Secret for cornerback's success hidden in his eyes
When asked what makes corner Reggie Smith a special player, defensive backs coach Bobby Jack Wright noted Smith's vision.
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"He can see the whole field,” Wright said. "He can recognize run/pass.
"If you can recognize what play is coming, that makes it a whole lot easier.”
Smith — the preseason Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year — missed last Saturday's scrimmage because of strained hip flexor, but returned to practice Monday night, he said.
•Sooners to scrimmage: The Sooners have scheduled a closed scrimmage for tonight, which will give the coaching staff another chance to look at quarterbacks Sam Bradford, Keith Nichol and Joey Halzle in live settings.
Quarterbacks coach Josh Heupel said Tuesday the quarterbacks are still rotating equally. But that could change by Saturday's 6 p.m. scrimmage, which will be open to the public.
•Barbour commits to Arizona: Jarrell Barbour, a 6-foot-3, 190-pound receiver from Arizona's Peoria Centennial High School, spurned the Sooners by committing to Mike Stoops and Arizona on Sunday night, the Arizona Daily Star reported.
Barbour — rated the second-best prospect in Arizona by Rivals.com — selected the Wildcats over Oklahoma, Michigan, Nebraska and Arizona State.
•Beeler quits team: Reserve center Chase Beeler has quit the football team, the university announced Wednesday night.
He informed OU coaches that he wants to concentrate on academics.
Beeler — a sophomore from Jenks who has political aspirations — scored a 33 on his ACT and was a National Merit Semifinalist in high school.
Beeler started one game as a freshman last year against Middle Tennessee, replacing starter Jon Cooper, who was out with an injury.
Beeler saw action in four other games.
•Nichol an impact freshman: SI.com recently released its top 15 impact freshmen for this upcoming season.
Nichol made the list, with SI.com's Cory McCartney writing, "Even if the early enrollee doesn't start in the season opener against North Texas, it's likely he won't stay on the sideline for long.”
SI ranked the Sooners No. 9 in its preseason poll, behind No. 8 Texas.
•New OU football book released: For the Sooner fan who can't soak up enough facts about OU football, "University of Oklahoma Football: An Interactive Guide to the World of Sports” might be a solution.
The book — written by authors Daniel Brush, David Horne and Marc Maxwell, all who are attending graduate programs at OU — has 10 chapters, with 100 facts, statistics or short stories in each chapter about Sooner football.
Bob Stoops has written the foreword, and part of the proceeds will go to the Bob Stoops Champions Foundation, which helps sick children.
The book can be found at most bookstores or on the authors' Web site, www.sportsbythenumbers.com.
By Jake Trotter
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