was on to replace Landry Jones as Oklahoma's starting quarterback. Most assumed that the spring would solidify Blake Bell as the starter, leaving Kendal Thompson and Trevor Knight to battle it out for the back up spot. Fast forward a year, Bell is now a tight end, Thompson has his bags packed for Utah and Knight has a Sugar Bowl MVP under his belt. Yeah, it'll be a much different storyline this spring with the OU signal callers.

The Incumbent - Sophomore, Trevor Knight (6-1/201) - With his Sugar Bowl performance being the signature moment of his young Sooner career, Knight must build upon his success and that starts in the spring. He won't be competing for the starting job this year so his primary focus of his spring will be developing chemistry with a new crop of receivers and a new center. Don't expect to see a whole lot from Knight in the spring game for two reasons. First, Knight is the only quarterback now with starting experience and you certainly don't want to see your starter go down with a freak injury. Second, The real quarterback attention this spring will need to be devoted to developing a backup.

The Race - Cody Thomas (6-5/209) vs. Justice Hansen (6-4/215) - Neither guy has a down of game experience at the collegiate level but either could be called upon next fall to help the Sooners in a pinch, which means they have this spring to get ready. I think that the perfect scenario would end with Hansen getting a redshirt this fall but the true freshman will be given ample opportunity to secure the number two spot on the depth-chart.

Name To Watch - Cody Thomas - The two-sport star has a slight advantage over Hansen in that he's a redshirt freshman who has been with the team through an entire season. He'll have to work hard to fend off Hansen and it may not be experience, rather his skill set, that gets it done.

Synopsis - Its a new era at quarterback at Oklahoma and this spring marks the first time that all three signal callers are underclassmen. While Knight is going to be the starter this fall we must keep in mind that he's just a sophomore and, as incredible as his Sugar Bowl performance was against Alabama, he's going to be prone to making mistakes that young quarterbacks make. This spring won't be about him as much as it'll be about the freshman though. They are the ones who have the most to gain from the spring workouts.