Musil Trying to Keep From Being Blocked Out
Many have been pointing to this as the year when Marshall Musil takes over the fullback position at Oklahoma. Musil was recruited as a big athlete out of high school and fullback position coach Kevin Wilson sees the former high school linebacker and tight end as a potential standout at the position.
Fans have been looking for a premiere fullback in the OU offense since the departure of J.D. Runnels.
Musil showed why coaches are excited about his athletic abilities when he starred in last spring's Red & White Game as a running back. But this fall, Musil is working hard to become a better lead blocker so he's not left on the sidelines holding his helmet in 2010.
Q: Marshall, you come into fall camp after having a huge spring game. Did that performance give you any kind of boost into the summer and now into fall workouts?
Marshall Musil: Well in that game I was mostly running and that's not really what I've been trying to work on. Right now, I'm working on my blocking, because that's what I need to get down first.
Q: Coach Wilson said after the spring game, if you want to get on the field that you're blocking needs to get better. How far along are you in that aspect of your game?
Musil: I can't really put a number on it. I just want to be able to contribute at the end of two-a-days and by the time Utah State comes around. The running and catching aspect of my game will come after I get the blocking down. After I get that down then I can do the rest.
Q: You must have made some improvement though, they have you as the first team fullback. Is there any part of blocking you feel like you've improved on?
Musil: I really don't know. Right now, I'm working on just moving my feet when I make contact. I think if I keep doing that over the rest of the two-a-days, then hopefully I will get it down.
Q: Do you know a lot about the history of the fullbacks under Coach Stoops? Obviously you were here with Brody Eldridge, but do you know of guys like J.D. Runnells and others?
Musil: I never watched J.D. play, but I know he played tight end too. In his picture on the wall he has a ball in his hands, so I know he got the ball a time or two (laughing). So I know they were able to move guys around. Coach likes to do that, kind of like he did with Brody.
Q: Were you surprised at how many carries you got in the spring game?
Musil: It really flew by. I think someone told me afterwards I had like 25 carries. My reaction was, 'Really? I only had 92 yards!' I have to at least break triple digits if I'm going to have that many caries.
Q: What did that spring game do for you?
Musil: I think it just showed the coaches that I could run and catch a little. It showed that I could contribute, now it's all up to the blocking.
Q: How tough is it to play fullback? A lot of high schools don't have the position anymore.
Musil: Well I played fullback in high school, we ran the I (formation). I don't know how hard it is, I've never really thought about it. I just go out there and do it.
Q: A lot of college coaches have said they're trying to do away with it since a lot of high schools are doing away with it.
Musil: Yeah, well I went to a smaller school and we didn't run the spread and we didn't play the teams who could spread it out.
Q: Do you think it's an undervalued position?
Musil: Yeah, I think so. I think when you can run the ball, that's when you win games. Look at Florida and Alabama. When we are able to run the ball, we're always near the top of the nation.
Q: Do you spend time with both the running backs and the tight ends?
Musil: No, I'm mostly with the tight ends.
Q: Who recruited you out of high school?
Musil: Well everybody else had me at linebacker. Oklahoma was the only one who wanted me as a full back.
Q: Is that one of the reason's you liked OU?
Musil: Yeah, I wanted to play offense.
Q: What did Kevin Wilson tell you about playing fullback when he recruited you?
Musil: Wow, that was a really long time ago (laughing). I don't remember. I guess he said something I liked because I'm here?right?
Tuesday, August 17, 2010
Monday, August 16, 2010
3 Down, 1 to go for 2-a-days!
Was that enough numbers for you in the title? Thought so! Today was the 3rd set of 2 practices for the OU football team and Mother Nature was thoughtful enough to send some clouds in for the evening and provide some much needed relief from the sweltering heat.
The TEs and FBs were featured in one video today. Check it out here!
Blocking
Also, this article appeared in the Tulsa World today (August 16th.) Lots of hype
about this year's fullback position!
OU Analysis: Sooners amp up fullback spot
I don't know about the rest of you football fans, but seeing NFL preseason on TV is making it THAT much harder to wait until September 4th! Are YOU ready for some football?!?!
The TEs and FBs were featured in one video today. Check it out here!
