What might have been
OU was interested in Keller
OU was interested in Keller

By Berry Tramel

Published: October 11, 2007

Two Augusts ago, quarterback Sam Keller, uninterested in backing up at Arizona State as a senior in 2006, set sail for more fruitful shores. OU football coaches looked into the future and saw that they would need a quarterback in '07.

Keller talked to Oklahoma. Keller went to Nebraska.

The Sooners lost out. And aren't they glad.

If Keller had come to Norman and sat out last season, would he have ascended to the starting role in the spring? Probably. A Pac-10 quarterback with 19 games experience would be awfully tempting for a team with absolute question marks at the position.

Instead, Keller's at Nebraska, where he has nine touchdown passes and eight interceptions halfway through the season, and redshirt freshman Sam Bradford has 18 TDs and four intercepts for the Sooners.

OU coach Bob Stoops talked with Keller and his father but said, "We didn't have much of a chance.”

The Sooners were interested, Stoops said, because "in the end, you're unsure with all the inexperience we had. It was worth considering. But I'm pleased with our situation, where our guys are.”

I'd say so. Bradford leads the NCAA in pass efficiency, just ahead of Texas Tech's Graham Harrell, Florida's Tim Tebow and Oregon's Dennis Dixon.

Other interesting rankings: Hawaii's Colt Brennan is sixth, Louisville's Brian Brohm is eighth, Tulsa's Paul Smith is ninth, Arizona State's Rudy Carpenter (who beat out Keller) is 11th, Kansas' Todd Reesing is 12th, Kentucky's Andre Woodson 14th, Miami's Kyle Wright 15th, Missouri's Chase Daniel 17th, USC's John David Booty 39th, Oklahoma State's Zac Robinson 42nd and Keller 47th.

"He's a good player,” OU offensive coordinator Kevin Wilson said of Keller. "We tried. They weren't interested.”

Comments