Oklahoma Sooners

NORMAN, Okla. -- While Tyrus Thompson and Lane Johnson battle for the left tackle job at Oklahoma, Daryl Williams has locked up the right tackle spot.

The redshirt sophomore tackle has major upside.

“Daryl is probably playing the best ball he’s played right now,” tackles coach Bruce Kittle said. “He’s had a great camp and I think the potential for him is unlimited.”

But what makes Williams so unique?

“He is big, thick strong guy who has worked really hard,” Kittle said. “When we recruited him, he was about 265 and he’s 305, 310 range right now. He’s an extremely hard worker in the weight room. He has a power base. He has a very steady presence, he’s one of the best run blockers we have and he’s pass [blocking] has come along.

“He’s a very steady player. I think Daryl will be a fixture at right tackle for us for the rest of his career. We’re real excited about him.”

The Oklahoma coaches know football recruiting has changed. It's no longer seasonal; it's a 365-day per year process. They know it, and they’re not fighting it. Because if they did, they would be left behind, especially as it pertains to unofficial visits.

It’s still common to rack up commitments on official visits during the fall, but the unofficial visit is threatening to replace that. OU has been getting commitments on unofficial visits, and the official visit is now more about solidifying those commitments.

“Unofficial visits are everything now,” said OU offensive coordinator Josh Heupel. “You look at all the kids committed before their senior year. They’re doing everything on their own. Recruiting has become year-round. Kids are committed before September.”

What that has meant is speeding up the evaluation process. No longer can coaches wait to evaluate a recruit during their senior season and try to get them on campus after the season. When looking at one class, it has become necessary to look at the following one, too.

“Most guys are recruited before they can take official visits,” said OU wide receivers coach Jay Norvell. “Juniors, sophomores are getting so much attention that they’re getting recruited before they can even take official visits.

“So much of it is over with before the fall of their senior season starts. Those official visits during that time are almost afterthought visits.”

It has been a nice blend for OU in terms of its recruiting. The Sooners nabbed several signees in December and January to cap off their 2012 class.

Among OU’s 12 verbal commits for 2013, three have followed unofficial visits. Three-star athlete Austin Bennett (Manvel, Texas/Manvel) actually committed during his unofficial visit.

“The unofficial visit gave me a lot of one-on-one time with Coach Norvell,” Bennett said. “You got to see how much they really cared about you and how much they wanted you in their program. It let me know OU was the place for me.”

Six of the commits were at one of OU’s two junior days in February and March.

“You’re getting juniors or sophomores in December and January when you’re out on the road,” Heupel said. “You’re getting names as you go by schools. Kids come to your campus before their senior year. They’ll come in the spring or summer heading into their senior year. It has changed the cycle of it.”

Two of OU commits, Fresno (Calif.) Central East four-star safety Hatari Byrd and three-star safety Ahmad Thomas (Miami/Central) have not seen the campus and are using their official visit to make sure they’re 100 percent with OU.

And as OU found last year, sometimes its best work is done during the official visit time period. Not because that was the plan but because it had to work out that way.

“At times some of our best guys have been guys we’ve gotten in December,” Heupel said. “It’s an on-going process. Your needs change as a program sometimes as well, with guys getting injured or leaving the program. There are different needs as a process goes.”

Brandon Chatmon contributed to this story.

NORMAN, Okla. -- The decision to enroll early should pay off for Oklahoma freshman tight end Taylor McNamara. While his 2012 classmates were enjoying their final semester of high school, McNamara was battling David King and R.J. Washington in practice every day.

“It certainly seasoned him,” tackles/tight ends coach Bruce Kittle said. “It was like throwing chicken in the Crock-Pot and letting it brew a little bit. He's battled with homesickness and he would have graduated in May and he’s competing with David King and those guys. The speed of the game at times felt really overwhelming for him.”

McNamara battled homesickness early in his first semester but finished spring football strong and was one of the standouts of the spring game with three receptions for 23 yards.

“He’s grown into it by fire and really matured,” Kittle said. “He’s a completely different player coming into camp. He had a great summer and has really matured. I look for great things from him; he’s everything we thought he would be. That spring certainly helped him. He’s in a great place to step right in and contribute.”

McNamara could be the best pass catching tight end on the roster.

“He’s always been a natural pass catcher, great route-runner,” offensive coordinator Josh Heupel said. “He’s grown up being comfortable in space. He wants to be a great run-blocker and he’s continuing to get better every day. If he does that, he is going to help us as an overall player.”

If McNamara can become an adequate blocker, he could provide a quality pass catching threat for Landry Jones while allowing the Sooners to use him as a multiple-down tight end instead of slotting him into a passing situation option at tight end.

Jake Trotter talks with Oklahoma center Gabe Ikard about the impact of injuries on the Sooners' offensive line.

The Big 12 got two swipes (should have been a third in 2011) at the SEC during the league's run of six national titles, but failed on both occasions.

Colt McCoy's shoulder suffered a freak injury on a usually harmless hit, and when McCoy trotted to the sideline, the Longhorns' chances of beating Alabama came off the field with him.

A season earlier, Florida twice stuffed Oklahoma on the goal line, giving Tim Tebow his second national title and denying the Sooners the school's eighth.

So, who among the Big 12's contenders this season is best suited to end the SEC's tyranny?

