There will be yells of “Pay Attention, Jermaine!” this fall when Oklahoma kicks off its 2009 season.

While Jermaine Gresham, Gerald McCoy and Trent Williams all announced their intention to return to OU for another season, it was Sam Bradford whose announcement warranted ESPN to cut in with breaking news.

Sam will be back in 2009.

What’s extraordinary about the way things have transpired since OU lost to Florida is that all these football players decided to stay. We don’t know about Chris Brown and DeMarco Murray, but it very well could be that each guy who had a legit shot at millions decided he wanted to stick around in li’l ol’ Norman, Okla., another season.

Sam said he didn’t feel the need to cut his OU experience short.

You do realize this guy would have been a millionaire in two months, no?

But he’s so right in the mature, big picture arena. There is no need to cut youth short. There is no need to cut short the OU experience, which I believe is a college experience second to none when you take everything into account.

Why leave Norman, where you’re king of the universe?

When Stoops said, “If it’s all the same again to you, we’ll try again next year,” I swear I think it brought the fan base together. That these guys are passing up millions to stick around another, to try to finish some business …

I’m not naive. The offensive line will be suspect. We’ll have young receivers. We have some pieces in the secondary to fill.

However, the core of the Oklahoma Sooners’ team is returning.

I didn’t think we stood a chance to win the Big 12 next year, much less win a national title. However, today changed everything.

Like it or not, America, there’s a good chance you’ll have the Sooners to kick around next year.

One of the players I failed to note in my post yesterday about Oklahoma football draft entrees was running back DeMarco Murray.

He’s fast and exciting on the field but has a propensity to get hurt when it counts most. His injuries have come in or near Texas games, Big 12 title games and lasted into bowl games.

Not saying his presence would have made a winning difference against Florida, but the NFL values health when assessing draft picks.

There is NO way he should leave early. This would be a mistake at the level of De’Mond Parker.

Will he or won’t he? That’s the question relative to Oklahoma QB Sam Bradford and the NFL Draft.

Sure, we’d like him to stay. However, if projections land him in the first round of the draft, as I think they will, doesn’t he owe it to himself and his family to go?

Yes. C’mon, kid. The future owes you nothing, and financial security for generations awaits. Besides, Oklahoma is losing these senior offensive linemen next year:

• Branndon Braxton
• Jon Cooper
• Phil Loadholt
• Duke Robinson
• Brandon Walker

Among juniors, it looks like Trent Williams will opt for the draft. He probably should. Millions await, and he might be among the first Sooners taken. Bradford’s protection next year won’t be nearly as good as it was this year, and can Sam really afford that risk?

We’re going to lose Jermaine “Pay Attention” Gresham. That’s the nickname my friends and I gave him because it seemed, early in his career, like he would drift off into daydream land. But he’s terrific and will be a terrific pro TE.

We’re losing Juaquin Iglesias and Manny Johnson to eligibility. Quentin Chaney, too.

That means Ryan Broyles and Adron Tennell head up our WR corps next season, and — again — for Bradford, that’s scary. Broyles is terrific, but he can’t be the only go-to-guy.

And as for Iglesias, what can I say? Juaquin is one of my favorite OU players of the Stoops era, probably the best possession receiver we’ve had. He wouldn’t burn you for yards, but his hands were terrific.

Defensively, we’re losing guys like Nic Harris and Cory Bennett, and Lendy Holmes, too. Call me an idiot, but I think Holmes is one of the more underappreciated players of the past five years at OU. His catch-up speed was terrific, and he improved significantly from his first year until his last game. Early on in his career, he was terrible.

But for me, Nic Harris is the primary loss among defensive seniors. Unfortunately, I fear we may lose Gerald McCoy to the NFL Draft, as well. Early projections have him as a second or third-round guy, but he’s of strong enough character and has enough ability that he’s a sure pro.

I’d recommend one more year for Gerald but wouldn’t blame him a bit if he went now. What you don’t want to do is to pull a De’Mond Parker, Oklahoma’s premier running back of the late 1990s, who opted out as a junior, right as Stoops was coming in.

