Well, it has
been a wild OU recruiting season with disappointments and surprises at every
turn. Despite what you may hear from some fans, don't be misled OU signed a
great class and any gap between OU and UT in recruiting is razor thin. This OU
class is as good as last year's class and actually might be better in terms of
having fulfilled needs. Some new trends in OU recruiting have been clearly
established.
Before I get to
the review, a quick shoutout to some Web page readers who are currently serving
in the Armed Forces,
UMP
Ben in
Pensacola
OU's recruiting
class is going to be ranked anywhere from top 5 to top 10 depending upon who is
doing the rankings. Some recruitniks won’t rate OU's Texas crop as highly as
others. But it's great class.
So what are the
new trends.
1.
OU is
making a concentrated effort in both Florida and California to open up those
pipelines. Jackie Shipp arguably OU's best recruiter was sent to Florida to
recruit. Chuck Long was sent to California to work that area. It paid off with 3
blue chips this year.
2.
OU’s
national recruiting efforts are only going to continue. OU has verbals from
Montana, North Carolina, Kansas, Missouri, California, Florida, California,
Louisiana. And OU also had visitors from Michigan, Virginia, and Pennsylvania.
OU's national championship impact was really felt this year. As OU continues to
be in the top ten, on Espn Gameday, so OU's national profile will only increase.
Remember Bob Stoops not Mack Brown was featured on Sportscenter as being the
most pursued coach in college football. These things have an
impact.
3.
OU will
offer their sleepers in November/early December not late January. OU coaches do
their evaluations and will offer sleepers at that time. January is strictly left
for hunting blue chips so to speak.
4.
In state
kids if they are not blue chips, better not make OU wait. The ship won’t be
around for them later.
What were the
surprises and disappointments.
1.
Surprises:
Latimer: beating CU in their backyard
(CU is having a pretty good class) and Miami for a legacy is pretty amazing.
Latimer takes away a lot of the sting of losing Brian Pickryl. Jimmy Wilkerson
clone.
Blanton: everyone had this speedster
going to Tennessee. Then boom he visits Norman and never ends up visiting Tenn.
Blanton is probably the fastest prep player in the country. A real
shock
Rankins: what is OU doing recruiting a
WR from North Carolina and beating Michigan and UGA??
Josh Roberts: OU signing a kicker from
Montana, next you will tell me that OU is going to get a QB from North Dakota
J.
2.
Disappointments
Pickryl: losing a Jenks prospect at a
need position is just tough. But Pickryl never visited so OU never had a real
shot
Blalock: the one big time UT recruit
that I’d love to add to OU’s class. When Mangino left so did OU’s
chances.
Ugoh: this one hurt. OU appeared to be
leading. Somehow Arkansas turned him. Mangino leaving also had an impact
here.
Garnett Smith: Garnett really connected
with Venables and really wanted to be a Sooner. Dad wanted him to be a horn. End
of story.
Selvin Young: I thought he was going to
be a Sooner
Curtis Justus: I thought he was going to
be a Sooner
Position grades
both quantity (numbers for need/depth) and quality:
QB:
OU on paper
would not appear to have needed a QB this year. However, signing a QB a year
seems to be a Bob Stoops principle. OU got two great prospects early. They are
missing the hype of Brent Rawls but are great prospects. Thompson in particular
could also be a dominate WR or Safety, but don’t discount him at QB (think
Woodrow Dantzler)
Grades quality
A quantity A
RB:
Okay with the
signing of Hickson and Jones last year, RB was not a great need. However, as the
OU season progressed and the offense struggled at times with the renewed focus
on the running game and blitz protection Fullback become a key position. OU
secured that with JD Runnels.
Grades quality
B quantity A
WR:
The need at
this position changed radically from September to December. The graduation of
Josh Norman, switch of Woolfork to CB and the loss of Mackey to injury made WR a
key position. OU came through with one of the best WR classes in the
country.
Grades quality
A quantity A
TE:
With the
signing of Moses and Chester, TE is not a great need for the Sooners. However,
OU got a great athlete in Laenar Nixon who could be a natural replacement for
Josh Norman but also has the frame to be a 6-3,240 tight end.
