Oklahoma sets spring practice kickoff

After last year's spring practice was shut down by the pandemic, this year's will be conducted behind established COVID protocols

John E. Hoover|

Oklahoma sets spring practice kickoff

Not this year, COVID.

Oklahoma will start spring practice on March 22, the school announced in a press release on Friday.

The Sooners got in one spring practice a year ago before the Coronavirus pandemic shut down all athletic activities.

While some schools started earlier and got in more practice, OU got one more than a lot of schools did.

The uncertainty that permeated college football last spring carried over into what became a largely disjointed season. The Sooners lost their first two Big 12 Conference games for the first time in 21 years, but then came back to win their sixth consecutive Big 12 title.

The university will continue to stringently follow established COVID protocols. For instance, all media interviews this spring will continue to be conducted via video conference.

Also, OU’s Pro Day — formally announced for next Friday, March 12 — will include no media in attendance for the first time. The event will be live streamed on SoonerSports.tv and SoonerSports app starting at 9 a.m.

Published Mar 5, 2021

John is an award-winning journalist whose work spans five decades in Oklahoma, with multiple state, regional and national awards as a sportswriter at various newspapers. During his newspaper career, John covered the Dallas Cowboys, the Kansas City Chiefs, the Oklahoma Sooners, the Oklahoma State Cowboys, the Arkansas Razorbacks and much more. In 2016, John changed careers, migrating into radio and launching a YouTube channel, and has built a successful independent media company, DanCam Media. From there, John has written under the banners of Sporting News, Sports Illustrated, Fan Nation and a handful of local and national magazines while hosting daily sports talk radio shows in Oklahoma City, Tulsa and statewide. John has also spoken on Capitol Hill in Oklahoma City in a successful effort to put more certified athletic trainers in Oklahoma public high schools. Among the dozens of awards he has won, John most cherishes his national "Beat Writer of the Year" from the Associated Press Sports Editors, Oklahoma's "Best Sports Column" from the Society of Professional Journalists, and Two "Excellence in Sports Medicine Reporting" Awards from the National Athletic Trainers Association. John holds a bachelor's degree in Mass Communications from East Central University in Ada, OK. Born and raised in North Pole, Alaska, John played football and wrote for the school paper at Ada High School in Ada, OK. He enjoys books, movies and travel, and lives in Broken Arrow, OK, with his wife and two kids.

Follow johnehoover