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College football is pretty much a year around deal these day, with little down time for coaches and players as they strive to reach championship form. Oklahoma assistant Kevin Sumlin took advantage of one of those rare breaks when he returned to his native Indianapolis to visit his family and attend the famed Indy 500 a few weeks ago.

Seeing all of those fast cars blazing around the track no doubt reminded Sumlin of some of the receivers he coaches back in Norman. The 2007 Sooners return one of the top pass catching corps in the Big 12, and with the emergence of some younger talent, it should again be a lot of fun to watch.

Sooner Spectator tracked OU’s co-offensive coordinator and receivers coach down to chat about his good hands squad and the 2007 campaign, among other things:

Sooner Spectator: What are your impressions of the receivers as they head into the summer and start preparing for fall practice?

Kevin Sumlin: Our goal as far as spring and coming out of last season was basically to be more consistent. When you are young, part of developing and maturing is being consistent. You can’t be really good one day and not so great the next, and I think our guys are really working in that direction.

With Malcolm Kelly being out this spring, it gave an opportunity for some other guys to get better. It put them in some situations, especially on some critical downs, where they got a chance to feel what it’s like. I thought, for the most part, all of our guys came out and competed and improved during the spring.

SS: Were there guys who stepped up big in Malcolm’s absence?

Wilson: I thought Juaquin had a year last season where he showed some really good signs at different times, went through a couple of rough spots and then finished up the season really strong. I thought he continued to get better during the spring. He did some of the little things. I felt we needed to be more physical as a group and our blocking needed to improve — and Juaquin’s certainly did.

Adron Tennell had an opportunity to take a step forward this spring and I thought he took advantage of that. With the exception of the spring game, he played very, very well. People forget Adron was a true freshman last year. He’s going to continue to get better with his size and strength — he’s gained about 20 pounds. He’s still got to grow into that body, but I thought the spring was big for him because he got a chance to be an every-down player.

Same thing with Brandon Caleb. He did a good job stepping up and improving his consistency. He was the one guy who scored a touchdown every scrimmage. Brandon got some valuable reps and you can’t ignore his progress.

We have some gifted athletes at that position, but its a matter of refining their athleticism into being receivers. I thought they took some steps in spring to do that and it put them in a position to compete this fall.

SS: How big of presence does a healthy Malcolm Kelly bring to the field?

Wilson: I don’t feel we are in a situation where there is just one player we look to. We’ve got a bunch of guys on this team who can make plays. Malcolm is certainly one of our best playmakers. How Malcolm rebounds from being out will dictate what role he will play for us early this season.

Obviously, he is a guy who will make the big catch. He’s a guy who can make plays in a crowd, sometimes on balls that probably shouldn’t be caught. There’s no question we want Malcolm to get his touches during the course of the season.

SS: How important is it for veterans like Malcolm, Juaquin and Manuel Johnson to be leaders on this team?

Wilson: Well, they are all juniors so you certainly can’t call them young anymore. They all understand the offense and they realize what it takes to succeed at this level. But they are not a real vocal crew. Malcolm has talked about it — they all love the game and want to do whatever it takes to be successful. But their role as leaders is probably going to come through more in the example they set.

(Editor's Note: Read the rest of this interview in the 2007 Football Preview issue of Sooner Spectator. Subscribe today by calling toll free ... 1-888-335-4385)