Grades quality
B+ quantity B
OL:
Another key
area for the Sooners in recruiting. OU got 4 guys here, 5 if Joseph plays OL. I
would have liked to have seen OU get another kid here but add these 4 kids to
the moves made last fall (Jammal Brown, Brett Rayl, Chris Bush), OU is starting
to get beyond what has seemed like annual OL depth problems.
Grades quality
B+ quantity B
DT:
OU really did
not need much depth with last year's great DT class and the transfer of blue
chip DT Lynn McGruder from Tenn (his problems have been well detailed that led
to his transfer). However, OU got a great prospect in Davin Joseph who could
also move to OG.
Grades quality
A- quantity A
DE:
Another
position of great need for OU. Latimer is the gem here and makes up for the
sting of losing Pickryl. I think one key way to judge the success of this class
will be to see the impact of Burdine and Thibodeaux.
Grades quality
B+ quantity B+
LB:
OU signed
probably the best LB class in the nation. OU has two impact JUCOs already on
campus ready to go through springball, and two big time high school guys to add
depth. Mitchell and Jackson are probably the top two JUCO lbs. Chamber is a true
MLB and Alexander is a speedster at OLB.
Grades quality
A+ quantity A+
DB:
OU also
probably signed the top DB class in the nation. Every kid is a bonafide blue
chip. Poole is a big time safety. Miller or Carter could be corners or safeties.
Hawkins is all world corner. It's a good job that the Thorpe trophy is named for
an Oklahoman with the way is recruiting that trophy may not leave
Oklahoma.
Grades quality
A+ quantity A+
K:
This was
perhaps the biggest need in recruiting for a kicker to replace Tim Duncan (Blake
Ferguson is set to replace his brother in punting duties). Roberts was a big
time pickup, but recruitniks are notoriously bad at evaluating high school
kickers.
Grades Pass for
quantity
Overall as you
can tell it’s an outstanding class. A quantity grade, and A quality
grade.
Okay now to the
player profiles, (stats and accolades are drawn from the Official
Oklahoma Athletics Website )
Rufus
Alexander
6-2,215, 4.5
OLB Baton Rouge LA
Rufus had a
great senior year and would have more highly ranked except for the fact that he
was not allowed to play his junior year. Rufus played in seven games in his final year and
recorded 86 tackles, including 14 tackles for loss and 12 sacks (all which led
the team). Rufus will probably redshirt unless there are injuries at OLB. Rufus
makes up for the loss of Garnett Smith, they are very similar
athletes.
Noah
Allen
6-4, 215, 4.6 QB
Pearland TX.
Noah was one of the first OU verbals and is kind of forgotten blue chip QB OU got this year. Allen had a very efficient senior year passing for 2,047 yards as a senior, while completing 134-of-267 attempts for 20 touchdowns and only two interceptions and rushing 41 times for 167 yards and seven touchdowns. Coach Stoops on WWLS was raving about Allen stating that he had not been sacked last year and audibled about 80% of the time. I have heard one guru refer to him as a bigger verson of Drew Brees. Allen is an excellent who in theory could play another position at OU.
Larry
Burdine
6-5,235,4.7 DE
Lawton, OK
Burdine had a very
good senior year but was somewhat overshadowed by Brian Pickryl in state.
Burdine had
81 total tackles, 14 for losses
of 57 yards, and four sacks and three fumbles, one of which he returned for a
touchdown, and blocked one punt. Burdine is related to Jason Gildon of the
Pittsburgh Steelers and an OSU alum. Burdine has a huge upside and could be a
dominant DE for the Sooners.
DeBryan
Blanton
5-11,170, 4.3 WR
Forney TX
Blanton is without
a doubt the fastest player OU signed. He will play Slot WR for OU as well as
probably being a return specialist in the Santana Moss/Aaron Lockett
mold. DeBryan had 94 touchdowns on 633 carries and
6,265 yards for his career. He recorded 200 rushing attempts for 2,355 yards and
33 touchdowns as a senior . He is also an Olympic caliber sprinter prospect who
won state titles in the 100 meter, 200 meter and 400 meter relays as a junior
and who holds state records in both the 100 and 200 meters. Finally, DeBryan
holds the fastest time in the nation for high school seniors in the 100 meters.
