OU's Bradford hopes to avoid sophomore slump
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By JEFF LATZKE
AP Sports Writer
NORMAN, Okla. (AP) - It's difficult to aim much higher when you're starting out as the top-rated quarterback in the nation, but those are the kind of expectations that Sam Bradford could be carrying into his sophomore year at Oklahoma.
Instead, he's doing his best to shrug off unrealistic standards and find legitimate ways he can turn in a proper follow-up to his 36-touchdown season from a year ago.
``You can't look at numbers,'' said Bradford, who edged out Heisman Trophy winner Tim Tebow of Florida to lead the nation in passer rating. ``Numbers can be very misleading depending on situations.
``There's a lot of things I can do to be a better quarterback and a lot of things I can do to help our team win. I didn't look so much at the numbers, more at the bigger things that I could do to help this team win.''
For Bradford, much of that improvement comes in the intangibles department. In his first summer entrenched as the Sooners' starter, Bradford admits he had to force himself to be a more vocal leader and take charge during drills.
``I'm not a real loud guy. I'm pretty quiet. So maybe stepping up and saying things that last year I wouldn't have said has been something that I kind of had to make myself do this summer,'' Bradford said.
What head coach Bob Stoops doesn't want is for Bradford to feel like he has to be gunning for some unreasonable statistics just to have a better sophomore year. Bradford's 36 TD passes rank second in school history behind only Jason White's 40 from his Heisman season in 2003, and he threw just eight interceptions.
Turnovers may be the only category Stoops would like to see some improvement - other than avoiding defenders on plays like the one that knocked him out of the Texas Tech game last season, which the Sooners lost.
``I thought he played as well as we could have asked for a year ago,'' Stoops said. ``He's stronger, I know, from a year in the weight room and a year's maturity.''
And he's got the majority of his offense back around him.
All five starting linemen return, and the only major subtractions are tailback Allen Patrick and receiver Malcolm Kelly. That puts running backs DeMarco Murray and Chris Brown into more featured roles in the backfield and forces Bradford to find a new deep-ball threat on the outside.
There are still plenty of weapons, though, including Juaquin Iglesias, who had a team-high 68 catches for 907 yards, and 6-foot-6 tight end Jermaine Gresham, who caught 11 TDs last season.
Once again, fall camp finds the Sooners operating behind closed doors to add a few wrinkles to the offense that Stoops doesn't want opponents to see before it's time. With new play clock rules starting this year, they're also implementing a no-huddle system like several Big 12 opponents already use.
The main question is how to shore up the defense after linebacker Curtis Lofton, the team's top tackler, and cornerback Reggie Smith made early exits for the NFL. Still fresh in that unit's mind is a 48-28 blowout loss to West Virginia in the Fiesta Bowl.
The strength of the defense is one of the most menacing front lines in college football, featuring preseason Big 12 defender of the year Auston English.
``Those guys up front I believe have a chance to really be a great unit and play well, but they still need to be backed up,'' Stoops said. ``Those guys can only control so much up there.''
Considering their recent BCS struggles, the winners of the last two Big 12 championships have only one truly happy ending. Although there may be other measures of satisfaction along the way, anything less than a BCS title won't be truly fulfilling.
``Obviously we want to be in that game and we want to win that game. If we don't, then it is going to be a disappointment,'' Bradford said. ``But there's only one team that does that.''
Oklahoma at a Glance
SCHOOL COLORS: Crimson and cream
FOUNDED: 1890
ENROLLMENT: 29,721
LOCATED: Norman, Okla.
COACH: Bob Stoops, 10th season at Oklahoma and overall (97-22)
2007 RECORD: 11-3 (6-2, Big 12 champions)
LAST BOWL: 2008 Fiesta Bowl, lost to West Virginia 48-28
STADIUM: Gaylord Family-Oklahoma Memorial Stadium (82,112)
RETURNING STARTERS: 13 (8 offense, 5 defense)
KEY PLAYERS: QB Sam Bradford, RB DeMarco Murray, DE Auston English, DT Gerald McCoy
KEY RECRUITS: RB Jermie Calhoun, DE R.J. Washington, LB Mike Balogun, K Tress Way
KEY DEPARTURES: LB Curtis Lofton, WR Malcolm Kelly, CB Reggie Smith, RB Allen Patrick
COACHSPEAK: ``Even when you've won a Big 12 championship the year before or back-to-back, it means nothing now. Everybody's after the same thing once again, and it's your job to go try and earn it.'' - Stoops.
