Oklahoma Sooners

OKLAHOMA SOONERS

2012 record: 10-3

2012 conference record: 8-1 (tied for first, Big 12)

Returning starters: Offense: 7; defense: 4; kicker/punter: 1

Top returners

RB Damien Williams, FB Trey Millard, WR Jalen Saunders, WR Sterling Shepard, C Gabe Ikard, DE/DT Chuka Ndulue, LB Corey Nelson, CB Aaron Colvin

Key losses

QB Landry Jones, WR Justin Brown, WR Kenny Stills, OT Lane Johnson, DE David King, CB Demontre Hurst, FS Tony Jefferson, SS Javon Harris

2012 statistical leaders (*returners)

Rushing: Damien Williams* (946 yards)
Passing: Landry Jones (4,267yards)
Receiving: Kenny Stills (959 yards)
Tackles: Tony Jefferson (119)
Sacks: Chuka Ndulue* (5)
Interceptions: Javon Harris (6)

Spring answers

1. Playmakers abound: The Sooners might have lost leading receivers Kenny Stills and Justin Brown, but there’s plenty of firepower back to support whoever wins the starting quarterback job. Jalen Saunders was actually Oklahoma’s most efficient receiver the second half of last season and seems primed to take over as the go-to target. The Sooners also have several talented up-and-coming receivers who had good springs, led by slot extraordinaire Sterling Shepard. The backfield is even deeper, with leading rushers Damien Williams and Brennan Clay back, to go along with Trey Millard, one of the top all-around fullbacks in the country.

2. Cortez will flank Colvin: The secondary was decimated by graduation and Tony Jefferson’s early entry into the NFL draft. One of those voids was cornerback, where Demontre Hurst had started the previous years. That void at least, however, appears to have been filled. Arizona transfer Cortez Johnson seized the job from the first day of spring drills, and has given the Sooners every indication to believe they’ll have a big, physical corner to pair with All-American candidate Aaron Colvin in the fall.

3. The linebackers will play: In a desperate move to slow down the high-powered passing attacks of the Big 12, defensive coordinator Mike Stoops pulled his linebackers off the field. The plan backfired, as opposing offenses ran at will over the linebacker-less Sooners. This spring, Stoops has renewed his commitment to the linebacker, which, ironically, could be the strength of the defense. Corey Nelson, Frank Shannon and Aaron Franklin are all athletic and capable of generating negative plays, something Oklahoma’s defense sorely lacked last season.

Fall questions

1. Who the QB will be in October: Bob Stoops said he would wait until the fall before naming a starter, and so far, he’s made good on his word. Junior Blake Bell took a lead in the competition during the spring, as expected. But sophomore Kendal Thompson and redshirt freshman Trevor Knight, who both got equal reps as Bell, played well at times, too. It’s hard to see Bell not starting the first game. But if he struggles against a tough September schedule, it’s not unthinkable one of the younger QBs would be given a shot.

2. How the new offense will fare: Looking to utilize the skill sets of their mobile quarterbacks, the Sooners will be running a very different offense from the one Sam Bradford and Landry Jones both operated. Offensive coordinator Josh Heupel kept most of these new plays - including loads of read option -- in his hip pocket during the spring game. But it will be interesting to see how the Sooners -- and just as important, opposing defenses -- adjust to this new era of offense in Norman.

3. Defensive line play: The Sooners went into spring ball with just three defensive tackles on the roster, and little experience at defensive end. The unit showed strides during the spring, with Chuka Ndulue making a smooth transition from end to tackle, and tackle Jordan Phillips coming up big in the spring game. But that was the spring. The defensive line will have to continue to grow rapidly in the fall for the Sooners to have any hope of improving from last year defensively.

Oklahoma fullback Trey Millard talks about the quarterback battle developing in spring practice.

NORMAN, Okla. -- Even though they were set at running back last fall with Damien Williams and others, the Sooners nearly still played Alex Ross as a true freshman. He was that impressive through summer workouts and two-a-days, drawing comparisons from position coach Cale Gundy to former OU standout Mike Gaddis, who glided past defenders until he tore his ACL in 1989.

This spring, after an offseason in which he’s gotten stronger and faster, Ross has continued to impress.

“He’s really good,” said fellow running back Brennan Clay. “He’s big, and he’s going to be physical. He’s a one-cut, type of guy and he’s just fast. Once he hits that vertical, he’s going to be good. We like backs like that at Oklahoma, and he’s going to do a great job.”

The 6-foot-1, 218-pound Ross tore up OU’s winter testing, posting a 40-yard dash time of 4.46 seconds, third-best among the Sooners’ offensive players. The only two to beat him in the 40 -- Roy Finch and Sterling Shepard -- weigh just 167 and 188 pounds, respectively.

