Proposed OU roster changes

[jtbleek]

Quote: Originally Posted by Meni69

Paul Thompson back to QB its not announced but its coming

Do you have a source for this or is it just a gut feeling? All I've read is that Joey Halzle(sp) will step in and their stud freshman Bradford might step in if Halzle sucks it. I have not read any other source that has even speculated that Thompson will move back to QB. I'm curious. Thanks.

[Meni69]

Quote: Originally Posted by jtbleek

Do you have a source for this or is it just a gut feeling? All I've read is that Joey Halzle(sp) will step in and their stud freshman Bradford might step in if Halzle sucks it. I have not read any other source that has even speculated that Thompson will move back to QB. I'm curious. Thanks.

on a premium board a member posted that they spoke to PT and he agreed
stud freshman? Bradford was 3 star dude
you wanna go into the year with Halzle unproven juco
true freshman 3 star
and a walk on?
PT will be moved to QB and we'll get official word soon

the latest post
PT will start practices as the #1 qb working with the #1 team from what i hear

[jtbleek]

Quote: Originally Posted by Meni69

on a premium board a member posted that they spoke to PT and he agreed stud freshman? Bradford was 3 star dude

yeah "stud" was not my word but where i read it from.

Quote:

you wanna go into the year with Halzle unproven juco true freshman 3 star and a walk on?

Hey it worked OK for Cal last year didn't it?

[dharrisfan2003]

Halzle will be the starter vs. UAB.

[Meni69]

Quote: Originally Posted by dharrisfan2003

Halzle will be the starter vs. UAB.

I got a buck that says PT starts

[noplace]

The only hope is for Halzle to turn out to be another Zac Taylor. If they dont lose anymore players ie D.J Wolfe & others I believe OU will be fine. Bomar wasnt head & shoulders better than Halzle this past spring anyway.

[Meni69]

Multiple sources on the University of Oklahoma football team said Wednesday night that Thompson, a senior from Leander, Texas, will quarterback the Sooners this season following the dismissal of starter Rhett Bomar.

"Paul's going to be the guy," said one source, who requested anonymity. "There's no trying out. There's no competition. Paul's the guy."

The sources confirmed that head coach Bob Stoops informed the team Wednesday during a routine meeting to welcome the team back from summer break. Players reported Wednesday and preseason practice begins Thursday.

"He said it during the meeting," the source said. "He said Paul's ready, and Paul didn't seem too worried about it."

Many observers anticipated junior college transfer Joey Halzle would inherit the job because he spent all of spring practice at the position while Thompson moved full-time to wide receiver, or that there would at least be a competition between Thompson and Halzle. But Stoops has apparently already chosen Thompson.

A second source with the team said Thompson is the starter now but said that would change if he proved he was not capable of being the Sooners' QB.

"He'll have every opportunity," the second source said.

Thompson and Halzle -- as well as QB coach Josh Heupel -- declined comment following Wednesday night's meeting.

"We're not allowed to talk," Thompson said.

Stoops also declined comment.

Thompson came to Oklahoma in 2002 and was an effective backup to Jason White during White's Heisman Trophy season in 2003. Thompson redshirted the 2004 season -- he was the emergency QB behind White as freshman Tommy Grady got all the mop-up snaps -- in hopes of having two full seasons as the starter.

After Grady transferred to Utah, Thompson beat out Bomar last preseason in a close battle, but was benched after a poor showing in the Sooners' shocking season-opening loss to TCU. In that game, Thompson completed just 11-of-26 passes for 109 yards with an interception and two fumbles and was benched the remainder of the season in favor of Bomar.

While Bomar became seemingly entrenched as the starter, Thompson continued to practice as the backup quarterback, but also moved to wide receiver, where he caught 11 passes for 106 yards last season.

Thompson then spent all of spring practice working out full-time at the wide receiver spot as Halzle was Bomar's backup.

"He had every chance to get a bad attitude and never did," the second source said. "People like that have a tendency to win out in the end."

Halzle signed with OU in December apparently not intimidated by the possibility of Bomar being a four-year starter.

Halzle arrived at OU after two years at Golden West (Calif.) College. He spent one season with a broken ankle, so he has three seasons of eligibility at OU.

Halzle was an academic qualifier out of Oaks Christian High School in Westlake Village, Calif., but he was undersized and wasn't highly recruited.

Last fall, he completed just 47 percent of his passes (169-of-363) for 2,077 yards with 13 touchdowns and 13 interceptions as the Rustlers battled through major injuries and finished the season just 1-9.

