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NORMAN, Okla. -- Expect plenty from Oklahoma in the days and weeks to come, but here's a few spare notes and thoughts from my time on campus Tuesday.

• The hype machine shows no signs of slowing around incoming receiver Trey Metoyer. Coach Bob Stoops said the incoming freshman "absolutely" could start for the Sooners; co-offensive coordinator Jay Norvell, who coaches receivers, laughed when he was asked if Metoyer could start. Look for more on him from SoonerNation soon. Metoyer will be a big piece for the Sooners. The 6-foot-2, 185-pounder is speedy with great hands and jumping ability, a rare combo. Oklahoma needs a big, productive receiver, and Metoyer's proving early on that he could have the same kind of impact as a freshman that Kenny Stills did in 2010, when he broke the school's freshman record for receiving yards, with 786.
• Trey Millard's best known for his work at fullback, but he's earned the nickname "Slash" from Stoops for his work at tight end, H-back and tailback, too. "I don't even know how he remembers it all, but he does," Stoops said. New defensive coaches Mike Stoops and Tim Kish have told stoops on multiple occasions that Millard "may be the best player on the team." His role reminds me a bit of Brody Eldridge's during the injury-plagued 2009 season. Eldridge was mostly a tight end, but played some fullback and about every position on the offensive line -- despite being just 260 pounds -- for the Sooners. You heard similar praise thrown his way.
• Dominique Whaley was the team's top rusher a year ago before his season ended with a fractured ankle. Stoops called Whaley's progress to this point "very encouraging," adding he didn't know how exactly to quantify the senior-to-be's healing process from the injury.
• What does Norvell think about younger receivers having to compete with a possible impact player in Metoyer? "That's Oklahoma," he said. Despite having four inches on the elder receiver Trey Franks, it's Metoyer who's earned the nickname "Little Trey." Such is life as a young gun. "That's how it goes," laughed fellow receiver Stills.
• Stills also opened up about life after losing team leader Ryan Broyles, the FBS career leader in receptions. Stills' production slowed and the whole receiving corps suddenly started dropping passes as the Sooners lost two of their final three regular-season games. "Everything without Ryan was hard. I feel like everybody saw that," Stills said. "I hope that I can go in and step up and make the plays Ryan did."
• Coverage wasn't different on Stills, but he was playing an unfamiliar slot position and struggled to maintain his production, much less fill the void Broyles left behind. "I was in a position I'd never played and then it was like, 'Kenny didn't step up,' which was true," he said. "I've got to make the plays when the ball comes to me."

Here's the All-Bowl team from the Big 12, recognizing the best single-game performances from this year's bowls.

QB: Brandon Weeden, Oklahoma State: Weeden threw for 399 yards and three touchdowns (it could have been four if a game-winning TD pass to Colton Chelf hadn't been overturned) on 29-of-42 passing. His first pass was intercepted, but he had an otherwise solid night and ran for his first career touchdown in the 41-38 win against Stanford.

RB: Terrance Ganaway, Baylor: The Big 12 rushing champion ran for 200 yards and five touchdowns in the Bears' 67-56 win against Washington in the Alamo Bowl.

RB: Ben Malena, Texas A&M: Malena stepped in for the injured Cyrus Gray and Christine Michael and had a solid game in the Aggies' 33-22 win against Northwestern in the Meineke Car Care Bowl of Texas. He finished with 77 yards and two touchdowns on 23 carries, showcasing his physical running style. He also caught six passes for 36 yards.

FB: Trey Millard, Oklahoma: Millard carried the ball four times for 21 yards but also helped pave the way for three Blake Bell touchdowns from the Belldozer formation.

WR: Ryan Swope, Texas A&M: Jeff Fuller had better numbers in the bowl, but it was aided by big catches late. Swope kept the Aggies offense humming for most of the game, with eight catches for 105 yards in the win against Northwestern.

WR: Justin Blackmon, Oklahoma State: Blackmon was the best offensive player in the Big 12 bowls, spearheading Oklahoma State's offense in the Fiesta Bowl win with eight catches for 186 yards and three touchdowns.

WR: Colton Chelf, Oklahoma State: Chelf made two huge catches over the middle early and a third nearly won the game, but his touchdown was overturned. Still, OSU doesn't win its first BCS bowl without Chelf's 97 yards on five catches.

