Head coach Bob Stoops has made his choice, and officially announced the man who would succeed Landry Jones as the starting QB for the Oklahoma Sooners. In a surprise move, Stoops pegged red-shirt freshman Trevor Knight for the role beating out the favorite junior quarterback Blake Bell, who had been Jones’ backup for the previous two seasons. The Sooners begin the season facing the University of Louisiana-Monroe on August 31st.
However that doesn’t mean the competition is over. Stoops left the door open for a continued look at both quarterbacks.
“Both Trevor (Knight) and Blake (Bell) have competed hard and both will be ready to play against Louisiana-Monroe,” Stoops said in the statement. “Like every other position on our team, I expect them both to continue competing for the starting job.”
Knight was considered a 4 star recruit out of San Antonio’s Ronald Reagan High School following the 2011 season where he threw for 2,092 yards and 27 touchdowns and just three interceptions. He also rushed for 943 yards and 15 scores. He redshirted last year when there was little playing time behind Jones and Bell.
Bell, who is nick-named “The Belldozer” due to his size and previous role in goal line and short-yardage situations, was thought to have an advantage thanks to two years of game experience. During those two years he has been used in short yardage situations and has scored 24 rushing touchdowns for the Sooners. However he has just 20 pass attempts. It is widely expected that the “Belldozer Package” will continue to be part of Arizona’s offence in 2013.
It was expected that sophomore Kendal Thompson was also to be involved in the quarterback competition, but he suffered a foot injury during the Sooners’ first practice, and thus was never able to truly compete for the job.
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