Malzahn Sees Bright Future At Tulsa

Last updated Sunday, September 23, 2007 7:32 PM CDT in Sports

By Grant Hall
SPECIAL TO THE MORNING NEWS

Chamberlain, a three-year starter at quarterback in high school at Bethany, Okla., spells strong-armed Tulsa senior quarterback Paul Smith in certain situations.

Smith completed 22-of-32 passes for 350 yards and two TDs against Oklahoma, but he threw into coverage at times. He tossed two interceptions, one of which still had Malzahn wincing after the game.

Through his office window in the spiffy Case Athletic Complex overlooking the field, Malzahn gazed at the spot where OU had intercepted Smith's pass from the Tulsa 40-yard line, intended for starting freshman fullback Charles Clay of Little Rock Central, when OU led just 14-7 in the second quarter.

The low pass deflected crazily off Clay's foot.

Malzahn just shook his head over the ill fortune, but had nothing but good things to say about Clay, son of former Arkansas tight end Charles Clay, who played for the Razorbacks from 1975-78.

"I knew about him during recruiting, but not too much," Malzahn recalled. "He called us at 1 p.m. one day, and by 2 p.m. we had him."

Clay, asked if it had been hard to pick up Malzahn's offense, grinned and said, "At first it was like Japanese to me. Sometimes I get a little mixed up. But it's been a fun adjustment. I came here for the chance to make plays."

Speaking of play-making, Malzahn said Smith "has a lot of ability, and he can make a play out of nothing. He has great pocket awareness; he understands defensive structure."

Tulsa's offense should look better when its young, mostly new offensive line gets more experience.

Even so, the Hurricane have averaged 505.3 yards per game in a 2-1 start, including a 55-47 shootout win over a Brigham Young team coming off a 38-8 bowl win over Oregon.

Smith completed passes to nine different receivers against Oklahoma, with 6-foot-4 sophomore Jesse Meyer of Jenks, Okla., catching the most (7 for 114 yards and a TD). Working from unbalanced formations, Meyer sometimes caught the ball with no Sooner within 10 yards of him.

The problem was that Tulsa showed a net of just 2 yards rushing on 15 first-half attempts against stingy OU.

By game's end, junior running back Tarrion Adams had 43 yards on nine carries for Tulsa, but the team's net was just 44 yards on 36 tries.

Over time, Tulsa will have better offensive balance than that. For now, play-caller Malzahn must maximize the talents of Smith and his receivers against a remaining schedule that lists Alabama-Birmingham, UTEP, Marshall, Central Florida, SMU, Tulane, Houston, Army and Rice.

"Tonight was a good learning experience," Malzahn said. "We knew Oklahoma was very good. We should get better the rest of the year. We have very high goals here and I think the future is good."

Oklahoma fans, meanwhile, can salivate over second-year freshman quarterback Sam Bradford of Oklahoma City (16-of-22 for 244 yards and three TDs against Tulsa); artful senior running back Allen Patrick of Conway, S.C. (19 carries, 145 yards); receiver Juaquin Iglesias of Killeen, Texas (8 catches, 142 yards, 2 TDs); and, especially, kicker Garrett Hartley of Southlake, Texas, who routinely boomed his kickoffs into the end zone.

Following Hartley's 10 kickoffs, Tulsa had to start at its 20, 20, 23, 30, 21, 19, 22, 20, 21 and 18 yard lines.

By contrast, after Smith had scored to pull Tulsa within 35-21 in the second quarter, OU freshman DeMarco Murray of Las Vegas, Nev., returned a short Tulsa kickoff 81 yards for a touchdown and a 42-21 lead that took the, well, air out of the Hurricane. It was the 17th OU kickoff return for a touchdown under coach Bob Stoops, a special teams denizen.

Ultimately, OU just had too many weapons. Offensive tackle Phil Loadholt is a load at 6-8, 352. He dwarfs left guard Duke Robinson, a mere 6-5, 352.

Just getting off their bus before the game, the storied Sooners mesmerized quiet TU onlookers, gawking from a safe distance behind a fence.

"Our coaches have gotten zero sleep, trying to get ready for Oklahoma in a short week," Malzahn said.

Now they'll have an extra day to gear up for a Saturday home game against UAB, their Conference USA opener.

That should allow Tulsa officials time to polish the opening ceremonies, which on Saturday included an impressive James Bondian fly-in by a man swooping onto the field, and a saxophonist who played the national anthem, 20 minutes after a frantic TU man confided, "We can't find the sax player anywhere!"

Maybe he was grooving to the Mid-Life Crisis Band, which entertained loudly with classic oldies for OU and TU fans alike before the game on a closed-off street next to the stadium.

Tulsa coach Todd Graham has done a good job of marketing his team. He won't have Smith next year, but 6-4 freshman quarterback Clark Harrell of Ennis, Texas, and the younger brother of gun-slinging Texas Tech quarterback Graham Harrell, waits in the wings, along with junior David Johnson of Portland, Ore., and Tyler Wilson of Greenwood High, who has committed to the Hurricane.

Malzahn, busy as always, has only played golf twice this year, but did manage to follow Tiger Woods around at Southern Hills on the final day of Woods' PGA championship.

"Unbelievable," Malzahn said about Woods.

And that's a word that might describe TU's offense once Malzahn gets all the pieces in place.

GRANT HALL IS A MORNING NEWS FREELANCE WRITER. HIS COLUMN APPEARS EACH MONDAY AND THURSDAY. E-MAIL: GRANT HALL@COX.NET

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