Stoops calls TU’s QB a competitor

September 19, 2007 01:54 am

— NORMAN (AP) — It’s not that Oklahoma coach Bob Stoops didn’t realize how good of a quarterback Paul Smith could be when he was setting state passing records.
But not every Oklahoma high school player can play for the Sooners, and Smith was one of the ones that slipped through the cracks. The former Deer Creek and Owasso quarterback instead ended up at Tulsa (2-0), and he’ll face the No. 4 Sooners (3-0) this week for the second time.
Stoops said he was aware of Smith and considered him an “excellent high school player,” but the Sooners were comfortable with their situation at quarterback and opted not to recruit him.
“In the end, you do the best you can and I think it’s fair to say we’ve not been lacking in talent,” Stoops said.
While Smith signed with Tulsa in 2003, Oklahoma brought in Tommy Grady, who Rivals.com rated as the No. 3 quarterback in the nation after he’d won a state title in California and went through the Elite 11 quarterback camp. Grady has since transferred to Utah, where he took over as the starter following an injury to the Utes’ top quarterback in the season opener.
Oklahoma State signed Donovan Woods, who’d been regarded as the top quarterback prospect in the state, along with two other quarterbacks in 2003. Woods now plays linebacker for the Cowboys.
Smith set Oklahoma’s high school passing record by throwing for 9,574 yards in three years as a starter, and he ranks behind only T.J. Rubley on Tulsa’s career passing list. He had a career-best 454 yards passing and five touchdowns in Tulsa’s 55-47 win against Brigham Young last week, but Stoops had been impressed with him well before that.
Smith threw for 246 yards and ran for 48 yards and a touchdown in the Golden Hurricane’s 31-15 loss in Norman in 2005. Tulsa was within 17-15 until Adrian Peterson scored on a 41-yard run on fourth-and-1 with just over 3 minutes left in the game.
“I think he’s one of the toughest guys that we’ve played against here in the last few years. I said that to him after our game here a few years ago. I thought it was one of the toughest performances I’ve seen anybody play us over here,” Stoops said.
“I’ve never seen a guy hit and knocked down so much without a flag and continue to compete well. He did a great job. I just think he’s a heck of a competitor.”