Tahlequah Daily Press

Sports

Related Photos

  • Running backs coach Cale Gundy said he likes what he sees in a couple of freshmen. (Jerry Laizure / The Transcript)

    Cale Gundy at work on the OU sideline.jpg

Discussion

Add a comment on this story
August 24, 2012

Shinn at 3 p.m.: Veterans likely to lead backfield

The Norman Transcript

NORMAN — Oklahoma running backs coach Cale Gundy likes what he's seen from freshmen Alex Ross and David Smith, but that doesn't that mean either is going to play this season.

"Everybody knows I like to play two or three guys, but I don't want to play four or five. There are only so many carries that can go around," Gundy said.

Both freshmen have arrived to find a cluttered backfield at OU. Senior Dominique Whaley has the coaching staff believing there's no lingering effects from last season's ankle injury. Junior Brennan Clay bulked up to 205 pounds in the offseason and could be the Sooners' most reliable ball carrier. Junior college transfer Damien Williams has clearly moved into the top three.

There's a common trait those three share that Ross and Smith don't. They're not freshmen and it takes a while to learn the ins and outs of the Sooners' offense.

"You've  got to know what he's going to do," Gundy said when asked what it took for a freshman to play the running back spot. "We're not a slow offense. We're not an offense that's going to huddle up. You're not going to have a guy that talks to you before every single play and tell you what the play is. You're basically learning hand signals. There's a lot going on."

Text Only
Sports
Poll

What do you think of Sen. McCain's proposal to allow cable TV channels to be sold a la carte (individually, rather than in bundles with a lot of channels no one wants)? Bear in mind some less popular channels could go by the wayside with no bundling support, and that while overall packages should theoretically decrease in cost, individual channels might cost more.

Strongly in favor of a la carte.
Somewhat in favor of a la carte.
Somewhat opposed to a la carte.
Strongly opposed to a la carte.
Undecided
     View Results
Press Sports Twitter Updates
Follow us on twitter
Follow me on Twitter
AP Video
Probe Begins After Conn. Commuter Trains Crash NTSB Begins Investigation Into Conn. Train Crash Lotto Fever Sweeps the Country Conn. Commuter Trains Collide; 60 Go to Hospital Coffee Run Leads to Hatchet Hitchhiker Arrest Fmr. IRS Head Insists No Politics in Targeting CDC: Fecal Bacteria Common in Swimming Pools $1 Million in Jewels Stolen at Cannes Film Fest NM Mom Chases Down Child Abductor Raw: Crash Sends Car Into Fla. Pool Raw: Obama Sits Down With Elementary Kids Raw: Bear Falls From Tampa Tree Ousted IRS Chief: Errors Not Caused by Politics Terror Suspect Due in Court in Idaho Friday Raw: Driver Ejected From Truck, Over Bridge Could Tobacco Be the Next Biofuel? Wash. State Releases Draft Rules for Legal Pot Dying Man's Blinks Lead to Murder Conviction Officials: Texas Tornado Likely Had 200 Mph Wind Brothers Arrested in NOLA Parade Shooting
Stocks