Freshman quarterback John O’Korn could get his first start Saturday against Rice. | Justin Tijerina/ The Daily Cougar
After freshman quarterback John O’Korn fumbled deep inside Temple territory, he jogged to the sideline expecting his head coach to yell at him.
With 8:16 remaining in the game, the Cougars held only a 15-13 lead. The turnover gave Temple another opportunity to take the lead, but instead of shouting at his young quarterback and possibly shaking his confidence, Tony Levine instead offered a handshake and words of encouragement.
“I met him at the sideline and put my hand out and shook his hand and said, ‘That’s OK, don’t worry about that, we’ve got a lot of football left and we need you to help us win this football game,’” Levine said.
“That’s a moment that’s critical in the stage he’s at — not that I’m going to be yelling at a bunch of quarterbacks coming off the field, but (especially with) him playing his second collegiate game on the road, on TV, in front of all his family and friends.”
With the confidence of teammates and the coaching staff, O’Korn could get his chance to command the offense this week.
After playing the entire second half against Temple, he could start his first career game Saturday in the Bayou Bucket. Junior quarterback David Piland suffered a head injury in the first half, and his status for Saturday’s contest is still uncertain.
Levine said he would have no problems starting the 18-year-old because the moment is not too big for him, especially after O’Korn helped engineer a comeback victory during his first conference game on the road.
“With the stage last week, having it on TV, actually where he is from with all his friends and family there, it was not too big for him,” Levine said.
“He went in the game when we were losing — and he didn’t play a perfect game, I said that before — but he came back and led us to victory. He showed tremendous poise and leadership for a guy who has been here a couple of months.”
O’Korn has better numbers than Piland so far this season. The freshman has 340 yards with three touchdowns and a 74 percent completion percentage, while Piland has 220 yards and one touchdown. However, senior cornerback Zachary McMillian said both bring unique qualities to the position.
“Piland is great at disguising what he does,” McMillian said. “If he wants to go right, he’s going to make you think he’s going left … O’Korn is good at throwing that deep ball. He can drop it right on the dime even with great coverage.”
If O’Korn does pick up his first start, the bye week gave him a chance to get extra practice reps, which are valuable for a freshman.
Sophomore offensive lineman Zach Johnson said O’Korn is still getting better.
“Since he was a freshman, I don’t know how much they expected out of him coming in, but he’s really set the bar on his expectations,” Johnson said. “He’s done a really good job. He’s a heck of a competitor. He’s going to be really good.”
Good luck!! Cougar alumni will be in full effect cheering on the Coogs Saturday. Let’s keep the Bucket where it belongs!
Oko Cinco is a future star in the making and will be another great representative for the University and football program. I see him one day being mentioned in the same breath as former greats of the game like Danny Davis, Andre Ware, David Klingler, Kevin Kolb and Case Keenum.
Yeah, and his greatness will pave the way for his successor and so on and so on. We are a quarterback producing machine that puts them in the NFL. We have a culture that will not be denied.
O’Korn has already shown us a lot and he will only improve with more playing time. GO COOGS!
Word is that Okorn is transferring to another school next year. Turns out he went online to the coogfans forums and didn’t like the censorship and anti-newbie attitude by the mods and admins there. So he is gone.
Too bad. he could have been a great coogs. But he was driven off by the powertrippers on the coogfans forum.
He should have gone to the “Coog It” forum instead. Great place for coogs there without the fear of censorship
Who the hell are you!!!??? What a crock!
I am dan’s love coach. I teach him the ways of lust and power. Shall I teach you, too, grasshopper?
It’ll be exciting to see John develop. He’s been wanting to be a Coog ever since he committed, and I know he feels the love around Cougar Nation. The alumni definitely feel comforted by his arrival and performance so far. Eat Em Up!