TE: Michael Egnew, Missouri: By Egnew's standards, it was a quiet game, but he played well with a 25-yard grab and three catches for 39 yards in Mizzou's win.

OL: Grant Garner, Oklahoma State: Oklahoma State's offensive line is keyed by Garner, who helped the Cowboys handle Stanford's blitzes well and give Weeden plenty of time in the Fiesta Bowl win.

OL: Philip Blake, Baylor: Baylor ran for 482 yards and scored 67 points in its win against Washington in the Alamo Bowl. Blake's the man who keyed it all.

OL: Levy Adcock, Oklahoma State: Adcock's the best overall talent on OSU's line, and he showed it in the win against Stanford.

OL: Dan Hoch, Missouri: Missouri rolled over one of the nation's best rush defenses, North Carolina, for 337 yards on the ground.

OL: Luke Joeckel, Texas A&M: The Aggies' offense was potent for most of its win against Northwestern, and Joeckel was solid in run and pass blocking for the balanced attack.

DEFENSE

DL: Jackson Jeffcoat, Texas: Jeffcoat made five tackles, two sacks and 2.5 tackles for loss in the Longhorns' 21-10 win against Cal. The Texas defense dominated, and the defensive line's play was the catalyst. He did it all with a torn pectoral muscle, too. He'll miss the spring after having it surgically repaired this week.

DL: Adam Davis, Kansas State: Davis sacked Arkansas' Tyler Wilson twice and had three tackles for loss with a forced fumble in the loss to the Razorbacks.

DL: R.J. Washington, Oklahoma: With Ronnell Lewis ineligible, Washington showed up big in the win against Iowa. He had two sacks and made three tackles.

DL: Tony Jerod-Eddie, Texas A&M: Jerod-Eddie made eight tackles and had a sack in the win against Northwestern.

LB: Damontre Moore, Texas A&M: Moore was a monster in the season finale for the Aggies, making nine tackles and forcing a fumble on his lone sack.

LB: A.J. Klein, Iowa State: Klein flew around for the Cyclones, making 15 tackles in a physical game against Rutgers, though the Cyclones lost.

LB: Jordan Hicks, Texas: Could this be a big piece of momentum heading into 2012? Hicks starred with seven tackles, 1.5 sacks, 2.5 tackles for loss and a pass breakup in the win against Cal.

CB: Jamell Fleming, Oklahoma: Fleming was the Big 12's best defensive player of the bowls and the best player on the field in the Insight Bowl, making seven tackles, intercepting a pass and returning it 21 yards. He also broke up three passes.

CB: David Garrett, Kansas State: Garrett made 10 tackles and had two tackles for loss in the loss to Arkansas.

S: Kenny Vaccaro, Texas: He hates the nickname Machete, but Vaccaro was hacking away at Cal. He made three tackles, including two for loss and a sack.

S: Markelle Martin, Oklahoma State: Even if it was illegal (it was), Martin had the hit of the bowl season with a huge blast on Stanford's Ty Montgomery that took Montgomery's helmet off on the opening drive. He finished with nine tackles and a tackle for loss, with a fumble recovery.

SPECIALISTS

P: Tress Way, Oklahoma: Way averaged 50 yards on his six punts, including a 67-yarder.

PK: Randy Bullock, Texas A&M: Bullock made all four of his field goal attempts, including two from beyond 40 yards.

PR: Dustin Harris, Texas A&M: Harris looked the part of the Big 12's best, returning a punt 35 yards and finishing with 54 yards on his four returns.

KR: Justin Gilbert, Oklahoma State: Gilbert had a 50-yard return and returned his four kicks for a total of 136 yards.

Editor’s Note: Tune into the “AT&T ESPN All America Team Show” on Saturday (ABC, 1:30 p.m. ET) to see who ESPN’s writers and experts selected.

It's been a fun season across the Big 12, with a few big names who didn't play as well as we thought, and lots of unknowns who became household names by the end of the season.

I'll offer my comments below, but here's our All-Big 12 team for 2011.

