Rhett Bomar: Give the former Sooner credit

Rhett Bomar’s big chance wasn’t a bust Saturday night. Neither was it a giant step for the former Oklahoma quarterback.

Bomar played the entire exhibition game for the New York Giants in a 24-17 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers. Bomar played the whole way because Giants star Eli Manning and backup Jim Sorgi were injured.

Bomar, a fifth-round draft pick by the Giants in 2009, did not take a regular-season snap last season. Against the Steelers on Sunday night, Bombar completed 13 of 26 passes for 167 yards, no touchdowns and one interception.

“I was comfortable with the game,” Bomar said. “It wasn’t too fast. It was exciting to be out there with the firsts (starters) and play the whole game and get the reps. You just have to treat it like any other game.”

Bomar played two seasons at Sam Houston State after transferring from OU. He was the Sooner starting quarterback in 2005 but was booted from the team in August 2006 after it was discovered he took money from Big Red Sports & Imports, a Norman auto dealer, for work not performed.

An old coach wrote me this morning and said, “You gotta give the kid some credit for not folding his tent after the OU incident. To move on and continue to play and end up playing a whole game, even a preseason game, is commendable. Plus, for being third team and getting no reps shows that he smart and pays attention in meetings.”

I agree. I’m pulling for Bomar. He screwed up at OU, but that doesn’t mean he has to pay for it the rest of his football career.

Bomar faces an uphill battle in New York. Eli Manning is a franchise quarterback. Sorgi is a long-time NFL backup, just the kind of dependable guy coaches love. And third-team quarterbacks are expendable; franchises can bring in someone cheaper.