OU Class of 2003 Overview
Well OU’s
recruiting efforts appear to be over and while OU signed a great recruiting
class many will focus on the signing day disappointments, this review will
focus on the kids signed and how well OU did in filling their needs. I will try
and give a grade for both quantity and quality. And after talking about our new
Sooners, I will try and give some perspective on the disappointments.
All stats and
accolades are pulled from the official site recruiting press release
QB: Did OU need to sign a
QB this year. On the surface of it, no not with Jason White, Brent Rawls, Paul
Thompson, and Noah Allen returning, however OU loses Jason White and it’s not
beyond the realm of possibility to see a QB transfer who falls behind on the
depth chart. So, OU went and got a top five rated dropback passer in the
country. Tommy Grady had a great summer at the Elite Eleven Camp where he was
easily the most accurate QB with a great arm. Grady did not have fantastic
stats his senior year after unreal junior year stats (2,791 yards and 33
touchdowns, 61% completion percentage, and only 3 ints). Mainly due to playing
with a brand new OL and new WRs. Grady according to a recent interview is
6-7,225. OU beat USC,FSU,and Tenn
for Grady. He verbaled in August and never wavered including visiting OU
practices during Rose Bowl preparation
Quantity
Grade: A Quality
Grade: A+
WR: OU signed 3 Wrs last
year in Blanton, Wilson, and Rankins. WR was not a huge need for OU but with
the top rated impact player instate being a WR and Savage and Fagan graduated,
preseason WR became a focus. So OU ends up with Tristen Ross and probably
Marcus Johnson. Marcus Johnson’s senior year was at QB where he had a
phenomenal year throwing for nearly 3000 yards with 500 yards rushing. OU will
give Marcus a shot at QB but WR will be an option. Tristen Ross is an OU legacy
who has been the star of OU summer camps since he was a sophomore. Ross playing
in the Evangel pro style offense catching 62 passes for 980 yards and eight
touchdowns in 13 games. Bob Stoops in radio interviews says Tristen was the
most polished WR they have ever brought in. The big gap losing out on Meachem.
Missing out on a bonafide blue chip WR weapon in state is going to cause a lot
of gurus to drop the OU class. Rightly or wrongly the OU class was always going
to be judged on getting Meachem. As long as Johnson stays at WR, the numbers
are fine, and the coaches believe Ross is an impact guy
Quantity Grade
(Johnson at WR): A - Quality: B+ (missed the
big time target)
RB: OU didn’t
appear to need a RB with 4 Rbs returning. However, Works is a senior as is
Estus. OU’s RB recruiting efforts seemed stalled at times, and I think OU
really thought they were going to get Jason Evans from Georgia who was in many
ways the most complete back they were looking at. OU definitely rallied with
Tashard Choice and Courtney Tennial. Tennial was a topic of much debate when it
looked like early that OU might not offer. Tennial had just a sick senior year
smashing defenses (and good programs) left and right to the tune of nearly 3500
yards. Tennial is also a great student and ended up choosing OU over
Northwestern. Tennial at the very least will be a great short yardage Power I
formation back for OU. Choice’s high school runs a Hal Mumme like offense. In
that offense, Choice rushed for 1,200 yards on 129 carries, and also had over
600 reception yards out of the backfield in his senior campaign. Choice like
Tennial is a great athlete and had the academic profile to go to Georgia Tech,
Notre Dame, or Stanford. I think OU has gotten an absolute steal with this kid.
Combined with Tennial and I think OU has a great RB situation. However, we are
not done OU signed out of almost nowhere RB Jacob Gutierrez. Jacob had a great
year carrying the ball 189 times for 1,815 yards as a senior. Gutierrez
basically bombarded the Sooner staff with scout tapes including sending one to
Stoops secretary. Jacob physically is running with the nickname Q2 due to his
resemblance to the diminutive Sooner star.
