Harris signs with Buffalo: Rookie Nic Harris has agreed to a contract with the Bills after Buffalo chose Harris in the 5th round of the 2009 NFL Draft. Harris, a defensive back at the University of Oklahoma is expected to make the transition to linebacker with the Bills. In 51 career games with the Sooners (37 starts), Harris recorded 233 tackles, good enough for 6th place all-time amongst OU defensive backs. (13WHAM) Terms of contract were not released. Details will be published when available.
Duke Robinson signs multi-year deal with Panthers: The Carolina Panthers have signed fifth-round pick Duke Robinson. The guard from Oklahoma inked a four-year deal Wednesday that includes a signing bonus of about $172,000. He's expected to provide needed depth on the offensive line after Carolina released Jeremy Bridges and lost Geoff Hangartner and Frank Omiyale in free agency. (SI/Associated Press)
Panthers select Duke Robinson No. 163 overall: Carolina Panthers drafted Duke Robinson a 6-5, 329-pound guard in the fifth round. Robinson on what position he'll play, "I think I can play any position [guard or tackle] wherever they need me."
Bradford, Gresham, McCoy, Robinson earn All-American honors: Sophomore defensive tackle Gerald McCoy (Oklahoma City, Okla.) and junior tight end Jermaine Gresham (Ardmore, Okla.) joined sophomore quarterback Sam Bradford (Oklahoma City, Okla.) and senior offensive guard Duke Robinson (Atlanta, Ga.) as All-Americans for OU in 2008. This marks the seventh time in Bob Stoops' 10 seasons at Oklahoma that the Sooners have produced multiple All-Americans in the same season. Oklahoma has now produced 148 First Team All-Americans overall since Claude Reeds first earned the honor in 1913. Under Coach Stoops, 28 Sooners have earned All-America honors. The NCAA officially recognizes the Associated Press, American Football Coaches Association (AFCA), Football Writers Association of America (FWAA), Sporting News and Walter Camp Football Foundation All-America teams in determining consensus (listed by at least half) and unanimous (listed by all) selections. (SoonerSports.com)
Oklahoma's English, Robinson among Lombardi semifinalists: Oklahoma's Auston English and Duke Robinson are among the 12 semifinalists announced for the 39th Rotary Lombardi Award, presented by Wachovia. The group was made public Thursday at a kickoff event at SRO Sports Bar & Café. This year's award dinner will be held on December 10 at the Hilton Americas Hotel in Downtown Houston. English is a defensive end for the Sooners, while Robinson is the offensive left guard. Robinson was s semifinalist last season as well. Both hope to become the fourth OU player to win the coveted honor. Lee Roy Selmon won the Lombardi in 1975, Tony Casillas in 1995 and Tommie Harris in 2003. (SoonerSports.com)
Bradford, Robinson named to mid-season All-American by CBSSports.com: Oklahoma quarterback Sam Bradford and offensive guard Duke Robinson have been named to the mid-season All-America team selected by CBSSports.com. Bradford, who led the nation in passing efficiency last season, is No. 2 in that statistic this season. The sophomore from Oklahoma City has completed 134-of-185 passes for 2,052 yards with 23 touchdowns and just five interceptions. Last Saturday against Texas, he threw five TD strikes to raise his career total to 59, an NCAA record over a freshman and sophomore season. Robinson, a consensus All-American last season, is OU's starter at left guard. The Sooner offense ranks No. 4 in scoring and passing and is No. 6 in total yards. (SoonerSports.com)
Granger may return to practice Monday? Injured defensive tackle DeMarcus Granger (foot) may be ready to return to practice next week in preparation for Texas. "The reports to this point are positive," OU coach Bob Stoops said. "There is good speculation that he could practice Monday. So we'll see." (The Oklahoman)
Robinson benched due to disciplinary? Stoops said left guard Duke Robinson's absence from the lineup throughout the TCU game was not injury related and was "more of a disciplinary issue" that was "not related to a few weeks ago" when Robinson was benched for the Tennessee-Chattanooga game. (Tulsa World)