That combination of speed and power has allowed Ross to reel off several big plays in OU’s team sessions so far this spring.

“He’s done some positive things, made some explosive plays with the ball in his hands in some of our run game, which is what you expect,” said offensive coordinator Josh Heupel. “He has great speed, a physical runner. And he’s got a much better grasp of what we’re doing offensively, too, which has given him a better chance to perform at a high level.”

It will be interesting to see how many carries Ross gets this season. In Williams and Clay, the Sooners return their top two backs from last season. Fullback Trey Millard also is back. Notwithstanding all that, OU is likely to run its quarterback a good amount in 2013. Carries will be scarce.

But with Williams, Clay, Millard and Roy Finch all being seniors, Ross could be the heir-apparent in the OU backfield for 2014. Which alone could warrant him time in the rotation this season.

Before last season, Bob Stoops said he wanted to get fullback Trey Millard 10 to 12 touches per game.

Once again, Millard was among the Sooners’ best in yards per carry (6.0) and yards per catch (11.2). But he averaged only 4.8 touches per game, only a slight increase from 2011.

Stoops explained that Millard’s production plateau was due to the Sooners having more weapons across the offense to work with.

“It’s fair to say, the year before we weren’t as productive offensively; this year we were,” Stoops said, though the Sooners averaged fewer points in 2012 (38.2) than they did in 2011 (39.5).

“It worked this year, meaning we didn’t have to get him more touches.”

Stoops added that because Millard is such a valuable blocker it’s difficult to get him the ball.

“We want to get him involved, that’s always part of [our] thinking,” Stoops said. “It’s just hard to do a whole lot more with the spot he’s in. But we always look for it, and we’ll keep doing that, because we feel he’s one of our best players.”

One of the trendy sports-talk radio solutions for getting Millard more involved has been to move him to middle linebacker. Stoops conceded the idea is interesting and that Millard “would be a good one.” But he also shot down the suggestion.

Colleague Travis Haney took a look at the 10 teams who will lose the most talent in the country from 2012 to 2013.

There's only one Big 12 team on his list, and it's the 2012 preseason favorite: Oklahoma, which is sitting at No. 3 on a list you probably don't want to see your team on.

Landry Jones is the biggest name gone, but Haney says this might be Bob Stoops' biggest rebuild project ever in more than a decade in Norman.

The team's three most talented players -- Jones, receiver Kenny Stills and safety Tony Jefferson -- are the biggest losses, but don't overlook guys like tackle Lane Johnson and defensive linemen David King and Jamarkus McFarland. Defensive backs Demontre Hurst and Javon Harris won't be easy to replace, either.

Oklahoma was fortunate to keep cornerback Aaron Colvin and do-everything offensive Swiss army knife Trey Millard, who I'd expect to get a whole lot more touches next season. He was criminally underused in the Sooners' offense this past season. Just ask Texas if Millard should get more touches.

Oklahoma's offensive renaissance should be interesting. There won't be major changes, but Stoops is always going to build around what his personnel does best, and next season, likely with Blake Bell at the helm, you can expect the quarterback running game to be featured. It's still likely going to be a pass-first offense, but with Millard and Bell, next season's team might be a little more physical between the tackles.

I'd agree with Haney in that the top of the Big 12 looks really weak for 2013, which may provide opportunity for the Sooners to make a Big 12 title run, despite all the losses.

Not only did the Sooners seldom use the tight end position in 2012, they altogether abandoned it. Offensive coordinator Josh Heupel leaned on four-wide sets and lined up fullback Trey Millard at tight end whenever the situation called for it.

The Sooners scoured the recruiting trail for a junior college tight end but struck out with their top two targets, Beau Sandland and Emmanuel Bibbs.

Despite not landing a juco tight end, Bob Stoops said he wants the tight end packages to be a bigger part of the offense next season. And he feels that, with an extra year in the program, freshman Taylor McNamara and Sam Grant could be ready to hold down the position, along with juco transfer Brannon Green.

“I see it being a bigger part,” Stoops said. “I think it was more the inexperience. We tried it and there were too many, just overall, we didn’t feel they were quite ready to play at the level we needed.”

Coupled with the tight end inexperience, Stoops added that the emergence of transfer receivers Jalen Saunders and Justin Brown swayed the Sooners to run more four-wide sets, too.

“I think [that's the case] more than anything, and the experience that the wide receivers all had,” Stoops said. “As odd as it sounds to say, considering where we started with all of them, they were so productive and doing so well, we felt that was taking advantage of our personnel and experience the best.”

But with Brown and Kenny Stills gone, Stoops said he sees the Sooners returning to more tight end sets in 2013.

“We like our young guys and our guys coming up,” Stoops said. “We want our tight end packages to be more involved, definitely.”