OU has updated their first depth of 2010, and usually depth chart interpretation is pointless. However, sometimes you can find position moves and the odd demotion for motivational reasons. And with a month to go until spring football, a new depth chart will have to pass for football news.

So here's the depth chart

Offense:

Center: Gabe Ikard is listed as the backup center. Now I suggested in my position previews that moving Ikard to OL made a lot of sense. So seeing Ikard at center is a positive move, but where's Brian Lepak? Now Lepak was hurt before the Sun Bowl, but Ben Habern is listed on the depth chart and he's out for spring.<;/p>

LG: Bronson Irwin is the backup guard behind Stephen Good. The only true Freshman enrollee on the 2 deep.

TE: Eric Mensik (despite in every interview out there James Patton basically begging to keep Mensik at tackle) is the starter. James Ratterree is the backup, no sign of James Hanna (motivational candidate number one)

LT: Donald Stephenson 1st team. Stephenson rehab from academic liability to starting LT is temporarily complete

RG: Tyler Evans ahead of Tavaris Jefferies

Defense:

DE: Justin Chaisson ahead of RJ Washington at backup DE (motivational candidate number two)

SAM: Ronnell Lewis ahead of Austin Box. No Joseph Ibiloye?

MIKE: Tom Wort ahead of Daniel Franklin. I really thought that Ronnell would be given a shot at MLB.

WILL: Travis Lewis the starter is no surprise, but Jayden Bird as his backup is surprising. I thought Bird would be at MIKE LB

Boundary CB: As expected Jonathan Nelson is the starter

SS: Sam Proctor is first team, Joseph Ibiloye is second team. I'm very surprised that Ibiloye is not being listed at SAM LB. And no sign of Kevin Brent or Tony Jefferson

OU or UT has represented the Big 12 in every Conference Championship Game since Bob and Mack starting competing. This year both OU and UT have enough questions that one could honestly ask if someone is ready to finally end that their hegemony over the rest of the division. However, questions at the only teams to really challenge both schools (Tech and OSU) to date are perhaps larger than at OU. Also, the bottom dwellers conference wise don't appear to have made enough of an improvement to challenge OU and UT, but might be able to move up the division rankings.

Pre Spring Top 25

Trying to piece together a Top 25 right after signing day is a little bit crazy but here goes.

OU 2010 Super Early Preview: Defensive Backs

OU has lost their two starting cornerbacks but seems to have game ready replacements for those positions, but that reshuffling will open a spot at safety instead it would appear. OU's finally restocked their secondary positions to a nice degree, and has an excellent class of players enrolling as well.

2010 Super Early OU Preview: Linebacker

OU has the most turnover at LB than anywhere else on the defense with Reynolds and Clayton graduating. Doing the LB review is a little tough because it's hard to know which way Venables takes the defense.

2010 Super Early OU Preview: Defensive Line

OU loses some familiar faces from their DL with 3 year starters Auston English and Gerald McCoy graduating/leaving for the NFL. This will give OU a different look on the defensive line and should herald the arrival of some of the biggest recruited names into the Sooner lineup.

OU 2010 Super Early Preview- Offensive Line

With OU's massive problems here last year, I figured that an OL preview needed to be it's own article. OU has lost their two best OL players in Trent Williams and Brian Simmons, but returns a host of players who started or played in several games last year. Since there are not many flex players in the OL, I'm going to focus my preview by position.

OU 2010 Super Early Preview- Offense- Skill Positions

Doing this before signing day is probably asking for trouble, but with Spring dates announced and NFL early entry period over it's time to do a small amount of pre spring 2010 previewing. I realize that signing day is 3 weeks away, but OU has 28 verbals, so other than a JUCO OL or Jackson Jeffcoat things are about done. And based on any late news from signing day, I'll update this preview.

2009 Defense Season Recap

While it was best to details the breakdowns at each position on offense (since every position pretty much had issues), on the defensive side of things were a lot more stable.

OU was in the top ten of almost every defensive category including  #8 Rushing Defense, #7 Pass Efficiency Defense, #8 Total Defense, and finally #7 Scoring Defense (compared to last year's ranking of  57^th), and the all important get the offense off the field 3^rd down conversion percentage OU was ranked 8^th (compared to 39^th last year)

Statistically this was the best Sooner defense since 2001 and tied with the 2000 defense in several areas.

2009 Offense Season Recap

A season that started with such promise ended as quickly  with one play in the new JerryWorld Death Star Stadium . Sitting in the stands when Sam got crunched, it was literally watching a nightmare unfold. Now, I've seen Sooner QBs go down in games in my short history being a Sooner fan, I was unfortunately there for Jamelle's knee versus OSU in 1987. I saw Jerome Brown break Troy Aikman's leg in 1985. I even was there when Charles Thompson broke his two legs against NU in 1988 (didn't realize at the time that would be CT's last play as a Sooner). I was even there for Jason White's second knee injury against Bama in 2002.  But this injury seemed very different. It was the first game, and you knew that OU's backup was completely green, and OU had a very tough schedule facing them.