Oklahoma head coach Lincoln Riley was back addressing the media Monday afternoon following the bye week as Sooners get ready for Big 12 play. Here are some of the biggest takeaways from the 30-minute session.

Game No. 4: vs. Texas Tech (11 a.m., Fox)

Take No. 1: OU experimenting positions, nothing final

Bye week always feels like an experimentation week, but that kicked into overdrive this weekend with reports of freshman receiver Trejan Bridges moving to the secondary.

SoonerScoop.com was told by a source Friday morning that it was Bridges who suggested the move to the coaching staff.

It’s certainly possible and probable that it’s being looked at, but the truth is it’s not a done deal. At least not yet.

“If we ever moved anybody, and I got asked about this this morning, too – if we ever moved somebody to a permanent position, I'm going to tell you guys,” Riley said. “We have not done that with Trejan or anybody else.

“We're always experimenting with different pieces on our team at different places, but that's not something I'd be willing to talk here in front of everybody, including all our future opponents.”

Always experimenting? Asked to elaborate more on that, and Riley said that it is rather common for the Sooners to have their guys ready to roll at more than one position. It just rarely happens with someone as high profile as Bridges, a five-star receiver for the 2019 class.

“Probably more often than what the outside would think,” Riley said. “You've got so many skillsets and there is so many facets to the game situationally, offense, defense, special teams and we've always encouraged our staff to think outside the box in who can helps us the most whether it be any of those facets.”

Take No. 2: Mann down no more

The injury report is pretty small for the Sooners, and it’s about to get even smaller heading into conference action. Defensive lineman Kenneth Mann, a captain for the 2018 team, is expected to return for the Sooners this weekend.

“He was really, really close there for the last two non-conference. We just weren’t quite ready to pull the trigger, honestly, from a timing perspective as far as an ideal time to recover from the injury that he had. He probably physically was ready, but we know we got a long stretch ahead. So I’m glad we were able to rest him. We really gained another week of it with the bye week.”

The depth the Sooners have built on the defensive line allowed OU to be extra cautious with Mann, and now it adds another potential difference maker for Calvin Thibodeaux’s group.

“There’s certainly going to be an opportunity for him,” Riley said. “He’s been a good player for us. But he’s going to have to come back and earn the reps just like everyone else. We’ve got some good players there. We have some young guys doing some exciting things as they’re getting better fast. Kenneth obviously brings a lot of game snaps, a lot of experience. He’s gonna be fresh and extremely hungry, so we’ll throw him in the mix.”

Riley doesn’t expect running back T.J. Pledger to return. Following this weekend, though, the door is realistically open for Pledger to make his season debut.

Take No. 3: Encouraged by defensive outings

You’re not about to call the Sooners an elite defensive group just yet. But go ahead and be pleased with the non-conference performances.

Riley likes what he has seen, hoping to see more.

“Not satisfied, but excited. Encouraged, excited,” Riley said. “Shown a lot of the positive signs I would have hoped that we would have shown at this point. Excited about where we can go. But we’ve got to continue on an upward trajectory, and we can’t let anything within our control stop that momentum.

“We’ve got some momentum there, and we’ve got to keep it. And we’ve got to keep building. Because you’re right. Better, worse, whatever, the challenges are going to be different. They’re going to be different each week. We know that playing in this league.”

Plus one: Sutherland to be handled internally

Kicker Calum Sutherland was arrested for public intoxication over the weekend. Although there will be consequences, Riley is keeping it as a team matter.

“We’re obviously well aware of the situation from this weekend,” Riley said. “Extremely disappointed in his choices. My philosophy on these deals is these guys live in the public eye. They take a lot of grief a lot of people don’t ever find out about. I’m not big on airing out guys’ dirty laundry in front of the rest of the country. We’re going to deal with it.

“I’m not going to tell you how we’re going to deal with it. It’s going to handled internally, but trust me it’ll be handled appropriately and a correct message set on what we expect in our program, conduct that’s expected. And when guys drop below the line they’re going to be punished. We’ll deal with it, but I’m not going to sit up here and go through the laundry list of things that are going to happen there. I hope that you would respect that.”