Bradford Down, Sooners Are Out

DALLAS -- The play and the driving hit on a blitz from a Texas cornerback that left Oklahoma quarterback Sam Bradford squirming on the ground seemed eerily familiar Saturday afternoon at the Cotton Bowl.

Just a week after Bradford returned from a four-week rehab stint after suffering a third-degree AC joint sprain in his right throwing shoulder, he re-injured that same shoulder again early in the first quarter and did not return during the 20th-ranked Sooners' 16-13 loss to No.3 Texas in the annual Red River Rivalry.

Like the season-opening BYU game, Bradford got drilled on a blitz. This time, UT corner Aaron Williams came through full speed and untouched to drive the 2008 Heisman Trophy winner to the surface during the Sooners' second offensive series of the game.

Suddenly, the redshirt junior's college career is in question, as is his presumed multi-million dollar professional career. This certainly isn't what Bradford had in mind when he turned down the chance to be a first-round NFL draft pick last winter to return to school.

"It's extremely frustrating, obviously the way the season has gone for me," said Bradford, who was held out of three non-conference games before returning last week against Baylor. "You miss three games and then to come out and start this one and we're right where we started again.

"It's pretty hard to put into words the frustration that I feel right now."

"It's pretty hard to put into words the frustration that I feel right now."
- Sam Bradford
But how Bradford and the reeling Sooners go forward from here was the million dollar question that no one seemed to have an answer for following their third loss of the season. Is Bradford's college career, or at least his junior season, over? Will he opt for surgery to repair the shoulder? What's the plan going forward?

There are many unknowns. About the only certainty is that the shoulder that was injured Saturday is the same one that shelved him in the first half of the Sept. 5 loss to the Cougars.

"It felt pretty much like it did at BYU," said Bradford, who completed 2-of-6 passes for 77 yards before spending the remainder of the game watching from the sideline. "I really don't know the outlook from here. Obviously I have to talk to the doctors and find out exactly what's wrong with it."

The major concern is whether or not Bradford returned too early from the initial injury. His prognosis for recovery was originally four-to-six weeks but he received clearance to return to the team after missing just two games and three weeks of rehab.

Bradford practiced with the team the week leading up to the Miami game but the plan to return against the Hurricanes was scrapped when his arm went dead about midweek. He received the go-ahead last week for the Big 12 opener, seven days prior to Saturday's mega showdown with the Longhorns.

Perhaps sensing the fallout and the possible implications for his NFL prospects, OU coach Bob Stoops said he understood the question about whether or not Bradford was ready. But he ultimately said the decision came down Bradford's medical doctors, the team doctors, along with Bradford and his family.

"That's going to be there," Stoops said of questions about if Bradford may have come back too soon. "Sam had a great week of practice, he threw the ball. I saw him throw a 60-yard yard pass as pretty to finish up a warmup as I've seen him throw.

"That's fair to say, so no I'm not sitting here complaining because he is hurt again. But in the end we were going with good information from doctors. He understood the entire situation. Sam is a bright, bright young guy. He knows what he wants. Unfortunately, it just hasn't worked out very well."

When asked if he thought Bradford came back too soon, Oklahoma offensive coordinator Kevin Wilson also indicated the coaching staff relied on Bradford and the doctors to make that decision. Wilson said he had full confidence redshirt freshman Landry Jones could go in and get the job done, even against Texas, if Bradford wasn't ready to go.

"I don't think if he didn't physically feel well that he would have done it," Wilson said. "Our deal was if he was going, he's going. If not, the other guy was going to play pretty good. So again, it didn't really change with Landry. Our deal as coaches was if he is in, great. If not, we feel really good about Landry.

"So it wasn't an issue for us of `We've got to have you, this is a big game.' Everybody made a big deal a couple weeks ago that you need to play him before this game. I don't know. If he is ready, he can play."

Just as the Sooners had done in the two previous losses without Bradford, they were positioned to win Saturday. Despite five turnovers, Oklahoma (3-3, 1-1 Big 12) wasn't completed knocked out until Jones threw an interception into double coverage on the final drive. The Longhorns were able to run out the clock.

So as bleak as the season may seem for Bradford and the Sooners, Wilson said all isn't necessarily lost at this point.

"We are five points or a play or two from sitting here at 6-0 and thinking we are pretty doggone good," Wilson said. "We played a good team today, committed five turnovers and lose by three. Let's make a play, let's make a drive, finish a drive, let's get a better play called, let's make a competitive play, let's make a play and win a game. That's what we are not doing as a team offensively."

Stoops had praise for Landry, who finished the day completing 24-of-43 passes for 250 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions.

"He did a really good job," said Stoops, whose team travels to Kansas next week "He made a couple bad choices but that's part of learning as a quarterback, part of maturing as a quarterback. He's got a great attitude."