Alexander to return soon? Stoops also said injured redshirt freshman defensive end Frank Alexander could return to practice Monday as well. Alexander has missed OU's last three games and isn't expected to play against Baylor on Saturday. Alexander is still recovering from a stab wound he suffered at a Norman nightclub. (Dallas Morning News)
Johnson disputes holding call: Oklahoma slot receiver Manny Johnson politely disputed the flag he received for holding on a play that wiped out an apparent 66-yard touchdown catch by tight end Jermaine Gresham in the first quarter against TCU on Saturday. "I'd tell you if I was holding him," Johnson said Tuesday. "I don't think it was a hold. It was a good block." Offensive coordinator Kevin Wilson seemed to back Johnson. "If the [official] wants to call that," Wilson said, "I guess he calls it. In my eyes, it was hard to give [Johnson] a minus."(Star-Telegram)
Duke Robinson and Auston English on Lombardi Award watch list: Oklahoma's Duke Robinson and Auston English are on the watch list for the 2008 Rotary Lombardi Award. They are among 54 players named to the preliminary list. Robinson, OU's left guard, was a consensus All-American last year, for a Sooners offense that ranked No. 1 nationally in passing efficiency, No. 5 in scoring, No. 5 in sacks allowed, No. 19 in total yards and No. 30 in rushing. One finalist and three semi-finalists from last year's Rotary Lombardi Award voting are among 54 players selected to the 2008 preliminary watch list released today. The 6-5, 330-pound senior graded at 85% last season. He was on the field for 663 plays with 97 knockdowns. English, a junior defense end, was No. 15 in the nation last season with .86 sacks per game. He had a total of 15 despite missing four games due to injury. English also had a team-high 13 tackles for loss. His 1.18 tackles for loss per game led the Big 12. Eligibility for the Rotary Lombardi Award is limited to down linemen and those defensive players who line up within five yards of the football. The candidates earned a place on the preliminary watch list by earning All-American honors or by being named to their respective all-conference first team as selected by the conference's head coaches. (SoonerSports PR)
Former OU winners of the Lombardi Award: 1975 Lee Roy Selmon 1985 Tony Casillas 2003 Tommie Harris
Duke Robinson named Lombardi award semifinalist: Oklahoma left guard Duke Robinson has been named a semifinalist for the 38th Rotary Lombardi Award presented by Wachovia. The list of 12 was announced today. The recognition dinner for the winner has been set for Dec. 5 at the Americas Hotel in downtown Houston. Robinson, a native of Atlanta, is working on a string of 21 consecutive starting assignments for the Sooners. The 6-5, 352-pound junior is grading at 80% for the season and averaging 10 knockdowns per game. His high game for knockdowns was 13 against Miami. The 200 7 Sooners rank No. 1 nationally in passing efficiency, No. 4 in scoring offense, No. 14 in total offense, No. 21 in rushing offense and No. 35 in passing. Perhaps most impressive from the offensive line's standpoint is the fact that OU is No. 6 in sacks allowed at just 0.71 per game. The other semifinalists include LB Xavier Adibi from Virginia Tech, OT Sam Baker of USC, DE Calais Campbell of Miami, LB Dan Connor of Penn State, DT Glenn Dorsey of LSU, LB James Laurinaitis of Ohio State, LB J Leman of Illinois, DE Chris Long of Virginia, OL Jake Long of Michigan, C Alex Mack of California and DE George Selvie of South Florida. (SoonerSportsPR)
Robinson named CollegeFootballNews.com first team midseason All-American: The midseason All-American honors keep coming for the Sooners. OU offensive guard Duke Robinson was named a first-team All-American by CollegeFootballNews.com. Cornerback Reggie Smith made the second team. (NewsOK.com) Austin English named to watch list: The Ted Hendricks Award, which annually honors the top defensive end in college football, has added Oklahoma's Auston English to its watch list for the 2007 season. English, who redshirted last season after playing one year at OU, has made a big splash in his sophomore season. He currently ranks No. 9 nationally with 1.1 sacks per game and No. 11 in tackles for loss at 1.1. The Canadian, Texas, product was particularly impressive in his last two outings, both of which came against ranked opponents. He had two sacks against No. 19 Texas, then notched a career-high nine tackles and 1.5 sacks versus No. 11 Missouri. (SoonerSports PR)
