OU Football Notebook: Sam Bradford featured on cover of Sporting News

Oklahoma quarterback Sam Bradford will be on the cover of this week’s Sporting News, which will hit newsstands Friday. He will share the cover with Florida quarterback Tim Tebow.

In the magazine, former Sooner coach Barry Switzer writes a guest column. An excerpt: "This is the best Oklahoma offense I’ve seen. What they do throwing the football, what they’ve scored, there’s no question about it.”

In another story, Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger is interviewed: "Sam Bradford is a good quarterback. He’d have my Heisman vote if I had one. He throws a really good ball, and he’s good with his feet, as well. And he has a lot of weapons.

"He might have one of the best tight ends in the game — (Jermaine Gresham) is tall and athletic, a receiver type. He has great receivers and a good running game. They have a way of spreading you out and running the ball or pounding you at the same time. I think they’re more balanced than people think.”

During Monday’s Papajohns.com Bowl, the Rutgers offense attempted a first, running a trick play where 6-foot-6, 325-pound left tackle Anthony Davis, who caught a throwback lateral from the quarterback behind the line of scrimmage, heaved a pass downfield into the end zone.

Davis’ pass, which was tossed into double coverage, fell incomplete.

OU left tackle Phil Loadholt advised against offensive coordinator Kevin Wilson calling the same play.

"I don’t trust my arm at all,” Loadholt said.

Redshirt freshman kicker Jimmy Stevens has had an up-and-down season, but he has the support of former OU kicker Garrett Hartley, the starting kicker for the New Orleans Saints.

Hartley said Stevens has the physical skills, and just needs to work on the mental side of kicking.

"He just needs to relax and have confidence,” Hartley told The Oklahoman. "That’s been his biggest problem. I still talk to him and I just tell him to have confidence and he’ll be fine.”

Renovation has begun on the Barry Switzer Center. All of the pictures that line the halls and rooms have been removed in anticipation of the facelift the building will undergo this off-season.

"We see what we have in front of us and the great opportunity we have. So we are more focused to go get that.” — OU defensive end Jeremy Beal

By Jake Trotter

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