PLaw
5/14/2010, 09:02 AM
Here's one that will bring a grin to all of us old timers and offer a good history lesson for the noobs.
---------------------------------------------------------
From Maximum Sooner
Switzer tales;Recruiting Elvis Peacock-1 of my all time favorite
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I remember the ABC Sports caster (Keith Jackson ) would always say right before OU would run a 4th and Goal. '' Look out for Peacock this young man can actually fly'' And then up and over the top he would go. BEAUTIFUL FORM I MIGHT ADD. He was one of the first to make that really popular back in the day. GOOD TIMES!
Switzer tales: Recruiting Elvis Peack
Posted by berrytramel
on may 13, 2010m at 5:37 am
The Oklahoma recruiting of Elvis Peacock did not rise to the level of Billy Sims’ drama a year later, or the pursuit of Adrian Peterson 30 years later. But make no mistake, Barry Switzer’s chase of the Miami, Fla., speedster was no small thing.
The principals of the story — Switzer, Peacock and OU assistant coach Gene Hochevar — rendezvoused last Saturday night, when they flew together from Norman to Waco, Texas, for Thomas Lott’s enshrinement into the Texas High School Football Hall of Fame.
Thirty-five years later, Switzer still recalls the nickname of Peacock’s high school, “Miami Central Rockets!,” and still paints the picture of Peacock running the 100-yard dash.
1976 Fiesta Bowl - Wyoming defensive end Dave Clements tackles OU halfback Elvis Peacock. 12-26-1976
“He’s on the (starting) box, up here,” Switzer said, using his hand to show how high Peacock stood. “He’s 6-(foot)-1. Everyone else is down here.”
Peacock ran a 9.4 100-yard dash. During Peacock’s OU days, when teammates would debate who was fastest, and Peacock’s 100-yard dash was dismissed as being too far for football terms and not relevant to the 40-yard dash, Switzer would offer some advice.
“Any guy that can run a 9.4 can run the 40,” Switzer said.
Hochevar, an unsung hero of Switzer’s 1970s staffs, was the assistant coach who speared Peacock for the Sooners.
“Coolest white guy ever,” said Peacock, who is not prone to outrageous statements. “He spoke the language. He knew what to do. He always knew where to find me.”
That would be the Gold Coast sandwich shop, in a rough section of Miami.
“I was the only guy who could go down to Liberty City with lime green pants,” Hochevar said.
Said Switzer, “He couldn’t outcoach you, but he could outdress your (butt).”
Years later, when Hochevar coached at Colorado with Bob Cortese (who would gain Oklahoma fame as coach of OKC’s arena football team), Cortese would tell Hochevar that OU cheated to get Peacock.
Hochevar dismissed Cortese, saying the recruitment of Peacock was no more complicated than this. “I had a Cadillac, red and white Eldorado,” Hochevar said. “The Colorado coach had a Fairlane station wagon.”
Switzer interrupted the story to tell Hochevar, “You know what I said when coaches told me that? ‘If you had a chance to go to your school or Oklahoma, what would you do?’”
Hochevar tells the story of a Kentucky recruiter taking Peacock’s mom to gamble at jai alai. The Kentucky coach hit a big winner and the next morning proudly told Hochevar he had shared half his winnings with Peacock’s mom. “Should have kept your money,” Hochevar said. “Elvis told me last night he’s for sure coming.”
When Switzer went recruiting in Miami in those days, he had a local high school coach, Rufus Ford, drive him around. Years later, NCAA investigators delved into Switzer’s finances and asked why he had written a check for $500 to Rufus Ford.
“Why?” Switzer asked. “Because his (butt) picked me up and drove me around Liberty City. I didn’t know where to go.” The NCAA investigator said, “That’s a violation.”
Switzer responded, “I should have got that $500 and got me a pit bull. Would that have been a violation?”
On national signing day 1974, Switzer and Hochevar sat in a Popeye’s chicken booth, with Switzer trying to talk Peacock into becoming a Sooner. The stoic Peacock never responded.
Switzer turned to Hochevar and said, “I know he can’t talk. Can he hear?”
Peacock cracked up. Eventually, Peacock said he was considering Michigan and Oklahoma.
“I didn’t like the way he said it,” Switzer said, talking about the order in which the schools were listed. “I jumped up and said, ‘I don’t see Bo Schembechler around here. My (butt) is here on national signing day.”
