Preserving history with a little English
Sophomore is Sooners' answer at defensive end
Preserving history with a little English

By Scott Wright

Published: September 18, 2007

NORMAN — After last season, when Oklahoma lost three starter-quality senior defensive ends — Larry Birdine, C.J. Ah You and Calvin Thibodeaux — it seemed the position was left empty.

But that was the view from the outside.

Internally, questions about that position were already being answered by sophomore Auston English.

"Last year, he was practicing and playing better in scrimmages than all (three seniors),” defensive coordinator Brent Venables said.

The coaches had already asked English to come out of redshirt as a freshman in 2005 when injuries left them desperately thin at the position. He played in three games and didn't record a tackle.

So rather than waste another year of eligibility only to give him sparse playing time, English redshirted in his second season.

"Last year, if we needed to, we felt like we could play him,” said defensive ends coach Chris Wilson. "Obviously, giving him a chance to develop another year was a great opportunity for him.”

Through his first three career starts, English has nine tackles, 3.5 for lost yardage.

"I'm doing OK, I guess,” the quiet and obviously modest English said. "I want to make strides to be better every week. I'm excited about what I've done so far, but definitely not at all content.

"I could read faster or be quicker or develop more moves in my pass rush game.”

He knows he's still learning at a position he played for just one year in high school. So being stuck behind three seniors last season wasn't a total loss.

"There's always going to be a lot to learn coming from high school to college — overall understanding of the defense and technique,” he said. "It was a great experience watching those guys. It helped me get to where I am right now.

"There were times when it was hard not being able to play, but it turned out to be the best thing.”

Thanks to his quick start and quicker first step, English is already drawing comparisons to Dan Cody, one of the best defensive ends to play under Bob Stoops at OU.

He's about two inches and 15 pounds smaller than Cody, a second-round pick in the 2005 NFL Draft by the Baltimore Ravens.

"(English) doesn't quite have the long range of Dan,” Stoops said. "But he's every bit as fine an athlete as we have. He could be a tight end, a fullback. He could be anything he wants. He's a great athlete.

"He played for us as a true freshman, and we saw a lot of good things then. We expect him to be a really good football player, and he's turning out to be that.”

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