OFFENSE

QB: Robert Griffin III, Baylor
All-purpose: Collin Klein, QB, Kansas State
RB: Terrance Ganaway, Baylor
RB: Henry Josey, Missouri
FB: Trey Millard, Oklahoma
WR: Kendall Wright, Baylor
WR: Justin Blackmon, Oklahoma State
WR: Ryan Broyles, Oklahoma
TE: Michael Egnew, Missouri
C: Grant Garner, Oklahoma State
OL: Kelechi Osemele, Iowa State
OL: Levy Adcock, Oklahoma State
OL: Gabe Ikard, Oklahoma
OL: Luke Joeckel, Texas A&M

DEFENSE

DE: Frank Alexander, Oklahoma
DT: Dominique Hamilton, Missouri
DE: Alex Okafor, Texas
DE: Jamie Blatnick, Oklahoma State
LB: Sean Porter, Texas A&M
LB: Jake Knott, Iowa State
LB: Emmanuel Acho, Texas
NB: Tony Jefferson, Oklahoma
CB: Nigel Malone, Kansas State
CB: Carrington Byndom, Texas
S: Kenny Vaccaro, Texas
S: Markelle Martin, Oklahoma State

SPECIALISTS

P: Quinn Sharp, Oklahoma State
PK: Randy Bullock, Texas A&M
PR: Dustin Harris, Texas A&M
KR: Tyler Lockett, Kansas State

Finally, a few notes and explanations:

• I loved the media's idea to craft an all-purpose spot to accomodate Collin Klein. The Big Ten did the same for Michigan's Denard Robinson last season. I followed suit, and did so on the defensive side of the ball with a nickel-back spot for Oklahoma's Tony Jefferson. Two players that missed first-team designation by the coaches, but clearly deserve to be recognized.
• Additionally, I prefer the teams to reflect the Big 12 style of play, so the nickel back fits. Each team doesn't have 11 players, but there were deserving linebackers. The same with Egnew and Millard. Does every team use a fullback or a tight end? No, but both are standout performers. They'd rotate in anyway, just as Jefferson would in a theoretical package.
• Tough call to leave Philip Blake from Baylor off my team, but Garner's been better. Blake is very, very close, though.
• Hated to leave off Brodrick Brown and E.J. Gaines, but I went with a more traditional two corners and two safeties, rather than four corners like the media's team.
• Steven Johnson and Arthur Brown would have been right behind my three linebackers. That race was probably closer than at any other position, except maybe cornerback. Difficult to leave either of those guys off my first team, but the three on the team were better. I gave Brown my Newcomer of the Year nod, though.
• I don't like going with three defensive ends and one defensive tackle, but there wasn't a defensive tackle who deserved the honor more than Okafor, my third defensive end. Okafor was a defensive tackle last year anyway, so that's close enough, right? He moved from tackle to end before spring practice earlier this year. In the Big 12, an additional pass rusher is necessary, too, right?
• I made a similar move with my offensive line. Went tackle-heavy, but the guards didn't have quite as many standouts.

Schedule: Oklahoma opens spring practice Monday at 4:40 p.m. ET and will play its spring game on April 16. The first 15 minutes of Monday's practice are open to the media, but the remainder of the practices until the spring game will be closed.

What’s new: Offensive coordinator Kevin Wilson, responsible for the highest-scoring offense in college football history in 2008, took the head coaching job at Indiana. Replacing him for the Sooners are co-coordinators Josh Heupel and Jay Norvell. Heupel has been with the program since 2006 as the quarterbacks coach, and won a national title at OU in 2000. Wilson was with the team for its Fiesta Bowl win, but Heupel called the plays for the Sooners and will do so in 2011. Norvell has coached receivers at Oklahoma since 2008.

On the mend: Running back Roy Finch looks like the favorite to replace DeMarco Murray as Oklahoma's featured back, but surgery to repair a stress fracture in his left foot suffered during bowl practices will keep him out during the spring. Starting fullback Trey Millard is also out for spring practices after minor surgery.

On the move: Defensive back Aaron Colvin played some in spot duty as a true freshman in 2010, but opens the spring as the Sooners' starting strong safety. He was expected to replace last season's starting corner, Jamell Fleming, who is not enrolled and won't be back until the fall semester at the earliest after reported academic misconduct. The corner job went to Gabe Lynn, who enters the spring with little on-field experience.

