Freshman Jalen Redmond back practicing for Sooners
NORMAN — Jalen
Redmond was poised to compete for immediate playing time along Oklahoma’s defensive line before blood clots sidelined him for the season.
At least that’s what Sooner coach Lincoln Riley announced in late July.
Redmond has recently been cleared to practice, The Oklahoman learned.
“He’s still continuing to work out,” defensive coordinator Ruffin McNeill said Tuesday. “Hopefully some point in time we can have him a part of it. Great kid. Great young man. His health is always first in my mind.”
Riley was cautiously optimistic when addressing Redmond’s situation late last month.
“We’ve had some real positive news since then as far as things look promising for him here in the future,” Riley said. “I don’t think it feels that it’s going to be career threatening, which is a relief first for him and his health and everybody here, because we all know what kind of future he has here.”
The Midwest City native was a five-star prospect, according to 247Sports. The 6-foot-3 and 265-pound defensive end/linebacker was an early enrollee at Oklahoma.
Offensive line honored
Oklahoma’s offensive line has been placed on the midseason honor roll by the Joe Moore Award, given annually to the nation’s best offensive line.
OU’s front — made up of left tackle Bobby Evans, left guard Ben Powers, center
Creed Humphrey, right guard Dru Samia and right tackle Cody Ford — was one of 14 offensive lines named to the honor roll.
CBS analyst Aaron Taylor is the founder of the Joe Moore Award. Taylor played guard at Notre Dame under Moore. Former Auburn offensive lineman Cole
Cubelic, now an analyst for the SEC Network, is chairman of the voting committee.
Moore was an offensive line coach at Pittsburgh, Temple and Notre Dame from 1980-96.
The Joe Moore Award committee judges on six criteria: toughness, effort, teamwork, consistency, technique and finishing.
Oklahoma is averaging a Big 12-best 209 rushing yards per game. The Sooners are averaging 6.3 rushing yards per attempt – the fourth-best mark in the nation. The offensive line has allowed just eight sacks.
The committee had this to say about OU’s offensive line: “Big, physical, athletic, long group. That left side, man! They’re back to their old physical selves. Prove that pass protection doesn’t have to be passive. Look to punish and finish, even at the expense of technique.”
Midseason All-Americans
Oklahoma senior linebacker Curtis Bolton and junior wide receiver Marquise Brown were named midseason All-Americans by The Associated Press on Tuesday.
Bolton and Brown both checked in on the second team.
OU quarterback Kyler
Murray didn’t make the midseason list. Alabama quarterback Tua Tagovailoa made first team and Ohio State’s Dwayne Haskins was the second-team quarterback.
Bolton leads the Sooners and ranks 11th nationally with 75 tackles. He has two and a half sacks and five tackles for loss.
Brown is fourth nationally with 112.5 receiving yards per game. He’s hauled in seven touchdowns and is averaging 20.45 yards per catch.