Sam Bradford and a few others decide to come back to Oklahoma

Oklahoma quarterback Sam Bradford announced Wednesday that he will return to college for another season.

The Heisman Trophy winner's announcement came at the same time that two other key offensive teammates similarly announced they will be coming back. Tackle Trent Williams and tight end Jermaine Gresham will return. Oklahoma defensive tackle Gerald McCoy announced he would return for next season earlier this week.

Bradford had been projected as a first-round draft choice and among the first quarterbacks selected in the draft. But the chance to return and lead Oklahoma to its first national championship since 2000 and direct the Sooners to an unprecedented fourth straight Big 12 title lured him back.

"After looking at all the information and the opportunities, I feel that it's in the best interest for me to come back," Bradford said.

"I've dreamed about playing at Oklahoma since I was little," Bradford said. "My three years here have been probably three of the best years of my life. ... I feel there's no need to cut this experience short."

Bradford led the nation with 50 touchdown passes and in pass efficiency. He ranked third with 4,720 passing yards. His 86 touchdown passes is by far the NCAA's record for players after two seasons.

The announcement came six days after the Sooners lost 24-14 to Florida in the FedEx BCS Championship Game in Miami. It was the Sooners' fifth straight BCS bowl game loss and third consecutive loss in a championship game.

"I did go back and forth several times and I really didn't put much thought into it before the national championship game," Bradford said. "So there's a lot to comprehend in a short period of time. But I feel like this is where my heart is and where I want to be."

Bradford's decision marks the fourth time in the past six seasons that a Heisman Trophy winner has elected to return for another college season after claiming college football's most prestigious individual honor.

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Bob Stoops makes it clear he is an Oklahoma Sooner for now...

MIAMI SHORES, Fla. -- It's becoming an annual event: A prime coaching job opens up, Bob Stoops' name lands on the supposed short list of candidates, only for him to say he's happy at Oklahoma.

The latest supposed will-he-or-won't-he scenario: Stoops to the Denver Broncos?

Not happening, Stoops said Saturday after his team practiced at Barry University, just a few miles south of the site of Thursday's Bowl Championship Series title game between his Sooners and the Florida Gators.

"What situation? That's a rumor that I have not heard and no one has contacted me about that so I don't know anything about it," Stoops said. "We're preparing for a national championship, that's all my focus, all my concentration is on that, so obviously I'm not a candidate. I'm sure someone might have told me ... if I was."

The Broncos fired Mike Shanahan after 14 seasons on Tuesday.

"There's no story," Stoops said. "I'm not a candidate. This is the first I've heard about it."

Maybe so, but Oklahoma offensive coordinator Kevin Wilson -- who's from Colorado -- said he heard rumblings of Denver having interest in his boss, who just completed 10 years with the Sooners and earned a $3 million bonus for lasting a decade at the school.

"I love Colorado, but I don't know if that's for him," Wilson said.

Denver already has put together a list of strong candidates, including New York Giants defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo, New England Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels, Tampa Bay Buccaneers defensive coordinator Raheem Morris and Dallas Cowboys offensive coordinator Jason Garrett. Also, Rick Dennison -- the offensive coordinator under Shanahan -- wants an interview as well.

Stoops indicated that he would try to shoot down the rumor with his players.

"It won't take long," Stoops said.

Still, even if there really is no interest in the Denver job, Stoops hasn't closed the door on one day giving the NFL a try.

"At some point in my life or career, that may be the case," Stoops said.

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DeMarco Murray out for BCS title game wIth hamstring

NORMAN, Okla. -- Oklahoma running back DeMarco Murray will have surgery to repair a partial rupture of his left hamstring tendon and will not play in the FedEx BCS National Championship Game against the Florida Gators on Jan. 8.

Murray, the Sooners' second-leading rusher, was injured on the opening kickoff of the Big 12 championship game on Dec. 6. The Sooners initially believed Murray had suffered a bruise, but an MRI exam revealed the injury to be more serious. Surgery has been scheduled for Dec. 22, the university said.

The school said that according to head trainer Scott Anderson, it will be about five months before Murray is cleared to resume training.

Murray scored 18 touchdowns and accounted for 1,397 yards of total offense (1,002 rushing, just eight fewer than team rushing leader Chris Brown) this season, or 19.1 percent of Oklahoma's 7,307 yards from scrimmage. The Sooners' 7,307 yards of total offense was second in the Football Bowl Subdivision in 2008, 39 yards behind Tulsa.

"Obviously we're very disappointed for DeMarco," Oklahoma coach Bob Stoops said. "He has been an important part of our success this year and we will miss his contributions. DeMarco has had an incredible year. "

"With Chris Brown and Mossis Madu, we still have two very fine backs. Our team has a lot of confidence in their abilities."