New faces: Running back Brandon Williams enrolled early and will start the spring at No. 2 on the depth chart at running back. Quarterback Kendal Thompson is also in camp as an early enrollee alongside Marquis Anderson, a third signee from the 2011 class.

Breaking out: Nickel back Tony Jefferson. You could make the argument that he's already broken out as the co-Big 12 Defensive Freshman of the Year in 2010, but he's hardly a household name across the country or even the conference. That could change fast for Jefferson, who looks like his sophomore year could mean dropping the "rising" from his status as a rising star.

Don’t forget about: Sophomore receiver Kenny Stills. His teammate Ryan Broyles gets all the headlines, but Stills showed plenty of potential in his first season on the field, giving Oklahoma a much-needed second option in the passing game. He started all 14 games as a true freshman and broke Broyles' freshman receiving record with 786 yards and five touchdowns on 61 receptions.

All eyes on: The defensive lines and secondary. It's a "National Championship or Bust" kind of year for the Sooners, who may well debut at No. 1 in the preseason polls next fall. If one thing stops them from winning it all, it will be a lack of experience up front or troubles defending the pass without their top corner, Fleming. Stacy McGee, Jamarkus McFarland, Daniel Noble and Casey Walker will be in the rotation at defensive tackle, and have to help collapse the pocket and stop the run. Junior Demontre Hurst played well as a sophomore, but if Fleming doesn't return, Lynn and Colvin will have to be solid alongside experienced safeties Javon Harris and Sam Proctor to slow the prolific Big 12 passing offenses.

Nebraska's defense has been at its best during the final month of the season, looking more and more like the dominant 2009 version of the Blackshirts.

Kansas managed just three points, five first downs and 87 yards against them.

Texas A&M couldn't score a touchdown at home against Nebraska, settling for three field goals.

Colorado trailed 31-3 to the Huskers before adding a pair of second-half touchdowns in a 45-17 loss.

Moving the ball on the Blackshirts has been difficult. Scoring has been harder. Oklahoma will experience that on Saturday against the Huskers, but the Sooners' latest offensive wrinkle may give them an edge.

It goes by a handful of names, but "Diamond" is the most common. Oklahoma quarterback Landry Jones takes the snap with fullback Trey Millard on one side, a running back on the other and another running back behind him. Expect a combination of DeMarco Murray, Roy Finch and Mossis Madu this week, depending on how much or if Murray can play after injuring his knee against Oklahoma State.

Oklahoma used the formation often against Oklahoma State, including heavy use during an 82-yard touchdown drive that put the Sooners up 7-0 early.

That's a bit ironic, considering the Sooners poached the formation from the Cowboys, and debuted it a week earlier against Baylor. Frankly, despite its late addition to the Sooners' repertoire, they used it much more effectively than their in-state rivals.

Nebraska won't have much to see on film and study up on the formation, but defensive end Jeremy Beal has seen plenty of it during practice.

"It’s difficult at times [to stop], but if you read your keys and play it right, it’s not that difficult," Beal said.

Oklahoma State's defense certainly made it look difficult. The Sooners' collection of misdirections and quick handoffs, as well as power runs, screens and downfield passes out of the formation baffled the Cowboys, who gave up 47 points to the Sooners' offense.

A defense's unfamiliarity with a scheme, especially new ones, can make it look more difficult to stop than it actually is, but the Sooners are likely to test the Huskers' ability to do exactly that with the Big 12 title on the line.

The more teams ran the Wildcat, the less effective it became. The Sooners' Diamond package is still relatively new. Whether or not Nebraska can send it out of style early on Saturday should have a big impact on who leaves as Big 12 champions.

STILLWATER, Okla. -- It's not every day you see a game with almost as many turnovers as punts, but it definitely makes for an exciting half. That's what we've had here at Boone Pickens Stadium.

Stat of the half: Combined completion percentage of Landry Jones and Brandon Weeden, the Big 12's most productive quarterbacks. Together, they were at just 50 percent before Jones completed 5-of-6 passes on a field-goal drive to end the half and raise it to 54 percent (30-of-56).

Stat of the half II: Weeden and Jones have also combined for five interceptions. Just when each quarterback's team looked it could take control, they were derailed by a costly interception. That's made for a seesaw game, which might drive coaches crazy, but makes for good entertainment.