Halzle was a three-year starter at Oaks Christian and was named All-Tri-Valley League and first-team All-California Interscholastic Federation (Oaks Christian won the CIF Division XI title his senior year).

But, he said in December, "I was an inch shorter and about 35 pounds lighter than I am now," Halzle said. "I was a late bloomer, I guess."

Bomar became the Sooners' starter last year, two games into his redshirt freshman season. As the Sooners won six of their last seven games, he showed big-play ability in clutch situations as well as a reliable knowledge of the offense and the trust of his teammates.

Bomar, a third-year sophomore from Grand Prairie, Texas, passed for an OU freshman record 2,018 yards last season. He completed 54.2 percent of his passes with 10 touchdowns and 10 interceptions. Last December, Bomar was named MVP of the Holiday Bowl when he led OU to a 17-14 victory over sixth-ranked Oregon. In that game, Bomar completed 17-of-30 passes for 208 yards and three touchdowns.

OU's other quarterbacks include first-year freshman Sam Bradford from Putnam City North and third-year sophomore Hays McEachern from Austin, Texas.

John E. Hoover 581-8384
[email protected]

The Replacements:
Sources say Paul Thompson will be OU's starting quarterback,with Joey Halzle No. 2 and Sam Bradford No. 3. A quick look at the QBs on the OU roster:

1. Paul Thompson
Height: 6-4 Weight: 210 Grade: Sr.
Hometown: Leander, Texas Started the 2005 opener at QB against TCU, but moved to wide receiver after ineffective performance.Mopped up for Jason White in 14 games in 2002-03.

2. Joey Halzle
Height: 6-4 Weight: 201 Grade: Soph.
Hometown: Huntington Beach,Calif. Coming off an inconsistent spring practice after transferring from Golden West (Calif.) Community College.Not as athletic or strong-armed as Thompson.

3. Sam Bradford
Height: 6-4 Weight: 200 Grade: Frosh.
Hometown: Oklahoma City (PCNorth) Was headed for a redshirt season before Wednesday's events. Rated the nation's No. 17 high school quarterback by two recruiting services.

Also: Hays McEachern
Height: 5-11 Weight: 180 Grade: Soph.
Hometown: Austin, Texas The third-year walk-on is set to be OU's holder for kicks. Shouldn't have any quarterbacking duties beyond the scout team, however.

[granvilleberry]

Quote: Originally Posted by noplace

The only hope is for Halzle to turn out to be another Zac Taylor. If they dont lose anymore players ie D.J Wolfe & others I believe OU will be fine. Bomar wasnt head & shoulders better than Halzle this past spring anyway.

Halzle is good, but has been inconsistent at best with reading the D and it showed in the spring game. I've seen Bradford play a number of times (worked as a sports editor w/ a local paper, covered highschool fb) and while he has an unbelievable amount of upside I don't think he's ready for D1 starting qb. Not by a longshot, but given a year or two he's going to be very good. Maybe not All American, but by the time he's an upperclassmen he will be all Big 12. It's painfully obvious that Paul Thompson is going to be put back at QB. The offense that Kevin Wilson is putting in is likely going to resemble the O he had at Northwestern and should also use alot of the Option Read type plays that UT used last year. Two back shotgun sets, double tight one back spread (aka ace), and offset I should be a good chunk of the playbook. With the need for the QB to be very mobile, Thompson is the only real choice they have. As far as this being the "tip of the iceberge", I think that's nothing more than rumor. There have been rumblings for a while about this dealership and the university has been investigating it for several months now. I'm not shocked that Bomar would do such a thing, he's proven to the general public that he's arrogant enough to think he can get away with most anything. I am a little suprised with Quinn, but I hear Quinn and Bomar are tight so that would explain I suppose. But, the tip of the iceberge? Do you honestly think an athletic program just coming off of a Kelvin Sampson debacle, not to mention 1989, would do anything less that boot everyone off the team that so much as thinks about accepting gifts that violate NCAA rules and regulations? Of course not. If you're willing to toss out your starting QB off a national title contender a month before the season, what would keep you from doing any further cleaning of the house? Stoops won't have it, Barry Switzer may have (though he isn't quite as bad as some would have you believe. now, some of his players, that's another story), but not Stoops. I don't think the season's over, but this just went from a 0-1 ( L to Oregon or Texas) loss team to a 2-3 loss team (Oregon, texas, conf. road game). I have no idea who you would change the players to, but I would be confident in saying that Thompson goes to QB and the WR depth chart just loses a player. Adron Tennell possibly moves into the starting rotation. Also, there's speculation that Gresham will be moved around at slot and fb in addition to sharing time at TE with Finley, so you may think of placing him as the 5th wideout.