Something about the SEC brings out the best in Trevor Knight.
For the second time in his career, the sophomore quarterback threw for over 300 yards. The last time Knight did it was in the Sugar Bowl win against Alabama, another SEC opponent.
Saturday, Knight did it again against Tennessee, tossing 308 yards on 20-of-33 passing including one touchdown and one interception that tipped off wide receiver K.J. Young’s hands and into the arms of Vols defensive back Ladarrell McNeil.
“I thought Trevor was really excellent on the night,” coach Bob Stoops said. “He moved the ball well, missed a few opportunities but still scored on quite a few opportunities there through the first half to build the lead.”
Part of that lead included another fast start from the Sooners offense, captained by Knight. For the third game in a row, Oklahoma held its opponent scoreless in the first quarter.
“Coming out and playing fast was big for us and we proved we can do that against a team like Tennessee that has a great defense,” Knight said.
That great defense Knight alluded to gave the run game a few more fits than Oklahoma’s first two opponents. Tennessee was filling up the box and daring Knight to beat them through the air.
Their wish is Knight’s command. The San Antonio native tossed a pass to six different receivers, including senior tight end Blake Bell who caught two consecutive passes downfield just before halftime.
“I think Trevor is doing a great job with actually seeing the coverage and giving me a good ball so props to him and the O-Line doing the blocking,” Bell said. “I think we have a lot more left to come and I think it’s something the offense will start working on and getting better.”
Junior wide receiver Sterling Shepard also got in on the passing action. For the first time in his career, Shepard recorded back-to-back games of 100 or more receiving yards.
Shepard finished with five catches for 109 yards, including a 45-yard catch. Knight found Shepard along the sideline and hit him with a light touch pass, one that the two have been connecting on frequently.
“It’s just timing in practice,” Shepard said. “During the week, that’s what we do. We just work on our timing and getting deep balls and he’s been doing a great job of putting touch on the ball and putting it in my hands.”
That touch pass is just a small portion of improvement in the pass game. Co-offensive coordinator Josh Heupel says that it will only continue to improve because Knight has plenty of room to grow.
“We’ve gotten better in the pass game the last three weeks,” Heupel said. “He’s a young enough quarterback that he’s going to continue to get better.”
That could be scary for the other defenses that have yet to see the new-and-improved Knight.
