Fiesta Bowl notebook: Sooners’ Kelly doesn’t miss a beat without Bomar

Malcolm Kelly thought he and Rhett Bomar were going to do some serious damage together when he came to Oklahoma two years ago. Bomar, the quarterback, throwing to him, the wide receiver, for years to come.

It worked out when both were freshman, as Kelly caught 33 balls for 471 yards and two touchdowns almost exclusively from Bomar.

But then, just days before fall practice this year, Bomar was dismissed from the team for NCAA rule violations.

“It was a shock,” Kelly said. “All during recruiting, that was one of the main reasons I came to this school, because I knew he was going to be the quarterback. I don’t know, I guess life just throws you stuff and you have to react to it. I had no choice. Nobody had a choice.”

Enter Paul Thompson. The senior took the quarterback reins seamlessly and he and Kelly found an instant connection. This year Kelly has 62 catches for 993 yards and 10 touchdowns.

“First day of two-a-days he threw me a 55-yard bomb down the sidelines,” Kelly said. “I knew from then on we were going to be on point.”

Kelly had his pick of colleges coming out of high school, eventually choosing Oklahoma over Louisiana State and Southern California because of its proximity to his hometown of Longview, Texas.

But talent alone isn’t why Kelly has led the Sooners in catches the past two years.

“A lot of times when you get a guy like that from high school, all he’s run are posts and go (routes) because he’s bigger and faster than everybody,” Oklahoma wide receivers coach Kevin Sumlin said. “Nobody ever threw him the ball except for touchdowns. He’s really worked at that and I think he’s progressed every week and he’s getting better every week.”

TWO OF A KIND

Oklahoma quarterback Paul Thompson has drawn much of the attention this week for his career year, but Boise State’s Jared Zabransky has fared equally well behind center.

Zabransky is 32-5 in three seasons as a starter. He’s completed 66 percent of his passes for 2,325 yards, 20 touchdowns and seven interceptions.

Thompson has completed 61 percent of his passes for 2,434 yards, 20 touchdowns and eight interceptions.

Both are mobile enough to buy extra time when needed. Both have Heisman Trophy candidates behind them at running back.

MOVING ON

Tonight’s game will be the last one for Oklahoma’s Carl Pendleton. No, he’s not a senior, and no, he’s not making the jump to the NFL. The junior defensive tackle has decided to forgo his last year of eligibility to enroll in graduate school at Oklahoma.

Pendleton is the president of Oklahoma’s chapter of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes and just got a job as the director of a youth ministry in Norman.

“I’m looking forward to it, but I really don’t know what I’m going to do with my time,” Pendleton said. “Not having football frees up about six hours of my day. I’ll find something to do.”

Pendleton said he has mixed emotions about giving up the game he’s played since fifth grade.

“I’ll miss game days and I’ll miss the guys, but I won’t miss practice,” Pendleton said. “My body definitely won’t miss this.”