Oklahoma's Kenny Stills (4) celebrates with fans after a college football game between the University of Oklahoma (OU) and Florida State (FSU) at Doak Campbell Stadium in Tallahassee, Fla., Saturday, Sept. 17, 2011. Oklahoma won 23-13. Photo by Bryan Terry, The Oklahoman

 

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OU's Kenny Stills comes through when he's needed most

09/17/2011 TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Kenny Stills reached high to grab a 37-yard touchdown pass from Landry Jones midway through the fourth quarter for the tiebreaking...

Stills, who sat out the season opener, serving a one-game suspension, outmuscled Reid for the ball.
The 37-yard touchdown reception gave the Sooners the lead midway through the fourth quarter, the highlight play in OU's 23-13 win in front of a raucous, tomahawk-chopping, jammed packed Doak Campbell Stadium.
Some projected an offensive shootout but the two defenses dominated. Stills was the one offensive star, hauling in seven catches for 125 yards and the go-ahead score.
“It's huge to have Kenny back,” said OU center Ben Habern. “He's a big-time threat. He complements Ryan (Broyles) very well. If they start double-covering Ryan, it's great Landry can go to Kenny or the other guys. That was a huge catch in the end zone.”
Stills runs a 4.4 in the 40. He's the fastest player on OU's roster. The go-ahead TD catch represented the area he's improved since last season when he set freshmen receiving records.
“It was really well covered,” said OU coach Bob Stoops. “Kenny put his hands up and it stuck. I had a great view of it. It was a great ball. I guess it was a little underthrown now that I think about it. I thought it was going to be easy at first. But, hey, Kenny made Landry look good.”
Stills made a concentrated effort to hit the weights in the off-season. All those hours pumping iron paid huge dividends in the Sooners' biggest non-conference win in the Stoops era.
“I really wanted to gain some weight and gain some strength,” Stills said. “I feel I had a little more confidence going up to get the ball. Before the drive started Ryan told me to go out there and be physical. A little boost like that from Ryan really helped me.”
Co-offensive coordinator Jay Norvell said Stills relishes the spotlight.
“He loves to play on a stage like this,” Norvell said. “He really answered tonight. He made some incredible plays.
“On that touchdown play, he missed a block on the play before. We kind of came back to a fake off that and threw the deep ball. He responded and executed very well.”
Stills said last week he owned his teammates after missing the opener due to a DUI arrest last winter.
Was the game-winning TD enough of a payback?
“In a sense I guess,” Stills said, smiling. “But there are a lot more games left. There's still plenty more for me to do... This was a big win for us but we're already getting ready to move on to Missouri.”
After the touchdown catch, Stills flashed the numbers 1 and 2 with his hands, a tribute to linebacker Austin Box, who died last May. Box wore number 12.
“We play every game for Austin,” Stills said. “We're always talking about him. We miss him. We know every play he would be playing his hardest. Immediately after I scored I thought about him.”

silas redd

Penn State's Redd off to a good start

September 05, 2011|By Jake Kaplan, Inquirer Staff Writer

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Silas Redd will play a major role for Penn State this year. (GENE J. PUSKAR / AP)

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. - Silas Redd awoke around 5 a.m. Saturday morning even though Penn State's team bus wasn't scheduled to arrive at Beaver Stadium for another five-plus hours.
He couldn't sleep any longer. So what did he do? Just "sat there and thought about the game," he said.
Hours later, it was Indiana State left pondering how the 5-foot-10, 209-pound running back continuously eluded its defenders, bouncing off tacklers and accelerating through holes. With all the pregame hoopla centered on Penn State's quarterback situation, Redd showed why the Nittany Lions think their running game can be a strength of the offense this season.

 

Redd took advantage of his first career start in the team's season-opening, 41-7 blowout of Indiana State on Saturday. The flashy sophomore rushed for 94 yards and two touchdowns in the first half. He finished with 104 yards on 12 carries (8.7 yards per attempt), four of which went for more than 10 yards. With the game well in hand, Redd did not have a carry after Penn State's second drive in the third quarter.

"I'm glad I did well, and it gave me some more confidence, but at the same time I'm not satisfied," Redd said. "I just want to keep progressing each week as the season goes on."
Penn State's running backs alleviated some of the pressure on the quarterbacks. Redd, Brandon Beachum, Curtis Dukes, and the two first-string fullbacks, Joe Suhey and Mike Zordich, accounted for 36 carries. Signal-callers Rob Bolden and Matt McGloin combined to throw just 20 passes.
At 6-foot, 230 pounds, Beachum is more of a downhill runner than the shifty Redd. He had 41 yards on seven carries, while third-stringer Dukes had 51 yards on six carries. Suhey and Zordich combined for 44 yards, and each ran for a touchdown.
"I think [Redd] and I being the premier backs in this offense, he's really going to show you some things that you've not seen before," said Beachum, who played his first game on Saturday since November 2009, when he tore his anterior cruciate ligament. "I think we're going to do really great running the ball this year."
Redd finished last season as the backup to Evan Royster, Penn State's all-time leading rusher. Royster then endorsed Redd, who had 437 rushing yards and two touchdowns in 2010, to eventually eclipse his rushing mark.