'He kept his word': How Spencer Rattler fulfilled promise to Jadon Haselwood in OU's rout of WCU

NORMAN — Spencer Rattler is a man of his word.

The Oklahoma quarterback had a laundry list of issues to address after a shaky Week 1 win over Tulane, but he still found time to pull Jadon Haselwood to the side in the days leading up to the team's Week 2 matchup against Western Carolina.

After missing most of last season due to a knee injury, Haselwood had a mostly uneventful return in the Sooners' 40-35 win over the Green Wave. The redshirt sophomore recorded 47 yards on four receptions, so Rattler made him a promise for the upcoming game against the Catamounts.

"I told him before the game 'I'm gonna get you in that end zone a couple of times,'" Rattler said. "And that's what we did. He came off the ball aggressive tonight and had a bunch of one-on-ones that he won... He played very well tonight."

It didn't take long for that promise to materialize on Saturday.

OU earned a 76-0 win over Western Carolina, and Rattler kicked off the fireworks display in fitting fashion. The field general marched the Sooners down the field on their first drive of the game and ultimately found Haselwood in the end zone for a 7-yard touchdown toss.

But Rattler wasn't done showing the five-star wideout some love.

Now up 38-0 with at the Catamounts' 6-yard line with 1:58 left in the second quarter, Rattler took the snap and quickly lobbed a pass in Haselwood's direction.

Western Carolina's Ronald Kent Jr. did all he could to contest it, but the 6-foot-3 receiver elevated for the catch in the end zone.

"(Rattler) kept his word," Haselwood said. "I'm glad I could just contribute to the team, put some points on the board and make the coaches and my family proud."

Haselwood finished with 19 receiving yards and two touchdowns on four receptions in the winning effort.

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Danny Stud-sman

Don't forget about Danny Stutsman.

Oklahoma's defense is as star-studded as it gets in college football, but that didn't stop the freshman linebacker from catching the staff's attention this offseason.

"He plays fearless," inside linebackers coach Brian Odom said during a media day on Aug. 17. "He's a willing guy. He runs around. He runs fast. He pursues to the ball. He's got closing speed... I'm extremely excited about his future here at the University of Oklahoma."

Those offseason efforts translated to the regular season on Saturday.

Stutsman racked up a team-high eight total tackles, and seven of them were solo takedowns. He also forced one fumble.

"I love Danny," senior defensive lineman Perrion Winfrey said. "That boy runs to the ball every play and we love him for that. He's crazy. He's a little cuckoo in the head."

Stutsman's breakout night abruptly ended in the fourth quarter due to an arm injury. He wrote on Twitter after the game that he'll undergo a CT scan on Sunday.

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Run with it

Jaden Knowles and Todd Hudson were expected to get an opportunity on Saturday against Western Carolina, and that proved to be the case.

After entering halftime with a commanding 45-0 lead, head coach Lincoln Riley called the numbers of the two walk-on running backs in the second half and watched as both players made the most of it.

Knowles finished with 37 rushing yards and two touchdowns on four carries. The redshirt junior also recorded 65 receiving yards on two receptions.

"I was glad to get the opportunity and to play for The O and the Sooners," Knowles said. "It was a long journey... But you just gotta trust the process and believe in myself and the people around me that's supporting me. We here."

Hudson also made his mark on the game. The redshirt sophomore racked up 25 rushing yards and two touchdowns on nine carries.

"They make a lot of plays in practice, so I wasn't really like surprised by that," Rattler said when asked about the two running backs. "Those two guys can play... They play well off each other and we never know when we'll need them, so those are two good guys to have."

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Quarterback contributions

Backup quarterbacks Caleb Williams and Ralph Rucker saw some action on Saturday.

Williams finished the contest with 84 passing yards (5-for-10) and 60 rushing yards on four carries.

Meanwhile, Rucker recorded 20 passing yards (2-for-2) and led the Sooners down the field for a touchdown in his only drive of the night.

"I was proud of the way Caleb came in there and played," head coach Lincoln Riley said. "Not obviously the easiest situation to go into sometimes in that you don't have the full offense at your disposal and you obviously use clock, and I thought he handled it well... Then Ralph came in and did a good job leading us to score in his one drive, too."

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Brkic Bomb

Gabe Brkic made headlines during OU’s Week 1 win over Tulane.

The redshirt junior kicker showed off his leg by drilling a 56-yard field goal, which marked a career-long make and set the record for the longest made field goal without a tee in OU program history.

And then he did it again on Saturday.

Brkic lined up for yet another 56-yard field goal attempt during the first quarter, and this time he sailed it through the uprights with what looked to be 10 yards of pasture to spare.

Brkic went 1-for-1 on field-goal attempts and 6-for-6 on PATs in the Week 2 victory. 

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Injury updates

In addition to Stutsman, two other OU players sustained injuries on Saturday.

Freshman defensive back Billy Bowman went down on the first drive of the contest and spent the rest of the night on the sideline with an ice pack on his right knee. Sophomore wide receiver Brian Darby then suffered a lower-body injury while making a catch in the second quarter.

"As far as some of the guys that got dinged up, we’ll have to take a look at them," Riley said. "I don’t think there was anything serious right now but we’ll see how some of them respond when we look at them tonight."

Redshirt sophomore linebacker Jamal Morris didn’t dress out and donned a cast on his left hand, while junior wide receiver Theo Wease continued to sit out due to a leg injury he suffered prior to the start of the season.

Sophomore outside linebacker Brynden Walker, redshirt freshman defensive back Kendall Dennis, redshirt sophomore offensive lineman Marcus Alexander and freshman offensive lineman Cullen Montgomery also didn’t play due to undisclosed reasons.

Justin Martinez can be reached at jmartinez@oklahoman.com or @JTheSportsDude on Twitter. Make sure to subscribe to The Oklahoman to stay up to date with all local sports.