So it looks like Pete Carroll is heading out of town right before the NCAA arrives in town to hit the Men of Troy where it hurts most (remember any football penalty will be amplified due to the Basketball program's indiscretions).

Everyone is wondering the obvious since it's January, what does this mean for recruiting?

Let's review the possible kids for this year that it might impact

Kyle Prater WR 6-5, 210 Illinois. Prater could decide that he no longer wants to be a Trojan. If he opens his recruiting back up, OU could be a possible school of interest, but far more likely is that Brian Kelly at ND will get a very early present. Prater is a mid term so any change will have to be quick. Now, I have been told that the Prater family continues to talk to OU. So things could get interesting, remember OU has one mid term ship left so OU could take Prater while leaving 2 ships still out there.

Recruiting Update 1/7:

OU has just received verbals from two Dallas area DTs

Eric Humphrey 6-4, 275, 4.8 Dallas, TX Parish Episcopal

Damon Williams 6-5, 320, 5.1 Irving, TX Nimitz HS

These two huge DTs pickups put OU at 28 verbals (5 midterm- Stills, Jefferson, Irwin Woods, McClain), so just two verbal slots left. Before going into some detail on what the two DTs bring to the Sooner class let's recap OU's current verbals by position

Current Verbals:

1. Blake Bell- QB
2. Roy Finch- RB
3. Brennan Clay - RB
4. Sheldon McClain - WR- Mid Term
5. Joe Powell- WR
6. Trey Franks - WR/KR/PR
7. Justin McCay- WR/ATH
8. Tyrus Thompson - OT
9. Bronson Irwin - OG/OT - Mid Term
10. Austin Woods - OC - Mid Term
11. Adam Snead - OG
12. Darryl Williams - OT
13. Trey Millard - HBack/TE
14. Austin Haywood TE
15. Daniel Noble - DT
16. Torrea Peterson - DT
17. Chuka Ndulue - DE
18. Aaron Franklin - OLB
19. Jarrett Lake - OLB
20. Rashad Favors - MLB - Mid Term
21. Quentin Hayes- DB
22. Julian Wilson- ATH-DB
23. James Haynes - DB
24. Aaron Colvin- DB
25. Kenny Stills- WR Mid Term
26. Tony Jefferson- Mid Term

I feel like this recruiting update should have an amusing line from Anchorman.

Anyway breaking news from San Diego tonight.

OU got two huge verbals from

• Tony Jefferson 6-0, 200, 4.45 Safety
• Kenny Stills 6-1, 175, 4.35 WR

Jefferson is ranked is a five star recruit according to ESPN and is ranked as the 10th best player in the nation. He's an elite defender who is doubtless going to draw nothing but comparisons to the gold standard at safety for OU, Roy Williams. OU coaches did a great job staying involved with Jefferson even after he verbaled to UCLA back in August, and getting Jefferson to visit Norman in November. Jefferson de-committed from UCLA and OU was even able to hold off a late charge from USC. Finally Jefferson will enroll early, and be ready to go through spring ball and challenge for a safety spot next to Quinton Carter.

Stills is a five star recruiting according to Scout, 6th ranked WR nationally, and 37th ranked player in the nation. Stills had over 1500 yards receiving as a junior, and had nearly 1000 yards receiving as a senior. The 40 speed is electronically timed at a combine this summer so it's legit, and Still has the track times to back it up. Stills is an elite deep threat but also excels at the slot WR routes. Just like Jefferson, Stills enrolls early, so he will in Norman in spring to provide some much needed competition at WR.

Huge props to OU verbal commitment Brennan Clay whose constant work on both Jefferson and Stills put OU in position to get the official visits needed to lock down both kids. Clay's early verbal to OU (having never been to Norman once), gave OU the needed "in" to start recruiting Stills and Jefferson.

I strongly recommend watching the highlight reels and interviews with Clay, Jefferson, and Stills on the KUSI Prep Pigskin Report website.

