OU Practice Report: Jordan Thomas' Discipline to be Handled Internally

Preseason camp continued for the OU football team on Friday morning with their season opener against Houston only 22 days away. Head coach Bob Stoops talked with the media after practice, here are few highlights: 

Jordan Thomas' discipline to be handled internally

With the news that OU cornerback Jordan Thomas would not face any charges stemming from his June 30 arrest, SoonerScoop.com reported the preseason All-Big 12 cornerback would not miss any game action as a result. Stoops confirmed the report on Friday, and added Thomas' discipline would be handled internally. 

“If it’s as it says, that all those charges are dropped, then it’ll be just continued internal discipline, that’ll be it," Stoops said. "I still need to get the paperwork and visit with my athletic director.”

This is good news for the OU secondary, seeing they already lost cornerback Zack Sanchez to the NFL after last season and will face a stout offense the first week of the season when the Sooners make the trip down the Houston. 

While discussing his defensive backs, Stoops continued his praise of Michiah Quick, who made the switch from receiver to corner in the offseason. 

"Michiah’s been great. Really has taken to the corner spot really naturally and is really showing up, doing well," Stoops said. "He and Dakota right now are playing the best opposite of Jordan and really doing good."

It's likely the week one starters in the secondary will consist of safeties Ahmad Thomas and Steven Parker, nickelback Will Johnson, Jordan Thomas and either Austin or Quick playing at the opposite corner. Regardless of who starts, secondary coach Kerry Cooks stressed earlier in camp that he'll take advantage of the Sooners' depth at the position. Cooks wants to see a lot more rotation in his defensive backfield, with the starters playing 80 percent of the snaps to keep everyone fresh and performing to their max potential. 

Sooners have a plethora of big receivers

It appears the Sooners will have a handful of options at receiver this season, and Coach Stoops has said more than once they'd like the group as a whole make up for the production lost with the graduation of Sterling Shepard as opposed to having one guy carry the load.

We can expect Dede Westbrook, Jarvis Baxter and Mark Andrews to get plenty of targets seeing they have the most returning experience, but transfer Geno Lewis and true freshman Mykel Jones have impressed coaches as well.

While all five of those guys should be playmakers once the season starts, it's crucial that OU has some size on the outside, and that's where A.D. Miller (6-3), Jeffery Mead (6-4) and Dahu Green (6-5) come into play. 

“AD’s really showing up everyday making some nice plays, and really starting to be more consistent, so he’s done a really nice job," Stoops said.

Along with praising Miller, Stoops made sure to mention both Mead and Green's improvement.

“Jefferey’s had a good camp, being more consistent too, those guys are all better, Dahu Green as well, that’s three big guys that I believe this year will all have a bigger impact," Stoops said. 

Both Miller and Mead saw some playing time last season, and so far they've both not only impressed the coaches, but some of their teammates as well. After Tuesday's practice, cornerback Dakota Austin raved about both Miller and Mead's performances in camp so far. 

"Right now I feel that A.D. Miller has been the best rising receiver right now, just coming from nothing, Jeff Mead has been doing a good job too," Austin said. 

It's clear all three guys will have a chance to make an impact, but it'll be interesting to see who stays in the rotation once the season goes along. 

Stoops thanks stadium construction workers

Construction workers have been working tirelessly to finish improvements on Memorial Stadium before the season starts, and Coach Stoops took the time to go up and thank the workers after the Sooners scrimmaged in the stadium earlier this week. 

“They were great. I just told them how much we appreciate their hard works and efforts," Stoops said. "We had the team in their that day for a scrimmage, and they were all loving it, just what it’s going to look like with people in it. Just said we appreciate their hard work, really.”