OU football notebook:

Early last week, OU coach Bob Stoops postponed two practices to allow several of his players extra time to heal from nagging injuries.

After missing last weekend's scrimmage, many of those players returned to the field for OU's second scrimmage Saturday.

Middle linebacker Ryan Reynolds, who's been out with a sprained ankle, played despite being only about "75 percent.”

"A lot of guys with small injuries have come back,” said Reynolds, who had four tackles in the scrimmage. "But we've been getting extra film work, and just being able to rest our bodies made us a lot more energetic.”

Wide receiver Manuel Johnson (sprained ankle) and cornerback Jonathan Nelson (strained groin) also played after missing the first scrimmage.

"It feels good to get back on the field and play with (Juaquin Iglesias),” Johnson said. "It feels like we've been here forever and this is a big year for us. We're the old guys and we got to take care of the younger ones.

"At the beginning of this week, it still felt kind of iffy. It's not really a bad injury but as soon as you start cutting, it can start hurting. It was back to 100 percent today, though.”

Guard Duke Robinson (sprained ankle), linebacker Austin Box (sprained elbow) and wide receiver Ryan Broyles (broken collarbone) didn't suit up after suffering injuries this spring.

Robinson, however, who was wearing a protective boot last weekend, was no longer wearing the boot Saturday. Also, defensive coordinator Brent Venables said that Box might participate in non-contact drills this week.

Safety Quinton Carter and cornerback Brian Jackson suited up, but didn't participate in the scrimmage.

Carter is still dealing with a strained hamstring, which kept him out of the first scrimmage, too.

Jackson, who played well last weekend, recently suffered a hip pointer.

•Big day for tight ends: After combining for only three catches last weekend, the tight ends had a big outing Saturday. Jermaine Gresham led the way with five catches for 52 yards and a 3-yard touchdown reception from quarterback Sam Bradford.

Redshirt freshman walk-on Trent Ratterree of Weatherford continued his playmaking ways by catching three passes for 34 yards. Sophomore Eric Mensik had two receptions for 41 yards.

•Blue-chippers visit Norman: Centennial Frisco (Texas) High School quarterback Ryan Mossakowski was one of several blue-chip recruits in attendance. Mossakowski, the No. 53-ranked player in the nation according to Rivals.com, was accompanied at the scrimmage by Las Vegas defensive end Justin Chaisson, who is the No. 27-rated prospect in the country.

Four-star cornerback Gabe Lynn of Jenks saw his second OU scrimmage. He was in Norman last weekend as well.

Linebacker Tom Wort of New Braunfels, Texas, and tight end Greg Brown of Bixby were also in attendance Saturday.

The Sooners already have verbal commitments from linebacker Ronnell Lewis (Dewar), defensive end Terry Franklin (Mansfield, Texas), running back Jonathan Miller (Garland, Texas), linebacker Jaydan Bird (Conway Springs, Kan.), wide receiver Eric Ward (Wichita Falls, Texas) and safety Javon Harris (Lawton).

•Working on the chain gang: Injured All-Big 12 defensive end Auston English passed the time by helping out on the sideline chain crew.

Turns out English is just as tough working the down marker as he is working offensive linemen.

After a play late in the scrimmage, a referee yelled at English about not changing the sign from second to third down.

"Seriously,” English quipped. "Is it that big of a deal? Come on!”

English thought he'd kept up with the down and distance correctly — and he had.

Seconds later, another official approached him and quietly pointed out that it was, in fact, second down. English looked around the crowd of teammates and media and smiled.

"See, I know what I'm doing,” he said before handing off the marker to tailback Chris Brown.

•Numbers game: Later this month, former Sooners Malcolm Kelly, Reggie Smith and Curtis Lofton will likely be taken in the NFL Draft.

This year, sophomore defensive back Jonathan Nelson is wearing Smith's No. 3. On Saturday, Nelson had four tackles, an interception and two broken passes. Redshirt freshman wideout Corey Wilson made two catches for 25 yards in Kelly's No. 4 jersey, which was also worn by Wilson's older brother, former Sooner standout wide receiver Travis Wilson.

Lofton's No. 40 was passed on to walk-on fullback Buck Buchanon of Putnam City West.

•Personal foul: OU's second scrimmage was marred by numerous penalties.

After yet another holding call, the head linesman officiating the scrimmage turned around and said, "They told us to call it the way it is. It's starting to look a lot like the Fiesta Bowl.”

By Jake Trotter and Blake Jackson