The Huntsville Item, Huntsville, TX

Sports

Discussion

August 10, 2006

Former Sooner Bomar interested in being a Bearkat

SHSU coach talks to quarterback during Huntsville visit

By Cody Stark

There was big news swirling around the Sam Houston State athletic department Wednesday afternoon about the possibility of the Bearkats landing two Division I football transfers.

SHSU athletic director Bobby Williams confirmed that former Oklahoma quarterback Rhett Bomar and offensive lineman J.D. Quinn both have expressed interest in transferring to play for the Bearkats.

“We are one of the schools they are considering transferring to,” Williams said in a phone interview Wednesday afternoon. “We can’t say much more than that at this point. We have to make sure that we go through the correct process the same way we have with other transfers in the past.”

Bomar, a sophomore, was dismissed by the Sooners after a team investigation revealed he had made up to $18,000 while working at a car dealership in Norman, Okla., and filed for 40-hour work weeks despite only working five hours a week. Quinn, Bomar’s roommate, was also dismissed.

Bomar and his father, Jerry, were seen in Huntsville on Tuesday and Wednesday meeting with SHSU athletic department personnel about possibly enrolling at SHSU.

Bearkats head coach Todd Whitten said he met with the Bomars.

“We have spoken with them,” Whitten said Wednesday. “There isn’t much we can say, but we have talked about the possibility (of him transferring to SHSU).”

Reports have linked Bomar to other universities over the last few days including Houston, North Texas, TCU and Texas State-San Marcos.

Bomar and his father were headed to Houston to meet with University of Houston head coach Art Briles on Tuesday night. In an interview with sportscaster Mark Berman of KRIV-TV in Houston, Jerry Bomar said his son could shine in the Cougars’ offensive system.

“Coach Briles has an outstanding offensive system,” Jerry Bomar told KRIV. “His scheme is quarterback-friendly and fits everything Rhett has done.”

The Cougars run a wide-open attack, spreading the field with multiple wide receivers. It is similar to the offense SHSU runs under Whitten and offensive coordinator James Ferguson.

Several Division I quarterbacks have transferred to SHSU and flourished under Whitten, Ferguson and former head coach Ron Randleman at SHSU. Chris Chaloupka transferred from Oklahoma State and was named Southland Conference Player of the Year in 1999 while Whitten was offensive coordinator for Randleman. Ferguson helped guide Josh McCown (SMU) in 2001 and Dustin Long (Texas A&M;) in 2004 to SLC Player of the Year honors and into the Division I-AA playoffs.

Long also set an SLC single-season record for passing yards (4,588) and touchdowns (39) en route to leading the Kats into the semifinal round of the playoffs and a No. 4 season-ending ranking, both the best in school history.

Bomar faces the possibility of an NCAA suspension when and if he is reinstated. Several Texas A&M; players were suspended for similar violations in 1993.

The problem facing Bomar if he decides to transfer to another Division I school is he will have to sit out a full season because of NCAA regulations. If he is suspended a few games this season, he will have to serve that suspension after sitting out a year, significantly cutting into his eligibility.

But if he chooses the I-AA route, the transfer rule is waived and he could play this year after he serves his suspension. Bomar then would have two full years of eligibility remaining.

“If they decide to transfer here, we will have to deal with the process of their violations and go with it from there,” Williams said. “We would have to address the different suspension possibilities. There are a lot of issues, and we will deal with it if it happens.”

Bomar was a top-rated recruit out of Grand Prairie High School. He took a red shirt in 2004, then started Oklahoma’s final 11 games last season and set a Sooner freshman passing record with 2,018-yards. He also threw 10 touchdowns and 10 interceptions, guiding Oklahoma to six wins over the final seven games, including a Holiday Bowl victory over Oregon.

Quinn, also a sophomore, started four games at guard for the Sooners in 2005.

Text Only
Sports
  • 2-11-kriston-driving.jpg Hornets still rocking

    The Hornets knocked off another one Friday night and improved their playoff chances immensely. Led by seniors Kriston Minor and Abram Veasey, the Huntsville boys basketball team bounced the Bulldogs from Summer Creek 52-38 to improve to 6-7 in District 18-4A play.

    February 10, 2012 1 Photo

  • Bulldogs back in the playoffs

    Centerville didn’t mess around with the Bulldogs Friday night and almost snuck out of New Waverly with a win.
    But thanks to junior point guard Brent Purvis making four out of five free throws at the end of the game, the Dogs came away with a 57-54 victory and solidified their third-place standing in District 23-2A.

    February 10, 2012

  • Hornet swimmers positioned well for today’s regional finals

    All the Huntsville swimmers wanted to do and needed to do in the regional swimming meet was to put themselves in position to qualify for state. Well, consider that mission accomplished. In every event in which Huntsville qualified for in the Class 4A Region V swimming meet, no matter whether it was as an individual or in a relay, the Hornets and Lady Hornets finished among the top eight in the preliminaries Friday to advance to today’s finals at the Magnolia ISD Natatorium.

    February 10, 2012

  • Hornet golfers get out to strong start in Bastrop

    Halfway into their latest tournament, the Hornets are set up well to win quite a bit of hardware. Following the first 18 holes in the Evans-Dodson Memorial golf tournament in Bastrop, the Huntsville boys are just four shots off the pace and have a pair of players within range from sitting atop the individual medalist leaderboard.

    February 10, 2012

  • Huntsville wrestlers gain experience at regional meet

    The experience wasn’t as long as they would’ve hoped, but they’ll take it just the same. Competing in the regional meet in Katy, a pair of Huntsville wrestlers earned hard-fought, elusive wins, but fell in the consolation quarterfinals.

    February 10, 2012

  • 2-10-hornet-swimming-jaron-wagner.jpg Raring to go

    They’re as ready as they’re going to be. With two weeks to prepare from their district meet, the Huntsville swimmers will take the next step toward qualifying for state today. Over the next two days, a group of Hornets and Lady Hornets will take part in the Class 4A Region V swimming meet at the Magnolia I.S.D. Natatorium with the preliminaries taking place today and the finals on Saturday.

    February 9, 2012 2 Photos

  • Next week’s playoff matchups all set

    After spending countless hours in the gym, the hard work has paid off for both the girls basketball teams from Huntsville and New Waverly. Now the fun begins as the Class 4A and 2A girls basketball playoffs get going next week.

    February 9, 2012

  • Scott: Kats still looking for go-to guy

    February 9, 2012

  • College Scene: Former Hornets doing well at respective colleges

    February 9, 2012

  • 2-9-gatlin-driving.jpg OUTGUNNED: First-place Mavericks shoot down Sam Houston, run winning streak to 14

    Texas-Arlington had an answer for every Sam Houston run Wednesday night on the way to a 75-63 victory over the Bearkats. It was the Mavericks’ 14th consecutive win and improved their Southland Conference record to 10-0.
    The last team to start league action with such perfection was Sam Houston in 2010, a team which won the conference’s regular season as well as the postseason tournament championship.

    February 8, 2012 1 Photo