Oklahoma quarterback competition is still wide open
With spring practice in the books, Oklahoma’s quarterback competition is still wide open. All four candidates – Trevor Knight, Baker Mayfield, Cody Thomas and Justice Hansen – are still in the running, and Saturday’s spring game didn’t make things any clearer for head coach Bob Stoops and new offensive coordinator Lincoln Riley.
“We’re gonna let this thing go until the fall,” Riley said, per ESPN.com. “It’s gonna be a great battle. There’s not enough separation.”
All four candidates saw their fair share of snaps in front of more than 30,000 at Memorial Stadium. As with any spring game, there were positives and negatives.
“They’ve had a nice spring again in their reads and what they’re doing with the ball,” Stoops said. “I think they were definitely putting some balls up that when it’s practice it’s no big deal, but when you’re in game-type situations it’s a bigger deal.”
Stoops said the forced passes and interceptions were not a reflection of the group’s solid play throughout the spring.
“They’ll learn from it,” Stoops said. “This isn’t indicative of what I’ve seen all spring. I’ve been pleased with what they’ve been doing all spring.”
Three of the candidates – Knight, Mayfield and Thomas – have a solid base of regular season experience, but each turned the ball over on Saturday.
Knight, who threw for 78 yards and an interception on 6-of-13 throwing on Saturday, burst onto the scene toward the end of his redshirt freshman season, especially with a standout Sugar Bowl performance against Alabama, but had a disappointing sophomore campaign.
Thomas started three games after Knight was injured (he returned for the Citrus Bowl) and completed just 46 percent of his passes while throwing two touchdowns and four interceptions. Thomas completed 5-of-12 passes for 83 yards and an interception on Saturday.
Mayfield threw for 2,315 yards, 12 touchdowns and nine interceptions as a true freshman at Texas Tech in 2013 before transferring to the Sooners. He showed flashes by converting 10-of-13 passes for 176 yards and a touchdown, but he also threw two interceptions.
Hansen, a redshirt freshman, is the dark horse candidate of the group. He was 5-of-5 for 70 yards on the afternoon.
This will be one to keep an eye on as we inch toward the fall.
For more Oklahoma news, visit SoonerScoop.com.
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Sam Cooper is a contributor for the Yahoo Sports blogs. Have a tip? Email him or follow him on Twitter!
