SoonerScoop video: OU practice report
OU football has a new face on YouTube. This week our Eddie Radosevich and George Stoia are back for another YouTube practice report. In this week’s practice report, Radosevich and Stoia talk about the running back rotation, the defense’s improvement since last season and seniors Key Lawrence and Marcus Stripling standing out.
The biggest question of the week for OU is why didn’t Jovantae Barnes and Gavin Sawchuk not see the field against Cincinnati? Coach Brent Venables fielded multiple questions about the running back rotation on Tuesday. Right now, Marcus Major and Tawee Walker have been taking the bulk of the carries, despite many believing Barnes and Sawchuk have higher ceilings.
“I think it’s hard to play four running backs in the course of a game,” Venables said. “We’d love for somebody to establish themselves. That hasn’t happened yet.”
The other topic of conversation this week for OU is the defensive improvement. The 20-6 win over Cincinnati is one of the best defensive performances in recent history for the Sooners. They currently rank second in scoring defense, 11th in third-down defense and 32nd in total defense.
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“Big picture, we’ve accomplished nothing but getting better and that should happen,” Venables said. “This is a developmental game. The more you play, the better you should get. And so don’t want to downplay it. But I mean, we’re going to have a lot stiffer tests along the way. And again, I’ve got a long-term vision of what we need to do to have an elite, consistent defense and we’ve got work to do, but we are certainly moving in the right direction.”
Venables also used Lawrence and Stripling as perfect examples of the direction of the program for OU.
“Having some success last week or having success for four games or seeing a guy like Key Lawrence just grow up right before your eyes,” Venables said. “Marcus Stripling in the last couple of weeks has created more opportunity for himself and he’d be the first to tell you, man, he was frustrated at times, like a lot of young guys when they’re not having the results that they would like or maybe don’t feel like they’re being recognized or they don’t have the opportunity.”