The Sooners are simply the best team, even though Oklahoma is loaded with flaws. Question marks on the offensive and defensive lines as well as at linebacker could prove problematic in a showdown with one of the SEC titans, but the Sooners would love for the play of four-year starting quarterback Landry Jones to answer it. He's got the skills to decipher complex SEC defensive schemes and the pocket presence to elude the rush. His arm strength assures that SEC secondaries will have to cover the whole field.

The Sooners would have to get past Texas in the Red River Rivalry to make that happen. (Never mind 2008. Just humor me here.) If the Longhorns can survive a brutal Big 12 schedule with six 10-win teams on the docket, they're probably the best Big 12 team suited to beat one of the SEC's best teams in a national title game.

The problem is producing enough offense to beat Big 12 teams. In an SEC matchup, though, it's all about the line of scrimmage. Texas' defensive line may challenge LSU as the nation's best, and the Longhorns have a crazy duo at defensive end in Alex Okafor and Jackson Jeffcoat, two of the nation's best at the position.

Texas' depth at defensive line is huge, too, but it likely has the Big 12's best offensive line. The loaded backfield of Joe Bergeron, Malcolm Brown and Johnathan Gray is a good sign, too. Mack Brown brought in assistants with SEC ties like Manny Diaz (defensive coordinator), Bo Davis (defensive tackles) and Stacy Searels (offensive line) to offer his team a little SEC flavor. You want power football, Nick Saban and Les Miles? Texas would love to play some power football.

What about a Big 12 newcomer who's never won the league and never played for a national title in the BCS era?

West Virginia is all about speed. There are plenty of questions on the defensive line, but the Mountaineers will test the mettle of any SEC defense that's feasted on weak offense all season. Geno Smith's got a big arm and the Big 12's two best receivers in Stedman Bailey and Tavon Austin.

West Virginia has to play its best, but if Dana Holgorsen's team can hang 70 on Clemson like it did at the Orange Bowl, the Mountaineers' biggest stage last season, you've got to like its chances to at least put 30 or 40 on the board against an SEC team. Do that, and WVU will have a shot. Just have to survive the first year in the Big 12 and win a league title first.

There's no USC in the Big 12, a team built for a title run in 2012. The Big 12 does have plenty of contenders, though, and if any of these three teams gets a shot, they won't take it lightly.

NORMAN, Okla. -- It’s clear Mike Stoops wants to get more speed on the field during his first season back in Norman as Oklahoma’s defensive coordinator.

Cornerbacks have become safeties, safeties have become linebackers and linebackers have become defensive ends. Two of the latter are P.L. Lindley and Rashod Favors, two former linebackers who are battling to earn playing time at defensive end.

“P.L. Lindley and Rashod Favors are really starting to come on. They’re strong guys who can run pretty good,” defensive ends coach Bobby Jack Wright said. “They’re giving us some pretty good depth at that position. Size-wise they aren’t your prototypical defensive ends. You wouldn’t recruit those guys as defensive ends but they’re athletic enough they are going to be able to help us.”

Lindley (6-foot-2, 240 pounds) is a redshirt freshman and Favors (6-1, 250) is a redshirt sophomore.

“They're average as linebackers but you move them to defensive end and they’re pretty fast for defensive ends,” Wright said. “And they’re big enough they can hold their own in there. They’re big enough and strong enough. Rashod is one of the strongest guys on the football team. He’s like second in the bench press, so he’s strong guy who can run.”

With David King, R.J. Washington, Chaz Nelson and freshmen Mike Onuoha and Charles Tapper, the Sooners have six defensive ends battling to earn playing time this fall. For Lindley and Favors, getting familiar with the demands of a new position could be the difference between playing or learning from the sidelines.

“The problem you face is taking two guys who played a different position,” Wright said. “There’s a learning curve. They’re working hard and they’re going to give us some quality depth.”

With the duo contributing to additional depth at defensive end, OU could have the option to bring back their four-defensive end package, a staple of the Sooners' defense on passing downs in 2011.

NORMAN, Okla. -- The Sooners have finally received some good news in regard to the interior of the offensive line. Bob Stoops confirmed that redshirt freshman guard/center Nila Kasitati has been practicing for the last few days, just a couple of weeks after undergoing a procedure to correct a non-life-threatening heart condition.

“He has been practicing all this week so far and doing everything, looks good,” Stoops said. “He looks as good as ever.”

Because of injuries to Ben Habern and Tyler Evans, Kasitati figures to be OU’s top reserve on the interior of the offensive line this season.

NORMAN, Okla. -- Asked if he should be referred to as a running back or a receiver, Roy Finch said, “Well, I guess both.”

Finch, a running back by trade, has spent most of two-a-days learning slot receiver.

"I'm just trying to work wherever the coaches want me to work,” he said. "I'm just trying to get on the field and make plays for my team."

Finch admitted it has been a struggle at times learning how to read coverages as a receiver. But Finch could be a nice fit in the slot. He has above-average hands for a running back, underscored by his 34 catches last season.

"It's gonna help a lot just knowing that I have confidence in my hands,” he said. "I've been really working hard on that."

Finch believes he’ll still get snaps at running back during the season. He has been OU’s second-leading rusher each of the last two seasons. But with Dominique Whaley healthy again, Brennan Clay and the addition of Damien Williams, the Sooners have plenty of other options in the backfield. Playing slot, Finch said, is an opportunity to get more touches.

"We're a really, really talented group, I feel like, at the running back position,” Finch said. “I feel like everybody brings their kind of style to the game. Big bruisers, we have speed guys, we have guys that can catch, we have guys that can pass protect. I feel like it's going to be a pretty good year for the backs this year."