Spring football was going to be a valuable time for Oklahoma quarterbacks, especially redshirt freshman Spencer Rattler since it would be his first spring.

Obviously, the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic put a halt to all that, so the development for OU’s quarterbacks became a lot different.

It wasn’t going to be about what you do in practice, in competition, but what you do in the film room and trying to emerge as a leader.

It’s a pretty big question right now for OU fans about leadership. One of the biggest expected leaders was Caleb Kelly, but he’s out once again with a torn ACL. Certainly, center Creed Humphrey will be looked toward in this department.

But it helps if your quarterback can shoulder that load, too. OU has seen three different types of leadership with Baker Mayfield, Kyler Murray and Jalen Hurts in the last three seasons. And there’s no doubt the personalities of Rattler, Tanner Mordecai and Chandler Morris are quite different from each other.

“I see strong leadership characteristics in all those guys,” said head coach Lincoln Riley in a Zoom call Saturday afternoon. “They do it a little bit differently. They have different personalities. Spencer is a little bit more laid back. Tanner's a little bit more serious of a personality. Chandler is maybe somewhere in between.

“But the thing you see is, they're willing. They're not scared to lead. They're not scared to step up to the front of the line and assert themselves. The courage to do it, the willingness is important and they all three have that.”

You’re not going to talk positive aspects of COVID-19, but it did allow Riley more time than ever before with his quarterbacks, even if it wasn’t in person or on the practice field.

The strong traits they showed in the film room, Riley said, have started to carryover onto the field as well although it’s still incredibly early in the process.

“Now granted, we haven't been through just a terribly long stretch yet, but you could tell, Tanner, Spencer and even Chandler, those guys were a lot further ahead than they would have been without all that time,” Riley said. “So I've been pleased with the way those guys have played, excited about their progress and obviously excited to get the next several weeks under their belt and push forward.”

Freshmen to watch?

The offensive machine in Norman keeps rolling on, and there’s nothing to suggest the 2020 class is going to be the one that derails it.

Already mentioned McGowan, but there’s a couple of more skilled players that OU fans might get accustomed to seeing sooner than later in H-Back/tight end Mikey Henderson and wide receiver/tight end Jalin Conyers.

Henderson’s room is pretty crowded with Jeremiah Hall, Brayden Willis and Austin Stogner, but he might be too good to keep off the field.

“He's a guy that ... probably didn't realize how strong he is,” said tight ends coach Shane Beamer last week at a charity event. “Mikey's testing numbers in the weight room from a strength standpoint and from an explosiveness standpoint were very, very eye-opening when you compared them to everyone else in that room. That was an eye opener for all of us.

“And then having a chance to get him out on the practice field, you see what he's able to do. He's big. He's strong. He's got great feet and quickness. He's athletic and he's really, really explosive.”

When it comes to Conyers, it’s easy to start throwing out the comparisons to guys like Mark Andrews and Grant Calcaterra as guys who could be viewed as receivers or tight ends. Riley said Conyers, despite how big he is, moves very well.

“So I think the goal this year for him will be, let's try to find a place where he can potentially help the team this year,” Riley said. “That may evolve and change. It'll be fun to see. He's a talented kid. You love his size, kinda effortless movements. A lot of interesting possibilities but I don't know that I would wanna nail it down right now because I do think he's got a skillset that could be pretty wide ranging.”

Getting the return game working again

Examine OU’s special teams, and you have zero issues in the kicking game. Gabe Brkic didn’t miss a field goal attempt all season. Reeves Mundschau was solid at punter. Not a lot of complaints with the coverage units.

The return game is another story, and Beamer acknowledged as much. Both for kickoff and punt returns, things need to start moving in an upward trajectory.

“We have got to better in the kickoff return game, for sure,” Beamer said. “And then the punt-return game is something that's not a concern, but figuring out who that punt returner’s going to be. Drake Stoops stepped in last year, so he has some experience.

“We're working some of these other receivers. Trejan Bridges has been back there some. Some of these freshmen here as well. DeMarco Murray is back there working with our punt returners. Cale Gundy did it previously.

“So, we've got a lot of eyes on those guys, along with coach Riley, trying to figure out who that punt returner will be. We feel really good about the 10 guys that will be up in front of that returner blocking for him and giving him the opportunity to make some big plays in the return game.”