Best player in the half: Cornerback Brodrick Brown and linebacker Shaun Lewis, Oklahoma State. Brown has an interception, and tipped another to Lewis from out of bounds as the first half of a spectacular play. Lewis returned his first interception of the day 52 yards for a touchdown to keep Oklahoma State in it early with the Sooners driving with a 14-3 lead.

What Oklahoma State needs to do: Keep testing Oklahoma's secondary deep when it gets a chance. Coaches like to say "You can only throw what you can block," and Oklahoma has pressured Weeden, but the Cowboys set up their only offensive touchdown of the day with a deep ball to Justin Blackmon.

What Oklahoma needs to do: Give more carries to its trio of backs, Roy Finch, DeMarco Murray and Trey Millard. Landry Jones has looked masterful one moment and clueless the next. That's not necessarily anything new for Oklahoma, but the Sooners can't afford any more crippling mistakes in this one. They've run the ball well, and Murray is looking as good as he has all year.

STILLWATER, Okla. -- Oklahoma debuted its new diamond formation last week against Baylor. Judging from Oklahoma's first touchdown drive, Oklahoma State could have used some more tape on it.

Oklahoma did a little of everything using the formation on its 11-play, 82-yard drive to go up 7-0 midway through the first quarter.

That's a bit ironic, considering Oklahoma State is where Oklahoma got the basic idea for the formation. Cowboys offensive coordinator Dana Holgorsen has been using the formation for most of the year.

For Oklahoma, running backs DeMarco Murray and Roy Finch and fullback Trey Millard surround quarterback Landry Jones in the formation, and the Sooners can use a variety of fakes and misdirections out of it to move the ball.

Millard finished the drive with a 6-yard touchdown run -- his first carry of the day -- and made it look a little too easy. You can expect Oklahoma to keep using it until the Cowboys figure out how to stop it.

COLUMBIA, Mo.--That first half was a lot of things, but entertaining is at the top of my list. Two great teams going at it here at Faurot Field, and this thing is definitely up for grabs.

Turning point: The opening kickoff. The energy in the stadium was already off the charts. Then Missouri's Gahn McGaffie housed it from 86 yards away and added some genuine belief in the building to the already buzzing energy.

Stat of the half: Oklahoma's two turnovers. Both occurred in the red zone.

Best player in the half: Oklahoma receiver Ryan Broyles. He's playing with an injured ankle, and he still looks like a contender for the Biletnikoff Award. He's caught six passes for 95 yards, including a 39-yarder that he narrowly snagged from a defensive back on the sideline.

Unsung hero: Missouri's offensive line. Blaine Gabbert has had all night to throw. Missouri's running backs have consistently had holes to run through, racking up 70 yards rushing. That's a new phenomenon for the Tigers against the Sooners, and a great sign for their chances to spring the upset.

Best call: Bob Stoops elected to go for it on 4th-and-1 in the red zone, with his team already coming up empty-handed there twice in the half. Fullback Trey Millard converted a dive play, and DeMarco Murray scored on a 5-yard reception two plays later to tie the game.

What Missouri needs to do: Keep protecting Blaine Gabbert. He's the team's best player with some functional talent around him. Give him time, and he'll make enough plays to win this with sure-handed guys like Michael Egnew and T.J. Moe running around in the secondary. Jerrell Jackson has played well, also.

What Oklahoma needs to do: Take advantage of opportunities. The easiest way to lose on the road is with turnovers. Do it in the red zone and you almost assure yourself a loss, especially to a quality team like the Tigers.

DALLAS -- DeMarco Murray says he doesn't remember anything about his Red River Rivalry past. On Saturday, he played like it.

A senior playing for a fourth time against archrival Texas, Murray rushed for 115 yards and a pair of touchdowns on 25 carries and helped No. 8 Oklahoma hold off the No. 21 Longhorns, 28-20.

"I see what I see from DeMarco a lot, and that's good, hard, physical running," said Oklahoma coach Bob Stoops. "He pounded the ball today, ran physical, took care of it. I never saw the ball bobble. He caught the ball well. He did everything you want him to do."