Jason
Carter
6-0,180, 4.4 DB
Jenks, OK
Carter continues the great line of top talent going from Jenks to OU. Jason had 38 total tackles and three sacks during his final season with seven interceptions and two fumble recoveries, two of which he returned for touchdowns as a senior. On special teams, he averaged more than 20 yards on kickoff returns and 30.5 yards on punt returns. Carter could be a corner or he could be a free safety. Sooner coaches are just happy he is a Sooner.
Wayne Chambers
6-3,235, 4.6 MLB Grandview MO
Chambers was a very early verbal as often happens is somewhat overlooked. However, he had a very solid senior year with 25 solo tackles and 48 assisted tackles, three sacks, forced one fumble and recovered one fumble. Chambers is going to be a big MLB in the Torrance Marshall/Jeff Kelly mold. He should be redshirted this coming year.
Abner Estrada
6-3, 275, 5.1 OC Carrollton, TX
OU saw this year the need to have quality depth at center. Estrada can provide this. Estrada was offered by Bob Stoops after he watched video of Estrada just smashing DL kids. Venables in an interview on WWLS indicated that Bob felt Estrada was the best interior OL he saw this year in regards to pulling and run blocking. OU flat out beat Nebraska and Miami for Estrada
Michael Hawkins
6-2, 170, 4.4 CB Carrollton, TX
I could give you a
bunch of accolades on Michael Hawkins, but to paraphrase Brent Venables on WWLS.
Hawkins is the kind of talent you see on Sundays. Hawkins is a CB in the mold of
Andre Woolfork/pre injury Michael Thompson. He senior year he had 51 tackles, including 27 solo stops and one
tackle for loss during his senior year with 3 ints, 12 passes broken up and caused two
fumbles. He will be big time. Also, Michael has overcome amazing personnel
obstacles to get where he is today (if you did not read the DMN article about
Michael you missed a moving powerful story)
Pasha
Jackson
6-3, 238, 4.55 OLB City College of San
Francisco
Pasha is already on
campus and is expected to be an instant impact player for OU next year. Pasha is
a top rated JUCO LB that Venables badly wanted. Pasha helped CCSF to back to
back JUCO titles. Pasha for his sophomore year, had 62 tackles, three fumble
recoveries, one sack and one blocked kick. Enjoy watching Pasha making an impact
in springball.
Davin
Joseph
6-4,280, 4.9 DT/OG
Hallandale, FL
Joseph is a bigtime
pickup for OU. Joseph had a great senior year. Joseph had an awesome game in the
Cali v Florida all star game where at OG he was just dominating California’s all
star DL. At defensive tackle, Joseph was just great with 100 tackles and 24
sacks. Joseph is also a top rated heavyweight wrestler so you know that he has
great quickness, strength, and toughness. So basically Davin is going to be a
dominating DT or a dominating OG.
Zach
Latimer
6-4,215, 4.5 OLB/DE
Denver, CO
Latimer is the
jewel of this class (and that is saying something as you have read). Latimer
might be the best pure athlete in this class (remember that we have an Olympic
caliber sprinter as well). Beyond football skills, Zach is also a potential all
state basketball player. Latimer also played WR and tight end as well as OLB/DE
in high school. At OLB, Latimer had for his senior year 93 tackles and 16
sacks. Latimer is set to follow the Jimmy Wilkerson development program. Play
OLB as a frosh with some rush end, and then move to rush end his second year
once he is in the 240-250 range. A huge pickup.
Jeff
Lebby
6-5, 280, 5.1 OL
Andrews, TX
Lebby is the jewel
of the OL class. UT fans often like to say that OU never gets anyone that UT
really wanted in recruiting. Well, OU got Jeff, and UT badly wanted him. Jeff is
an amazing versatile OL who can play guard, tackle, even center. He is probably
the best equipped kid to play next year, but hopefully OU can redshirt him.
Lebby graded out at over 90% his senior year.
