2011 Recruiting Update: 2/28

OU Verbals

1. Kameel Jackson 6-2, 195, 4.45 WR Arlington,TX
2. Kendal Thompson 6-2, 180, 4.6 QB Southmoore, OK
3. Chris Barnett  6-6, 240, 46 TE Euless, TX
4. Wade Turner 6-4, 290, 5.0 DT Round Rock, TX
5. P.L. Lindley 6-3, 210, 4.5 LB  Round Rock, TX

Recruiting Storylines to Follow

1. Year of the Running Back:
OU just signed perhaps the best RB class in the country in Roy Finch and Brennan Clay, so RB wasn't exactly a huge need for the Sooners in recruiting.  However, this year's RB class especially in Texas is just absurd.  There are at least 2 RBs in Texas who last year would have been the number one RB in Texas last year., and several more who would have been right behind Seastrunk. And OU can only really take one of these guys at RB. Can UT take two? It’s a interesting combination of OU/UT having limited ships, and elite prospects. Also, there's a good chance like elite QBs that a school is only going to get one of them.  Here are the five best in Texas.

OU held their first junior day for Texas and out of state prospects, and while OU didn't get 13 verbals the weekend led to several new commitments for OU.

• Chris Barnett 6-5, 240, 4.6 TE Euless Trinity, TX
• P.L. Lindley 6-3, 210, 4.5 LB Round Rock, TX
• Jordan Wade 6-4, 290, 5.0 DT Round Rock, TX

UT Junior Day 1 is over. While they could be some activity tomorrow as kids go home for the most part the event is over. Their next Junior day is being played for after OU's event on the 20th.

So here's the recap.

13 Verbals:

9 with no real impact on OU at all

1 verbal OU really wanted, and OU might have trouble finding a comparable talent in Texas or in state- DT Desmond Jackson. Right now it does not appear to be a great year for DTs.

3 verbals that probably had OU offers or OU would have invited for their Texas focused Junior day. I think that OU can find equal or better talent in Texas, in state, or in region.

QB David Ash 6-3, 215, 4.6  OU Neutral (as much fun as Army of Darkness riffs would be for Sooner fans, OU was not interested in Ash at all)

WR Jaxon Shipley 6-1, 180, 4.5 OU Neutral (Jaxon joining Case McCoy as the next pair of "roommates QB/WR with a special connection")

WR Miles Onyegbule 6-4, 200, 4.5 OU Offer (Generally considered to be the 2nd best WR in Texas behind Trey Metoyer who is not at UT's Junior Recruiting Weekend, a win for OU. And OU already has WR Kameel Jackson verbaled who OU clearly thinks is a Top 3 type WR talent in Texas.)

FB Joe Bergeron OU Neutral

OL Josh Cochran 6-6, 270,  OU Neutral

OL Taylor Doyle 6-5, 270  OU Neutral

LB Chet Moss 6-2, 225 OU Neutral (Anything that pushes Steve Edmond away from UT is a positive)

DT Desmond Jackson 6-2, 270 OU Offer (This is the first real hit. Best DT in Texas and it's a down year for DTs in Texas)

CB Leroy Scott 5-10, 180, OU Offer (Good CB prospect, but OU has Josh Turner to target in state. Very similar players)

ATH Mykkele Thompson 6-0, 168 OU Neutral (Rivals is calling him a WR. That's 3 at that position. I'd guess UT is full)

TE MJ McFarland 6-5, 235, 4.7 OU Neutral (An actual real TE for UT. OU seems focused on Chris Barnett 6-6, 240, 4. 7 from Dallas more)

DB Sheriod Evans 6-2, 185, 4.4 OU Offer (maybe)

OL Marcus Hutchins 6-2, 260 OU Neutral

Scout's released their first edition of their Top 150.

The full list is available here

Five Star Players- listing OU or OU is pursuing:

no comments

It just seems like signing day was last week (and it was), but already we are hitting two important weekends for OU's 2011 recruiting class.

Let's recap first. OU has two verbals for a class that looks to be in the 17 to 19 range depending upon NFL defections (Travis Lewis, Ryan Broyles) and other attrition. Recruiting priorities are DT, OL, WR, CB

Recruiting Wrap for 2010

I'm just going to link to the stats, rankings, and accomplishments from the OU official site instead of rehashing them in the wrapup.

http://www.soonersports.com/sports/m-footbl/archive/2010_signing_day.html

There are highlights reels on this site and Rivals also has footage on the signees. But, I'm going to include links to as much other free video highlights as I can find.