For Murray, it's probably a good thing the past two games against Texas have been erased from his memory. The gap between them and his production on Saturday is extraordinary.

He literally woke up on Saturday morning with more rushing yards against the Longhorns than he had in 2009, thanks to a five-carry, minus-3 yard day in the Cotton Bowl a year ago.

His average -- 4.6 yards -- on each carry in Saturday's win was more than his total rushing yardage from his past two years against the Longhorns, three yards.

Instead, he channeled the play of freshman year DeMarco Murray, who, like senior Murray, topped 120 yards on the day and reached the end zone.

"He needs some space at times, and when he [gets it], he makes something happen," Stoops said.

He got that space on Saturday, and with the help of his five offensive linemen, a couple tight ends and true freshman fullback Trey Millard, he broke loose against The Artists Formerly Known as College Football's Best Run Defense.

"They did a great job blocking all day," Murray said. "We knew we had to run the ball to win this game."

And with Oklahoma's performance stretches a streak of 12 consecutive Red River Rivalry wins for the team that outrushes the other.

For the offensive line's efforts, Stoops handed them the first game ball in the locker room, later saying that it was "probably" their best performance of the season.

"They did an excellent job of run blocking and overall protection. They were a big part of this game," Stoops said.

The Longhorns were caught by the Sooners up-tempo offense early on, and 59 of Murray's 115 yards came in the first half.

"Some of our guys were looking to our boundary when they should have been playing," Texas coach Mack Brown said.

He was happier with the defense's effort in keeping up with the pace in the second half, but Murray still pounded them for 56 more yards on 11 carries after halftime.

And after breaking an 18-yard touchdown to finish Oklahoma's first drive of the game, he put the Sooners up 28-10 with an encore early in the fourth quarter. He slipped into the second level of the defense before tiptoeing Oklahoma's sideline and diving over the pylon, flipping over his head and landing on his back for a 20-yard touchdown run.

After the game, linebacker Travis Lewis -- complete with a Superman "S" shaved in the side of his mohawk -- snatched the Golden Hat Trophy and showed it off to anyone who wanted to see it. A junior, he hadn't felt what Murray felt as a freshman: Happy on the 190-mile, three-hour bus ride home to Norman.

"I've always wanted to do that," Lewis said. "This has been a long time coming and I've been on the losing end of this for two years, so there's a lot of built-up frustration coming out running around the field. I'm going to enjoy every minute of this."

Without Murray's efforts, Lewis and the rest of his teammates would be hoping to forget what happened on Saturday.

There will be plenty of young talent on display in the Cotton Bowl on Saturday when Texas and Oklahoma suit up for the 2010 edition of the Red River Rivalry. Both quarterbacks will be sophomores. Two true freshmen Oklahoma defenders, cornerback Aaron Colvin and safety Tony Jefferson should make significant contributions, as will fullback Trey Millard, another freshman.

Texas freshman receiver Mike Davis is battling a knee injury, but will be a factor in the passing game for the Longhorns after catching 16 passes for 183 yards and a pair of touchdowns in his last three games. Oklahoma's Kenny Stills has been a solid option for the Sooners passing game, too, with career highs of four catches and 72 yards in his last outing, a road game against Cincinnati.

But perhaps no player has been as impactful as early as Texas freshman defensive end Jackson Jeffcoat. Through four games, he's cracked the rotation at one of the best and deepest positions in the conference, making 1.5 sacks and having three tackles for loss among his 10 total tackles. He's listed as the Longhorns' No. 2 defensive end, but saw plenty of time against Texas Tech's pass-happy offense in Texas' conference opener, when he had a hand in two more sacks and applied constant pressure to quarterback Taylor Potts.

"Jackson’s doing so much better than we anticipated in his freshman year. He’s playing tough, he’s smart," said Texas coach Mack Brown.

He later added: "We’re been really amazed at how hard he’s played, how well he’s played and how consistently well he’s played."

And there might also be no player on the field Saturday with more Red River intrigue. His twin sister, Jacqueline Jeffcoat, plays basketball for Oklahoma. Jeffcoat, a native of the Dallas suburb Plano, Texas, was recruited heavily by both the Sooners and Texas. He chose the Longhorns when he signed his letter of intent in February. A little more than seven months later, he'll take the field every bit the prized recruit Texas thought it was getting. ESPNU ranked him No. 2 on its list of the top 150 prospects in the 2010 class.

