Three Things to Know From the Week 2 of OU Football Training Camp

The OU football squad held its second scrimmage of the 2015 preseason training camp on Thursday, and as you might expect, some of the more opaque issues heading into the August training session are becoming more clear and enabling a little better hands-on picture of what the Sooners are going to be all about in the coming season.

Thursday’s scrimmage was the second and final 90-minute 11-on-11 practice session during the Sooners’ two-week August training camp as they prepare for another college football season and the 17th under head coach Bob Stoops. School begins on Monday, and the team will begin a regular practice schedule.

Here are three takeaways from the second week of training camp, which culminated with the Week 2 scrimmage at Gaylord Family-Oklahoma Memorial Stadium and the final day of training camp practice on Friday.

Week 2 Was More About the Defense Than the Offense

Defensive coordinator Mike Stoops was very pleased with the way the defensive unit performed in the Thursday’s scrimmage. The entire first-team defense drew praise from the OU coaches, but the improved play of the secondary, which was much maligned last season after finishing near the bottom of the Big 12 in pass defense, was especially noteworthy.

Dec 29, 2014; Orlando, FL, USA; Clemson Tigers wide receiver Artavis Scott (3) avoids the tackle of Oklahoma Sooners cornerback Jordan Thomas (7) in the first half in the 2014 Russell Athletic Bowl at Florida Citrus Bowl. Mandatory Credit: David Manning-USA TODAY Sports

“The defense looked really good today,” Mike Stoops was quoted as saying in an article posted on the OU athletic website. “The defense is set up where we can be very disruptive. I think we are ahead of where we thought we’d be. I like our first team a lot. I like our rotation, and we have a lot of depth.”

Senior wide receiver Durron Neal also paid the defensive backs compliments. They are hungry, and they are out there competing,” he said. “They all want that title of being a lock-down corner(back). That is their mentality and that is how they go out there and play.”

The Battle for Starting Quarterback Goes On

Baker Mayfield and Trevor Knight both seem to be adapting well to the new up-tempo, quick-pass style of offense. You would expect that more from Mayfield, given that he is more familiar with the offense having played in it when he was at Texas Tech two seasons ago. Knight, however, also appears comfortable in the offense, which is making the decision on who will get the starting call more difficult than many believed at first.

Both quarterbacks capped scoring drives in Thursday’s scrimmage with short TD passes. Knight hooked up with sophomore Jeffery Mead on a seven-yard strike in the end zone, and Mayfield finished off a long scoring drive with a similar play targeting freshman receiver Dahu Green.

New Offense Looks Good Until It Doesn’t

The offense seemed to have considerably more difficulty getting on track in the Week 2 scrimmage than it did the previous week. It wasn’t so much that the offense was ineffective moving the ball, but rather that a number of drives were stalled if not wiped out by costly penalties.

“The defense is set up where we can be very disruptive. I think we are ahead of where we thought we’d be.” —Mike Stoops, Sooners’ defensive coordinator

“Penalties ate up about the first four drives. We were moving the ball fine, but every one of them got called back by penalty,” said offensive coordinator Lincoln Riley, who is in his first season running the Sooner offense.

“We got out of our tempo stuff a little bit, tried (to) slow it down and see some specific guys and some specific positions,” he said. “I thought some frustration set in, and then we forced some ball, dropped some balls.”

Fourteen Days and Counting…From the Start of a Brand New College Football Season

So, a good news, not-so-good news assessment about where the team is at two weeks into its fall preseason preparation. We’re two weeks in now insofar as early training camp and preseason practice preparations. But that also means we have a couple more weeks of preparation to go, and you can expect more of the pieces and position decisions to fall into place over the next 14 days as the countdown continues leading up to the season-opening kickoff on Sept. 5.