Bob Stoops Quotations | Page 2

We felt, as a staff, we're going to start Thompson. We feel that he has earned it to this point.

We felt we needed to bolster our team along the offensive line because we had the fewest number of scholarship players returning at those positions. We feel like we met our needs. We recruit the kind of players that we feel can play early in their careers.

They outplayed us and outcoached us in most all areas, ... I felt we would be stronger and have a little more attitude than this. I told the players that just because you've done it before doesn't mean you're going to do it again. They may have tuned me out.

We're going to give Rhett Bomar an opportunity to start and see where he takes us,

We're going to give Rhett Bomar and opportunity to start and see where he takes us,

We're going to give Rhett Bomar a chance to start and see where he takes it. By no means am I sitting here saying that Paul Thompson is responsible for the way we played Saturday. That's not the case. We had a lot of guys, mostly older guys, play as poorly as I have seen them play. We feel Rhett deserves the same opportunity that Paul had.

When we did protect him, we didn't convert our opportunities.

What he has been able to do is just remarkable.

He wasn't making the cuts he was used to making. We knew there was a chance he may not play.

They're still learning and improving as they go, but they played with some attitude and toughness that we needed, ... I believe we'll build off of that.