Ex-Sooners sign free-agent deals: Four former Sooners signed as undrafted free agents.
DB Lendy Holmes signed with Washington Redskins. Center Jon Cooper signed with Minnesota Vikings. WR Quentin Chaney signed with St. Louis Rams. G Brandon Walker was signed by the Houston Texans.
Nine Sooners named to All-Big 12 team; Stoops earns coaches honor: Oklahoma produced the coach of the year, the offensive player of the year and a total of nine first-team honorees on the 2008 All-Big 12 Conference Football Team announced Tuesday. Bob Stoops shared coach of the year honors with Texas Tech's Mike Leach, while Sam Bradford was named the league's top offensive player. Center Jon Cooper earned lineman of the year honors and redshirt freshman linebacker Travis Lewis was the defensive freshman of the year. Joining Bradford on the first team offense from Oklahoma were running back DeMarco Murray, fullback Matt Clapp, tight end Jermaine Gresham, tackle Phil Loadholt, tackle Trent Williams and guard Duke Robinson. Sooners on the first team defense included tackle Gerald McCoy and safety Nic Harris. The second team offense included OU wide receiver Juaquin Iglesias and Cooper. The second team defense contained defensive end Jeremy Beal, Lewis, cornerback Dominique Franks and safety Lendy Holmes. OU's honorable mention picks were running back Chris Brown, linebacker Keenan Clayton and offensive guard Brandon Walker. (SoonerSports.com PR)
Did you know? Sam Bradford is the third Oklahoma player to be named the Big 12 Offensive Player of the Year.
Cooper and McCoy update: Oklahoma hopes to have defensive tackle Gerald McCoy and center Jon Cooper healthy for Saturday's showdown with Texas, after the two were hurt (McCoy injured his toe and Cooper sprained his knee) at Baylor over the weekend. Asked Sunday if McCoy was all right, OU coach Bob Stoops said: "We'll see. I believe so, but I've yet to get a report from our trainer." Asked about Cooper, OU offensive coordinator Kevin Wilson said: "I talked to Scott (Anderson, the Sooners' head athletics trainer) and I think he's going to be pretty good... I expect Jon to go. I don't think it's a big deal, but we'll sense more tomorrow and see how it is." (Tulsa World)
Reynolds' perfect game: Middle linebacker Ryan Reynolds made a season high 14 tackles against Baylor, including two for losses. Defensive coordinator Brent Venables said it was about as good a game as one of his linebackers has ever played. "He graded out at 100 percent. I don't know that I've ever had that before," he said of Reynold's performance. "I tried to be very nit-picky and he graded out at 100 percent. He does a lot out there. I thought after the game that he played very well and it only confirmed watching the video." (Norman Transcript)
10 shy of 30,000: 10 points were needed for OU to become the first school in college football history to score 30,000. By total points, OU is the highest-scoring program in college football history with 29,990. (The Oklahoman)
Iglesias No. 2 all-time: Juaquin Iglesias caught six passes for 133 yards to move into second place on OU's all-time receiving yardage list. He has 2,112 yards, three more than Antwone Savage. Mark Clayton is OU's all-time leader with 3,241 yards. (Tulsa World)
Johnson surprised Sooners scored only 49 points: The way Manny Johnson saw it, the Sooners came up short in one category against Baylor. Points. "We only scored 49 points," Johnson said. "After getting 28 in the first quarter, you'd have thought that we'd get more than that." (The Oklahoman)
McCoy, Cooper, Murray injured: Defensive tackle Gerald McCoy hobbled off the field in the second half after twisting his ankle. But after a brief evaluation by trainers, he was back on his feet walking the sidelines. He never took his shoe off nor left the bench. "I'm good, I'm good," McCoy said. Center Jon Cooper left the game with a sprained knee, but said he too will be ready for Texas. Running back DeMarco Murray had an ice pack on his right knee after the game, but appeared to be walking without a limp. "We have some nicks," coach Bob Stoops said. "But I don't think there's anything too serious." (The Oklahoman)
