Oklahoma Sooners

Running back Daniel Brooks, who committed to the Sooners in March 2011 then suffered a knee injury his senior year of high school, is finally running again and hopes to regain his health as he redshirts this season.

“He wasn’t able to practice but we still brought him in with the 105 group (this summer), so that he could rehabilitate,” Bob Stoops said Tuesday. “He’s been diligent out there with the trainers and he’s been running the past week-and-a-half. He’s been very diligent just going through the rehab phase. And he’s doing well with it.”

Stoops added that the Sooners never wavered in honoring Brooks’ scholarship, even though it was apparent he had a long recovery back from severed ligaments in his knee.

“It is the right thing to do,” Stoops said. “He made a commitment to us and we were committed to him. Now, it’s a different story had you offered a guy and he never committed to you. You’re not obligated there. But if we tell a guy that, then we’re going to stay with it. Most all the coaches I know would do that. I’d be pretty surprised if anyone didn’t do that.”

SoonerNation writer Jake Trotter chatted with readers Monday. Here's the full transcript. If you didn't get your question answered, send it to Jake's mailbag to be published on Friday.

Here are a few highlights from the chat:

Braden (oklahoma city): Out of 5 wide receivers coming in who's the biggest deep threat? And who's gonna be in the slot? Brennan Clay?

Jake Trotter: He's not as polished, but Courtney Gardner has the most potential to become that kind of player. Daniel Brooks, who could play slot, is actually the fastest of the incoming receivers, but he's not an outside receiver. I see Clay, Trey Franks, Brooks and Sterling Shepard all getting looks in the slot. Eventually, I think Sterling wins the job there. Maybe not right away, though.

Tony (Richmond, CA): Is this a make or break year for Josh Heupel at offensive coordinator?

Jake Trotter: OU was top 10 in scoring last season, despite not having its best player for a third of the season. So no, this is not a make or break season for Heupel. He had one bad game plan, Oklahoma State, and it was bad. But Heupel had a nice season for a rookie coordinator. He'll only get better.

Mason (alabama): It looks like OU has one of the toughest 3 game stretches in the Big 12 with @WVU, vs OSU and @TCU! How does the 3 game stretch and their entire schedule fare for OU?

Jake Trotter: Texas has a pretty tough stretch with OSU, West Virginia and OU back-to-back-to-back, but OU's is about as tough, considering WV and TCU are on the road. That stretch will make or break OU's season. It could catapult OU into the national title game. It could also send the Sooners to the Insight Bowl again.

Aaron (Weatherford): Will Landry Jones ever learn how to avoid the pass rush? And if not will the sooner offensive line be any better in 2012?

Jake Trotter: If he wants to be a Top 10 pick, Landry needs to devote the next few months to his footwork. It's one of the glaring weaknesses in his game. As for the line, it has a chance to be the best OU's had since 2008. Gabe Ikard, Ben Habern,Tyler Evans are all 2- and 3-year starters, Adam Shead is an up-and-coming run blocking guard. Lane Johnson is a solid tackle. Among Will Latu, Daryl Williams and Tyrus Thompson, I expect someone to emerge as a solid counterpart at tackle.

Thomas (Bee Cave): Long term conjecture for the basketball program?

Jake Trotter: I like Kruger. I think he and his staff have done a reasonably good job making this team competitive. But the cupboard is bare. And until Kruger recruits better players (his forte is developing players, not recruiting), the Sooners are going to have a hard time making the NCAA tourney.

SoonerNation writer Jake Trotter chatted with readers Monday. Here's the full transcript. If you didn't get your question answered, send it to Jake's mailbag to be published on Friday.

Here are a few highlights from the chat:

Junior (Oklahoma City): If Landry Jones get injured who do the sooners go with Allen, Bell or Thompson? Why?

Jake Trotter: If Landry got hurt tomorrow, Drew Allen would be the QB. If Landry got hurt in August, who knows? Could be Blake Bell if his passing continues to improve. Kendal Thompson has some potential, but he has a ways to go in terms of learning the offense to catch up with Allen or Bell.

Deeann (Dallas): How will team compensate without Ryan Broyles?

Jake Trotter: You can't replace a Ryan Broyles with one player. OU will try to do it with several, including a host of talented newcomers. There's enough talent on this offense to score 40-plus a game next season.

Josh (Lizard Lick): With the hiring of Mike Stoops, will there be any difference in the defense this upcoming year (i.e. blitz more/less, press coverage/zone)

Jake Trotter: I expect Mike Stoops to simplify the secondary coverages significantly next season. There's no question OU's DBs at times looked like they had no idea what they were supposed to be doing at times. Guys like Derrick Strait have told me that Mike preaches simplicity back there so guys can focus more on playing instead of thinking. The rest of the defense should be fairly similar.

