Notebook: More returns for OU on the way?
It’s not like it was planned that way or anything, but it is how it might be working out for Oklahoma in terms of its injuries.
The eighth-ranked Sooners have been hit hard by numerous injuries in the first two months of the season. Slowly but surely, some of those guys have started to return. Add in a bye week, and OU is about as healthy as it has been in a long, long time.
Two more players who might see their first action in a while Saturday at Baylor include wide receiver Mike Woods and cornerback Woodi Washington.
Washington, a starting cornerback, was injured on special teams during the first quarter of OU’s win against Western Carolina way back when in Week 2.
“We’re cautiously optimistic,” said head coach Lincoln Riley in a special Thursday press conference. “I mean he came off a pretty serious thing. I think the thing we’re cognizant of is there’s a difference between being able to do some drills on a practice field and being able to play a full speed, high impact game on a Saturday. I do think he’s close to being able to turn it loose. So we’re watching that. Obviously, we’d love to have him available this week.
“But at the same time, you’ve got to keep some long-term perspective, with a guy coming off a serious injury like he had. We’d love to have him, but we’re also trying to be smart for his future and certain the rest of the season, because there’s a lot of ball left after this Saturday.”
Woods went through warmups at Kansas three weeks ago but ended up not playing against the Jayhawks and against Texas Tech two weeks ago.
Sounds like that could change vs. the Bears.
“I hated not having him here the last couple games,” Riley said. “He's been able to get a little bit of work this week and if he continues to progress, I would expect for him to be available on Saturday.”
It does not appear as though receiver Theo Wease will be able to return just yet. Getting closer but not quite there.
Where in the world was Riley?
When a routine gets thrown off, the alarm bells ring. That was definitely the case when Riley didn’t have his normal Tuesday afternoon press conference and didn’t have his usual Tuesday evening coaches’ show.
Rumors floating around like mad. Riley wouldn’t specifically address what happened Tuesday, simply saying it was a personal matter that had absolutely nothing to do with football.
“A personal matter, had nothing to do with my job, football, anything like that,” Riley said. “Personal matter that I was dealing with, and dealt with it. It didn't take away from any of our preparation here, thankfully. Back to normal now.”
Back to normal, but still some seeking answers. Pressed even more on the subject, and Riley said the reality is boring compared to the made-up stories people have had about the early part of this week.
No McGuire for Bears
Coaching carousel has changed in a hurry in recent years and never is that more evident than with Joey McGuire.
Last week? He was an assistant coach at Baylor. Now? He’s the head coach at Texas Tech and not coaching for the Bears.
That won’t change any preparation for Riley and OU, but you can tell Riley is thrilled that McGuire is getting his opportunity.
“I'm happy for Joey. I've known him since he's coached at Cedar Hill for years and have been recruiting his players,” Riley said. “I always thought he did a tremendous job with that program, watching their off-season, with the ways the kids worked and they played. You can tell he really did a great job with the culture, with the programming and just the atmosphere around that program was really good.
“He's an easy guy to like. He's personable. He can talk to anyone. It's no surprise. Players will play hard for him. He can go lead a program and do it very well. I'm not surprised at all.”
McGuire has worked his way up the ranks from high school to assistant to now being the man in charge. OU defensive coordinator Alex Grinch interviewed for the Tech position last weekend as well.
Time for defensive line dominance
Rested, healthy, everybody is waiting for the OU defensive line to be that force most thought it would be from the beginning of the season.
The return of Jalen Redmond was huge a couple of weeks ago, and he’s clearly going to be used more as he gets less hesitant and more comfortable.
No excuses, time to shine.
“I think our expectation here at the end of the year is that we need to be elite the rest of the way,” Riley said. “Great d-line play always is a differentiating factor in games, but I think especially this time of year. It just matters so, so much. And so you know, we've got high expectations for ‘em. So, you know, when they've been good, we need them to be great. Because they have that in them. And they can be that as a unit.”
The defensive line is so deep, but what that means is when your number is called, you have to produce. It’s not giving someone else a breather, it’s your chance to shine.
Being fresh has to mean something.
“If you got a guy that maybe he's only getting 15 or 20 snaps a game I mean, those have got to be unbelievable snaps to make it worth it,” Riley said. “So, when we've been our best this year and other years, that's what we had. So we'll need that here in the closing stretch.”