"He’s one of the best pass rushers we’ve got," said fellow defensive lineman Sam Acho, a senior with six tackles for loss and three sacks of his own. "He’s doing a great job on the edge, he’s learned the position well and he’s been doing a great job, I’m proud of him."

For Jeffcoat, the pass rushing gene was passed down directly from his father, Jim Jeffcoat, who played more than a decade in the NFL, mostly with the Dallas Cowboys.

"Dad’s NFL background has had Jackson in those NFL dressing rooms all the time," Brown said. "So very much like Garrett Gilbert. They’re not impressed by celebrity, he just wants to go out there and play and puts tremendous pressure on himself to play well."

Jeffcoat won two Super Bowls in Dallas and had 102.5 career sacks before retiring. He's now the defensive line coach at Houston.

"He’s very mature on the field, has a lot of football knowledge, football savvy, and you see it translate on the field," Acho said.

Now, he'll take it to the field for one of Texas' premier games, hoping to give Oklahoma quarterback Landry Jones a front-row seat to his Red River debut.

Twice in nonconference play last season, Oklahoma suffered one-point road defeats. Up by only two and punting to Cincinnati, a third such loss in two years was a real possibility.

But Cincinnati never got a chance after muffing the Sooners punt inside the 10-yard line. Oklahoma recovered and Landry Jones tossed a short touchdown pass to fullback Trey Millard that helped ice the 31-29 win and sent the No. 8 Sooners home 4-0. Cincinnati added a touchdown in the final minute, but failed to recover an onside kick.

That, combined with a presumed Nebraska win over South Dakota State should mean the Big 12 keeps two teams in the top 10, but Texas is sure to tumble after getting routed at home by UCLA, 34-12.

The Huskers haven't done the routing most figured they would, and lead just 17-3 in the fourth quarter. But no matter how close that game gets, Texas would gladly trade places for a spotless record.

Oklahoma coach Bob Stoops released his latest depth chart on Monday, and likely inspired some double takes from some. Of the 44 spots on the offensive and defensive two-deep, seven are occupied by true freshmen, signees from the 2010 class who arrived on campus just this summer.

Two have established themselves as starters just weeks into their first fall camps.

Kenny Stills, a freshman receiver from San Diego, has earned a starting spot over senior Brandon Caleb at one of the three receiver positions. Elsewhere, Trey Millard, a freshman fullback who played tight end back home in Columbia, Mo., has taken the starting spot away from 241-pound redshirt freshman Marshall Musil, who rumbled for 92 yards in the spring game.

Stills is hardly a surprise. He was one of the spring standouts for a receiving corps that struggled outside of Ryan Broyles in 2009, and Stills finished with six catches for 84 yards in the spring game.

Elsewhere, two more freshmen cracked the two deep on offense.

Joe Powell will back up Ryan Broyles at the SL receiver position and Bronson Irwin, who joined Stills as an early enrollee this spring, will step in behind Tyler Evans at right guard.

Three showed up on defense.

Safety Tony Jefferson, a 5-foot-11, 198-pounder who is competing to start as the Sooners' situational hybrid safety/linebacker spot, is listed as a co-No. 2 behind Jonathan Nelson at strong safety.

Nelson's move from cornerback to safety -- a formality for some time -- freed up a spot for Aaron Colvin behind Demontre Hurst at one of Oklahoma's two cornerback spots.

And Corey Nelson -- the nation's No. 3 linebacker and No. 62 on the ESPNU 150 -- who Oklahoma ripped from Texas A&M shortly before signing day, is behind one of the conference's best linebackers in Travis Lewis, who told local reporters last week that Nelson would eventually become better than him.

That's significantly more freshmen than you'd usually find on Oklahoma's depth chart this time of year. If any of the backups are forced to play, Oklahoma would surely deal with the inconsistencies that come with relying on freshmen, but Stoops also has to be encouraged by the potential his young talent has shown early in camp.

Each freshman should see at least some spot duty in relief of the starters, and any experience should make the future look even brighter than it already does for Oklahoma, who also currently has the No. 3 recruiting class for 2011, based on current commitments.