The Football Brainiacs

Coach Mike Stoops :

On who will replace Corey Nelson – “Those are some big shoes to fill. Dom Alexander is gonna have to play a lot more than he did in prior games but we feel confident in his abilities. It’ll be exciting for him. He is very well prepared for this.”

On where will Dom play in bigger sets – “On bigger sets we will have to move someone else in Cory’s position and we will leave Dom in his normal position.” Just speculating but I wonder if we may see one of the Freshman, Jordan Evans (who has been slotted as an ILB in the 3-4 but might be able to play outside) or Obo (we heard a lot about him in the summer).

On Texas’ run game – “That’s been the strength of their team. The backs are tremendous and the line is blocking well. When you’re running the ball it’s a qb’s best friend.”

On the defensive speed off the edge this year – “We got two guys (Tapper and Striker) that can really fly for the positions, so we are much more
built for speed on the perimeter than a year ago.”

Dom Alexander :

On the experience he gained in the TCU game – “I learned that I got to play faster. I can’t get cut off by guards. I have to play faster.” This is something we noticed and was mentioned in Super K’s notes. He can’t allow a linemen to wall him off.

If you want to understand Corey’s leadership and dedication to the team all you have to do is look at what Dom said on how Cory Nelson is helping him prepare – “As soon as I got here he took care of me. He told me I have to step in a significant way. You know this Texas week and I
can’t let the crowd get to me. He has me watching more film and he wants me to be here 7 am watching with him. He is making sure I’ll be the best player I can be.”

Aaron Franklin :

On first practice without Cory Nelson’s leadership – “He is still around and he is helping us with what he knows. Giving us tips on run plays and pass drops. He is gonna delay surgery to be with us this whole Texas week.” Again, this quote is a great sign of the leadership Corey brings to the team.

On how play calling on defense is effected by Cory’s injury – “It won’t effect the play calling at all. We still got Frank (Shannon) who is a leader out there. It’s just gonna be the next guy up and keep the defense going in the direction it’s been going in.”

On the importance of stopping the run game – “It’s very important, you take that away it makes it a lot easier. You take away what they do best.”

Eric Striker :

The always interested Eric Striker on what do he thinks when someone says OU/Texas – “I just think a bunch of guys out there running around trying to kill each other, having fun.” Is quotes like this that tell you why OU needs to continue recruiting defensive players from Florida. Last week when he was asked about his sack on Rees he said, “…I had to kill him.”

The hype of OU/Texas – “People buy into the name of OU/Texas and get hyped for it. I don’t buy into that. I play like that every game.”