Joshua (Houston): Do you think Daniel Brooks ends up as a DB or does he make headway at RB? Based on his film he looks like he has Trey Franks speed with Roy Finch elusiveness...

Jake Trotter: I think the Sooners will give him a look in the slot initially, but it's very possible he gets moved to corner ultimately. Brooks has world class speed... I could see him becoming a return specialist as well. The Sooners could really use somebody like that.

Derrin (Plano, TX): Will the offensive line improve this year and be able to consistently open holes for the running game? The unit has been average at best since the Loadholt and Joseph line a few years back?

Jake Trotter: I believe this group has the chance to be OU's best since the '08 line. Four starters are back, including three multi-year starters. Adam Shead is a rising star, and brings physicality to the run game. The key will be the tackles. Can Lane Johnson make a seamless switch to LT? Can somebody like Daryl Williams emerge at RT?

Running backs coach Cale Gundy weighs in on Oklahoma’s running back signing class:

• Alex Ross: “This one here is very, very special. I think the great days are ahead of him. His junior year, he started out playing linebacker. Jenks had a running back get hurt, and they moved him over and he absolutely tore it up.”

• Daniel Brooks: “Daniel will be the fastest signee we have. Lot of speed, lot of quickness. You get him the ball, get him in space, if gets ahead a step on anybody, he will not be caught. He’ll return kicks, play some in the slot, and we’ve even talked with him about playing some corner, some defensive back. The great thing about Daniel is he just wants to win.”

• David Smith: “Very strong upper body, he’s got very good hands. An extremely, extremely hard worker. Great character. We’re so excited to have him.”

• Damien Williams: “Obviously Damien is going to be much more mature than a high school player. He looks the part. Great speed, great strength, great hands. He has a chance to make an immediate impact in a very strong way for us.”

NORMAN, Okla. – When Bob Stoops brought his brother back to Norman, he envisioned recapturing the magic that generated some of the best defenses in Oklahoma history.

Instead, Stoops will now have to hire a linebacker coach.

Wednesday night, co-defensive coordinator Brent Venables announced that he has left Oklahoma to become the defensive coordinator at Clemson, leaving the Sooners with another coaching vacancy.

In hiring Mike Stoops last week, Bob Stoops believed he was getting the band back together.

With Mike Stoops calling the defense and Venables co-coordinating, the Sooners ranked third nationally in fewest yards allowed in 2003. In 2001, Oklahoma ranked fourth.

And in the 2000 national championship game, the Stoops brothers and Venables devised a defensive game plan for the ages as the Sooners kept Florida State’s high-powered offense from scoring.

Too much time, however, had passed. And Bob Stoops’ hopes proved to be short-lived. After Venables and Mike Stoops took a recruiting trip together to Florida, Venables and his wife flew to Clemson. And the allure of a new challenge, a massive pay raise and the chance to call his own defense again won out.

Because of the success the Sooners endured while Mike Stoops was the senior partner in the relationship, Venables was never fully appreciated by the Oklahoma fan base. Moreover, the explosion of Big 12 offenses after Mike Stoops left made it virtually impossible to produce top five defenses.

But Venables still coordinated some gems that helped catapult the Sooners to Big 12 championships in ’06, ’08 and ’10.

In 2008, the Sooners wiped out second-ranked Texas Tech by holding one of the nation’s top offenses to a single touchdown in the first half. OU went on to play for a national championship that season.

But perhaps his most memorable coaching job came in the final game of the ’10 regular season against Oklahoma State. Faced with the task of slowing down the high-powered Cowboys, Bob Stoops and Venables elected to revamp the entire defense, going to a 3-4 scheme. The shift stunned the Cowboys, and Oklahoma State managed only three offensive touchdowns as Oklahoma prevailed.

But as much as the Sooners will miss Venables as a coordinator and linebackers coach, they will miss him just as much as an ace recruiter.

Ronnell Lewis, Demontre Hurst, Tom Wort, Corey Nelson, Austin Box, Jamell Fleming and DeMarco Murray are just a few of the standouts Venables had a hand in recruiting to Norman in recent years.

He also was the assistant who secured two of OU’s top verbal commitments in this recruiting class: safety Eric Striker and running back Daniel Brooks. Venables also was the primary assistant recruiting California cornerback Brandon Beaver, who is scheduled to visit OU this weekend.

Bob Stoops tried to get the band back together. With his brother and Venables blazing the recruiting trail as a tandem, then forging those ferocious defenses again on the field.

Instead, the Stoopses will be on their own. Turned out, the band didn’t get back together.