John Cullen chose UTAH. That should be it for recruiting. Bob's PC will be on at 3pm Central.

COREY NELSON TO OU- LOI received. Huge props to Joe Powell for breaking the news on KREF

John Cullen JUCO OT to decide around lunch time central time (Utah is the favorite).

Jarrett Lake will not be signing today with OU. Lake is not on progress to make it academically. He may sign with someone else like Arkansas, but will probably end up going the JUCO route.

Nice interview with Aaron Franklin on KREF (whose fax has not arrived yet). Franklin's 6-2, 207, running a 4.47 according to him.  Hopefully that's a recent time since Franklin hurt his knee in 2008. Tyrus Thompson reporting in at 6-6, 297. Torrea Peterson at 6-4, 295.

SIGNED

1. Kenny Stills 6-1, 180, 4.35 WR - Enrolled (Still not cleared by NCAA, but on campus)
2. Tony Jefferson 6-0, 200, 4.5 DB Chula Vista, CA  - Enrolled
3. Bronson Irwin 6-5, 310, 5. 2 OG- Mustang, Ok - Enrolled
4. Austin Woods 6-5, 290, 5.1 OC - Rockwall, TX - Enrolled
5. Sheldon McClain  6-2, 180, 4.5 WR Cibolo, TX - Enrolled
6. Blake Bell 6-6, 215, 4.6 QB, Wichita, KS (Bishop Carroll) - Signed
7. Quentin Hayes 6-1, 175, 4.4 DB  Lancaster, TX - Signed
8. Julian Wilson 6-3, 180, 4.35 DB Southmoore, OK- Signed
9. Geneo Grissom 6-4, 230, 4.6 DE Hutchinson, KS - Signed
10. Daryl Williams 6-5, 270, 5.0 OT  Lake Dallas, TX- Signed
11. Trey Millard 6-2, 245, 4.6 TE Columbia, MO - Signed (OU is listing him as a LB???)
12. Chuka Ndulue 6-3, 245, 4.6 DE Dallas, TX Signed
13. Aaron Colvin 5-11, 175, 4.5 DB Owasso, OK Signed
14. Tyrus Thompson 6-5, 290, 5.1 OT Pflugerville, TX Signed
15. Austin Haywood 6-5, 245, 4.7 TE Southmoore, OK Signed
16. Daniel Noble 6-4, 275, 4.8 DT Flower Mound, TX Signed
17. Eric Humphrey 6-4, 275, 4.75 DT Dallas, TX Signed
18. Justin McCay 6-3, 200, 4.5 WR Shawnee Mission, KS Signed
19. Adam Shead 6-4, 320, 5.2 OG Cedar Hill, TX Signed
20. Damon Williams 6-4, 295. 5.0 DT Irving, TX Signed
21. Torrea Peterson 6-4, 295, 4.9 DT San Antonio, TX Signed
22. Rashad Favors, 6-2, 225, 4.5 LB Ft Worth, TX Signed
23. Trey Franks 5-9, 170, 4.3 WR Orange, TX
24. James Haynes 6-1, 185, 4.35 DB Orange, TX
25. Roy Finch 5-8, 180, 4.45 RB Niceville, TX
26. Corey Nelson 6-0, 210, 4.5 LB Dallas, TX
27. Joe Powell 6-0, 175, 4.5 WR Dallas, TX
28. Brennan Clay 6-0, 190, 4.45 RB San Diego, CA

Recruiting Update 1/30:

