FanHouse Mossis Madu

After a few hours on the depth-chart bench, Oklahoma middle linebacker Ryan Reynolds is again apparently a starter.

Monday, Sooners coach Bob Stoops' released the team's depth chart with several surprises.

The biggest was in the middle, as the coaching staff had Mike Balogun listed as the starter with incoming freshman Tom Wort backing him up and no mention of expected front-runners Reynolds, who starred for the team until suffering an injury against Texas, and Austin Box, who started four games at the position last year.

But as of Tuesday at 10AM, the two-deep listed Reynolds as the No.1 linebacker and Balogun backing him up. It's unclear what prompted the quick change, whether it was a coaching decision or simply a typographical error. Sooners football media contact Kenny Mossman did not return several calls on Tuesday for clarification.

Yes, imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, but this is getting ridiculous. First, Colorado announced its intentions to utilize a no-huddle offense in 2008. Now we get more information about Oklahoma and their desire for a speedier offensive approach. These two teams join Missouri, Texas Tech and Kansas as other Big 12 teams running some version of a no-huddle approach.

The shift to a quicker offensive tempo is based in large part on the success that this sort of attack has had in recent years.

The top eight college football offenses in 2008 ran versions of a no-huddle. Four of those -- Missouri, Houston, Texas Tech and Tulsa -- ran more than 1,000 plays (OU ran 975). Tulsa (1,126) and Missouri (1,112) led the nation in total plays.

This means we can probably expect more in the way of outrageous scoring come Big 12 play. 76-39? 65-51? 59-43? But other than concession vendors who can complain about more plays and more scores per contest?

Back in Oklahoma, the Sooners have been slowly implementing the no-huddle this spring. In the team's most recent scrimmage the up-tempo attack led to "volatile" results.

Keith Nichol and Mossis Madu produced back-to-back gainers of 20 and 12 yards, then Nichol threw an interception to Jonathan Nelson.

We've already checked in on the quarterbacks, so why not delve into what's new with the running backs of the Big 12.

We'll start at Texas, where the biggest question mark of the spring is who will replace Jamaal Charles? Charles led the Big 12 in rushing in 2007 on the strength of a fantastic second half of the season. Three backs will fight it out over the starting running back gig in 2008.

Sophomore Vondrell McGee will get first shot at the starting job after serving as Charles' understudy a year ago. When Charles was having consistency problems at midseason in 2007, McGee actually got more playing time, specifically on short-yardage and goal-line plays. He gained 297 yards overall and scored eight touchdowns.

Redshirt freshman Fozzy Whittaker and McGee share the same, low-to-the-ground build. Both resemble miniature linebackers.

Whereas McGee prefers the I-formation, Whittaker is more comfortable running out of the shotgun. That's how he made his yardage at Pearland High School, where he finished with the sixth-best rushing total in Class 5A history.

The third member of the committee is Chris Ogbonnaya, a well-known offensive commodity. The Longhorns often turned to Ogbonnaya on third-down situations last fall because he was as adept at running pass routes as he was at picking up the blitz. He caught 21 passes a year ago. To prepare for this season, the fifth-year senior dropped 12 pounds to improve his speed. He's now at 215.

We'll look elsewhere in the Big 12 after the jump.

One of the biggest questions in the Big 12 this year is who will replace Adrian Peterson as Oklahoma's starting running back? If the spring is any indication, Sooner fans can rest easy, knowing an abundance of talent appears ready to run in Norman. For starters, Allen Patrick and Chris Brown both return after stepping up in Peterson's absence and propelling the Sooners to the Big 12 Championship. In addition, a new star has emerged in Oklahoma's spring scrimmages in redshirt freshman DeMarco Murray.

In Saturday's scrimmage Murray carried the ball 16 times for 132 yards and a touchdown. His 65-yard run was also the longest play of the day for the Sooners. Despite these efforts, Head coach Bob Stoops remains understated.

"DeMarco's a special player," Stoops said.

Murray was also the most impressive back in Oklahoma's first scrimmage of the spring on March 14. In that scrimmage he carried the ball 9 times for 92 yards and two touchdowns. He also caught three passes for 37 yards.

The emergence of Murray, gives the Sooners all sorts of options in the backfield. Patrick and Brown both look durable enough to be every down backs. It is doubtful, however, that Patrick will average anywhere near the 30 carries a game that he did in the second half of 2006. Instead, offensive coordinator Kevin Wilson should be able to spread the ball around amongst Patrick, Brown, Murray and Mossis Madu another talented redshirt freshman. You can probably expect to Murray and Madu to line up in the slot and perhaps split time as the feature back when the Sooners operate from the shotgun.

However they decide to use the four backs, I think this qualifies as one of those "good problems to have."

Last Year: 11-3 (8-1), # 11 AP, # 11 Coaches

Fans Are: Optimistic. It's been a wild run under coach Bob Stoops. There was the championship in his second season and several more frustrating title game appearances, Jason White's Heisman trophy, Adrian Peterson's near-miss with the Heisman, many wins over Texas and finally last year the end of the Adrian Peterson era and the epic bowl loss to Boise State. It's breath-catching time with a roster depleted of stars but full of quality.

Expectations: Beat Texas, play in the Big 12 Championship Game, play in a BCS bowl game.

Questions:

1. What's going on with the quarterbacks?

This sounds like a rare "open" competition. There is no holdover player with a vast experience edge on his competitors who are often less experienced but more talented. Joey Halzle has some JUCO experience but otherwise has been at Oklahoma as long as redshirt freshman Sam Bradford. The Sooners snuck true frosh Keith Nichol out of the grasps of Michigan State. He has enrolled early and because of that has a legitimate shot at the job.

2. Can freshman quarterback Keith Nichol win the job?

It's doubtful at best, at least out of spring. I read a Stoops quote somewhere recently where he said a frosh starter, particularly at quarterback, has to be special unless injuries have killed the depth chart. He may be more competitive later in the year but the real task this spring is probably to get Nichol to grasp the offensive basics while evaluating the competence of Bradford and Halzle.

3. Can the tailbacks fill in for Adrian Peterson?

Absolutely. We saw that last year as Allen Patrick and Chris Brown led the Sooner offense through an 8-0 league run after the Red River Rivalry loss to Texas. Coach Stoops is also talking up redshirt frosh backs Mossis Madu and DeMarco Murray who are more slippery runners and nice counters to the inside styles of Brown and Patrick.

4. Will the defense still dominate?

Probably. It all starts up front and the Sooners lose three senior ends that have to be accounted for. Zach Latimer and Rufus Alexander also depart, leaving vacancies at linebacker. The defensive interior should be fantastic once again with Steve Coleman, Carl Pendleton, Cory Bennett, DeMarcus Granger and others around to clog things up inside.

The secondary is young but has lots of speedy veterans in Lendy Holmes, D.J. Wolfe, Nic Harris, Darien Williams, Marcus Walker and All America candidate Reggie Smith. The Big 12 has become increasingly pass-happy and the Sooners have the secondary to manage against the league's best passers.