Blocking
Also, this article appeared in the Tulsa World today (August 16th.) Lots of hype
about this year's fullback position!
OU Analysis: Sooners amp up fullback spot
I don't know about the rest of you football fans, but seeing NFL preseason on TV is making it THAT much harder to wait until September 4th! Are YOU ready for some football?!?!
Sunday, August 15, 2010
Saturday Scrimmage
Saturday the Sooners hit the field at Oklahoma Memorial Stadium for their first scrimmage of preseason practice. The Scrimmage was open to family and those in attendance were the faithful Sooner fans, willing to bake for 2.5 hours in the unforgiving Oklahoma heat.
Marshall preformed well during his time on the field. He was even given the chance to run the ball and picking up some yardage, juking the defensive players. His blocking looked strong as well, as far as I could tell from the stands! Overall he was very pleased with his performance, even though the offense did struggle a bit with penalties.
I don't know how those boys practice day after day in that heat. It was exhausting just sitting there and it gives me a whole new perspective about how tired they are when they actually do have a few free hours.
In other news: There was an article in the Norman Transcript about the use of Fullbacks at OU. Marshall and senior FB Brandon Crow were interviewed. Here's the link.
Despite its waning popularity, OU says fullback is key to run game
The countdown is on! 2 more weeks of preseason practice and then school is in session once again. September 4th is just around the corner!
"Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light."--Matthew 11: 28-30
Marshall preformed well during his time on the field. He was even given the chance to run the ball and picking up some yardage, juking the defensive players. His blocking looked strong as well, as far as I could tell from the stands! Overall he was very pleased with his performance, even though the offense did struggle a bit with penalties.
I don't know how those boys practice day after day in that heat. It was exhausting just sitting there and it gives me a whole new perspective about how tired they are when they actually do have a few free hours.
In other news: There was an article in the Norman Transcript about the use of Fullbacks at OU. Marshall and senior FB Brandon Crow were interviewed. Here's the link.
Despite its waning popularity, OU says fullback is key to run game
The countdown is on! 2 more weeks of preseason practice and then school is in session once again. September 4th is just around the corner!
"Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light."--Matthew 11: 28-30
Monday, August 9, 2010
Interview
Oklahoma continues to be excessively humid and the Sooners continue to plow through practice after practice. After their morning workouts today Marshall was interviewed by Jason M. from Soonersports.com. His first video interview at OU! You can imagine how excited we were to see it :)
Check it out!
Marshall's Interview
In other news, Rivals posted this article today. Offensive Coordinator Kevin Wilson talks about this year's offense. Marshall is mentioned once.
Wilson Wants to Become Balanced Again
Kevin Wilson heads into the 2010 season wanting to establish a better identity on the offensive side of the ball. In 2009, injuries and inexperience forced the Sooners into becoming a strict passing team down the stretch. Wilson hopes a healthy offensive line, a fresh start and a wealth of talent at the running back position can bring some balance back to the offense this season.
SoonerSportsPhotos.com
Wilson is working to improve the running game behind offensive linemen like Stephen Good
Q: Everyone talks about losing guys like Sam Bradford and Jermaine Gresham, but how hard is it going to be to replace a guy like Brody Eldridge?
Kevin Wilson: I think you saw how much it affected that offense last year with all the scenarios he was put through. You saw what it did to tight end when we had to move him to the offensive line and then you saw what it did to the team when we lost him for the last few games when he got hurt.
I think another other guy people don't bring up is Matt Clapp. After he got hurt we really lost three big lead-blocking ends of that line last year due to injury and I think you saw then how much those guys meant to our offense.
Hopefully this year we can use guys like Marshall Musil and Austin Haywood coming in. And hopefully with guys like Trent Ratterree and James Hannah having played last year then they will be mature.
Q: Having had those injuries though, you had to throw some young guys in there that got some valuable experience. Can you talk about how much that means now?
Wilson: It was exposed last year publicly when they weren't quite as mature or ready to roll with the injuries at the time. But now those guys have played and that's the beauty of that. There's a saying in our locker room right now that if you keep doing the same things over and over then you'll continue to get the same results.
So, hopefully our practice habits will be better and we'll be stronger and more mature to practice like great teams do. Last year when we got into two-a-days, and then into the season, we didn't practice like a good team does. Yes, we had some injuries exposed and then some lack of experience, but we didn't really have the toughness that a good team needs. Hopefully since some of these guys played, we're going to be tougher.