Quantity
Grade: A
Quality Grade: B
Tight End: Not
really a need for OU with Moses, Chester, Donley, and Nixon returning. However,
fortune smiled on OU when Miami did not have room to resign a TE recruit placed
at NEO. Willie Roberts didn’t play year one at NEO because he enrolled too late
so he redshirted meaning he has 3 years at OU to play 3. This year he caught 38
passes for 521 yards and seven touchdowns this year. Coming out of high school
Roberts was the top tight out of Florida and a top 5 tight end nationally.
Basically OU has added a super blue chip tight end. I’m going to rank Joe John
Finley at DE but he could easily end up here as well
Quantity Grade
: A Quality
Grade: A
OL: For a
change with five returning starters at OL and some depth appearing OL is not
the desperate recruiting position it has been the last 2 years where true frosh
have ended up starting by the end of the year (Carter in 2001, Joseph in 2002).
OU signed 4 true OL this year giving this position great depth for the future.
The star at OL is Akim Millington a 6-6,300, pure OT from a great program in
Illinois. Brian Zimpel gives OU a great 300 lb + guard to work with. Brandon
Keith is just a huge kid at 6-6,335 with great mobility at that size. Those 3
guys are all ranked at top 20 at their position. OU also signed a sleeper that
they loved on film more than some other recruits (principally Ian Yates
Cunningham). Antonn Reid is a guard at 6-3,285 who also could play center (I
think after the need to play Carter as a true frosh, signing a guy capable of
playing center every year is a great idea). The Sooner coaches (Wilson) liked
Reid on film better than some other highly rated prospects. It has been
presumed since early fall that OU would sign Keith to place him. However, It’s
now looking like Keith might qualify, if he does it really put this OL class up
a notch.
Quantity
Grade: B+ (w/o Keith) A (with
Keith)
Quality Grade: B+ (w/o Keith)
A (with Keith)
DE: With Jimmy
Wilkerson leaving and blue chip star Zach Latimer not looking like a DE at the
next level. OU definitely needed to sign at least 2 DE with an eye towards
maybe one playing next year. Fortunately it was a great year in Texas for DE
talent with at least five guys being ranked in the top 20 at DE by at least one
service (Harrington, Moss, Dotson, Washington, and Crowder). OU stole Alonzo
Dotson from UT when for most of the fall he was thought to be a lock to UT to
join his teammate Tony Hills JR. However, Dotson ended up choosing OU and at
6-5,225, 4.6 is a legit threat to play next year. OU coaches are thrilled to
get Alonzo and rated him as high as Jarvis Moss. Dotson had 114 tackles (89
assisted, 25 solo), 15 tackles for loss and 12 sacks in his senior year. The other DE is John Williams also from
the Houston area. John fall just outside that other group but any other year
would have been a top five DE in Texas. Williams at 6-5,220,4.6 will probably
redshirt unless he puts on some quality weight in the offseason. Williams had
57 tackles, including 20 for loss, 14 sacks, and recovered a fumble and forced
a fumble in 2002. But he has big time potential at DE. Okay, I’m going to put
Joe John Finley here at DE although he might be a TE. Finley at 6-6,220,4.7 has
great athleticism and a frame to handle 250+. I could easily see him being
another Dan Cody at DE. Finley played QB last passing for 1,626 yards and
rushing for 897 yards,but he’s a TE/DE at OU.
