A once-deep Oklahoma secondary appears depleted with the possible loss of Lendy Holmes A once-deep Oklahoma secondary appears depleted with the possible loss of Lendy Holmes
NORMAN — The father of Oklahoma defensive back Lendy Holmes told the Dallas Morning News on Saturday that his son probably will miss the Fiesta Bowl due to academic ineligibility.
Advertisement
According to OU sports information director Kenny Mossman, coach Bob Stoops said Thursday night that it's too soon to know for sure.
But if Holmes is eventually declared ineligible, that could be a big blow to the Sooner defense. OU already is expected to be without starting cornerback Reggie Smith, who has a broken big toe.
A once-deep Sooner secondary now appears depleted.
The Sooner coaches had planned to move Holmes to corner and insert reserve Darien Williams, who started last year, at free safety.
Now, it appears the Sooners will have to shuffle their defensive backfield again.
If Holmes is out, OU has two options.
The Sooners could move starting strong safety, D.J. Wolfe, to corner, where Wolfe played for two years before switching positions in the spring.
More likely, however, OU will place inexperienced redshirt freshman Dominique Franks into the starting lineup.
The 5-foot-10, 187-pound Franks, out of Tulsa Union High School, has only three tackles on the year, with most of his playing time coming on punt returns.
Franks did play corner on a couple of possessions against Missouri in the Big 12 Championship when Smith battled injuries early in the game.
Franks played decently, even though he was penalized for a questionable defensive pass interference call on the Tigers' third drive, which led to a Missouri field goal.
But Franks' significance won't solely be in pass coverage against West Virginia.
The Sooner coaches will be counting on him to supply help against the Mountaineers' perimeter rushing attack, which ranks fourth in the nation, averaging 293 yards per game.
That's where the Sooners will miss Holmes the most.
Even though he isn't as big as some of the other defensive backs, Holmes has been perhaps OU's best tackler out of the defensive backfield.
Now, it appears that onus will be on Franks.
But if Franks doesn't get beat by Mountaineer wide receiver Darius Reynaud and doesn't miss too many tackles on quarterback Pat White and running back Steve Slaton, OU should still be fine on defense.
Even if that means playing without two starting defensive backs.
Thank you for joining our conversations on newsok. We encourage your discussions but ask that you stay within the bounds of our terms and conditions. Please help us by reporting comments that violate these guidelines. To review our rules of engagement, go to Commenting and posting policy.
It would be too bad if Holmes misses an important game like this because he didn't take care of business in the classroom. All major universities now have extensive support for student-athletes, including mentoring, tutoring, help with time management, etc. There is just no excuse for this. You can't be a dummy and learn playbooks, the multiplicity of schemes he faces as a d-back, offensive tendencies, and all that. It just reflects a lack of effort and commitment to his responsibilities.
OU will be just fine. But I do hope Holmes is academically eligible to play. He's a starter for a reason. Although, Stoops and Company don't recruit bad athletes so I'm sure there is a future star waiting to shine. Knock some teeth out Franks, or, whoever gets in there!! Boomer Sooner!!!
Boomer Sooner. Beat West Virginia!! WE will be there in the stands, the Sooner family that is. WE will be cheering our players on as family does. WE love our Sooners!!!!
From what I've seen in scrimmages and the little he's played, Franks should get the job done as long he can handle the mental side of things. He is definitely talented.
Fourth of July Page
Share your July 4th photos with NewsOK and view other stories and videos.
More Info
Oklahoma cornerback Lendy Holmes could miss the Fiesta Bowl due to academic ineligibility, according his father in a story published Sunday. BY CHRIS LANDSBERGER, THE OKLAHOMAN ARCHIVE
Related to this story
Articles
OU football notebook 12/24/2007 Expecting the same Even though West Virginia lost head coach Rich Rodriguez to Michigan, Sooner coach Bob Stoops is expecting a similar scheme from the...
5
Prev
Something to say about this topic? Submit a Letter to the Editor online
Thank you for joining our conversations on newsok. We encourage your discussions but ask that you stay within the bounds of our terms and conditions. Please help us by reporting comments that violate these guidelines. To review our rules of engagement, go to Commenting and posting policy.
Log in below or sign up (it's free).