After disposing Louisiana–Monroe Saturday afternoon, 59-17, Bob Stoops' 1-1 No. 14 Oklahoma Sooners host the No. 3 Ohio State Buckeyes in a primetime matchup six days hence.
As such, Stoops met with local media Monday afternoon to discuss everything Sooner football and the challenges posed by the Buckeyes.
Notes:
- "Big week here with Ohio State coming to town, an excellent team that everybody knows."
- "Everything goes through J.T. Barrett, an exceptional athlete playing quarterback."
- Curtis Samuel, Mike Weber, and Dontre Wilson all drew praise.
- Malik Hooker is "an exceptional athlete back there at safety."
- Injuries: Defensive end D.J. Ward "checked out well. Just depends on when he's back at practice. Linebacker Tay Evans "just had a minor bruise but checked out okay." Defensive lineman Charles Walker was "better yesterday and should be back sometime this week." Center Alex Dalton is "okay," and running back Daniel Brooks "may be out."
- Stoops doesn't temper players' emotions during big game weeks like this. "Pay attention to what makes you perform at your best. That's what we'll emphasize."
- On freshman wide receiver Mykel Jones: "He's getting better out there every week."
- Stoops challenged fans "with a poorly-worded statement" to affect a game in 2008 with noise. Against Ohio State, "Hopefully we can give them something to cheer about, and they'll get loud."
- On Ohio State film: "They've got good players at every spot. They're coached well, which is obvious. And you see athleticism and speed everywhere."
- Coaches "like" what freshman defensive lineman Neville Gallimore is doing. "You'll probably see more than him."
- "I grew up watching Ohio State football. I can't say we were Buckeye fans, but we watched and paid attention. Everybody knew and loved Woody Hayes ... He had great teams, great players."
- Stoops can't remember the 1977 last-second Oklahoma victory over Ohio State in the Horseshoe.
- On family coming to Norman to the game: "I have a few nieces and nephews coming, but they don't care about the game."
- On advising Urban Meyer about work-family balance when he left Florida: "That's not for me to speak on. I've always been comfortable with my work-life balance."
- Stoops passed out Meyer's favorite book, Lead, For God's Sake, to his staff after reading it.
- Does Stoops have stories about vacationing up near Ashtabula? "A lot, but I can't divulge them here."
- Houston and Ohio State are "very similar" offensively, though each do "different things." Stoops said it does benefit them as they've practiced against it recently. But Ohio State already saw how the Sooners will try to defend.
- Much will be made about Tom Herman and Urban Meyer talking this week, but Stoops reached out to other coaches during the offseason as well.
- Running back Joe Mixon is "getting better and better." Is there hesitancy about putting him out there against Ohio State to return punts? "Not really."
- Stoops would "love to have played at Ohio State," but wasn't recruited by the Buckeyes. He went to Iowa where everything worked out for him and his brothers.
- Stoops followed Michigan closer than Ohio State due to cousins that played there, but he "didn't really follow one team." Made sure to note he loved Oklahoma even back then, though.
- Defensive linemen Austin Roberts and Matt Dimon will return. Their one-game suspensions were part of a "year-long process." Later noted he won't talk about player suspension because "it doesn't need to be detailed." Players' privacy are more important than "people writing about them." He's okay with being dinged by people for suspending players against ULM and not Houston.
- Stoops called aligning a big recruiting weekend and preparing for Ohio State is "very difficult."
- "We may have to hire some extra people" to oversee all the prospects on campus. When pressed whom he'd hire, Stoops said "Probably somebody from the academic side."
- Stoops "would agree" with replacing conference officials with a single pool.
- Are the Sooners less likely to roll out an alternative jersey when facing another iconic jersey? "That'd be fair to say."
