— NORMAN – The hard part of Oklahoma’s preseason camp ended Friday. It was the final practice before school starts Monday. The two-a-days are over. The routine for the season that begins in 13 days can now begin.

For most, it’s the best time of the year. The monotony is over.

“It was great. I really like our players and where they’re at mentally and physically,” defensive coordinator Mike Stoops said. “I think we’re in a good position going into our preparation for the season.”

The defense is the side of the ball that is under the most scrutiny this season. It’s been installing a new system and identifying starters in crucial roles. The last two weeks have been a critical time. This was, after all, the building block for how it will play this season.

But a couple seniors believe the scheme wasn’t the only way preseason camp differed from others.

“At least with the defense, it was more maturity,” defensive end R.J. Washington said. “It’s guys knowing we can’t just go through the motions, we can’t just walk through practice. Every day we’re trying to get better at little things. By the time you add up all those little steps, you’ve made a big amount of progression.”

The Sooners are coming off a 10-3 season in which those progressions weren’t obvious. It reached its peak in the middle of the year when the goal is to keep progressing throughout. That is something that still gnaws at returning starters. They’ve talked about it since pads were issued earlier this month.

“I guess you could say it was a new attitude,” cornerback Demontre Hurst said. “We want to redeem ourselves after last year. …This camp went really well. It’s been the most productive camp I’ve been in.”

Of course, none of that will be on display until the Sooners open the season Sept. 1 at UTEP. But they believe they’ve answered some of the critical questions they had going into practice.

For one, Mike Stoops believes the secondary has been shored up.

“We’re pretty athletic everywhere. I like our athleticism, I like our team speed,” he said.

Getting players into the right spots has been the goal. Moving Aaron Colvin back to the cornerback spot after playing safety last season has been positive. Allowing Corey Nelson to settle in at weakside linebacker has provided some confidence. Both were critical spots the Sooners had to fill.

The suspension of defensive tackle Stacy McGee threw a wrench into the spokes this week, causing some shuffling along the defensive line. OU believes it has the depth to handle McGee’s absence.

The biggest offensive issue entering camp was the lack of experience at wide receiver. When it began, Kenny Stills was the only eligible player who had caught a pass in a major college game. True freshman Trey Metoyer showed in the spring he’s capable of having a major impact, but it was only spring. The concerns seemed to dissipate with the arrival of Penn State transfer Justin Brown and the heralded group of incoming receivers showing what they could do.

“Justin Brown has really added a ton,” OU coach Bob Stoops said. “Kenny and Trey have been consistently really solid. And then the young guys are coming on. It’s coming together. We’ll see, but they’ve been really solid.”

The only offensive problem that cropped up since practice began was the season-ending injury to senior guard Tyler Evans. He was the second starter OU lost for the season after center Ben Habern retired from football due to a neck injury. OU believes guard Adam Shead and Bronson Irwin were ready to be full-time starters when practice started. Nothing has changed that opinion over the last two weeks.