Oklahoma Sooners

NORMAN, Okla. -- Oklahoma coach Bob Stoops has had a dozen players get picked in the first round of the NFL draft during his tenure in Norman.

No one, though, quite like Lane Johnson.

The Oklahoma left tackle could go as high as fourth overall to the Philadelphia Eagles or fifth to the Detroit Lions in this week's draft. No mock draft has him going lower than No. 11.

“The more he plays it and the more he matures,” Stoops said, “he’s just going to get better and better.”

A little over two years ago, Johnson wasn't even playing offensive line. Four years ago, in fact, he was still a junior-college quarterback, whom the Sooners recruited out Kilgore, Texas, to play, well, they weren’t quite sure.

“When we recruited him and signed him, we did so on just what a big athlete he was,” Stoops said. “Not having an idea where he’d end up growing.”

Johnson started out as a tight end. The following year, he was moved to defensive end. Neither position seemed to fit.

But in the spring of 2011, starting right tackle Jarvis Jones suffered a torn patella tendon that would sideline him for months. That prompted the Sooners to test Johnson out at offensive tackle.

“We were always trying to find the best spot for Lane, and we knew even before then that [tackle] was a possibility,” Stoops said. “We were always looking because we appreciated how hard he worked -- like, we’ve got to get him on the field.

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NORMAN, Okla. -- Bill Bedenbaugh has been at Oklahoma for less than a month, yet his impact has already been felt. OU's new offensive line coach has brought intensity and focus to the Sooners' program with his constant discussion about the open competition along the offensive line.

“I’m about to go grade practice and whoever grades out the best will go with the ones,” Bedenbaugh said after OU’s first spring practice in pads. “And this is an everyday deal. It’s not one of those deals where you have a position one day then you have it. We’ll grade them every day and guys move up and down based on their grades.”

That’s not to say starting spots were always secure under previous offensive line coaches James Patton and Bruce Kittle.

“That hasn’t changed; we’re always evaluated,” tackle Daryl Williams said. “Every practice, whether we knew it or not.”

Yet the intensity has changed. At practice on Tuesday, Bedenbaugh could often be heard easier than he could be seen, and he plans to be unyielding in his commitment to push OU’s offensive linemen to higher levels of play.

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After recruiting them for several months, Oklahoma's coaching staff was finally able to talk publicly about the players the Sooners added to the program on signing day. Over the next week or so, SoonerNation will review some of the key things coaches had to say about the players signed at each position group during their signing day webcast on Soonersports.com.

With Lane Johnson moving on to the NFL, the Sooners needed to bring in some immediate competition at the tackle position. Junior college signee Josiah St. John (Athens, Texas/Trinity Valley Community College) fits the bill perfectly. At 6-foot-7, 300 pounds, St. John brings size and athleticism to the Sooners offensive line.

"We were looking for an older mature guy who can play tackle and help us at that position," co-offensive coordinator Jay Norvell said. "That was an area of need with Lane Johnson leaving the program. He gives us maturity, gives us length and incredible depth at the position."

Tyrus Thompson, who saw extensive time at right tackle and spot duty at left tackle in 2012, could have stepped right in at left tackle with Daryl Williams at right tackle, but St. John will provide quality competition for both players, making nobody's starting spot secure under new offensive line coach Bill Bedenbaugh.

"Josiah St. John is a big tackle, all of 6-foot-6, 305 or so pounds and is an excellent athlete at that position," Sooners coach Bob Stoops said.

The Sooners fully expect St. John earn playing time this fall, with Stoops saying the Sooners don't bring in junior college players unless they anticipate immediate impact. Across the board, OU's offensive staff seems to believe St. John, the No. 6 player in the ESPNJC 100, could become a key contributor in 2013.

"Josiah St. John is somebody we expect can come in and help us immediately," running backs coach Cale Gundy said.

“When I got here Saturday, the first thing I did was recruit.”

Those words must be music to the ears of Sooners fans. That statement was one of several interesting tidbits during new offensive line coach Bill Bedenbaugh’s time Monday afternoon on Norman, Okla., radio station KREF Sports Talk 1400 AM.

Bedenbaugh, who officially joined the Sooners program over the weekend, talked about the physical, nasty attitude he plans to instill in OU’s offensive linemen, with the goal of making that the foundation of the Sooners' offensive front.

“You try to recruit that but I think you can develop it as well,” he said. “No excuses, you go out and get the job done. Expect yourself to be great. That’s the way I’ve always coached and that’s what I’m going to do here and I expect these guys to respond.”

Bedenbaugh is very familiar with the Sooners offensive concepts with previous coaching stops at Texas Tech, Arizona (with defensive coordinator Mike Stoops and Tim Kish) and West Virginia. WVU was his most recent stop as he coached in Dana Holgorsen’s spread offense.

“It’s very similar,” Bedenbaugh said after getting a glimpse at OU’s offense alongside offensive coordinator Josh Heupel this weekend. “There’s a bunch of carry over most of the things they’re doing here, we did at West Virginia.”

Bedenbaugh is hoping to sharpen technique and inspire a finishing attitude among his players with an eye on changing short gains into game-changing plays.

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