Record Red-White Crowd, Dvoracek injured, QB Not to be Named till Aug?

Sunday, April 17, 2005 Articles

Record Red-White Crowd: Paul Thompson fired a nine-yard touchdown pass to Travis Wilson and Darrien Williams returned an interception 35 yards for a touchdown to rally the Red for a 14-10 victory in Oklahoma’s annual Red/White Spring Football Game. A record spring game crowd of 41,400 witnessed the action. “Defensively, they’re at an advantage,” said OU head coach Bob Stoops. Wednesday our offense moved the ball up and down the field, but that happens. We get to see our offense every single day. They’re used to seeing our plays. And we didn’t do everything. That’s the other part that’s hard to judge.” (SoonerSports)

Dvoracek injured: Bob Stoops said he was pleased the Sooners did not suffer any major injuries. Senior defensive lineman Dusty Dvoracek appeared to suffer an arm injury late in the scrimmage, but it didn’t appear to be serious. (NewsOK)

Special Teams Making a Impact: Much like the game, there was good and bad with the special teams. Lendy Holmes’ 103-yard kickoff return was the highlight of the day. Travis Wilson added a 40-yard-plus return. Kicker Garrett Hartley, who tackled Wilson, also nailed a 42-yard field goal and was solid in all the kickoffs. Then there was punter Cody Freeby. The sophomore, who has had no competition this spring, has struggled. It started Wednesday, when he failed to hit anything solid. That was the same way Freeby started Saturday’s scrimmage. He finally hit a few late in the second quarter. Special teams coordinataor Kevin Sumlin said Freeby’s inability might stem from a back injury. (NewsOK)

White's Friend, Stewart, Dies: Jason White had a simple explanation for how Brian Stewart lived his life. “He fought for a long time,” White said. “When people gave him weeks, he turned it into years.” Stewart, the self-proclaimed No. 1 fan of Oklahoma’s 2003 Heisman Trophy winner, died Saturday at his Tuttle home. He was 29. Stewart, who befriended White as a volunteer coach at Tuttle while White attended school there, was diagnosed at the age of 15 with a brain tumor. During White’s Heisman season, he spoke of how inspirational Stewart was to him. Stewart said the same about White. “He’s definitely left an impression on my life,” White said. “His attitude on life, you never knew anything was wrong. He turned everything negative into a positive.” Services for Stewart will take place at 1:30 p.m. Tuesday in the Tuttle High School gym, under the direction of Ferguson Funeral Home of Chickasha. (NewsOK)

No QB to be named Starter till late August? Saturday's Red-White game did little to separate any of the three Oklahoma quarterbacks vying to succeed Jason White. "But then I didn't expect it to," said offensive coordinator Chuck Long, adding that it's likely no decision on the starter would be made until 10 days before the Sept. 3 opener against TCU. Paul Thompson, Tommy Grady and Rhett Bomar each had their moments during the controlled offense vs. defense scheme that was dominated by the defense before an estimated crowd of 41,500. Thompson and Bomar each threw two interceptions. Thompson moved the offense to its only touchdown on a 55-yard drive that ended with a 9-yard pass to Travis Wilson. The TD was set up by his 38-yard toss to redshirt freshman Quentin Chaney.(Star-Telegram)

It was an average day for QB candidates, Stoops says: The Oklahoman

It wasn't pretty, but it's no reason to fret: The Oklahoman

Dampeer watches spring outing from the stands: The Oklahoman

Gutierrez a first-teamer to elementary kids: The Oklahoman

Defensive stand: Norman Transcript

Uncertainty the only certainty: Norman Transcript

Sooners' QB question still up in air: Dallas Morning News