Knee-Jerking: Sooners at Big 12 media days
I would describe the first session of this year's Big 12 media days as "uneventful," but how often are they really "eventful?"
*Since you have to write about something from OU's time in the spotlight, Lincoln Riley's insistence that the quarterback job remains open seemed to capture the most headlines.
The way Riley approached the subject called to mind Bob Stoops in 2013. Everyone, including yours truly, assumed Blake Bell had the starting QB spot sewn up. Stoops bristled at the suggestion during media days, and Trevor Knight ultimately won the gig during preseason practices.
I still feel absolutely certain that Kyler Murray will take OU's first snap, but Riley is threading a needle with his comments in an effort to keep Murray focused and to prevent Austin Kendall from growing disenchanted. For what it's worth, my impression is that Riley really would feel comfortable playing Kendall, who reportedly had a strong spring.
Think of it as one of those good problems.
*Riley is correct about the degradation of the talent on the defensive side of the ball, although I imagine plenty of people in Sooner Nation would take exception to his vote of confidence in his staff. I hope to have something more detailed on this later in the week.
*As good as Baker Mayfield was for the Sooners as a quarterback, people around the program continue to harp on missing his leadership. That's a little concerning at this stage.
*Speaking of leaders, file it away that Riley mentioned Jonathan Alvarez in that group. That might give Alvarez a leg up in the competition with Creed Humphrey for the the vacancy left by Erick Wren at center.
*We can usually expect at least one gaffe when Big 12 commissioner Bob Bowlsby speaks publicly, but I didn't hear anything during his annual state of the union that would require the typical clarifications or retractions from the league office.
I do find it interesting that the conference is finally starting to push the difficulty of playing a round-robin schedule and conference title game – that has always struck me as an effective talking point that leadership doesn't talk about enough.