Creed Humphrey – Noteworthy
Oklahoma will begin spring practices Thursday without a few key faces. Sophomore center Creed Humphrey is one of six players who won’t be fully cleared until fall camp. He was the Sooners’ only returning starter on the offensive line from last season. Junior safety Robert Barnes, redshirt junior safety Jordan Parker, redshirt freshman edge-rusher Jalen Redmond, redshirt freshman defensive back Starrland Baldwin and sophomore receiver Michael Anderson also won’t practice this spring. Riley expects the whole group to be ready by August. He said Humphrey, Parker and Anderson all had offseason surgeries.<p>Humphrey’s setback is another challenge for OU’s rebuilding offensive line. Four starters from last year – Bobby Evans, Ben Powers, Dru Samia and Cody Ford – either declared for the NFL draft or exhausted their eligibility. “It would have been either way. But even more of a challenge now,” Riley said. “Bill [offensive line coach Bedenbaugh] and I were talking the other day. It’s actually, not having Creed there maybe is going to be good for a lot of these young guys, because that crutch of having a center that knows everything that’s going on and just a guy that’s an experienced good football player, when you take him away from the group, you’re going to really find where these guys are at individually.” – Norman Transcript
*Kyler Murray – Noteworthy
By Wednesday afternoon it was practically a running joke. What sourced information would be floated into the airwaves next about Kyler Murray’s size or personality? Monday, NFL Network analyst Charley Casserly reported that Murray flopped during combine interviews last week. Next, Dan Patrick said a scout told him Murray’s combine height had been inflated. Casserly was especially scathing of Murray. The former Washington Redskins general manager said feedback on Murray’s leadership and study habits were “the worst comments I ever got on a high-rated quarterback, and I’ve been doing this a long time.”<p>”Major concerns about what this guy is going to do,” he added. A day before the Sooners began spring practice, Riley acknowledged not everyone will like Murray, who generally doesn’t project a charismatic personality with media. But Riley said he spoke with “a number of” teams that said the QB’s interviews went fine. “I know Charley Casserly’s had a decorated career in the NFL and has done a lot of tremendous things,” Riley began. “To me it always seems strange you go on the [TV] and say your ‘sources’, No. 1, and then you’re gonna go on and talk like you’re an expert on somebody that you’ve never met. You’ve never talked to his position coach or head coach at any level about him, and you’ve never talked to any players who’s played with the guy about how he leads. “Now we’re gonna be an expert on how he leads.” – Norman Transcript