6-5,245, 4.8 OL
Frederick, OL
Messner played six
positions in high school including QB,DE, and TE, but is being looked at to be
an OT at OU. He amassed 68 tackles and eight sacks during his senior season in
addition to two interceptions and two blocked punts. Messner is something of a
sleeper but really there’s only question can he dedicate himself into getting
into the size and shape to be a truly effective OL 280-290 range at least. If he
can, then with his athleticism and mobility OU might have another Romero type
guy. Messner will need to redshirt but possibly could be a blocking tight end
later on as he works to bulk to play OT.
Lance
Mitchell
6-2,245, 4.6 MLB
City College of San Francisco
The other half of
the awesome LB duo that helped CCSF win back to back JUCO titles. I won’t go
into great details on his path to OU. He’s here and he is working out with Coach
Schmidt. If he is not the starting middle linebacker in our season opener
(provided the NCAA doesn’t stop him), I will be very surprised. Mitchell has
been described by Coach Venables as combination of the best parts of Rocky and
Torrance, and I don’t think there is a better judge of JUCO LB talent in the
nation than Venables. Mitchell is going to be an impact force in the middle of
our defense allowing Lehman to move to Rocky’s old position. His stats this year
were 80 tackles, five sacks, one interception and one fumble return for a
touchdown.
Aaron
Miller
6-2,180, 4.5 DB
Fresno, CA
Miller was the
Sooners' last verbal but certainly was not some B list guy taken at the end.
Miller is a big time DB from California was named the MVP of the recent
California v Florida all star game. His senior year he had 65 tackles and three
interceptions, and in the last 2 years he had 12 ints. Miller might be an all
world CB or an all world safety, just another piece in arguably the best DB
class in the nation. Miller mentioned in a recent Fresno Bee article that he
still needs his test score and might “greyshirt” and enroll in January if
necessary. OU is probably completely fine with that from a scholarship
situation.
6-3,210, 4.6
TE/Hback Miami,
FL
Nixon is something of a sleeper after being seriously limited by an injury this year. His stats for this were only six passes for an average of 17 yards. His junior year, he totaled 315 yards on 28 receptions and eight touchdowns. Nixon despite this injury looked very good in the recent California v Florida all star game. Nixon would seem to be a natural replacement for Josh Norman but also has a frame capable of being a 6-3,240 tight end. Nixon is a Sooner legacy the son of former Sooner Freddie Nixon who played for Barry Switzer in the late 70s. Also, Nixon's high school Carol City is a blue chip factory, so it will be interesting to see if Nixon’s signing opens up some doors.
Brodney
Poole
6-3,195, 4.5 Safety
Houston, TX
Brodney is the
newest heir apparent for the mantle of the next Roy Williams. Brodney
skyrocketed up recruiting charts with a fantastic senior year. His stats for his
senior were 75 tackles and 11 interceptions. Somehow Brodney was relatively
unknown even after making 114 stops and four interceptions during his junior
year. Brodney is the pure Strong Safety of this class, and could in theory
challenge for some playing time this year. His frame easily could support 210 to
215 and he is already a big physical presence in the secondary. It’s been great
to chat with Brodney as part of the OUFan recruiting service. Brodney sounds
like a great kid who is extremely excited about being a Sooner.
6-0,170, 4.4 WR
Windsor, NC
The best athlete on
his team he moved from WR to QB his senior year. His overall stats for the last
2 years indicate why he was ranked as one of the nation's top Wrs. Rankins
caught 42 passes for 1,063 yards as a senior, as a junior he collected 42
receptions for 922 yards and 12 touchdowns. To indicate his athleticism he had
67 stops (60 solo) and intercepted 15 passes on the defensive end as a junior,
three of whic were returned for touchdowns. While playing special teams as a
junior, he added over 1200 return yards and 6 tds. Rankins has been compared to
Illinois standout Brandon Lloyd (who OU actually almost signed) in terms of
being a great deep threat.
Josh
Roberts
6-0,160,4.8 Kicker
Malta, MT
Without a doubt,
Roberts is probably the most important part of this recruiting class (ask FSU
about the necessity of having a sound kicking game). Roberts is expected to be
the starting kicker for the Sooners this fall. Josh holds the Montana state
records for career field goals made (33) and point-after attempts (146). His
best effort was a 51 yard goal this year. His overall stats were 11-of-12 field
goals and 34-of-36 point after touchdown attempts. Eighty-five percent of his
kickoffs went out of the end zone in 2001, and he averaged 44.4 yards per punt.
