Humphrey's recent dominance elevating OU's offensive line
MANHATTAN, Kan. — As Creed Humphrey watched some game film of himself early in the season, he was disappointed. Angry even.
That emotion is dr iving Humphrey entering the stretch run of his second year as Oklahoma's starting center. And it's a big reason why the offensive line, a concern entering the season, is playing as well as any until in the Big 12 certainly and perhaps the country entering Saturday's game at Kansas State (11 a.m., ABC).
Humphrey is the one link to the Sooners' recent past on the offensive line, the only returner back from the line that was named the nation's best a year ago. The redshirt sophomore from Shawnee is also the one pillar of stability on an offensive line that even during this season has gone through so many changes as injuries have forced the Sooners to use five different starting line groups in the first seven games.
But when he evaluated his performance early in the season — after a solid start against Houston — he was disgusted.
“I know I can put a lot better out there and that's just something I took personal,” Humphrey said. “Watching that, you just kind of get that feeling, `Gosh, I could've done this. I could've been so much more impressive.'”
The mistakes weren't glaring. A hand out of position here made it a touch easier for a defensive lineman to force Jalen Hurts to scramble. A wrong step there that sprung a linebacker to have a chance to bring down Kennedy Brooks near the line of scrimmage instead of well down field.
“I feel like at times early in the season I might've been letting off the gas a little bit late in games and things like that,” Humphrey said.
There was a four-game stretch after the opener when OU offensive line coach Bill Bedenbaugh wasn't thrilled with Humphrey's play.
“W e ' v e h a d t a l k s , ” Bedenbaugh said. “He's got to play at a higher level and I think the last two weeks he has.”
Both Bedenbaugh and head coach Lincoln Riley said the constant fluctuation around him on the offensive line had an effect on Humphrey during that tough stretch.
“I think he's had some frustrations just with all the different lineups,” Riley said. “Not with individual players but just, `One week this guy's next to me, one week this person is over here, one week this person's over here,' and when you're doing that, sometimes you feel like, in a way, you're starting over a little bit.”
Still, with all the shuffling up there, with both R.J. Proctor and Tyrese Robinson starting at both guard and tackle at various points this season and redshirt freshman Brey Walker starting two games, Oklahoma's offensive line has still been really good.
The Sooners have allowed just five sacks this season, tied for fourth-best in the country. Oklahoma is also averaging more than 273 rushing yards a game, No. 7 nationally.
But, Bedenbaugh said, there's still plenty to clean up, saying there are plenty of plays that have gone for three or four yards that could go for 50 if they're blocked better.
“Do I think we're good? Yeah, we're good,” Bedenbaugh said. “But we're not looking to be good as an offensive line or an offense, we're looking to be the best.”
ON THE AIR
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About the broadcasters
ABC's crew for the game is Bob Wischusen (play-by-play), Dan Orlovsky (analyst) and Allison Williams (sideline). In addition to college football, Wischusen also does the calls for the New York Jets, college basketball and golf. Orlovsky played quarterback at Connecticut and played in the NFL for a number of teams including the Detroit Lions and Houston Texans. Williams covers college sports for ESPN.
WEATHER
• Sunny
• 48 degrees
• Winds S at 3 mph
• 0 percent chance of rain
ODDS
• Line: Oklahoma by 23.5 • Over/under: 59
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