I don't know if we're going to be any flashier, but hopefully we're going to be a team that can take better care of the ball and win some games that last year we didn't.
Q: Do you feel confident that you have more receivers who can step up and make some catches for you this year?
Wilson: Well, when you run the ball the passing game becomes so much easier. So we're going to try and re-establish an identity of having some toughness and being a football team that can have some balance and some direction. A team who runs the ball and is committed to it.
With that, you hope that the pass game gets set up.
Again, that group right there was probably as inconsistent as any group we had. There were a lot of young guys or guys that hadn't played that much besides Ryan Broyles. It's a lot easier when you have a great receiver who can make a guy miss versus having to block them up front and then beat nine, ten or eleven guys to get a touchdown.
When we had guys like Mark Clayton, Juaquin Iglesias and Malcolm Kelley, it was a lot easier to get the chunk plays. Demarco (Murray) on the other hand has to take on nine and ten guys sometimes to get a 40 or 50-yard play. The receiver is a one-on-one guy. So hopefully they can step up.
There were several factors last year that limited us and that was one. That entire group is back and they look better in short term right now. So we'll see if that group can step up and make some big plays this year.
Q: The last couple of years you have had a complimentary back with Chris Brown to Demarco Murray. This year, the only back with experience is Jermie Calhoun. How do you feel about the depth at that position?
Wilson: Well we also have Mossis Madu back there as well. Mosis can be another hybrid-type back like Demarco. He can play a little tailback and a little wide out. John Miller showed some flash before he had the slight knee injury and we've seen a little from Clahoun but you don't know.
I'm really intrigued by Brennan Clay and Roy Finch, I think those two guys got a chance. Now we have yet to put on pads, but just running around, those two look like they're going to be some exciting players.
Again, the competition is going to be a lot better than it was last year because of so many guys who are returning and with what we think is a pretty strong freshman class.
We've yet to put on pads and hit anyone, but our thought is to push every freshman to see if he can play. We're not going to sit here and look and think what you could be in five years because of so many kids who are coming out early. Our thought is, if a kid can play then we're going to get him ready to roll.
We approached yesterday's practice with every freshman in the mix playing.
Q: Do you think any of the players lost confidence with how last season turned out or do you think they've come to understand that last year was a result of a lot of bad things happening in one season?
Wilson: I don't know if they've lost confidence by any means, because I think everyone who comes here comes to play for championships. I think everyone here thinks that they're going to go on and play professional football.
What I really think, Is we're a little hungrier. Our attention to detail, and our sense of purpose and urgency is significantly greater because our performance, particularly on offense last year, was unacceptable. I think our guys have a greater sense of the level they need to play at.
I don't think they said it happened last year and it will never happen again. I think they say some of that happened because some guys weren't ready to play.
At the same time, I don't think we've lost any confidence. I think we have a hungrier group and a more driven group. We've had a lot of positive energy as we finished off the last game last season.
I think these kids are excited about two-a-days. While most years we might be talking about how hot it is and how hard it's going to be, I think you're going to see a lot of energy.
September 4th is coming quickly! Boomer Sooner! Beat Utah State!
Check it out!
Marshall's Interview
In other news, Rivals posted this article today. Offensive Coordinator Kevin Wilson talks about this year's offense. Marshall is mentioned once.
Wilson Wants to Become Balanced Again
Kevin Wilson heads into the 2010 season wanting to establish a better identity on the offensive side of the ball. In 2009, injuries and inexperience forced the Sooners into becoming a strict passing team down the stretch. Wilson hopes a healthy offensive line, a fresh start and a wealth of talent at the running back position can bring some balance back to the offense this season.
SoonerSportsPhotos.com
Wilson is working to improve the running game behind offensive linemen like Stephen Good
Q: Everyone talks about losing guys like Sam Bradford and Jermaine Gresham, but how hard is it going to be to replace a guy like Brody Eldridge?
Kevin Wilson: I think you saw how much it affected that offense last year with all the scenarios he was put through. You saw what it did to tight end when we had to move him to the offensive line and then you saw what it did to the team when we lost him for the last few games when he got hurt.
