PFLUGERVILLE
FRESHMAN PHENON SAMAJE PERINE PUTS
ON
PRIME-TIME PERFORMANCE AT PUSKER STADIUM
Samaje
Perine,
Pflugerville, TX.
34 Carries for 242 yards
/ 4 Touchdowns
“Going back and watching film, there were
times that we opened the holes for him, but getting to the second level and
people were just bouncing off of him. I don’t even know what to compare him to,
but he runs the ball hard and he’s hard to bring down. We love that as
offensive linemen.” – Sooner center,
Ty Darlington
Turns
out, the only thing harder than trying to pronouncing this true freshman
running backs name and home town…is tackling him.
Samaje
Perine, pronounced Sam-ah-jay Pee-Rhine,
is 5’-11” tall and weighs a biscuit shy of 250...a description that, in and of
itself, doesn’t mean much. Hell, if
being 5’-11” /250 lbs., having a strange name and hailing from a funny sounding
hometown made you a college football star, then I should’ve been a Heisman
winner.
(…And this year’s Heisman Trophy goes to, Buddy Putty! Pronounced Bud-dee
Put-tee, this short, overweight senior from Antlers, Oklahoma led the nation in
fast food drive trough’s after 2AM and total
YAC’s per
game (Yack’s after Crown.))
But
size and weight are obviously where the comparisons between Perine and Putty
end. Perine possesses amazing athleticism
for someone his size. Samaje has quick feet, tremendous balance, deceptive
speed, the power to break tackles and has shown terrific hands when catching
the ball out of the backfield. Perine reminds
me of former Notre Dame and NFL star Jerome ‘The Bus’ Bettis...only with better
speed. ‘The Baby Bus’ may be 245 lbs.,
but he runs the forty in 4.41 seconds. For me, if it’s 40 yards away then I need to
find my car keys. It’s only been four
games, but Samaje Perine looks to be something special. How special?
Many more games like the one he had in Mo-town Saturday night and by the
end of the year you might see his name on an award list…it’s pronounced All-A-mer-i-can.
“Take it,
to the limit, one more time” –The Eagles
As
impressive as Perine was, the play of the game was provided courtesy of a
different Sooner running back. The 100
yard kickoff return for a touchdown by Alex Ross with 1:08 remaining before halftime completely
changed the momentum and quite possibly the outcome of the game. The Mountaineers, aided by two 15 yard
penalties on the Sooners defense, had just gone 55 yards in 5 plays to take a
24-17 lead. But before you could say, ‘West Virginia, mountain momma, take me home,
down country roads,’ Alex Ross was standing in the W. Va. end-zone. This was the second kick this year that Ross
has returned at least 80 yards, the first coming against La Tech.
The
Ross kickoff return underscores a point I mentioned in my last blog and the
reason why I called Sooner kickoff specialist Nick Hodgson
a weapon. Hodgson kicked off 7 times Saturday night…all
7 resulted in touchbacks. Over the years
I’ve noticed that the chances of the opposing team returning a kickoff for a
touchdown are greatly reduced when they don’t even get a chance to try. Just
sayin’.
Not a Good
Knight…
OU
QB Trevor Knight was average at best Saturday night. I say average, only
because OU won the game. Still, much too
often, Knight is not going through his progressions, instead locking in on one
receiver…which is usually Sterling Shepard. There were several plays last Saturday night where
replays showed Knight throwing into coverage when other OU receivers were more open
than a Jerry Jones marriage. Even when
Trevor found the open man Saturday night, his throws were high, short or
horribly off the mark.
…But There
is Good News
The
news handed down by the NCAA yesterday that Texas Tech transfer Baker Mayfield
has been ruled eligible, is huge for both Knight and the Sooners. With no experienced
back-up QB available, the OU coaches have practically forbidden Knight to run
the ball this year…obviously not wanting to risk him getting injured. While that made sense, it also took away a
big part of what makes Trevor effective. The luxury of having a quality back-up like Mayfield,
will hopefully allow the Sooners to take off Knight’s training wheels…so he can
be more effective in running the zone read.
‘They always say time changes things, but you
actually have to change them yourself” –Andy Warhol
I’ve
often been critical of the OU coaching staff’s inability to make successful
halftime adjustments and changes…but that was not the case this past Saturday
night in Morgantown. After getting
torched for 286 yards and 24 points by the Mountaineers in the first half, Mike
Stoops was able to make some changes defensively that helped hold West Virginia
to 9 second half points.
After
Further Review…
I
like West Virginia head coach, Dana Holgerson. I think he’s an excellent
offensive minded football coach…But that being said, I thought he really helped
the Sooners out with his play calling. The
Mountaineers ran 81 plays from scrimmage Saturday night, 40 rushing & 41
passing. While the play calling was
balanced, the productivity was anything but. Almost 80% of the Mountaineer’s 513 yards of
total offense came through the air. I can appreciate their desire to try and
control the clock and keep their tired worn-out defense off the field, but at
some point doesn’t it seem counterproductive to do so at the sacrifice of
productivity? The way Mountaineer QB
Clint Trickett was carving up the Sooner secondary, I think I would’ve gone
more with what was working versus what wasn’t, but hey, what do I know.
Scary
that is took a 100 yard kickoff and a trick play just to keep the Sooners from
being behind at half.
Might
be time to review having Sterling Shepard returning
punts. First of all, it scares me having
our best player perform the most dangerous job in football. But it’s a risk the coaches are usually willing
to take if the possible reward is the kind of game changing production Jalen
Saunders gave the Sooners last year.
Sterling has shown flashes of having that type ability, but right now he’s
struggling to even make the proper decision on when to call for a fair
catch. I guess at minimum, the coaches
know that Shepard can be relied on to catch the ball…a trust that dynamic true freshman
Michiah Quick has yet to earn.
Time
of possession: OU 33:25 West Virginia 26:35.
Nice
Not
sure what to think of the defensive performance. The aggressive nature in which the Sooner
defense has been rushing the QB this season wasn’t as evident. All I know is this, I’m glad that wasn’t
Baylor we were playing last Saturday night, because it would’ve been ugly.
Do
you know when the last time the Sooners tried an on-side kick that wasn’t at
the end of a game and expected by the opponent? Yah, me neither.
I
was worried about this game. On the
road, at night, rowdy crowd, the week after a big game…it had all the makings
of being a trap. Many nationally
predicted West Virginia would win this game….but they didn’t. Bottom line, this was a very nice road win
for the Sooners. They faced some
adversity, battled though it…and played well enough to win…which is what it’s
all about. Great win boys!
The
bye week comes at a good time. The Sooners
are 4-0 and get two weeks in which to prepare for Gary Patterson and the TCU
Horned Frogs.
Boomer
Sooner…come see me in Fort Worth when the Sooners play TCU in two weeks!
Just the
opinion of one mildly interested guy
The
Overweight Armchair Sooner
Buddy
Putty
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