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Here’s what you missed over the weekend: Sooners down another DB Oklahoma announced safety Marcus Trice would be transferring, which usually wouldn’t cause much of a ripple considering Trice played primarily special teams and didn’t crack the depth chart last season, eventually being moved to receiver. But as a freshman, Trice worked as a backup safety and looked ready to become a major contributor again as a sophomore. He didn’t, and rumors swirled that he  turned in defensive backs coach Willie Martinez for asking in a voicemail for an explanation of why Trice missed a voluntary workout, which is a secondary violation of NCAA rules. The violation forced Oklahoma to sit out a week during this offseason. Reached by the Tulsa World , however, Trice denied the rumors. “It wasn’t me,” Trice told the paper, “but I don’t and won’t throw anyone else under the bus.” He cited a desire for playing time, something that didn’t look like it was coming any time soon at Oklahoma, a school Trice said he grew up dreaming of playing for. A source at Oklahoma also told the paper that Trice wasn’t in bad graces with the coaches. Oklahoma won’t be hurt much by his departure, with Javon Harris, Sam Proctor or perhaps nickel back Tony Jefferson looking well prepared to take over for the Sooners’ departed safeties, Quinton Carter and Jonathan Nelson.  But it’s certainly an interesting case, more so than a routine transfer. The Sooners did get some good news, however. Receiver Dejuan Miller ’s career picked up steam with strong outings in wins over Cincinnati (3 rec., 66 yards) and Texas (5 rec., 61 yards) before a knee injury ended his season. He’s been cleared for action this spring, but won’t compete in contact drills or play full speed. Oklahoma’s receiving corps already has two outstanding options in Biletnikoff Award finalist Ryan Broyles and sophomore Kenny Stills , who broke Broyles’ freshman receiving record with 786 yards last year. Trey Franks came on late, as did tight end James Hanna and the Sooners signed a top receiver in Trey Metoyer in their 2011 class, but Miller returning to form could make them even deeper. Two Cyclones arrested Iowa State defensive end Jacob Lattimer and reserve tight end Ricky Howard were arrested over the weekend and suspended indefinitely. Lattimer, 22, faces charges of assault on a peace officer and interference with official acts. Howard, 20, is suspected of operating a vehicle while intoxicated. Lattimer moved from linebacker to defensive end last season and appeared in all 12 games, making 6.5 tackles for loss and four sacks. He also forced two fumbles. Howard did not play last season. Cowboys get punter back Oklahoma State had to play without Ray Guy semifinalist and All-Big 12 punter Quinn Sharp in the Alamo Bowl. The game carried on without incident thanks to a solid performance from Lou Groza Award winner Dan Bailey’s fill-in duties as kickoff specialist and punter, but the Cowboys won’t have to worry about any hiccups in 2011. The academic issues surrounding Sharp have been cleared up, and he’s been reinstated to the team , taking part in offseason conditioning and preparing for spring practice, which begins today in Stillwater. Barring any further changes, he should be ready to go for the season this fall. That’s great news for a team with legitimate Big 12 title aspirations. You never miss specialists like Sharp until something goes horribly wrong. The Cowboys won’t have to worry about that moving forward.

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Roundup: Players in, out, and off the field