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ROUND #1 GOES TO SAM BRADFORD & THE SOONERS

NEW YORK -- Sam Bradford's biggest score: the Heisman Trophy.

Oklahoma's amazingly accurate and quick-thinking quarterback won the Heisman on Saturday night after guiding the highest-scoring team in major college football history to the national championship game.

A year after Tim Tebow became the first sophomore to win the Heisman, Bradford became the second and kept the Florida quarterback from joining Archie Griffin as the only two-time winners.

Bradford, who leads the nation in touchdown passes with 48, received 1,726 points. Texas quarterback Colt McCoy was second with 1,604 and Tebow -- who received the most first-place votes -- was third with 1,575 points.

"I was definitely surprised and I think it's everything I imagined," said Bradford, who raised the 25-pound bronze statue with his left hand still in a cast from a recent surgery. "I think it will take a couple weeks to set in."

It was the closest vote between the top two since Nebraska's Eric Crouch edged Florida's Rex Grossman by 62 points in 2001. The only other time the margin between first and third was smaller was also '01, when Miami's Ken Dorsey was 142 points behind Crouch.

Bradford and the No. 2 Sooners (12-1) will face Tebow and the No. 1 Gators (12-1) on Jan. 8 in Miami, marking the second time Heisman winners will play against each other. The first was in the 2005 Orange Bowl, when '04 winner Matt Leinart and Southern California beat '03 winner Jason White and Oklahoma for the national title.

The Big 12 South was the epicenter of college football this season, with both the national championship race and Heisman chase turning weekly on games played by its three powerhouse teams.

McCoy was the early Heisman front-runner after leading the Longhorns to the No. 1 ranking with a victory against Oklahoma in October. Texas Tech's Graham Harrell, who finished a distant fourth in Heisman voting, then moved to the forefront after he tossed a last-second, game-winning touchdown pass to beat Texas a month later.

But Bradford closed strongest, leading his team to a string of blowout victories, including one against Texas Tech, and a spot -- even if it was somewhat controversial -- in the BCS title game.

Bradford leads the nation in passer rating (186.3) and has thrown for 4,464 yards, directing the Sooners' fast-paced, no-huddle offense.

Oklahoma has already racked up 702 points to blow past the record of 656 set by Hawaii in 2006, and last week the Sooners became the first major college team in 89 years to score at least 60 in five straight games.

"This is an individual award but I feel like I'm receiving it on behalf of my teammates," Bradford said. "I feel like our whole offense bails me out every game," Bradford said. "They make me look good."

Bradford is the fifth Oklahoma player to win the award, and second during coach Bob Stoops' 10 seasons with the Sooners. Bradford matched White by taking home college football's most famous bronze statue. Next he'd like to join Josh Heupel, his position coach and a Heisman runner-up, who quarterbacked OU to the 2000 national title.

"You were one of my heroes growing up," Bradford told Heupel, one of many former Heisman winners at the ceremony.

Bradford wasn't projected to be the Sooners' next star quarterback coming out of high school in Oklahoma City. He arrived in Norman with little fanfare and not enough weight on his 6-foot-4 frame.

In his recruiting class, Rhett Bomar was the much-hyped, five-star recruit, but he eventually was kicked off the team because of NCAA violations.

Turns out, losing Bomar wasn't that big a loss.

After redshirting in his freshman season, Bradford won the starting job last year and it took him little time to show that he had no plans of giving it up.

Bradford went on the set an NCAA record for TD passes by a freshman with 36. He completed 69 percent of his passes for 3,121 yards and led Oklahoma to an 11-3 season. And he was only warming up.

While no match for Tebow and McCoy as a runner, Bradford's Heisman moment came on a scramble against Oklahoma State in the regular-season finale. He sprinted away from pressure, turned up the sideline and about 5 yards from the end zone tried to vault headfirst to the goal line. Bradford got hit and flipped, arms and legs whipping around, and landed hard out of bounds, but popped right up. On the next play, he sneaked into the end zone from a yard out.

The face of the Sooners' latest national championship contender has also become a hero to a nation.

Bradford is 1-16th Cherokee, through his great-great grandmother Susie Walkingstick. Bradford admittedly knew little about his Native-American roots growing up, but he's developed an enormous following among Oklahoma's large Native-American population.

Then again, these days it'd be hard to find anyone more popular throughout Oklahoma than Bradford.

Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press

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#1 OKLAHOMA SOONERS VS. #2 FLORIDA GATORS

#1 Oklahoma and Sam Bradford will take on #2 Florida and Tim Tebow in the BCS FedEx Championship Game

BELOW IS A COMPLETE LIST OF THE 2008-2009 BOWL SCHEDULE:

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