Worst draft decision I can remember at OU. Parker never caught on with Green Bay, and Parker would have soared in his last year under Stoops.

And, we lose Joey Halzle, who never even got his Nate Hybl day-in-the-spotlight outside of a gutsy performance against Texas Tech in 2007. Halzle was a competent backup, and I would not be surprised to see him at least attend an NFL camp or two. It makes me wonder if Keith Nichol is up in Lansing wondering if he made the right call transferring to Michigan State, a team that won’t sniff a national title chance in the near future.

Who knows. But I am of the mindset that these kids owe nothing to the university in terms of staying an extra year just for the chance at a national title. If you have a chance at a multi-million dollar contract in the NFL, you MUST GO.

Oklahoma will be OK. Go make some $.

Did a little research tonight — year by year — into Oklahoma football results since 1980, which is about the time I really remember games. Now, I watched football in the 1970s, but my memory of it is centered more on things like Thomas Lott’s bandana and names like Elvis Peacock.

I remember Billy Sims’ fumble against Nebraska, but I don’t remember anything about the loss to Arkansas in the Orange Bowl.

And I have watched every televised game since the mid-1980s. Haven’t missed one. Listened to any game not televised, or I attended.

What’s amazing and what really puts things in perspective as to OU’s tradition is that there are only 14 games I listed as true, blue disappointments. Gut wrenchers. The 55-19 loss to USC in 2004 was not among them nor was the 21-14 title loss to LSU the year before because given that we backed into those games, I had no reason to believe we’d win them.

The ol’ hopes weren’t up like they were last night.

As I narrowed the 14 disapponting losses to five, I eliminated some based on our play. For example, as terrible an ending as was the Fiesta Bowl loss to Boise State, 43-42, a couple of years ago, we stunk it up until the end.

As much as it hurt to lose the national title to Miami, 20-14, in 1987, the Hurricanes were a vastly superior team to us at that time, in that era.

Anyway, chronologically, here are my FIVE most disappointing OU losses ever:

1. 1990: Texas 14, OU 13.
We missed the game-winning field goal.

2. 1994: Texas 17, OU 10.
James Brown stuffed at the goalline on a GREAT play call at the end of the game.

3. 2005: Texas Tech 23, OU 21.
Still not sure the Red Raiders actually scored that TD as time ran out.

4. 2006: Oregon 34, OU 33.
Officiating debacle as the Sooners recovered an onside kick that was awarded to the Ducks.

5. 2008: Florida 24, OU 14.
In a season that was all about ‘Win The Last Game’ and that featured the best OU offensive play calling in the Stoops era, we let two sure TDs get away.

Here’s a bit of perspective: I could come up with dozens of what I’d call GREAT Oklahoma wins. Not just good, but GREAT.

I won’t tell you who to root for. Heck, in 2005, I absolutely rooted for the Texas Longhorns to beat USC.

First, USC was riding a win streak that I feared could near Oklahoma’s 47-gamer.

Second, USC had demolished us the year before.

Third, I liked Vince Young.

However, under no circumstances is it good for the Oklahoma Sooners for Texas football to do anything but be good up until the Red River Shootout. Ideally, Texas would start 5-0 each year and then lose to Oklahoma resoundingly.

Then, UT should lose each game by 900 points.

This argument that “what’s good for the Big 12 is good for Oklahoma” is not just nutty, it’s insane. You’re not insane if you think this; I don’t mean to lay that trip on you. You’re merely misguided.

Oklahoma and Texas compete directly for the same recruits. So, it’s important for Oklahoma to beat a good Texas team, and it’s good for Oklahoma for Texas NOT to win bowl games and championships.

To win in college football, you need to recruit your state well. It’s a must. But you also have to recruit one of these five states really well: California, Texas, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Florida.

Let me ask you this: Why do you think we’ve seen USC, Oklahoma, Texas, Ohio State and Florida dominate the past several years?

So, root for Texas if you’d like. I’ll do it from time to time because I like the state and love Austin and love their tradition. I want Texas to be good.

But it’s not because it does one darned thing for Oklahoma.