DON’T EXPECT A RECEIVING STAR TO EMERGE IN AIR RAID Dede Westbrook

OU FOOTBALL JOURNAL

STOOPS STAYS OUT OF EXPANSION TALK

With Oklahoma opening the season against Houston, the attention on the game isn’t just on one of the biggest games of the first weekend of the season but on the Cougars’ chance to be added into the Big 12.

But Sooners coach has stayed out of the fray, deferring to OU President on the subject. He did it again this week. “Oh, that’d be great wouldn’t it?” Stoops said when asked his opinion on the subject. “You think that’d be distracting next week? Yeah. I’m gonna keep my opinion for my bosses.”

Stoops said he’s communicated his feelings with Boren and athletic director

“We communicate a lot,” he said. “Where we want to be and the climate and what’s best for us. And feel as though my voice is heard though I always defer because ultimately, they know more of the bigger picture than I do. But they want to know what’s my picture for football, which is important. There’s great communication there.”

was the second-leading receiver for the Sooners in 2015. His 46 catches were 40 behind team leader That’s a big gap. For an Air Raid offense, that’s a really big gap.

In Stoops’ 17 OU seasons, only twice has the leading receiver had a bigger edge than 40 catches. Both came courtesy of who in 2010 had 131 catches was next with 71) and in 2009 had 89 catches (Murray was next with 41).

With Shepard gone, the production at wide receiver is a question. The Sooners might not have a star the caliber of Broyles, Shepard or Mark Clayton, the three all-American receivers during the Stoops era. But should it be a concern?

Does a star receiver emerge because of individual talent, or because of a lack of depth that forces a quarterback to look predominantly at one dependable pass catcher?

“It’s twofold,” Stoops said. “Some of it is they’re that exceptional. Some of it is the style of offense. When you think of Mark (Clayton) or Sterling (Shepard) or Ryan (Broyles), we were a little more heavy sets and running the ball, and he’s the screen guy or the bubble guy. He’s picking six or eight yards off of screens that are more like runs. He might’ve caught 10 balls in a game, where six of them were bubble screens that went for significant yards. Some of it is that.”

That’s largely true. Shepard played with who is threatening to set the all-time OU rushing record. Broyles played three years with Murray, a workhorse. Clayton as a senior played with who that 2004 season had a monster freshman season.

“When we had Ryan in that position or maybe Mark Clayton, we were a little more in that style,” Stoops said. “He was the one that was gonna get it if the run wasn’t there. That isn’t how we’re designed now. Does that make sense?”

Absolutely. Think about the Texas Tech Air Raids under Kingsbury and and all the quarterbacks in between would distribute the ball all over the field, to a battalion of receivers. In 2003, Wes Welker, a possession receiver who thrived in the Air Raid, had 97 catches. Four other Red Raiders had at least 75 catches. The year before, Welker had 86 catches, but led Tech with 98.

That’s the kind of ball-sharing that Stoops’ early teams had. Leach was OU’s offensive coordinator only in 1999, but the Air Raid stayed the primary offense, or at least remnants of the Air Raid, through 2002.

In 1999, led OU with 50 catches. had 44. In 2000, led OU with 51 catches, followed by

50,

42 and 41. In 2001, Trent Smith led with 61; Griffin had 55. In 2002, Smith led with 46 catches; Will Peoples had 39.

What are the pros and cons of a top-heavy star receiver or a receiving corps that shares the passcatching duties?

“The cons is that if you’re going to one guy and they’re finding different ways to cover him up,” Stoops said. “If you don’t have a great supporting cast, that can happen.

“The pros are that guy like Sterling, whether he’s double-covered or not, can find a way to make big plays if you keep going to him. This offense isn’t designed for that. It’s designed to maximize the space on the field and utilize everybody. I feel like we’re capable of being beyond that.

“I feel in some situations a year ago with the way things broke down, it just got down to he and Sterling. I feel we’ll be beyond that. We’ll have more guys contribute. Hopefully, in some of those games 10 guys have receptions and multiple guys have several receptions. That’s what this offense is designed to do and I think we’ll be more that way this year.”