With less than a week left before opening kickoff of OU football’s 2010 season, some of the players are starting to count down the days.

“This morning, I actually did that with my fingers,” senior safety Jonathan Nelson said. “I heard somebody say there were five days until show time, and I was just like ‘wow.’”

Defensive line coach Jackie Shipp said some of the young guys might be feeling uptight, but they know what to expect.

“I’m sure they’re a little nervous, some of them,” Shipp said. “But hell, that’s what we talked about in their living room when we recruited them.”

Nelson said he can feel the environment on campus changing as the game approaches.

“There is just a different buzz, a different feel around campus during game week as opposed to two-a-days or spring ball,” he said.

There may be more attention paid to what most analysts would call an easy game based on how the Sooners began last season, but Nelson said it is important for them to manage their intensity leading up to the game.

“Guys can get so worked up that they’re not even focused,” Nelson said. “They might be physically ready, but they miss a call because they’re so worked up. You have to have a really good balance between being ready to work and being there mentally.”

For the more experienced players, the excitement of game week is different than it is for the newer faces.

The excitement is still there, but it is toned down and lacks the nervousness that a freshman might feel, said senior defensive end Jeremy Beal.

“I still get pretty excited, just not the way I did during my freshman year,” Beal said. “It will be good to see some new faces.”

Nelson said he remembers his first game day, but he wasn’t as nervous as some might expect a freshman to be.

“I’ve never really been nervous before,” Nelson said. “On my visit I came to a game, I saw the field and my jitters were pretty much gone.”

If this season’s freshmen and new contributors react the same way Nelson said he did, it would serve the team well.

“This is what they’ve been shooting for,” Shipp said. “Now it’s here, the opportunity is here and it is time for them to go and take advantage of it.”