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Best offensive player: Brandon Weeden , QB, Oklahoma . For all of Texas’ struggles this year, the secondary has still been pretty good, ranking second in pass defense this year. Well, before they ran into Weeden, who torched them for 409 yards through the air on 29-of-43 passing, including a gorgeous 67-yard rainbow to Justin Blackmon for a touchdown. Best defensive player: Quinton Carter, S, Oklahoma. More good performances this week than any other this year, but Carter owned the back line against a dangerous passing attack, helping keep Texas Tech at just seven points. Carter made 17 tackles, the most of any Oklahoma defensive back since Brandon Everage in 2002. He also had a pass breakup. Honorable mention: Orie Lemon, LB, Oklahoma State; Michael Sipili, LB, Colorado; Jared Crick, DT, Nebraska; Lavonte David, LB, Nebraska Best team performance: Texas A&M. The Aggies pitched a second-half shutout against a big-time Baylor offense and earned a 42-30 comeback victory on the road against the Bears to keep their slim South hopes alive. Honorable mention: Oklahoma. Best offensive freshman: Paul Richardson , WR, Colorado . Richardson’s becoming a consistent target opposite Scotty McKnight , and the lanky 6-foot-1, 175-pounder caught five passes for 121 yards in a win over Iowa State. Honorable mention: Kenny Stills , WR, Oklahoma. Best defensive freshman: Tre Walker, LB, Kansas State. Walker repeats this week, once again leading the Wildcats in tackles with 12. He also picked off a Blaine Gabbert pass and returned it 17 yards. Classiest gesture: Dan Hawkins . He said in his farewell news conference he’d be his team’s biggest fan down the stretch, and he made good on his word on Saturday, watching the game from a low-key perch on a balcony outside the offices he occupied for four-plus seasons in Boulder. You won’t see many other coaches do that. Best play: Weeden-to-Blackmon . Texas cornerback Aaron Williams covered the play perfectly, but Weeden hit a pinpoint pass over the top right into Blackmon’s arms for a game-changing 67-yard touchdown that put Oklahoma State up 16-3 in the second quarter. Most underrated play: Wes Kemp , WR, Missouri. Kemp hit the key block that freed up the last few yards of Blaine Gabbert’s 32-yard touchdown run in the second quarter. He decleated one defender, and blocked another on his follow-through to help give the Tigers an early 14-7 lead. Worst play: K-State’s fumblerooski

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Big 12 weekend rewind: Week 11

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Scouts, Inc. has released its list of the top 150 NFL prospects for the 2011 draft, and it’s got plenty of Big 12 talent from top to bottom. You’ll need an Insider account to see the whole list, but here’s a bit of how it relates to the Big 12. Three Big 12 teams were among the nation’s top 10 in possessing the most players on the list. Here’s where they stood: T-3. Nebraska. (6) T-3. Oklahoma (6) T-10. Texas (4) North Carolina and Ohio State topped the list, with seven total prospects in the top 150. But let’s take a closer look. Here’s a few notes/thoughts. The Big 12’s top overall prospect? Nebraska cornerback Prince Amukamara, who is the No. 1 cornerback. That echoes what NFL scouts have been saying for the past few months, and it’ll be interesting to see the battle between him and Aaron Williams (No. 6 cornerback) as the season moves on.

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Huskers, OU top list of elite NFL prospects

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Six SEC players, including Florida teammates Janoris Jenkins and Will Hill, are on the 2010 Jim Thorpe Award preseason watch list. The Jim Thorpe Award is presented annually to the nation’s best defensive back, and it hasn’t been an award that the SEC has dominated through the years. Tennessee safety Eric Berry was named the 2009 winner, but he was only the fourth SEC player in the last 20 years to win the award. That said, the SEC should have a good chance to make it two in a row this season. In addition to Jenkins and Hill, the other four from the conference on the preseason watch list are LSU cornerback Patrick Peterson, Alabama safety Mark Barron, South Carolina cornerback Stephon Gilmore and Georgia cornerback Brandon Boykin. The SEC, Big 12 and ACC all placed six players on the list, which included 35 players. Here’s the entire list: Prince Amukamara, CB, Nebraska Mark Barron, S, Alabama Brandon Boykin, CB, Georgia Curtis Brown, CB, Texas Kendric Burney, CB, North Carolina Brandon Burton, CB, Utah Rashad Carmichael, CB, Virginia Tech Quinton Carter, S, Oklahoma Chimdi Chekwa, CB, Ohio State Don Decicco, S, Pittsburgh Ras-I Dowling, CB, Virginia Blake Gideon, S, Texas Stephen Gilmore, CB, South Carolina Brandon Harris, CB, Miami Will Hill, S, Florida Jermale Hines, S, Ohio State Brandon Hogan, CB, West Virginia Davon House, CB, New Mexico State Duke Ihenacho, S, San Jose State Jaiquwn Jarrett, S, Temple Janoris Jenkins, CB, Florida Jeron Johnson, S, Boise State Tejay Johnson, S, TCU Shiloh Keo, S, Idaho Brian Lainhart, S, Kent State DeAndre McDaniel, S, Clemson Rahim Moore, S, UCLA Johnny Patrick, CB, Louisville Patrick Peterson, CB, LSU Tyler Sash, S, Iowa Robert Sands, S, West Virginia Jimmy Smith, CB, Colorado Trevin Wade, CB, Arizona Deunta Williams, S, North Carolina Aaron Williams, CB, Texas

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Six SEC players on Thorpe list

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