NORMAN, Okla. -- Maybe one of the reasons Bob Stoops and the Oklahoma staff were so mum about who would be quarterback at Oklahoma was because the Sooners were doing more than figuring out who the quarterback would be.
According to Dean Blevins of KWTV in Oklahoma City, Stoops brought in former Nevada coach Chris Ault to learn the Pistol offense – the offense that Collin Kaepernick ran for the Wolfpack before leading San Francisco to the Super Bowl last February – during spring practice.
Clearly, the Sooners were impressed by what quarterback Trevor Knight could do while running the scout team a season ago, including mimicking Texas A&M quarterback Johnny Manziel before the Cotton Bowl.
Knight ran for a game-high 103 yards in the season opener against ULM in his first start for the Sooners.
The switch to Knight at quarterback is a significant one as OU has distanced itself from the drop-back passing style of Landry Jones, who started the past three seasons. Before Jones, Sam Bradford started for the Sooners and played the same style, too.
And while Stoops is quick to say Knight is a good thrower and will get even better, it's fairly obvious the Sooners were intrigued by Knight's ability to scramble and run.
The Pistol offense features a quarterback in the Shotgun formation with two backs next to the quarterback and one behind the quarterback.
In addition to bringing in Ault, who is credited with inventing the Pistol, the Sooners also hired Bill Bedenbaugh as the new offensive line coach.
Follow Andrew Gilman on Twitter: @andrewgilmanOK