I think another other guy people don't bring up is Matt Clapp. After he got hurt we really lost three big lead-blocking ends of that line last year due to injury and I think you saw then how much those guys meant to our offense.
Hopefully this year we can use guys like Marshall Musil and Austin Haywood coming in. And hopefully with guys like Trent Ratterree and James Hannah having played last year then they will be mature.
Q: Having had those injuries though, you had to throw some young guys in there that got some valuable experience. Can you talk about how much that means now?
Wilson: It was exposed last year publicly when they weren't quite as mature or ready to roll with the injuries at the time. But now those guys have played and that's the beauty of that. There's a saying in our locker room right now that if you keep doing the same things over and over then you'll continue to get the same results.
So, hopefully our practice habits will be better and we'll be stronger and more mature to practice like great teams do. Last year when we got into two-a-days, and then into the season, we didn't practice like a good team does. Yes, we had some injuries exposed and then some lack of experience, but we didn't really have the toughness that a good team needs. Hopefully since some of these guys played, we're going to be tougher.
I don't know if we're going to be any flashier, but hopefully we're going to be a team that can take better care of the ball and win some games that last year we didn't.
Q: Do you feel confident that you have more receivers who can step up and make some catches for you this year?
Wilson: Well, when you run the ball the passing game becomes so much easier. So we're going to try and re-establish an identity of having some toughness and being a football team that can have some balance and some direction. A team who runs the ball and is committed to it.
With that, you hope that the pass game gets set up.
Again, that group right there was probably as inconsistent as any group we had. There were a lot of young guys or guys that hadn't played that much besides Ryan Broyles. It's a lot easier when you have a great receiver who can make a guy miss versus having to block them up front and then beat nine, ten or eleven guys to get a touchdown.
When we had guys like Mark Clayton, Juaquin Iglesias and Malcolm Kelley, it was a lot easier to get the chunk plays. Demarco (Murray) on the other hand has to take on nine and ten guys sometimes to get a 40 or 50-yard play. The receiver is a one-on-one guy. So hopefully they can step up.
There were several factors last year that limited us and that was one. That entire group is back and they look better in short term right now. So we'll see if that group can step up and make some big plays this year.
Q: The last couple of years you have had a complimentary back with Chris Brown to Demarco Murray. This year, the only back with experience is Jermie Calhoun. How do you feel about the depth at that position?
Wilson: Well we also have Mossis Madu back there as well. Mosis can be another hybrid-type back like Demarco. He can play a little tailback and a little wide out. John Miller showed some flash before he had the slight knee injury and we've seen a little from Clahoun but you don't know.
I'm really intrigued by Brennan Clay and Roy Finch, I think those two guys got a chance. Now we have yet to put on pads, but just running around, those two look like they're going to be some exciting players.
Again, the competition is going to be a lot better than it was last year because of so many guys who are returning and with what we think is a pretty strong freshman class.
We've yet to put on pads and hit anyone, but our thought is to push every freshman to see if he can play. We're not going to sit here and look and think what you could be in five years because of so many kids who are coming out early. Our thought is, if a kid can play then we're going to get him ready to roll.
We approached yesterday's practice with every freshman in the mix playing.
Q: Do you think any of the players lost confidence with how last season turned out or do you think they've come to understand that last year was a result of a lot of bad things happening in one season?
Wilson: I don't know if they've lost confidence by any means, because I think everyone who comes here comes to play for championships. I think everyone here thinks that they're going to go on and play professional football.
What I really think, Is we're a little hungrier. Our attention to detail, and our sense of purpose and urgency is significantly greater because our performance, particularly on offense last year, was unacceptable. I think our guys have a greater sense of the level they need to play at.
I don't think they said it happened last year and it will never happen again. I think they say some of that happened because some guys weren't ready to play.
At the same time, I don't think we've lost any confidence. I think we have a hungrier group and a more driven group. We've had a lot of positive energy as we finished off the last game last season.
I think these kids are excited about two-a-days. While most years we might be talking about how hot it is and how hard it's going to be, I think you're going to see a lot of energy.
September 4th is coming quickly! Boomer Sooner! Beat Utah State!
