By Steve Yanda
Washington Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, August 21, 2007; E07
Cruel happenstance during Oklahoma's 2006 campaign provided Sooners offensive coordinator Kevin Wilson a refresher course on the importance of depth. Heisman hopeful Adrian Peterson capped a 53-yard touchdown run Oct. 14 against Iowa State with a dive across the goal line. Upon landing, he broke his collarbone, which put him out for the next seven games.
In stepped Allen Patrick, who rushed for 440 yards over the next three games before he sprained his ankle Nov. 4. Next up was Chris Brown, who turned in 256 yards in the following two games while Patrick recovered.
By the end of the season, Patrick rushed for 761 yards and four touchdowns, Brown rushed for 343 yards and six touchdowns and the Sooners went 7-0 in Peterson's absence. Depth earned Oklahoma a Big 12 title and a spot in the Fiesta Bowl.
This season, Wilson hopes depth at running back will equate to similar success. In addition to Patrick and Brown, the Sooners also will have redshirt freshman DeMarco Murray in their arsenal of ballcarriers.
"We feel that we've got three guys with a lot of talent," Wilson said. "They're all starters, no matter who goes first."
Such claims are necessary in Norman these days. Whereas the game plan for the team's ground game was locked in at this point last season -- feed the ball to Peterson and get out of the way -- the Sooners are finding depth to be a more complicating commodity than they originally imagined. Wilson said he has never enjoyed dealing with a complication so much.
Option 1A is Patrick, the senior whom Coach Bob Stoops called "an incredibly tough, physical guy." Patrick suffered a sprained right ankle Aug. 8 and has not practiced since. Wilson said Patrick "still is a little gimpy" but should return to the field in about a week.
Option 1B is Brown, a sophomore who Wilson described as the truest runner of the group. Just as he did when Patrick missed time last season, Brown has taken a larger portion of the first-team reps in Patrick's absence during preseason.
Option 1C is Murray, "the home run guy" as Wilson likes to call him. His 4.43 time in the 40-yard dash makes Murray unofficially the fastest man on the Sooners' roster, and it also might earn him reps at wide receiver.
No matter who lines up in the backfield, Wilson said the team's rushing attack must be effective in order to create offensive flow.
"We have to be two-dimensional," he said. "We can't be a team that's not balanced because we can't run the ball."
As for who will pass the ball for Oklahoma, that also has yet to be determined. Last year, the team relied on quarterback-turned-wide-receiver-turned-quarterback Paul Thompson to lead the way. This season, the Sooners may chose from a batch that includes junior Joey Halzle, redshirt freshman Sam Bradford and true freshman Keith Nichol.
Oklahoma was forced to turn to Thompson a season ago after expected starter Rhett Bomar was kicked off the team for violating NCAA rules by taking payment from a private business in excess of time actually worked. Offensive lineman J.D. Quinn also was dismissed from the team for the same reason.
The fallout from that incident came July 11 when the NCAA announced all of the Sooners wins from the 2005 season must be erased and that the team will lose two scholarships from the 2008-09 and 2009-10 school years. However, Stoops scoffed at the notion that the news of those sanctions was any sort of a distraction for his team this offseason.
"You mean compared to removing my quarterback and offensive lineman last year?" Stoops said. "No, it's not a distraction this year."
As the Sept. 1 season opener against North Texas nears, what might become a distraction are the three-way battles at quarterback and running back. But as Wilson will attest, things could be worse.
"It's not by design," Wilson said. "We would like to be settled, but it's unsettled due to quality play. We feel comfortable with each player."
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