Peacock signed with the Sooners and became a star, rushing for 2,163 yards and 28 touchdowns.
---------------------------------------------------------
From Maximum Sooner
Switzer tales;Recruiting Elvis Peacock-1 of my all time favorite
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I remember the ABC Sports caster (Keith Jackson ) would always say right before OU would run a 4th and Goal. '' Look out for Peacock this young man can actually fly'' And then up and over the top he would go. BEAUTIFUL FORM I MIGHT ADD. He was one of the first to make that really popular back in the day. GOOD TIMES!
Switzer tales: Recruiting Elvis Peack
Posted by berrytramel
on may 13, 2010m at 5:37 am
The Oklahoma recruiting of Elvis Peacock did not rise to the level of Billy Sims’ drama a year later, or the pursuit of Adrian Peterson 30 years later. But make no mistake, Barry Switzer’s chase of the Miami, Fla., speedster was no small thing.
The principals of the story — Switzer, Peacock and OU assistant coach Gene Hochevar — rendezvoused last Saturday night, when they flew together from Norman to Waco, Texas, for Thomas Lott’s enshrinement into the Texas High School Football Hall of Fame.
Thirty-five years later, Switzer still recalls the nickname of Peacock’s high school, “Miami Central Rockets!,” and still paints the picture of Peacock running the 100-yard dash.
1976 Fiesta Bowl - Wyoming defensive end Dave Clements tackles OU halfback Elvis Peacock. 12-26-1976
“He’s on the (starting) box, up here,” Switzer said, using his hand to show how high Peacock stood. “He’s 6-(foot)-1. Everyone else is down here.”
Peacock ran a 9.4 100-yard dash. During Peacock’s OU days, when teammates would debate who was fastest, and Peacock’s 100-yard dash was dismissed as being too far for football terms and not relevant to the 40-yard dash, Switzer would offer some advice.
“Any guy that can run a 9.4 can run the 40,” Switzer said.
Hochevar, an unsung hero of Switzer’s 1970s staffs, was the assistant coach who speared Peacock for the Sooners.
“Coolest white guy ever,” said Peacock, who is not prone to outrageous statements. “He spoke the language. He knew what to do. He always knew where to find me.”
That would be the Gold Coast sandwich shop, in a rough section of Miami.
“I was the only guy who could go down to Liberty City with lime green pants,” Hochevar said.
Said Switzer, “He couldn’t outcoach you, but he could outdress your (butt).”
Years later, when Hochevar coached at Colorado with Bob Cortese (who would gain Oklahoma fame as coach of OKC’s arena football team), Cortese would tell Hochevar that OU cheated to get Peacock.
Hochevar dismissed Cortese, saying the recruitment of Peacock was no more complicated than this. “I had a Cadillac, red and white Eldorado,” Hochevar said. “The Colorado coach had a Fairlane station wagon.”
Switzer interrupted the story to tell Hochevar, “You know what I said when coaches told me that? ‘If you had a chance to go to your school or Oklahoma, what would you do?’”
Hochevar tells the story of a Kentucky recruiter taking Peacock’s mom to gamble at jai alai. The Kentucky coach hit a big winner and the next morning proudly told Hochevar he had shared half his winnings with Peacock’s mom. “Should have kept your money,” Hochevar said. “Elvis told me last night he’s for sure coming.”
When Switzer went recruiting in Miami in those days, he had a local high school coach, Rufus Ford, drive him around. Years later, NCAA investigators delved into Switzer’s finances and asked why he had written a check for $500 to Rufus Ford.
“Why?” Switzer asked. “Because his (butt) picked me up and drove me around Liberty City. I didn’t know where to go.” The NCAA investigator said, “That’s a violation.”
Switzer responded, “I should have got that $500 and got me a pit bull. Would that have been a violation?”
On national signing day 1974, Switzer and Hochevar sat in a Popeye’s chicken booth, with Switzer trying to talk Peacock into becoming a Sooner. The stoic Peacock never responded.
Switzer turned to Hochevar and said, “I know he can’t talk. Can he hear?”
Peacock cracked up. Eventually, Peacock said he was considering Michigan and Oklahoma.
“I didn’t like the way he said it,” Switzer said, talking about the order in which the schools were listed. “I jumped up and said, ‘I don’t see Bo Schembechler around here. My (butt) is here on national signing day.”
Peacock signed with the Sooners and became a star, rushing for 2,163 yards and 28 touchdowns.