Oklahoma Sooners Football Hot Links: OU’s linebacker situation seems set (for now)

Don’t look now, but game week is nearly upon us, folks. As we approach the return of Oklahoma Sooners football, we’re beginning to find out who will have the best opportunities to become household names and who else still has to prove themselves. The competition for the middle linebacker spot may have finally concluded, and it turns out that a true freshman could be the man for the job. Bob Stoops shares his thoughts on potentially joining the College Football Playoff Committee, an Ohio State quarterback goes down with an injury, and Joe Mixon is projected to be a fantasy football must-have.

All this and more in today’s Hot Links:

OU Links:

• Freshman linebacker Kenneth Murray appears set to be the starting middle linebacker on Sept. 2, as LB Jon-Michael Terry has been dealing with an injury during fall practice. While Murray has received a lot of praise for his size and his ability to play the Mike position, there will still be a learning curve, and it will take some time for a guy who was in high school this time last year. Could Terry take the spot down the line? He sure can, and he’ll likely get some game reps even if he doesn’t start right off the bat.
• The recently retired Bob Stoops told ESPN that he would listen if the College Football Playoff Selection Committee came calling. After this season, there will be at least six new members on the committee. It would be great to see Stoops in that role, not only for the Big 12 but also for the rest of college football.
• Joe Mixon and other top rookie running backs are making a lot of noise in the NFL pre-season, and ESPN detailed what we should expect from each of them this year. Sounds like Joe is going to be a nice find for any fantasy footballers out there, but of course Sooner fans could have told them that long ago.

National Links:

• This was pretty damn cool to look at:

• ESPN writer Ryan McGee detailed an excellent article regarding the controversial rub route in college football. As we saw from last season’s national championship game, the call or no-call of a possible “pick” can have tremendous ramifications. Still not making sense? Read all about it here.
• Ohio State backup quarterback Joe Burrow will be out indefinitely after suffering a broken bone in his throwing hand. You hate to see anybody suffer an injury, especially right before the season starts.
• Apparently, Art Briles has not been consulting Florida Atlantic head coach Lane Kiffin. Briles’s son, Kendal, is the FAU offensive coordinator, so it would make sense if Art was in contact with him, but according to the FAU staff, Art Briles has not been a consultant for Kiffin. Hmm...
• ESPN writer Jake Trotter chronicles the life of the Oregon uniform sensation. It’s a fun piece, and it makes me interested to see how much different Oregon might be under new head coach Willie Taggart. He says there will be less uniform combinations used this season. I wonder how Oregon fans feel about that.

‘Stick to Sports!’

• Looks like the eyes of Oklahomans are safe after Monday’s eclipse. If you didn’t have the proper protective eyewear, but your vision seems fine and you’re not in any pain, you should be good to go by now.
• For all you Game of Thrones fans, you’ll definitely want to read up on this NY Times piece. It’s a behind-the-scenes take on the production of the hit series, including some of the more recent happenings. I thought the part about people having an issue with the speed of the raven was amusing, to say the least.