Seven true freshmen make Sooner debuts
NORMAN—J ad on Haselwood came back for a catch just beyond the firstdown marker in the third quarter. He was surrounded by five Houston Cougars as he turned up field, but the Oklahoma receiver eluded them all for a 42-yard gain.
Haselwood was one of seven true freshmen to make their Sooner debut Sunday night.
Wide receiver Trejan Bridges and tight end Austin Stogner played but did not record a catch.
On defense, corner back J aden Davis, linebacker Jonathan Perkins, defensive lineman Marcus Stripling and linebacker David Ugwoegbu all recorded one tackle in their debuts.
“I think there' s a lot of young guys that got some run tonight,” defensive coordinator Alex Grinch said.
“I'm sure there are some real great plays we're gonna watch on video, and some that are head-scratchers.
We'd like to play more than just the 11 we've talked about. Did we get a full 22 out there tonight? Pretty close.”
Players can compete in up to four games and still qualify for a redshirt.
All eyes on Norman
With no other games to share the airwaves with, Oklahoma's Sunday night victory against Houston was the secondhighest rated game of college football's opening weekend.
ESPN released the numbers Monday morning. Oregon vs. Auburn was the most-viewed game with a 4.4 overnight rating. OU-Houston received a 3.6 overnight rating followed by Alabama vs. Duke at 3.1. ABC carried all three games.
Oklahoma City was the highest-rated market for O U-Houston followed by Tulsa; Birmingham, Alabama; West Palm Beach, Florida; and
Houston.
Leading with the head
Oklahoma tight ends and H-Backs coach Shane Beamer was reminded Sunday night that helmets aren't soft.
“You might notice he's got stitches above his left eyebrow, a pretty good egg on the noggin,” ESPN's Holly Rowe reported from the sideline. “That's because he wasn't very smart after Jeremiah Hall, his H-back, scored the first touchdown of the game. He decided to headbutt him with his helmet on. Unfortunately Shane did not have his helmet on, so the coach does have an injury tonight.”
Hall's 14-yard catch and run put Oklahoma on top 7-0. It was the sophomore' s first
career touchdown. OU coach Lincoln Riley didn't find out the reason for Beamer's welt until after the game.
“At l east t here's a good
story behind it,” Riley said.
Hall, fellow full back Brayden Willis and tight end Grant Calcaterra combined for six catches for 59 yards in OU' s49-31w in against Houston.
Beamer is in his second season at Oklahoma after two seasons at Georgia.