Cooper named to Rimington Watch List: Oklahoma's Jon Cooper has been named to the preseason watch list for the Rimington Award, which is presented annually to the top center in college football. Cooper has been a mainstay in the Sooner offensive line since he broke in as a starter in 2005. He has played in 34 games at OU with 29 starts. A native of Fort Collins, Colo., Cooper is a 6-2, 285-pound senior. In all, there are 43 players on the watch List. The PAC-10 checks in with the most candidates, with seven players being named. The Big-12 is represented by six players. The SEC and Big East Conference have five players each on the Watch List. (SoonerSports PR)
OU defense suffers penalty plagued practice: Several defensive players came into the interview room Thursday pouring in sweat after a sloppy practice resulted in extra running for the defense. "We're nowhere close to being good enough," said defensive tackle Gerald McCoy. "We had way too many mistakes today." Bob Stoops called a coaches' meeting immediately after practice, meaning none of the defensive coaches were available for comment. According to McCoy, the defense was plagued by "penalties," "lack of intensity" and "mental errors." (The Oklahoman)
Alexander named First Team All-American: Wednesday, a day after being named Big 12 Conference Defensive Player of the Year, Alexander was named first-team All-American by the American Football Coaches Association. He's the 142nd All-American in OU's history. With early issues at cornerback and defensive tackle, the Sooners didn't blitz as much defensively this season, so Alexander didn't have as many game-changing plays as he did in his previous two seasons. But he still led the team with 95 tackles going into Saturday's Big 12 championship game against Nebraska, and posted a team-high 10.5 tackles for loss. He also had a hand in six turnovers and had two quarterback sacks. "Usually, these awards go to teams that have won a lot of games," OU coach Bob Stoops said Tuesday. "We're No. 1 or No. 2 (in the Big 12) in almost all defensive categories, so I'm sure that Rufus, one of our better players, I think he reaps the rewards from the sum of everybody." (Tulsa World)
Its Cotton or Fiesta for Sooners: It's the Fiesta or Cotton Bowl for Oklahoma depending on the outcome of Saturday's title game. The Big 12 Conference announced two bowl matchups on Wednesday. The AT&T Cotton Bowl indicated its desire to host one of the Conference’s divisional champions and will select the runner-up of Saturday’s Dr Pepper Big 12 Championship game to face an SEC opponent on January 1. The Pacific Life Holiday Bowl will match Texas A&M against the University of California on December 28. The winner of the Dr Pepper Big 12 Championship game automatically qualifies for the Bowl Championship Series, and will appear in the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl on January 1. (SoonerSports.com)
Cooper's Nebraska history: Sooner center Jon Cooper's dad, Tom Cooper, played at Missouri from 1972-75, experiencing his own rivalry with Nebraska. Growing up in Colorado, where CU is a latter-day rival of the Big Red, imposed a double dose of dislike for all things Husker on the OU sophomore. "I've kind of grown up hating Nebraska my fair share," Cooper said. "It's a pretty big deal for me." For Cooper, this week is somewhat like OU-Texas for his teammates. "A little bit, yeah," Cooper said. "My dad hated them, so he passed that on to me. And everybody from CU hated them, so I was surrounded, because nobody liked them in Colorado, certainly not in my house." "I definitely respect them, because they've won championships. Oklahoma's won championships. When I was recruited, my dad made sure to tell me how much of a good rivalry this is, especially back when they played every year." (NewsOK.com)
Stoops indifferent on Big XII title site: The forecast for Kansas City on Saturday night calls for below-freezing temperatures, making weather a factor. That could be avoided if the game were played in a domed stadium or warmer climate. "I'm kind of mixed on that," Stoops said. "You see pro teams out there in the middle of that weather all the time. It's part of the game you've got to manage. "Some of these (alternative championship venues) aren't really Big 12 towns, aren't maybe as exciting, so the atmosphere isn't going to be as great. I think the venue up there has been incredibly exciting." (Tulsa World)