Quantity
Grade: B
Quality Grade: B+
DT: OU signed
no DTs last year with the switch of Davin Joseph to OG (a move that is payoff
big time in my opinion) and it appeared that DT depth was further reduced with
the dismissal of Jacob Hager. OU needed to sign at least 2 DTs to deal with the
eventual departure of Korey Klein due to graduation and Tommie Harris to the
NFL after next year. OU got 2 excellent DTs who could potentially also star on
the other side of the line and one great DT that could be an impact frosh next
year (provided he is eligible). The gem of this group is Lawrence “Moe”
Dampeer. Dampeer at 6-5,290 has an amazing initial burst off the line and was
probably the most impressive interior lineman at the recent high school all
star game. Dampeer was hurt for part of his senior but still had 80 tackles and
nine sacks in seven games as a senior, as a junior he recorded 113 tackles and
12.5 sacks. His signing pretty much removes any disappointment over not signing
that other kid :-) . Coleman is one of those great kids that gets overlooked
due to verbaling early and immediately after his visit to OU. Coleman at
6-5,288, has sub 5.0 speed and last year racked up 38 tackles, 2 caused
fumbles, 2 sacks, 6 deflections
and 4 quarterback pressures. In a recent all star game, Coleman absolutely
dominated and had 4 sacks. He will probably redshirt to work on adding upper
body strength. There some rumor that he might move to OL but I think he will
definitely stay at DT. His high school coach thinks he could easily hold 300 to
310 with his frame. The last DT was a real enigma in recruiting. Carl Pendleton
seemed a sure bet to verbal to OU early especially after he was seen at Fan
appreciation day in August decked out in OU gear. However, he took his
recruiting process into mid January and seemed to be heading to Stanford. It
appears the pull of home and being near his family made the difference.
Pendleton is an amazing athlete at 6-6,270 and will start at DE initially. But
he is probably going to add weight to that frame once he starts working out and
hitting the training tables. The question then will be can he effectively play
low enough at 6-6 (he’s a high school champion wrestler so Carl knows all about
leverage etc) to be an great DT or will he move to OT where his amazing
athleticism,wingspan would also be highly effective. Might be a similar
situation to Jammal Brown.
Quantity
Grade: A Quality Grade: A
LB: OU badly
needed to sign some impact LBs with the graduation of Lehman,Mitchell, and
Jackson upcoming next year. OU scored big time with the best quality class LB
in the country. It’s hard to know which LB is the gem in the group because they
are all so good. But forced to make a choice I’ll go with Demarrio Pleasant.
Pleasant is probably the most ready to play of the 3 LBs at 6-3,225,4.5. In
radio interviews, the OU coaches think that Pleasant can be 250 and still run
like a safety. Pleasant for his senior year had 138 tackles (10 for loss), four
sacks and two fumble recoveries. He also looked great in the high school all
star on ESPN. Lewis Baker has been called a clone of Derrick Johnson at UT.
Amazing closing speed and he will probably redshirt to add some weight to his
frame but he can easily hold 230 to 235 while keep his blazing speed. Baker had
90 tackles (39 UT, 51 AT), eight tackles for loss, one sack, five quarterback
hurries and one interception this year during his senior year. The final LB gem
is Dane Zaslaw. Dane is the pure MLB of the three. Dane for his senior season
had 121 tackles (40 UT, 81 AT), six tackles for loss, two sacks and three
passes broken up. He also recovered three fumbles and returned one for a
touchdown and intercepted a pass and returned it for a TD. Also, he carried the
ball 63 times for 301 yards and three touchdowns. Dane has been part of high
school program that has him in fantastic shape throwing around mad weight for a
high school athlete.
Quantity
Grade: A Quality
Grade: A+
DB: OU had a
great DB class last year. But that
class took one hit with the loss of Micheal Hawkins. Also, probably one of the
problems last year was the inconsistent play at strong safety. Also, OU will
graduate Derrick Strait and Brandon Everage as well next year. OU scored the
best JUCO strong safety available in Donte Nicholson. Donte at 6-2,210 is much
more of a true SS than Eric Bassey (actually Bassey is moving back to his
natural position of CB) and was the team leader of his juco’s defense last
year. Sooner coaches are already raving over Donte and are indicating that they
expect a Mitchell like impact from Nicholson. As good as Nicholson might be
Tony Cade is probably rated higher and might be the highest rated player in
this great class. Cade missed three games this year due to injury, but still
totaled 54 tackles, two interceptions, eight passes broken up and caused four
fumbles in 2002. Cade was also a star on special teams with blocked two punts
and four field goals. During his junior year, he had 71 tackles, two fumble recoveries and eight
interceptions. Cade has all but been declared the heir apparent to Brandon
Everage and I think that he will play next year to get ready for that role. The
final DB signed was Darien Williams. Williams seems like he will be a safety in
college but probably has the athleticism to play CB as well, but he is just so
physical that it’s easy to see him adding weight to his frame( 6-0,190) and
being a run stopping physical strong safety. Perhaps the one negative was the
lack of a big corner in this group. The big corner OU really wanted being
Chijioke O. from CCSF.
