Fall Injuries Mounting Up for Sooners

Add Roy Finch and Frank Alexander to the list of the Oklahoma Sooners' walking wounded.

Bob Stoops announced today that the running back Finch has a hairline fracture in his foot, which supposedly puts him out six to eight weeks. Even though Stoops may say differently, I'd guess the shifty freshman has a 50-50 shot at being redshirted.

As is the case with linebacker Austin Box's back injury, the Sooners are fortunate to have more than enough depth at running back to weather Finch's absence. While his name has been brought up frequently during the offseason as a candidate to play right away, the reality is that Finch probably would have seen spot duty in the backfield.

However, for the time being, the loss of Finch does take an intriguing weapon out of offensive coordinator Kevin Wilson's arsenal. With his speed and elusiveness, Finch possesses the potential to be a nightmare matchup working out of the slot.

Alexander's ankle sprain sounds far less serious. Whether or not the junior defensive ends plays against Utah State probably won't make a difference, so Sooner fans shouldn't be shocked if Alexander sits out the season opener. Florida State's potent offense comes to town a week later, posing a far tougher test for OU's D, so better to have him ready then.