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Jenni Carlson exclusive: Bradford blossoms under Heupel's helping hand
NORMAN — Josh Heupel sought out his star pupil in the final moments of Oklahoma’s dismantling of Kansas.
Oklahoma quarterback coach Josh Heupel talks with Sam Bradford during the second half of the college football game between the University of Oklahoma Sooners (OU) and the University of Kansas Jayhawks (KU) at the Gaylord Family Memorial Stadium on Saturday, Oct. 18, 2008, in Norman, Okla. CHRIS LANDSBERGER, THE OKLAHOMAN
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The Sooner quarterbacks coach had one last assignment for Sam Bradford.
“Look up on the scoreboard,” Heupel directed him. “Look at what we accomplished as an offense.”
On an afternoon OU soothed some of its Texas ills with a victory over Kansas, the Sooners posted video-game numbers.
Points: 45.
Plays: 97.
Yards: 674.
“Take some pride in that,” Heupel told Bradford. “Enjoy that.”
Bradford should also enjoy this — he broke the school record for single-game passing yards with 468. He obliterated the previous record of 429 yards.
It’s a mark that belonged to Heupel.
Bradford and Heupel represent the short but impressive history of the OU passing game. Heupel, an unknown slinger from South Dakota, finished runner-up in the Heisman Trophy balloting, won a national championship and broke just about every passing record in a program that had never thrown the ball. Bradford, a golden boy born to be a Sooner, is breaking all those records while trying to keep OU in the national title hunt.
Heupel will be by Bradford’s side every step of the way.
“He does have a great feel for the game,” Heupel said, mentioning Bradford’s awareness in the pocket, his vision down the field and his sense of spacing. “But I think most importantly, there’s a competitive drive in him that some people might not understand that propels him to be a great football player.”
Heupel understands that drive because he has it, too. This was a guy, after all, who rehabbed a torn knee in less than six months, then transferred from Weber State to Snow Junior College because he just knew he could play big-time football.
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