Quantity
Grade: B+ Quality
Grade: A
K/P: OU didn’t
need a placekicker after successfully finding Trey DiCarlo in a rushed walk on
audition after Josh Roberts decided
to not report to OU last fall. However, despite Blake Ferguson returning OU
went out and got arguable the best high school punter in the country. Cody
averaged 44.5 yards-per-punt with a 4.2 second hang time as a senior and to show what a good athlete he is,
Cody also has 73 tackles and two interceptions playing defensive back. Freeby
is a threat to seize the punter job next year if Ferguson stumbles.
Quantity Grade:
A
Quality Grade: A
Overall
Thoughts: This class was about to get overshadowed by who we did not get at the
end rather than who we did get between August and end of January. But adding
Moe Dampeer adds a definite star quality again to this class. This is a fantastic
class with great depth across all positions. Stars at almost every positions. 2
impact JUCOs in Nicholson and Roberts. Nicholson fills a huge void at SS and
Roberts provides a potential replacement at TE for Trent Smith. This class even
goes up a notch more if Keith and Dampeer make it on campus. Keith strengthens
both the OL and DL classes if he can get on campus and Dampeer seriously
strengthens DT if he can make it on campus. As you can see I have already
addressed another element who are the academic risks, it’s Keith and to a
lesser degree Dampeer. I honestly think that Moe will be a full qualifier.
Keith?? It’s supposedly in his hands. He is not out of possible range.
Overall Grades
(if everyone qualifies etc.. There’s a chance for instance that Grady could be
drafted by baseball)
Quantity Grade:
A Quality Grade:
A
Here are the
guys that play (it’s given that Roberts and Nicholson don’t redshirt):
Pleasant, Dotson, Cade, Dampeer, and Ross
Here’s my
rankings of every player signed.
1.
Tony Cade
2.
Donte Nicholson
3.
Moe Dampeer
4.
Alonzo Dotson
5.
Demarrio Pleasant
6.
Tommy Grady
7.
Lewis Baker
8.
Akim Millington
9.
Tristen Ross
10. Willie Roberts
11. Dane Zaslaw
12. Carl Pendleton
13. Steve Coleman
14. Brian Zimpel
15. Darien Williams
16. Cody Freeby
17. Courtney Tennial
18. Brandon Keith
19. Tashard Choice
20. Marcus Johnson
21. Joe John Finley
22. John Williams
23. Jacob Gutierrez
24. Antonn Reid
Disappointments-
1.
Robert Meachem completely shafting OU on signing day
2.
XLK completely shafting OU Tuesday night before signing day
3.
Ryan Schuler completely shafting OU a week before signing day
By the way ,
why do I say shafting OU. Each recruit either verbaled or indicated to OU that they
were going to verbal. Their verbal or presumed verbal kept OU from recruiting
other kids and/or kept other kids from looking at OU.
Other
disappointments-
1.
Not getting an visit from Ofa Mohetau and stopping recruiting
other kids due to belief that they would. Pretty anticlimactic due to Ofa going
to BYU regardless of who he actually visited
2.
Not getting a visit from Jarvis Moss. Moss was the top target in
Texas at a need position. He ended up in Florida and may have gone their
regardless, still would have been nice for OU to get a shot at him.
3.
No kids from Florida. OU invested a lot of attention in that
state and came away without a single high school prospect.