By Melanie Ho
Washington Post Staff Writer
Monday, August 21, 2006
Nearly a month ago, Oklahoma Coach Bob Stoops answered questions at Big 12 media day in Kansas City, Mo. Among the first questions was about quarterback Rhett Bomar's growth, progression and the expectations to be placed upon him this year.
Stoops, in a methodical and technical voice, answered: "We expect him really to start the year in a good way, and continue to improve. Because he has -- he has so much skill and ability."
A week later the tone changed, and those words seemed, in retrospect, haunting.
Stoops dismissed Bomar and sophomore guard J.D. Quinn for receiving wages above their entitled employment income, a violation of NCAA rules.
Gone was that opportunity to develop potential. The dismissal was the foil to maturity and the expectation for a strong start became considerably eerie.
Stoops's answer became: "So, in the end we had a couple of football players who knowingly broke NCAA [rules]. . . . This changes things to some degree, but again, it is a cut-and-dry issue. If you knowingly and intentionally and premeditatedly break NCAA [rules], then you cannot be a part of this football team or a member of this university."
Paul Thompson was inserted as the Sooners' starting quarterback.
Question and concern immediately replaced preseason promise and accolades -- Big 12 media members had picked Oklahoma over Texas to win the North Division.
The drama settled in Norman, Okla., in part because the players knew they needed to rally around the unexpected hurdle and in part because Thompson has been a mature, level-headed example.
"He's a very even-keeled, stated guy," new offensive coordinator Kevin Wilson said. "Externally, he's very stoic and very mature."
Thompson was so expressionless that after the coaching staff asked him if he would take the job, Wilson was unable to get a feel for the quarterback's feelings.
"When he walked out and we told him to talk to his family about it, everybody said, 'What do you think?' And I said, 'I don't know if he wants to or not.' "
Like any situation, there are facts and there are interpretations. When Wilson points out that Thompson is best for the team because he is a fifth-year player, because he knows the offense and because he has been the backup, all of this may be true. But what also can be derived is that Thompson, in his senior season, was supposed to be a wide receiver and the backup quarterback only in an emergency long-term situation. His quarterback experience consists of one start and mop-up duty.
In installing the offense, Wilson has been allotting Thompson extra repetitions. The two, he said, will have to spend time together in order to be "in sync" and "on the same page."
With much of the attention afforded to the quarterback situation, it's easy to forget that the offensive line was also damaged. Quinn was expected to be a starter, and Wilson called the offensive line a little thin and expressed some concern about the overall offense.
"Our depth is not as good, and when we play against our defense, who has a lot more depth than we do, we just kind of, with our second team, get a little shaky," Wilson said.
All of that will put the pressure, and the spotlight, squarely on tailback Adrian Peterson and an improved Sooner defense.
Peterson has astonishing speed and, despite an injured ankle, rushed for 1,108 yards last season after being a Heisman Trophy finalist as a freshman in 2004.
On defense, last year's growing pains are expected to yield a steely unit that will make better decisions.
The ability to make proper choices is a lesson that Bomar and Quinn leave for their remaining teammates.
Said defensive coordinator Brent Venables during Oklahoma's media day, "For us to be any good as a team pre-Rhett Bomar, post-Rhett Bomar or with Rhett Bomar -- all of that is irrelevant."
It's all in the past, but it's repercussions are sure to be felt in the future.
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