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.

NORMAN, Okla. -- With four practices in the books and spring break upon us, spring football is in its early stages at Oklahoma.

Already, however, there are murmurs of a spring star emerging in Norman for the Sooners.

“Cortez Johnson has been a big surprise,” cornerbacks coach Bobby Jack Wright said. “I love the way he’s been working, his work ethic has been great. He’s a guy that wants to be good, he listens, he pays attention and tries to do everything we ask him to do.”

A transfer from Arizona, Johnson brings unique size to the cornerback position at 6-foot-2, 198 pounds. Johnson has been impressive early this spring, making it known that he plans to be a major contributor on OU’s defense.

With Demontre Hurst completing his eligibility after starting the last three seasons at cornerback, Johnson is staking claim to the starting spot opposite returning All-Big 12 cornerback Aaron Colvin. Redshirt freshman Zack Sanchez and walkon Brandon Young have been battling Johnson for the job but neither player has ignited the rave reviews from teammates and coaches like Johnson has.

“He’s made more plays and batted more balls down, just in four practices, than we’ve probably had around here the past two years,” Wright said.

Johnson, a redshirt sophomore, has a combination of ball skills, long arms and overall athleticism which could help him be up to the task if he wins the starting job and opponents decide to test him instead of challenging Colvin.

“Cortez is a big, physical guy,” Colvin said. “He’s really strong at the line of scrimmage.”

Sophomore receiver Sterling Shepard, who battles Johnson regularly in practices, has become a believer during his one-on-one matchups with the transfer.

“He’s a great corner,” Shepard said. “Cortez has long arms. He can break up some stuff you don’t even think he can break up but his arms are so long, he’ll end up getting it.”

With Wright transitioning from coaching defensive ends to coaching cornerbacks, he sees Johnson as a player with tremendous upside if his work ethic remains high. Otherwise, the Sooners have multiple newcomers, including February signee Stanvon Taylor (Tulsa, Okla/East Central), who could amp up the competition opposite Colvin and seize Johnson’s opportunity to start at that spot.

“He’s got the physical stature,” Wright said of Johnson. “What he has to do now is continue [improving] his technique.”

As teams will undoubtedly be hesitant to test his side, Colvin knows the Sooners defense is going to need a quality cornerback on the other side of the field. And what he’s seen from Johnson leads him to believe the lanky cover man can be the guy.

“He’s been really good,” Colvin said. “I’m probably the hardest on Cortez. And he probably doesn’t like that sometimes, but he’s going to be special.”

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.

On ESPN Insider today, Scouts Inc. NFL draft writer Kevin Weidl wrote about several Sooners and Aggies in the AT&T Cotton Bowl last weekend. Check out his evaluations of QB Landry Jones, WR Kenny Stills, S Tony Jefferson, CB Demontre Hurst, S Javon Harris, DE David King and WR Justin Brown here.

Oklahoma saw the Landry Jones Era end in unspectacular fashion on Friday night, with a 41-13 loss to ex-Big 12 rival Texas A&M. Jones is done, and the defense showed it needed some work under Mike Stoops for 2013, but that job just got a little bit tougher.

Colleague Joe Schad cited a source who told him safety Tony Jefferson and receiver Kenny Stills would be leaving early to enter the NFL draft.

Jones is obviously the Sooners' biggest loss, but Jefferson's one of the defense's most talented members, and cornerback Aaron Colvin still has a draft decision to make. The transition to Jones' successor (Blake Bell, Drew Allen or scout team standout Trevor Knight?) gets a little rougher without an experienced receiver like Stills to smooth it over, too.

Oklahoma, though, will have a very tall order to try and restore a defense that struggled down the stretch after giving up 49 points to West Virginia and 48 to Oklahoma State, which was playing Clint Chelf, who began the season as the team's No. 3 quarterback.

Defensive tackle Jamarkus McFarland, Stacy McGee and Casey Walker are all gone, as is star defensive end David King. Safety Javon Harris, the Sooners' biggest standout in the Cotton Bowl loss, ended his career on Friday, as did cornerback Demontre Hurst.

Point is, if Oklahoma's going to fix its defense, it will have to do so without experience. That's difficult in any league, but especially so in the Big 12, where the only thing faster than the receivers is the rate at which offenses evolve and become more difficult to stop.

Expect the Sooners' spring depth chart to look a little crazy and be very fluid throughout spring practice, but without Jefferson and Stills, both sides of the ball will be moving on to 2013 without their most talented pieces.

NORMAN, Okla. -- Tony Jefferson would rather not talk about the upcoming NFL draft -- and whether he’ll be part of it.

But one thing is clear: Oklahoma’s junior free safety is doing his homework as he prepares to make the impending decision.

Jefferson admitted Tuesday that he would file paperwork with the NFL draft advisory committee, a common step for college underclassmen to determine a draft projection. Cornerback Aaron Colvin said he, too, will file paperwork, and receiver Kenny Stills and fullback Trey Millard are expected to do the same.

Jefferson, however, also revealed that he has studied what other safeties he’d be up against, what he’d have to do to get his degree (he still has a semester left) if he came out, and the contract differences between first-, second- and third-round picks under the NFL’s relatively new collective bargaining agreement.

“You don’t want to make a decision not thinking about money,” Jefferson said. “There’s a big money drop from the first to the second, and the second to the third. I’ve done my investigation on that part.”

At this point, it’s still murky where Jefferson would go in the draft, which is why he’s turned in his tape to the advisory committee. Even though the OU defense has been up and down, Jefferson has been its most consistent performer. The All-Big 12 selection leads the Sooners with 113 tackles despite playing with a bum ankle for much of the season.

ESPN Scouts Inc. ranks Jefferson as the fifth-best eligible safety at the moment, and 49th prospect overall. ESPN’s Mel Kiper Jr. has Jefferson as the second-ranked junior safety behind Florida’s Matt Elam, but notes that either player has a shot of sneaking into the first round.

“I don’t think anyone that’s a first-round pick, they can pass that up,” Jefferson said. “That would be hard to pass up. Second round, I don’t know.”

Defensive coordinator Mike Stoops, however, indicated that he thought Jefferson could improve his stock by returning for his senior season. But Stoops also said he wouldn’t get in Jefferson’s way if he wanted to go pro.

“Players, they’ve got to decide what’s best for them for whatever reason,” said Stoops, who will also lose seniors Javon Harris and Demontre Hurst from his secondary after the Cotton Bowl. “I always think you gain growth and your stock goes up if you stay in school, but that’s my feeling. You can’t protect yourself against injury, that’s the only unknown I think you don’t like to factor in when you tell a player he can become a better player by staying in school.

“But Tony knows what he has to work on to become a better player regardless of where it’s at. Those are things Tony and I will discuss whatever he decides to do.”

Jefferson said he would consult Stoops and others, but that the decision will ultimately be his.

“It’s gonna fall into my hands, what I feel like,” Jefferson said. “Of course, I’ll ask. But it’s going to depend on me.

“I don’t think any one person is going to sway me either way.”