Bob Stoops and staff discussing redshirts; What true freshmen will contribute in 2012?

OU freshman receiver Trey Metoyer should have a big game tonight against UTEP. PHOTO BY STEVE SISNEY, THE OKLAHOMAN

“We intend to play all of them,” Stoops said. “Come game week, we’ll see who ends up in the game and who doesn’t.”

The Sooners open their season at UTEP on Sept. 1.

Oklahoma definitely seems poised to play a significant number of true freshmen this season, many more than it did in 2011.

Here are the 18 true freshmen in the class of 2012, listed alphabetically with a 0-10 number indicating their likelihood of redshirting, with 0 being least likely and 10 being most likely:

* Daniel Brooks, RB (10): Brooks is still rehabbing from a knee injury suffered while in high school.

* Ty Darlington, C (3): Darlington may have been a greater candidate to redshirt before season-ending injuries to starters Ben Habern and Tyler Evans. Now, after impressing coaches and teammates through summer workouts and fall camp, Darlington looks like he’ll probably be an important reserve for the interior of the offensive line, which is dangerously thin.

* Sam Grant, TE (8): Grissom, Green and McNamara are all ahead of Grant on the depth chart, so a redshirt seems probable.

* Trevor Knight, QB (10): Knight could end up being the Sooners’ starting quarterback someday, but with Blake Bell, Drew Allen and Kendal Thompson all backing up Landry Jones, Knight’s 2012 season is best spend redshirting.

* Kyle Marrs, OG (6): Injuries and John Michael McGee’s departure have elevated Marrs from an almost-certain redshirt season to the possibility of playing some in relief duty. He still is more likely to redshirt than not, I would say, but he’s certainly not out of the mix.

* Taylor McNamara, TE (2): Geneo Grissom’s move to tight end and elevation to the starting role probably leaves McNamara as the Sooners’ third tight end as of now, but he still has better pass-catching abilities than either Grissom or junior Brannon Green. A redshirt seems unlikely, even if Grissom and Green remain the solid top two on the depth chart.

* Trey Metoyer, WR (0): Metoyer is the most obvious “won’t redshirt” true freshman to arrive in Norman since Adrian Peterson in 2004. He’s all but assured to start and looks like he’ll be a superstar.

* Durron Neal, WR (5): Neal’s redshirt or non-redshirt season depends entirely on the status of Fresno State transfer Jalen Saunders; if Saunders’ waiver is denied by the NCAA and he has to sit out this year, Neal won’t redshirt. But if Saunders is allowed to play, it probably crowds the receiver depth chart up too much and squeezes Neal out for this season.