New quarterback or not, Oklahoma to rely on Peterson

NORMAN, Okla. (AP) Oklahoma may have lost its starting quarterback, but fans can take heart in this simple fact: Adrian Peterson is still a Sooner. <br/><br/>The hard to tackle halfback who set an NCAA

Friday, August 18th 2006, 5:07 am

By: News On 6

NORMAN, Okla. (AP) Oklahoma may have lost its starting quarterback, but fans can take heart in this simple fact: Adrian Peterson is still a Sooner.

The hard to tackle halfback who set an NCAA freshman rushing record is healthy again after an injury riddled sophomore season.

Peterson said he's ready for as many carries as the Sooners need. He didn't flinch when coach Bob Stoops suggested the junior tailback might get up to 35 in a game.

Quarterback Rhett Bomar and lineman J.D. Quinn in early August were kicked off the team for violating NCAA work rules.

Stoops reinstalled 5th year senior Paul Thompson as the starter, almost a year after Thompson lost the job to Bomar and moved to receiver.

At receiver, OU will rely on young wideouts led by Malcolm Kelly and Juaquin Iglesias.

Leading tackler Rufus Alexander skipped a chance to enter the NFL draft to earn his degree and anchor the Oklahoma linebacking corps for one more season.