Strategically, this is the most California OU verbals under Bob, and probably for OU since the early 80s Switzer days. This increased focus on California is attributed to a more national recruiting strategy by David White (former Gorman coach who is now OU's recruiting coordinator). It's quite possible that these 3 very popular players in region could be the start of an OU Southern Cal/San Diego pipeline.

I'll end the article with a great image

OU Recruiting Update 12/4

Current Verbals:

1. Blake Bell- QB
2. Roy Finch- RB
3. Brennan Clay - RB
4. Sheldon McClain - WR- Mid Term
5. Joe Powell- WR
6. Trey Franks - WR/KR/PR
7. Justin McCay- WR/ATH
8. Tyrus Thompson - OT
9. Bronson Irwin - OG/OT - Mid Term
10. Austin Woods - OC - Mid Term
11. Adam Snead - OG
12. Darryl Williams - OT
13. Trey Millard - HBack/TE
14. Austin Haywood TE
15. Daniel Noble - DT
16. Torrea Peterson - DT
17. Chuka Ndulue - DE
18. Aaron Franklin - OLB
19. Jarrett Lake - OLB
20. Rashad Favors - MLB - Mid Term
21. Quentin Hayes- DB
22. Eddrick Loften- DB
23. Julian Wilson- ATH-DB
24. James Haynes - DB
25. Aaron Colvin- DB

OU has recently received two more football recruiting verbals from Southmoore teammates Austin Haywood and Kendal Thompson.

OU Recruiting Update 11/1

Current Verbals:

1. Blake Bell- QB
2. Roy Finch- RB
3. Brennan Clay - RB
4. Sheldon McClain - WR- Mid Term
5. Joe Powell- WR
6. Trey Franks - WR/KR/PR
7. Justin McCay- WR/ATH
8. Tyrus Thompson - OT
9. Bronson Irwin - OG/OT - Mid Term
10. Austin Woods - OC - Mid Term
11. Adam Snead - OG
12. Darryl Williams - OT
13. Trey Millard - HBack/TE
14. Daniel Noble - DT
15. Torrea Peterson - DT
16. Chuka Ndulue - DE
17. Aaron Franklin - OLB
18. Jarrett Lake - OLB
19. Rashad Favors - MLB - Mid Term
20. Quentin Hayes- DB
21. Eddrick Loften- DB
22. Julian Wilson- ATH-DB
23. James Haynes - DB
24. Aaron Colvin- DB

Kind of a strange game last night. Really OU's closest struggle at home during this current streak since Missouri in 2007 or the dreaded Baylor OT game in 2005.  A tale of 4 quarters, 1st and 4th Qtrs belonging to a dominating OU offense and OU defense, and then 2nd and 3rd Qtrs where KState exposed the OU defense and controlled the clock. Then we had a nightmarish glimpse back into 2008's kickoff return coverage.

OU Recruiting Update

Current Verbals:

1. Blake Bell- QB
2. Roy Finch- RB
3. Brennan Clay - RB
4. Sheldon McClain - WR- Mid Term
5. Joe Powell- WR
6. Trey Franks - WR/KR/PR
7. Justin McCay- WR/ATH
8. Tyrus Thompson - OT
9. Bronson Irwin - OG/OT - Mid Term
10. Austin Woods - OC - Mid Term
11. Adam Snead - OG
12. Darryl Williams - OT
13. Trey Millard - HBack/TE
14. Daniel Noble - DT
15. Torrea Peterson - DT
16. Chuka Ndulue - DE
17. Aaron Franklin - OLB
18. Jarrett Lake - OLB
19. Rashad Favors - MLB - Mid Term
20. Quentin Hayes- DB
21. Eddrick Loften- DB
22. Julian Wilson- ATH-DB
23. James Haynes - DB
24. Aaron Colvin- DB

So let's try and break down the relevant facts.