The Football Brainiacs

Life after Rodney

Since tailback Rodney Anderson went down in the first half of Oklahoma’s win over UCLA, one of the biggest questions people have had is who is going to carry the load in the run game.

While Trey has established himself as the clear No. 1 tailback for the Sooners, it has been quarterback Kyler Murray who has led the team in rushing the past two games. That includes rushing for 77 yards on 15carriesSaturday against Iowa State. Sermon carried the rock 13 times for 74 yards.

I really just think that’s the flow of the offense,” Sermon said. “He’s a great runner as well. And I feel like all the running backs, we’re getting better, we’re contributing more. I think it’s just the flow.”

Tight end Grant Calcaterra also that is just how the game has flowed.

“That’s just kind of how it’s been going I think,” Calcatera said. “We had a little bit more quarterback draws last week. So that’s probably why Kyler has been rushing a lot. You guys know how he is. He’s a mobile guy. So if there is nobody open down the field then he’s going to take off and get a bunch of yards for us.”

Lack of catches

Through three games Calcatera has recorded six receptions for 70 yards.  He had two catches for 41 yards versus the Cyclones. It’s not the output many expected of the 6-foot-4, 221-pound sophomore heading into the season.

Everybody wants to get balls,” Calcatera said. “But at the end of the day, we’re winning every game. We’re executing, I’m blocking well. So when you’re not getting the ball all you can do is do everything else right. I think for me I just got to focus on my assignments every week. If balls come my way, they come my way. If they don’t, I’m going to continue to do my best to try and help the team any way I can.”

However, Murray said Calcatera’s time will come.

“Right now, he hasn’t caught a lot of balls yet,” Murray said. “But obviously, we have a lot of weapons. Which is kind of a blessing for me. For those guys, they sometimes might not get the ball as much as they like. But it’s a team game. We’re all in it for one reason and that’s to win. Defenses are going to key in on Marquise (Brown) and CeeDee (Lamb) and those guys. You can’t sleep on Grant. I’m glad we have him.”

Sermon fitting in at being No. 1

“It’s not too much different,” Sermon said. “Every single day I’m just going to practice, giving 100 percent effort. Just trying to get the job done. Nothing has really changed. My mentality is still the same.”

Close to breaking a long one

Earlier in the day coach Lincoln Riley said Sermon is close to breaking a long run for a touchdown. Sermon agreed.

“I definitely feel that way,” Sermon said. “My offensive line does a great job and just every time I touch the ball I feel like it’s getting closer and closer.”

Sooners settle on starting center

After watching his two centers go back and forth for three games in and out of the starting lineup, offensive line coach Bill Bedenbaugh announced that redshirt freshman Creed Humphrey has won the starting job. Senior Jonathan Alvarez will be the back.

“It’s happened. We needed continuity at that spot,” Bedenbaugh said. “It’s happened and we’re going to move forward. Creed is going to be the guy. Yes he is.”

Respect for the Black Knights

Each of the Sooners who talked to the media Monday talked about the respect they have for the members of the Army football team. It was hammered even more into them during practice when linebacker coach Tim Kish, who coached at Army for eight years, explained to the team what exactly the players for the service academies go through each day.

“He knows kind of what they do every day. He knows their daily routine,” Calcatera said. “They’re up at 6 a.m. and fully dressed on the field. They have classes until 12. They have 15 minutes to eat every meal. They get to meet for an hour with their position coaches. Then they have more class, practice lift, dinner, lights out by 11 p.m. It’s pretty crazy. I didn’t know that. It was pretty cool for me to kind of hear that. Gain a lot of respect for those guys. They are really sacrificing a lot for all of us.”

Redshirt senior Myles Tease was also surprised by the Black Knights schedule. But one particular part stood out to him.

“One thing that stood out to me is that they only get 15 minutes to eat,” Tease said. “I eat slow, so I need more than 15 minutes.”

Fumble

Calcatera had one of the Sooners only turnover Saturday. He said it’s hard to come off the field after a fumble.

“Especially when it’s early in the game,” Calcatera said. “After I did that they went down and scored and it was tied. That was kind of rough. But at the end of the day it’s next play mentality. It’s behind me now and I just have to focus on getting better and improve my ball security and everything that goes along with that. It’s important at receiver that you have that next play mentality. There is nothing you can do about it. You just have to go out the next play and do your best.”

Murray to Brown connection

“It comes from the work we put in in the offseason,” Murray said. “It doesn’t just come easy. We put a lot of work in We’re going to just try and continue to keep doing that. He’s playing well right now. We need him to. Hopefully, we can keep him going.”

Height isn’t everything 

At 5-foot-10, Murray is showing height isn’t a requirement to play elite level quarterback.

“I don’t believe in those,” Murray said. “There are a lot of 6-foot-5 guys in the (NFL) that aren’t very good I feel like. If you can play quarterback, you can play quarterback. If you have the feel to play quarterback, then you can play it. Some guys have it, some guys don’t.”

Small guy with a big game

Coming off his nine reception, 191-yard performance against Iowa State, Brown has continued to catch the attention of NFL teams. Despite only being listed at 5-foot 10, 168 pounds, he is proving he can play at the next level.

“Marquise is playing with a chip on his shoulder like all the other small guys,” Murray said of Brown. “Me, myself Baker (Mayfield). Every guy they say can’t play a position because their too small, you have to have that chip on your shoulder. That is something he has on his shoulder. He is trying to prove himself, obviously. For NFL scouts and things like that. He wants to play at the next level, just like anybody else does. He has to prove those things like come across the middle, catch competitive balls. Not just be a one trick pony type of guy. For scouts to think that he can do that or take a chance on him, a small guy, he has to do those things and he’s doing them all right now.”