ShareThisNORMAN, Okla. - Oklahoma coach Bob Stoops doesn't want to talk about it.
He doesn't want his players to, either.
But the biggest question surrounding the Sooners football program remains: Will injured Heisman winner Sam Bradford be ready in time to play at ninth-ranked Miami next weekend?
Or will redshirt freshman Landry Jones continue to be the starting quarterback?
"As Sam goes forward, they'll give him more and more to do as the days come, and we'll see how he handles it," said Stoops, whose team has a bye this week. "It's too early to speculate, and I'm not going to."
Monday, Bradford threw passes with the team for the first time since suffering a third-degree separation in his throwing shoulder during the Sept. 5 opener against Brigham Young.
Bradford was a limited participant in practice again Tuesday.
Team doctors originally projected Bradford would be out 2-4 weeks. When the Sooners take the field against Miami, Bradford's injury will be exactly four weeks old.
"Don't read anything into it, but he was doing more than he's done," offensive coordinator Kevin Wilson said after Monday's practice.
"I didn't see him just all the way extend, but I saw him throwing some little 5- or 10-yard passes," receiver Ryan Broyles said. "That's promising."
But whether promising enough for Bradford to be ready by Miami remains to be determined.
Two of the bigger issues with Bradford's shoulder will be how he feels after throwing in practice this week and how much throwing he can take before it becomes sore.
"The bottom line is it will be day-to-day as he improves," Stoops said. "We will just see how he handles it."
The delicate responsibility will be on the coaches and trainers to get Bradford ready as soon as possible, without overdoing it. And to make sure that whatever Bradford is able to do, he is not risking any long-term damage.
"As you do more you see the next day where it is, or after two days, where it is," Wilson said. "I think any time you come off deals like this when you try to push things, is it positive or is there a little regression?
"It will be interesting as we go through the week."
Wilson said he would defer to Bradford, Stoops and quarterbacks coach Josh Heupel as to how much practice time Bradford would need before stepping back on the field. But Wilson also admitted he'd like to see Bradford practicing in full by at least next Wednesday to feel comfortable inserting him into the lineup at Miami.
"I think he definitely has to practice, but how much I don't know," Wilson said. "I don't think you wait until Thursday or Friday. I definitely think he needs some time on task. Whether it's Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, I don't know. That would be for coach Stoops and Josh."
That probably gives Bradford about a week to prove he's ready to play. But to get there, he'll have to show he can handle way more than 10-yard throws.
"I'm not going to detail day-to-day. It's not that we're trying to be coy, I just don't want Sam to have to deal with everyone's expectations," Stoops said. "Once he is comfortable and ready to play I will have something to say, and until then I'm not going to deal with it."
The good news for the Sooners is that they feel confident heading into Miami with either Bradford or Jones at quarterback, considering how Jones has performed over the last three weeks.
"Right now, I am preparing like I will be the starter for Miami," Jones said. "Just in case Sam's not back and not ready."
Jones threw for a school-record six touchdown passes in his second career start during OU's 45-0 victory over Tulsa last Saturday and was named the Big 12 Offensive Player of the Week.
"The comforting thing is you know Landry's playing well enough that we can definitely have a chance against any opponent," Wilson said. "The key deal is not Sam and not Landry at quarterback.
"The real key is whether the team keeps improving, and if they do we will have a great chance against every opponent that we play."
(Distributed by Scripps Howard News Service, www.scrippsnews.com.)
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