The Football Brainiacs

Coach Norvell

– “We need to get better. We’re still leaving a lot of yards on the field. It’s still execution…” A lot of talk about the need for plays down the field.

– Talked about how we are controlling the clock at times which is a good thing. He’s pleased with the ability to run the ball and keep the ball.

– Emphasized the need to convert 3rd downs and talked about how that is something they are really stressing to the receivers.

– He talked about how important it is to have guys like Rip and Millard to help them set the edge but again said that the team has got to do a better job in the play action passes so that they can take advantage of those run games

– When he was asked about whether the WR are winning one on ones…”I don’t know…its a combination of execution and not being on the same page…we’re not happy with that right now…we’d like to see more balance…more run yardage and pass yardage”

– Talked about the need to take care of each drive and score some points against Texas Tech because they can score points

– When asked if he feels they are getting close to being more consistent he said they felt in the spring their style was going to be different this year and said that they’ve just got to find ways to win…but said they need more guys to step up to get themselves out of the bad moments or the moments of inconsistency.

– In a light moment when asked about Besters pass…”we all laughed because he never threw it that good in practice…that was by far the best ball he ever threw…he must be a game player”

– In talking about Coach Heupel as a play caller, “The one thing about play calling is everybody who watches a football game thinks they can call plays. And its not that easy. I think he’s done a great job…he’s very prepared and spends a lot of time at it all year around…you’re never going to make everybody happy. If you’ve ever sat in that chair you understand that.”

Blake Bell

– Talked about the need to get big chunk plays and said that they are working everyday to get better in order to be able to do that.

– On the demands of playing QB at OU, “that’s part of playing QB. If you’re doing good everyone is with you and if you’re doing bad they might not be. But that’s part of playing QB that you have that even keel and keep coming everyday, battling, trying to get better…”

– Talked about seeing Landry go through the process of being heavily criticized at Oklahoma and said he realized that’s just part of it and he learned a lot by watching Landry

– Overall sounded confident that he is going to start hitting some of those deep balls. In general got a vibe that Blake feels he’s capable of playing at a high level and its just a matter of continuing through the process of work and effort until it all comes together.

– Talked about how he is pleased with tempo that they are currently using but did say its fun for him to go faster…”it kind of helps the rhythm…it kind of helps the offense get in a rhythm”

Coach Josh Heupel

– Said there were some positives from the Kansas game but still too many big plays that were left out on the field that need to be hit.

– Emphasized that the offense just isn’t getting the big chunk plays in the run or the pass.

– Talked about how he certainly believes Blake is capable of making those big throws.

– Talking about slow starts in the game Josh said that defenses are not stopping them…he said that the offense is hurting itself…self inflicted wounds like missing easy throws or fumbles or missing an assignment

– “We’re in week 7. We’re capable of playing better than we are. We need to go out and prove it.”

– In general I get a sense that Josh is a little frustrated with Bell’s inability to make some of the throws or finding the open guy. Certainly said he’s confident that he can do it but time and time again he came back to things that missed reads or easy throws or something related to the QB

– Talked about how they are going to keep growing in the QB run game.

– Talked about he continues to grow and learn week to week as an OC but when asked if he would give himself a grade he said “no I don’t give myself a grade…ultimately we have to score enough points to win every game.”

Sterling Shepard

– Talked about how they are working in practice on trying to generate more deep plays in the future.

– Talked about how they need to be able to hit bigger plays to force safeties back

– Talked about how the Tech defense is actually pretty good and that they are going to have to beat a lot of press man

– Talked about how important it is for them to make sure they put up points against Tech because of Tech’s ability to score points and said he feels like they are going to be able to have long drives against Tech and cap it off with points

Trey Millard

– Talked about how one of their goals against Texas Tech is to really be able to stay on the field and go on longer drives to keep their offense off the field

– Was asked whether they can run against a crowded box and he answered quite confidently that they can