Friday, August 6, 2010
Media Day 2010
Today proved to be another exciting day here in Sooner country. Fans lined up starting at 2:30 AM for the annual Sooner Media Day festivities. Yes, you read that right...2:30 AM! Now those are some dedicated fans. Coach Stoops and a few select Sooners surprised fans at 7:00 AM, bringing them donuts and arms ready for hours of signing autographs.
After a year on the team and a phenomenal Spring Game, this year's Media Day proved to be a very rewarding and humbling experience for Marshall.
Marshall is pictured signing a football for a young fan in the Media Day photo album. He even told me that one fan brought a copy of the Sooner Illustrated and had Marshall sign the page where his bio was featured this summer!
Here's the link to the Media Day photo album. The album is titled 2010 Meet the Sooners Day. Marshall is in picture #31
Autographs
Also, Media Day included many professional photos for the players. Marshall was also featured in this photo album on Soonersports.com
Here's the link to the next album. The album is titled 2010 Media Day Photo Gallery. Marshall is in picture #56 and #57
Photos
For any Sooner fans wanting to check out the action from the source, head over to Soonersports.com for a in-depth experience of preseason practice. The guys that run that site are fantastic!
Link:
Soonersports
After a year on the team and a phenomenal Spring Game, this year's Media Day proved to be a very rewarding and humbling experience for Marshall.
Marshall is pictured signing a football for a young fan in the Media Day photo album. He even told me that one fan brought a copy of the Sooner Illustrated and had Marshall sign the page where his bio was featured this summer!
Here's the link to the Media Day photo album. The album is titled 2010 Meet the Sooners Day. Marshall is in picture #31
Autographs
Also, Media Day included many professional photos for the players. Marshall was also featured in this photo album on Soonersports.com
Here's the link to the next album. The album is titled 2010 Media Day Photo Gallery. Marshall is in picture #56 and #57
Photos
For any Sooner fans wanting to check out the action from the source, head over to Soonersports.com for a in-depth experience of preseason practice. The guys that run that site are fantastic!
Link:
Soonersports
Thursday, August 5, 2010
Thank you, Conor!
Conor Nicholl, a sports writer for the Hays Daily News, recently wrote another fantastic piece on our Sooner! It was posted on the kpreps.com website, but the link below will take you right to it!
Enjoy!
LaCrosse Native Looks to Play Key Role for OU
Conor, thank you for another great piece on a small-town kid. You have such a gift for telling the stories that truly matter and our family and friends always enjoy reading your work, even when it's not about our Marshall :) Hays is blessed with a wonderful writer and person. I hope western Kansas appreciates your work as much as the Musil clan does!
Wednesday, August 4, 2010
The 2010 Season: It begins!
It's August 4th and all Sooner fans know what that means. Only one more triple digit temperature month before the Sooners kick off the 2010 season! And the Musil clan couldn't be more excited. Family members are planning which games they'll be attending and little cousins Brandon and Corey are already worried about whether they'll get to go out on the field after the game or not.
The Sooners met today for team meetings and physicals. If you go to Soonersports.com
you can view a short video of the team meeting with Blake, the equipment guy (as Marshall calls him...) Marsh is near the front in a black shirt. I tried to get it uploaded to this blog, but the website wasn't working with me. Here's the link:
Meeting
Coming up: Thursday is the first day of 2-a-days! Soonersports.com will begin their ritual of chronicling the whole sweaty ordeal. I'll be sure to update daily so you faithful Football Freelancer followers will be informed!
Thanks for following my blog. Marshall appreciates everyone's support and love. We're all looking forward to an amazing season of growth and learning. Boomer Sooner, GO OU!
The Sooners met today for team meetings and physicals. If you go to Soonersports.com
you can view a short video of the team meeting with Blake, the equipment guy (as Marshall calls him...) Marsh is near the front in a black shirt. I tried to get it uploaded to this blog, but the website wasn't working with me. Here's the link:Meeting
Coming up: Thursday is the first day of 2-a-days! Soonersports.com will begin their ritual of chronicling the whole sweaty ordeal. I'll be sure to update daily so you faithful Football Freelancer followers will be informed!
Thanks for following my blog. Marshall appreciates everyone's support and love. We're all looking forward to an amazing season of growth and learning. Boomer Sooner, GO OU!
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