OU football: Three suspended Sooners lose scholarships, Stoops says
Kingsley Burns, The Oklahoma Daily
OU sophomore wide receiver Jaz Reynolds (16) is one of four players who was suspended indefinitely Wednesday, May 9, 2012. Reynolds was OU’s third-leading receiver last season, with 41 receptions, 715 yards and five touchdowns.
The OU athletic department pulled the scholarships of three suspended OU football players, coach Bob Stoops said Wednesday.
Junior wide receivers Jaz Reynolds and Trey Franks, as well as sophomore defensive back Quentin Hayes, have been removed from scholarship, Stoops said at the Sooner Caravan stop in Tulsa.
Sophomore wide receiver Kameel Jackson is currently on a summer scholarship but will have to earn one back in the fall.
Reynolds, Franks, Jackson and Hayes were suspended for violating undisclosed team rules May 9.
It seems Stoops is coming down on his team and establishing a status quo, but the OU coach said that standard has always been in place during his 14-year tenure.
“There isn’t any clamping down. I’ve always clamped down,” Stoops said at the caravan stop. “Overall, it’s fair to say over 13 or 14 years that our track record has been pretty similar. We stick with what’s proper, what’s appropriate. Our team policies and university policies, we don’t waver. You either abide by them or you don’t.”
With the transfers being initially labeled as indefinite, there was thought that the players may return in fall. Hayes even went as far as declaring on Twitter that he would be back for fall practices.
But after losing their scholarships, it seems very unlikely any of them will be back. This is particularly troubling for the receiving corps, which is now left with just junior Kenny Stills, the only player left on OU's roster to catch a pass last season.
The Sooners hit the recruiting trail hard to fill the void left by the suspensions, picking up junior college transfer LaColtan Bester and former Fresno State receiver Jalen Saunders.
Bester will be available to play right away, and Saunders has applied to the NCAA for a waiver, allowing him to play right away instead of sitting out the typical one year.
Along with the transfers, OU will rely on a promising freshman class that includes Trey Metoyer, who enrolled at OU last spring and wowed at the annual Red-White game.
The Sooners will rely on youth at wideout and will need leadership from Stills and big performances from early-enrollee Metoyer, with some help from Saunders if he is cleared to play early.
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