Published: August 06, 2007 10:14 am      

QB's take center stage at media day

NORMAN — Among them, the three candidates for one of the most high-profile jobs in college football — starting quarterback at the University of Oklahoma — have received just two snaps from center against Division I competition. At Friday’s OU Media Day, though, all three got a little preview of what pressure in the pocket feels like at this level.

One day after the eighth-ranked Sooners opened preseason practice, head coach Bob Stoops, his staff and players made themselves available to the media for questions and to fans for autographs. Any subject was fair game for Stoops, defensive coordinator Brent Venables and offensive coordinator Kevin Wilson during the first 70 minutes of a 90-minute question-and-answer session inside the football complex

But the vast majority of questions for Stoops and Wilson during the press conference — and for quarterbacks coach Josh Heupel on the turf at Owen Field afterward — concerned junior Joey Halzle’s battle with redshirt freshman Sam Bradford and true freshman Keith Nichol for the right to succeed Paul Thompson under center this fall.

After the media grilled the OU coaches, the three quarterbacks got their chance to face the media rush, and all three showed poise in the pocket — a quality, that, in the end, could determine which member of the trio starts the Sept. 1 season opener in Norman against North Texas.

With three proven tailbacks, a bevy of talented young receivers and an offensive line with the potential to be among the most dominant in school history, Wilson’s offense has the weapons to be one of the best not only in the Big 12 but in the nation. The only thing missing, at this point at least, is a trigger man — or, in the absence of a clear-cut winner in the quarterback derby over the next few weeks, trigger men.

Although neither Stoops nor Wilson seemed particularly fond of the idea, they didn’t rule out the possibility of going with a quarterback platoon system featuring two of their three candidates, at least until one member of the trio separates himself from the pack.

“There’s always that chance,” Stoops said when asked about alternating signal-callers. “It’s too early to say we wouldn’t.

“If we did it, it wouldn’t be because of strategy,” he added. “The only reason we would do it would be if (the quarterback competition) wasn’t decided.”

Wilson, whose offense was one of the most efficient in the Big 12 in 2006 with a quarterback who had been a wide receiver and didn’t take a single snap the previous season, said the decision on this year’s starter might not be made until a few days before the North Texas game — if then.

“I’m pretty comfortable with all three of them,” he said. “They’re all quality, really good players.

“Bottom line, I don’t know if we’ll know ‘til we know,” Wilson added. “The guy who plays within himself and allows the players around him to make plays will be the guy. Even if we have a starter, there might be merit to giving two guys playing time. It all comes down to a trust factor. The guy we trust the most will be the starter.”

Although he doesn’t have a proven Division I quarterback with less than a month to go before his season opener, Stoops expressed confidence in all three of his 2007 candidates and said the uncertainty at quarterback this year isn’t a lot different from situations he had faced earlier in his OU career — even before he dismissed 2005 starter Rhett Bomar from the team last summer and brought Thompson out of mothballs to lead OU to an 11-3 record.

“I’ve seen enough football to know these guys can throw,” he said. “Josh Heupel, Nate Hybl, Jason White, Paul Thompson ... none of them were considered all-Big 12 quarterbacks before their first seasons as starters.

“These guys (Halzle, Nichols and Bradford) just have to do their job — they don’t have to carry the team,” Stoops added. “All three of them are farther along than Paul Thompson was at this time a year ago. They’re right where they ought to be at this point.”

Heupel, the last quarterback to lead the Sooners to a national title (in 2000) and about to enter his third season as OU’s quarterbacks coach, said he had seen a lot to like about all three of his young signal-callers last spring and at Thursday’s first practice.

“All three are very mature for being as young as they are,” Heupel noted. “I’m really looking forward to seeing them go through two-a-days. At this point, there’s no timetable (on picking a starter). The timetable is when one guys steps up.

“If they didn’t all have the tools to play at this level, they wouldn’t be here,” he added. “I certainly like the attributes of all three guys.”

Whoever earns the starting nod at quarterback will have plenty of weapons at his disposal.

Redshirt freshman Demarco Murray is potentially the most explosive member of a big-play rotation at tailback that also includes 2006 holdovers Allen Patrick, Chris Brown and Jacob Gutierrez. That trio combined to carry the load after All-American Adrian Peterson was injured midway through last season.

“We averaged 30 yards more a game rushing with those three guys than we did when Adrian was playing,” Stoops said.

Malcolm Kelly, who caught 62 passes for 983 yards and 10 touchdowns last season and was named to the All-Big 12 second team as a sophomore, heads a talented receiving corps, and the offensive line — which doesn’t have a senior listed at No. 1 on the depth chart — returns three starters, led by center Jon Cooper and tackle Branndon Braxton. Ardmore sophomore Jermaine Gresham, who averaged over 20 yards on eight catches as a freshman, is part of a talented trio at tight end.

Wilson acknowledged that OU’s youth movement isn’t restricted just to the quarterback position and said his offense should be much better in December than at the start of the season.

“We only have four seniors on our entire (offensive) football team,” Wilson said. “There will be times this year when we don’t have a senior on the field, but this is an exciting young group with a lot of upside.”