Who will be the starting QB???

[occupant]

whats the word on what they have been practicing down there.
the same old same old, or something new and different???

You see how fat Heupel is getting? Too many late night meetings and film studies with pizza for a date lol. He's been putting in the work.

Split back sets with more under center QB is the only wrinkle I've heard but it's totally expected. Less slot and more TE. Millard/Williams/Clay/Finch/Ross/Ford gives you 6 different backfield options...lots of sets you could create with differing combinations. Millard will be all over the place, but that's not really anything new. Still one of the strongest WR corps in the nation with Saunders/Shepard/Neal/Reynolds/Metoyer/Bester & Woods.

There won't be many redshirts from here on out. That's one of the things they have been working on to boost their recruiting...getting everyone on the field that is worth putting on the field. Bob now realizes it's a MUCH different game than 10 years ago. Gambling as it were on the untested talent placing less of an emphasis on 'tenure'. You have to maximize your potential with kids with all of the early departures, etc.

It's going to be an exciting year. New blood in the coaching ranks, new offensive schemes...holy shit I can't wait!!

 

[KansasSooner]

But what's the defense looking like? That's the part that concerns me more than anything. The weapons are there on offense no doubt but do we really want to play shoot out with teams all season long?

 

[outofyourmind]

So, any word yet on the starting QB??
somebody said Bob would announce it today.

and when I say somebody, I really mean I made that up.

 

[KansasSooner]

Nothing yet but Gundy is going with a platoon system at Okie State. Some sportswriter suggested maybe OU should do the same thing.

 

[occupant]

Everyone I know says that the passing game is split down the middle between them. They are both good in the short game, with Knight better with touch but Bell slightly better when checking down. Neither has the long touch like Landry or Sam.

It really is a toss up. Most in the know think Knight is better because of his legs and the fact thatwe spread ppl out

I want the best game manager and fiercest competitor, all things being equal.

 

[Wheat]

good read in the TW, this morning......long tho.

NORMAN - Trevor Knight's remarkable ascension, from scout-team redshirt to spring game also-ran to least-experienced underdog in the battle to replace Landry Jones, topped out Thursday when coach Bob Stoops announced Knight had beaten Blake Bell to become Jones' successor as Oklahoma starting quarterback.

"Both Trevor and Blake have competed hard and both will be ready to play against Louisiana-Monroe," Stoops said in an OU statement. "Like every other position on our team, I expect them both to continue competing for the starting job."

Right now, Knight appears to be Stoops' clear choice. He was OU's first quarterback with the first-team offense at practice all week, and only cemented his place as the Sooners worked toward preparations for their Aug. 31 opener against ULM.

It marks a stunning turn of events around the OU program, a giant leap of faith in a redshirt freshman whose last pass in a game was thrown for San Antonio Reagan High School.

It also marks a pivot point in Stoops' 15-year career as Sooners coach.

Jason White was more multi-skilled than Nate Hybl in 2001. He had, it turns out, Heisman Trophy capability. But Stoops chose Hybl, Josh Heupel's backup, to start that season.

Rhett Bomar was the highest-rated quarterback Stoops ever signed. Yet he couldn't beat Paul Thompson, White's backup, to start the '05 season.

White beat Hybl to start in '02, but by then he had the necessary experience. Sam Bradford beat Keith Nichol and Joey Halzle in '07, when none of the three candidates had Division I experience.

History indicated Bell, a short-yardage phenomenon who was Insight Bowl MVP two years ago and Jones' backup last fall, would be a slam-dunk heir apparent. And that was before the Red/White Game in April.

Bell went 14 of 23 for 213 yards and two touchdowns. Knight finished 8 of 15 for 86 yards and lost a snap that turned into a defensive touchdown.

It was the kind of "tragic mistake" Stoops kept harping on when quizzed about the quarterback race. You heard that and figured Knight was a distant third behind both Bell and Kendal Thompson, OU's third-string quarterback last year as a redshirt freshman.

A different story was being told behind the scenes, however. The ability that allowed Knight to pass for 3,721 yards, rush for 1,993 more and account for 75 touchdowns his last two years at Reagan was bursting through.

He drove the Sooners nuts impersonating Texas A&M quarterback Johnny Manziel during Cotton Bowl preparations last December.

"I was, like, 'The kid is unreal. Why is he doing this to us?' " OU defensive end R.J. Washington said at the time. "They started throwing scripts. Everybody was getting mad."

"Trevor has a chance to bring some noise," cornerback Aaron Colvin predicted.

The following spring, even as Knight struggled the first chance anyone got to see him, nobody panicked.

"He understands the urgency, the demands of going out there and playing and executing," offensive coordinator Josh Heupel said then. "He didn't get an opportunity to run our entire offense all the time. But he certainly has a good command of it."

"The good thing is we don't play next week, we don't have a game," Knight reasoned. "We have the whole summer to get better."

Knight went back to work with his teammates. By the time camp rolled around, the quarterback job still open, Heupel sounded much more definitive about Knight's candidacy.

"The guy's smart. He's competitive. He can make any throw you want him to make. He's a good decision-maker. He's grown tremendously in understanding what we're doing from spring ball," Heupel said. "He is an extremely talented, competitive, smart football player that has great leadership skills, as well."

Knight's grasp of OU's offense appeared to be catching up with the ability his teammates continued to notice.

"He's the most athletic of the three (quarterbacks)," center Gabe Ikard said heading into camp. "He puts up crazy numbers in the weight room with the agility and speed stuff. It probably has a lot to do with it. He's very good at throwing on the run."

When Thompson broke his foot the first day of camp, the snaps now divided between two quarterbacks instead of three, coaches got a longer look at Knight's athletic ability. They were gearing their offense to favor a more mobile quarterback anyhow. Bell could move, but not like Knight.

Knight suddenly could do a lot of things, even if nobody could see them behind the walls of OU's closed practices.

"He can break down a defense," cornerback Cortez Johnson said. "He'll know what you're doing just by looking. He sees. He's got great accuracy. He can run the ball, also."

Bell had a two-year head start in OU's program, a 20-game, 24-touchdown lead on Knight as preseason camp opened.

By late last week, when CBS Sports Radio's Doug Gottlieb suggested the more experienced Bell would be the starter by default, that lead appeared to have evaporated.

"It's natural to assume that, just because Blake for the last two years has done our short-yardage package," Stoops told Gottlieb. "But what people don't realize who aren't in the coaching game is how a young freshman can change in his second year, the more snaps he gets. Probably the most growth of a quarterback happens in that year, where they're around through another whole summer and another whole training camp. They can make a huge jump. And Trevor has done that."

This week at practice, Knight was the first quarterback with OU's starting offense. Now, he'll be the Sooners' first quarterback with the starters Aug. 31 at Owen Field.

While members of the program were unavailable for official comment Thursday, several took to Twitter later in the evening.

From running back Brennan Clay: "We gotta ride with the decision.. #boomsoon."

Guard Bronson Irwin: "Knight Rider."

Cornerback Aaron Colvin: "Luv both them boys! Regardless the D gotta produce.. Now let's ride."

"Both great guys! Could have gone either way," freshman offensive lineman Christian Daimler tweeted. "Congrats T Knight."

Tony Jefferson, a 2012 teammate, tweeted: "wow Trevor. Ur so cool .. U little starter. Proud of you man."

And this from Paul Thompson eight years after his own OU quarterback battle: "Congrats to Trevor Knight on winning the job!"