Malta is apparently a small school power in Montana as they won the state
championship in 2000 and notched runners-up finishes in 1999 and 2001. Roberts
was "discovered" at kicking camp ran by former pro kicker where he was the top
kicker.
JD
Runnels
6-1,230, 4.6 FB
Midwest City, OK
JD was probably the
last kid offered by OU in late December. The OU staff had been evaluating JD at
tight end and did not feel he was a good fit for the OU offense. However, JD as
the year progressed started playing more of an Hback type role and the Sooners
founds themselves desperately needing a Seth Littrell like kid. JD is a Sooner
legacy of sorts being related to Mike Gaddis. JD is real threat to play at FB as
the Sooners must improve their run blocking and blitz protection and JD is a
very physical kid not afraid to block.
Steve
Taylor
6-8,325, 5.4 OT
Purcell, OK
Taylor was an
unknown quantity before being invited to a prospects only camp in Norman this
summer. At this camp, this man mountain to be cliche shocked everyone by being
one of the better OL at the camp. OU quickly offered and he accepted. Taylor
graded out around 80% for his senior year, and has been a 3 year starter.
Channel 9 in OKC has some video of Taylor and he appears to be every big
6-8,325. Taylor is a redshirt candidate, and will need to work on technique and
mobility. Hard to predict the impact of a big raw kid from a small school, so it
maybe a couple of years before Taylor has any impact.
Calvin
Thibodeaux
6-2,250, 4.7 DE
Houston, TX
Okay I"m listing
Calvin as being taller and bigger than the official site. Why? Because Brodney
his high school teammate said so. Calvin like so many Sooner signees had a great
senior raising his recruiting ranking. He finished his senior season with 78
tackles, 11 sacks, one interception and three fumble recoveries, of which two
were returned for touchdowns. Calvin did not receive the amount of hype as
Dibbles, Leitko,or Michael Williams in Texas, but I think Calvin is a big time
threat to see some playing time at DE for the Sooners next fall. Calvin is more
in the mold of Corey Callens/Dwight Freeney than Jimmy Wilkerson, but could be a
very effective DE for the Sooners this fall. Remember OU beat LSU and Michigan,
so it's not like he was heading to UTEP.
Paul
Thompson
6-4,190,4.55
QB/WR/DB Leander, TX
Thompson got
somewhat overshadowed by Vincent Young and Reggie McNeal, but any other year he
would have been the clear top dual threat QB out of Texas. His stats during his
senior year
were 1,600 passing yards his
senior year, as well as 1,053 rushing yards. Paul completed 113-of-182 passes,
and recorded 12 touchdowns in the
air and 14 rushing. Many think that Thompson won't be a QB at OU, but I'm not so
sure that's the case. As we saw this year the spread offense with a mobile QB
has a whole other dimension especially with teams dropping back into coverage.
However, if Thompson does move from QB he has the athletic skills to be a big
time WR or Safety for the Sooners. Thompson is a great athlete who can does
track as well and has recorded a 7 foot high jump.
Travis
Wilson
6-3,200, 4.45 WR
Carrollton, TX
Wilson before mid December was quite simply the best player OU had verbaled. Wilson basically came from nowhere to be ranked the best WR in Texas (others will say Robert Timmons was the best WR,but Wilson had a far more productive senior year and none of the off the field issues). Wilson's stats on special teams were five kickoffs for 166 yards for a 33.2 yards per with an 87-yard kick off return and a 77-yard punt return, both for touchdowns. Wilson set a school record with 42 catches for 1,098 yards during his senior year with 14 touchdowns and 26.1 yards per catch average. He also played defense with 4 ints. Wilson is going to be a big time kid for OU. I expect him to challenge Brandon Jones for the flanker position vacated when Andre Woolfork moved to CB. Wilson might redshirt but don’t be surprised if he is on the field making an impact. Wilson like so many of OU signee is a great athlete who excels in another sport in this case, basketball.