Sooner Notes From Week 1 Press Conference

Coach Stoops likes what he's seen from his defensive front. Quincy Russell may start against ULM in place of suspended Chuka Ndulue

Monday, August 26th 2013, 2:35 pm

By: News 9


Oklahoma football coach Bob Stoops met with the media for his first game week press conference Monday afternoon. Here's a quick recap of what Stoops and players had to say.

• Stoops said the team voted on team captains last week. Gabe Ikard and Trey Millard were named offensive team captains, Aaron Colvin and Corey Nelson were named defensive captains, while Austin Woods and Michael Hunnicutt were named special teams captains.

• Stoops also said Cortez Johnson and Chuka Ndulue would not play on Saturday against Louisiana-Monroe. Both were arrested during the offseason. Jaz Reynolds and Quentin Hayes, who were suspended for all of the 2012 season, will be able to play on Saturday.

• Stoops said the Sooners would incorporate "a little bit" of designed quarterback run into the offense this season. Stoops did say that the Belldozer package would continue to be used, despite Blake Bell not winning the starting job, citing OU's excellent conversion percentage on third downs and in the red zone last season.

• Quincy Russell, despite arriving on campus late, has been everything Stoops has hoped he would be to this point. Russell will play on Saturday, but Stoops didn't say if he would start in place of the suspended Ndulue.

• The Sooners have had two film sessions related to the new targeting rule in college football this season.

• When asked about possibly becoming Oklahoma's all-time winningest coach after this season, Stoops said when he first arrived, fans told him they would be happy if he "got the right amount of players on the field for special teams."

• OU center Gabe Ikard said it is very important for the Sooners to be unified behind Trevor Knight as the starter regardless of whether or not they agreed with the decision. "We have to make him as comfortable back there as possible," Ikard said.

• OU fullback Trey Millard said he's been focusing a lot on working at the tight end position and improving his skill set there. He said he enjoys the position and sees it as a challenge. Stoops wouldn't say how much, if at all, Millard would line up at tight end this season.

• Ikard said the OU offense would be different this season, but the changes wouldn't be drastic or completely transformative.

• Ikard added that there were no shortage of "wow" moments with Knight at practice. Millard referred to Knight as a "freak athlete."

• OU linebacker Corey Nelson said that going against Knight on the scout team during preparations for the Cotton Bowl last season helped the defense get better because of his elusiveness and skill set.

• Nelson added that if Knight was playing at Texas A&M instead of Johnny Manziel, the A&M offense would look the exact same as it does with Manziel.

• As far as the specific reasons Knight won the job over Blake Bell, Stoops declined to comment, but noted Knight was overall more consistent in the areas he and the coaching staff were looking at.

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