• QB (1): Blake Bell 6-6, 230, 4.7
• RB (2): Brennan Clay 6-0, 190, 4.45  Roy Finch 5-8, 180, 4.45
• WR (5): Justin McCay 6-3, 204, 4.5   Kenny Stills 6-1, 180, 4.35  Sheldon McClain 6-3, 185, 4.5  Joe Powell 6-0, 185, 4.5  Trey Franks 5-9, 185, 4.3
• TE/FB (2): Austin Haywood 6-5, 245, 4.7  Trey Millard, 6-3, 250, 4.7
• OL (5): Austin Woods 6-4, 290, 5.0 OC  Adam Snead 6-4, 310, 5.2 OG  Bronson Irwin 6-5, 310, 5.2 OG  Darryl Williams 6-5, 280, 5.0 OT  Tyrus Thompson 6-6, 310, 5.1 OT
• DT (4): Daniel Noble 6-4, 280, 4.9  Torrea Peterson 6-4, 290, 4.9 Damon Williams 6-5, 320, 5.1  Eric Humphrey 6-4, 275, 4.75
• DE (2) : Chuka Ndulue 6-4, 245, 4.7, Geneo Grissom 6-5, 230, 4.6
• LB (3): Rashad Favors 6-2, 225, 4.5  Garrett Lake 6-2, 210, 4.5  Aaron Franklin 6-2, 210, 4.5
• CB (2): James Haynes 6-1, 185, 4.35  Aaron Colvin 6-0, 185, 4.5
• Safety (3): Tony Jefferson 6-0, 195, 4.5  Julian Wilson 6-1, 185, 4.35  Quentin Hayes 6-1, 185, 4.4

Update:

So OU had a weird week in recruiting with one expected but disappointing result, one surprising result which is still not finished.

The expected news happened on Friday with Jackson Jeffcoat (DE 6-3, 230, 4.6) choosing UT. OU's spent a lot of energy the last 12 months plus recruiting Jeffcoat so losing him to UT was a tough blow. You could sense that OU knew that this would be the result when they put on the full court press to get Geneo Grissom (a very similar athlete to Jackson). Jeffcoat didn't give many specifics about UT over OU mainly saying that's where he felt more comfortable. Obviously, UT's great season compared to the struggles OU had all year long didn't help in this battle.

Now for the surprising result. Last weekend, Corey Nelson (OLB 6-0, 210, 4.5) visited OU and from all the rumors was seriously considering choosing OU. Friday it was reported by ESPN that Nelson had verbaled to OU. Now, no one could get Nelson on the record to support that claim and the rest of the day Friday there were more confusing updates. By the end of the day, Nelson seemed to be back in the ATM camp. Now, you can bet OU has a LOI ready for Nelson to fax on signing day if he starts to waver. In fact, I can easily see the dead period where ATM cannot contact him letting Nelson change his mind again.

So ignoring any signing day drama with Nelson, there are only two players left in play.

John Cullen JUCO OT 6-6, 285. Seems like he's down to OU, Utah, and maybe USC. Cullen throughout this process has seemed like he would stay out west.

Damien Robinson OT 6-8, 330. Massive OT from Mississippi. Down to OU, Ole Miss, Miss State. Probably stays in the SEC somewhere.

• QB (1): Blake Bell 6-6, 230, 4.7
• RB (2): Brennan Clay 6-0, 190, 4.45  Roy Finch 5-8, 180, 4.45
• WR (5): Justin McCay 6-3, 204, 4.5   Kenny Stills 6-1, 180, 4.35  Sheldon McClain 6-3, 185, 4.5  Joe Powell 6-0, 185, 4.5  Trey Franks 5-9, 185, 4.3
• TE/FB (2): Austin Haywood 6-5, 245, 4.7  Trey Millard, 6-3, 250, 4.7
• OL (5): Austin Woods 6-4, 290, 5.0 OC  Adam Snead 6-4, 310, 5.2 OG  Bronson Irwin 6-5, 310, 5.2 OG  Darryl Williams 6-5, 280, 5.0 OT  Tyrus Thompson 6-6, 310, 5.1 OT
• DT (4): Daniel Noble 6-4, 280, 4.9  Torrea Peterson 6-4, 290, 4.9 Damon Williams 6-5, 320, 5.1  Eric Humphrey 6-4, 275, 4.75
• DE (2) : Chuka Ndulue 6-4, 245, 4.7, Geneo Grissom 6-5, 230, 4.6
• LB (3): Rashad Favors 6-2, 225, 4.5  Garrett Lake 6-2, 210, 4.5  Aaron Franklin 6-2, 210, 4.5
• CB (2): James Haynes 6-1, 185, 4.35  Aaron Colvin 6-0, 185, 4.5
• Safety (3): Tony Jefferson 6-0, 195, 4.5  Julian Wilson 6-1, 185, 4.35  Quentin Hayes 6-1, 185, 4.4