|
SAN DIEGO -- New Oklahoma quarterbacks coach Josh Heupel
didn't have to watch the Sooners all season long to see a big
difference in quarterback Rhett Bomar. As Arizona's tight ends coach, Heupel was only able to watch a
few of the Sooners' games but he was still able to get a read on
Bomar's performance. "I caught one early in the year and later in the year as
well," said Heupel, who joined Oklahoma's staff last week. " ...
You can definitely see a large progression in his football game.
The game is slowing down to him. He's gotten a lot better at taking
care of the football, making a lot better decisions, making quicker
decisions. "That's the progression of a young quarterback." Bomar's development into a steady quarterback has been crucial
to Oklahoma's turnaround this season. In his first four starts,
Bomar was 49-for-97 (50.5 percent) and averaged only 126 passing
yards. In his last six games, he's completed 99 of 176 (56.3
percent) and averaged 209 passing yards. "I had my struggles. I'm not going to shy away from that,"
Bomar said. "I've had my ups and downs this year, but I think as
the year progressed I got more comfortable out there and things got
a little better for me and the offense as a whole. "Hopefully, it's only going to get better for us." After starting 2-3, the Sooners (7-4) have won five of their
final six games and have a chance to finish a season with a win for
the first time in three years when they face No. 6 Oregon (10-1) on
Thursday in the Holiday Bowl. It's no coincidence that Bomar's numbers have improved just as
Oklahoma started stringing some wins together. The return of Adrian
Peterson from an injury helped too, but Bomar had the Sooners
headed in the right direction before Peterson -- last year's Heisman
runner-up -- got back. In the process, he's won over the locker room "100 percent,"
according to team captain Davin Joseph. "From where he's been to where he is now, you're talking about
a very determined guy," said Joseph, who has alternated between
guard and tackle on the offensive line this season. Joseph called Bomar "Mr. Endurance" because he's been taking
all of the snaps at quarterback since replacing Paul Thompson as
the starter in Week 2. Thompson moved to receiver and practices at
quarterback sparingly. "You've got a quarterback with endurance, determination, the
smarts, athletic ability. He's a dream quarterback, and that's
Rhett Bomar," Joseph said. "You can't say enough about the guy
because in a situation where you're the only quarterback, you have
to stay healthy. You have to be accountable. ... "He had his struggles, but being tough enough mentally to get
over the mistakes that he made, that's what you want in a
quarterback." Now Kevin Wilson, who took over at offensive coordinator after
Chuck Long's departure to San Diego State on Dec. 17, is counting
on Bomar -- who didn't throw a pass in the second half of his first
career start -- to tell him which plays he prefers in certain downs
and distances. "I like to be involved. I think I'm getting to that point now
where I've been playing enough and I'm not that young guy
anymore," Bomar said. "I can be mature enough to tell him what I
want to do and what I don't want to do because it's only going to
work if I feel comfortable doing it." Heupel, who quarterbacked the Sooners to the national
championship six seasons ago, said Bomar, 20, already has the
mental makeup to become an accomplished quarterback. "If you look at the most successful quarterbacks in history or
in the NFL right now, they have a strong belief, a strong
competitive nature about themselves whether they're playing
basketball, shooting golf, shooting pool, they want to win each and
every time, and they truly believe no matter what the situation,
they will be successful," Heupel said. "From the time that I've spent around Rhett Bomar, he
definitely has that competitive nature about him and that fire and
that belief that he can do anything at any given time."< ^------= ^SOONERS AT SEA: Players from Oklahoma and Oregon crossed the
San Diego Bay on Tuesday to visit the USS Nimitz aircraft carrier
at the Naval Air Station North Island in Coronado, Calif. Running back Kejuan Jones and a group of Sooners videotaped a
message to U.S. troops overseas and players had an opportunity to
check out three helicopters and a fighter jet on the flight deck.
Players also posed for pictures with weapons, and Peterson donned a
sailor's cap. Oregon coach Mike Bellotti said the ship's commanding officer,
Capt. Ted Branch, suggested the teams head out to sea and play the
game on the flight deck. "You could get three football fields up there lengthwise.
Width-wise, we've got a little bit of a problem," Bellotti said.
"If you get knocked out of bounds, you don't come back."
|
