Oklahoma head coach Lincoln Riley was back addressing the media Monday afternoon with Sooners spring practice beginning Tuesday. Here are some of the highlights of the 35-minute press conference.

Take No. 1: Updates, updates, updates

First thing out of the gate is always some housekeeping items, and there were quite a few for Riley to announce.

Limited in spring? Running back Marcus Major, linebacker Nik Bonitto, safety Delarrin Turner-Yell and defensive back Justin Broiles.

Out for spring because of injury but returning during the summer? Running back Trey Sermon, defensive lineman Jalen Redmond, linebacker Jon-Michael Terry and wide receiver Theo Howard.

Position changes? Jamal Morris and Robert Barnes will both make the move from the secondary to the linebacker spot.

“We had some conversations late last year once we’d all made the decision to redshirt Robert,” Riley said. “It was a conversation about the way his body had evolved and also I think for him and all of us, getting to see what “Speed D” looks like and where does he best fit in in that. I think that, combined with certainly losing Kenneth and some opportunities there at inside linebacker, it just made sense all the way around.”

Suspension updates regarding Rhamondre Stevenson, Trejan Bridges and Ronnie Perkins? Nope, not just yet.

“Very open-ended timeline on that,” Riley said. “There's a lot of processes, discussions that are taking place. As soon as they give me any clarification on it, I'll make sure that you guys know. Yeah, those guys are going to work. Those guys won't start a drill and other than that, they're gonna go practice and get better just like the rest of the team.”

Riley also announced the unveiling of Baker Mayfield’s Heisman statue will occur spring game weekend, during the game itself in the stadium.

Take No. 2: The QB situation

It didn’t take long to get into the quarterback battle between Spencer Rattler and Tanner Mordecai. Obviously, no starter was announced Monday afternoon. But Riley did say that if someone took charge this spring, he’s not against just naming a guy from that point on.

“I’m certainly not opposed to, if we had a clear-cut starter after spring of doing something then,” Riley said. “I think there’s advantages to that if you’re able to do that, the team knowing who the starter’s going to be, first and foremost. I just think you have to let these things play out. I know everybody wants to come to conclusions, everybody wants to know what it’s going to be.

“And I know these things get dissected every which way and I know they’re going to continue to forever, that’s just the nature of the business. But it’s so simple. It’s the very core of team sports. You let however many people you have, you let them truly compete for a spot and may the best man win.”

Riley’s history would tell us he will wait until preseason camp to make the call. It’s definitely a different situation than last spring when the Sooners were trying to accelerate the curve for Jalen Hurts.

Although Rattler and Mordecai lack big-time in-game reps, no doubt they’re familiar with the system and concepts as Mordecai enters year No. 3 at OU and Rattler his second year.

“I would say it’s been more similar to like the years, especially maybe the year where we had Austin and Kyler kind of both coming back and both guys, neither one had played a ton yet, but they both had been in the system,” Riley said. “Had both been in our program.

“They’re guys that are ready. We’re very excited about the guys that are in that room. The guys that they’ve been able to learn under during their time.”

And Riley made it as clear as possible. No interest whatsoever from any of the graduate transfer quarterbacks who might have been looking toward Norman.

“We got some calls. Yea, we got a couple,” Riley said. “But nah, zero temptation there. We were very honest with everybody that that was not going to happen.”

Take No. 3: Offensive line ‘high standard’

Think everybody would agree the offensive line play in 2019 was good, just incredibly tough to compare to the previous seasons’ dominance.

When you look at this year’s group, a lot of familiar faces return, but Riley was incredibly quick to point out that just because you saw someone at a certain spot last season doesn’t mean that’s where they’ll end up in 2020.

“I would say the offensive line as a whole – we're looking at a lot of different combinations right now,” Riley said. “I'll put it that way. Where guys have played in the past may not necessarily be where they play in the future. That was a group that we feel like needs to play a lot better for us. Very simply, we all have to do a better job.

“Now, granted, the way our group played last year, 99 percent of the teams in the country would have been very happy with it. But our expectations around here on the offensive line area little bit different than most.”

OU returns all five starters in Erik Swenson and Adrian Ealy at tackle, Tyrese Robinson and Marquis Hayes at guard and Creed Humphrey at center.

Plus one: Special teams a collaborative effort

One of Jay Boulware’s official titles was in special teams, too, and neither DeMarco Murray nor Jamar Cain were labeled with that role when hired by OU.

Riley explained that as the unit will be more of a by-committee approach with Shane Beamer leading the charge.

So you could say Beamer Ball is officially in Norman.

“Coach Beamer's gonna take a larger role,” Riley said. “We're not gonna have a titled special teams coordinator. We think our guys' titles and kinda where we're at there are appropriate so we're not gonna have a person with special teams coordinator listed next to their name but if we did, he would be the guy.

“And then still gonna be a combination of our other coaches being involved with the other teams. There are specific responsibilities but honestly from a schematic standpoint I don't really wanna say who's gonna do what because it does provide some advantages for us early in the season.”