National Signing Day coverage on Soonerfans.com

[8timechamps]

For the first time ever on SF, we're going to do a "live" (not to be confused with real-time) National Signing Day event.


Posting recruits as the official announcement is made.
Opening and posting thoughout the day on some other recruiting stories of interest (i.e. Where the top recruits end up, Where the eleite programs end up at the end of the day, etc.)
Hosting a live chat throughout the day. (details to come)
Sharing images, coaches and recruit reactions, etc.


If you're a recruiting junkie, then this is for you. We want to make Soonerfans.com as the place to check in on during National Signing Day. One site to provide all of your recruiting information.

If you can think of additional thinks you would like to see, please reply to this post.

[BoomerJ]

Thanks 8Time.

[Curly Bill]

Sounds interesting.

[Boomer.....]

http://img37.imageshack.us/img37/6366/popcornja.gif

[StoopTroup]

Maybe Sticky the Hot News?

[Boomer.....]

So far:


7:01 a.m. Durron Neal WR 6-1 195 St. Louis, Mo. / De Smet Jesuit HS
7:18 a.m. Trevor Knight QB 6-3 200 San Antonio, Texas / Reagan HS
7:23 a.m. Sam Grant TE 6-6 240 N. Royalton, Ohio / St. Edward HS
7:27 a.m. John Michael McGee OG 6-4 275 Texarkana, Texas / Texas HS
7:28 a.m. Daniel Brooks Ath 5-10 170 Port Lavaca, Texas (Calhoun HS)

[Boomer.....]

Where you at 8x?


7:35 a.m. Sterling Shepard WR 5-11 185 Oklahoma City, Okla. / Heritage Hall HS
7:43 a.m. David Smith RB 6-1 197 Midlothian, Ill. / Bremen HS

[stoops the eternal pimp]

So far, so good

[delhalew]

Now how bout some more commits on D.

[Boomer.....]

8:22 a.m. Zack Sanchez CB 6-0 172 Keller, Texas / Central HS

.

[Boomer.....]

8:29 a.m. Mike Onuoha DE 6-7 230 Edmond, Okla. / Santa Fe HS

.

[delhalew]

Ask and Ye shall receive.

[soonerbrat]

haha, didn't see this. i have very limited time on the innerwebs at work

[Boomer.....]

8:54 a.m. Charles Tapper DE 6-4 265 Baltimore, Md. / City College HS

.

[Soonerjeepman]

Mike O from Edmond
is this a late pick-up? supposedly didn't know til today? read that yesterday...thought it was a DE that was local...

[Frozen Sooner]

He committed last night.

[Boomer.....]

9:08 a.m. Kyle Marrs OL 6-6 317 San Antonio, Texas / Brandeis HS

.

[Frozen Sooner]

Any word on Gardner?

[Boomer.....]

9:13 a.m. Gary Simon CB 6-1 180 St. Petersburg, Fla. / Gibbs HS

.

[Frozen Sooner]

Nice!

[Boomer.....]

Any word on Gardner?

Gardner is going to announce at 1:45. Sounds like we have a good shot at him.

[Frozen Sooner]

Cool. Thanks. Yeah, I've heard we lead. Didn't know he was announcing at 1:45.

[Neath a Western Sky]

Beat out Ohio State, Arkansas, Miami FL, Ole Miss, Nebraska, and others for Gary Simon. Late rush by Mike Stoops. Well done!

[Neath a Western Sky]

DGB to Mizzou. Better than losing him to Arky. Great effort, coaches.

[Boomer.....]

9:26 a.m. Ty Darlington C 6-3 275 Apopka, Fla. / Apopka HS

.

[Boomer.....]

9:31 a.m. Will Latu OT 6-5 315 St. Petersburg, Fla. / Coll. of Canyons

.

[cccasooner2]

Simons

Good.

[TahoeSOONER]

Gardner to Arkansas per Rivals.

Nevermind, soft verbal. My bad

[Boomer.....]

9:47 a.m. Alex Ross RB 6-1 205 Jenks, Okla. / Jenks HS

.

[Boomer.....]

Sounds like Gary Simon will play both football and basketball at OU.

[Boomer.....]

9:59 a.m. Derrick Woods WR 6-1 185 Inglewood, Calif. / Inglewood HS

.

[Neath a Western Sky]

Just looking at who all we beat out for Derrick Woods, wow. Among others...Bama, Florida, USC, Oregon, Stanford, Miami.

[Muno]

According to SoonerSports. Gardner faxed in his letter at 10:22 am.

[Boomer.....]

Gardner must have announced early:


10:22 a.m. Courtney Gardner WR 6-3 215 Reno, Nev. / Sierra College

[colleyvillesooner]

Gardner is going to announce at 1:45. Sounds like we have a good shot at him.

Faxed in his letter to OU 15 mins ago

[picasso]

Thanks for the updates.

[stoops the eternal pimp]

Great work!

[BoomerJ]

Great to hear. Rivals needs to catch up.

[Neath a Western Sky]

Gosh, with Durron Neal, Derrick Woods, Sterling Shepard, Courtney Gardner, Trey Motyer, Stills, Jackson, Reynolds, Franks...I wish DGB the best, I've met him and he's a nice, humble kid, but even without him...how awesome does our WR corps have the potential to be! And are Neal, Woods, Shepard, and Gardner--and practically speaking, Motyer--one of the strongest ever WR recruiting haul for one team?

[Boomer.....]

Damien Williams is supposed to commit per Tony Jefferson

[Boomer.....]

@coachjaynorvell on Courtney Gardner: "I spent six years in the National Football League trying to find guys like this guy."

.

[Okie35]

Gosh, with Durron Neal, Derrick Woods, Sterling Shepard, Courtney Gardner, Trey Motyer, Stills, Jackson, Reynolds, Franks...I wish DGB the best, I've met him and he's a nice, humble kid, but even without him...how awesome does our WR corps have the potential to be! And are Neal, Woods, Shepard, and Gardner--and practically speaking, Motyer--one of the strongest ever WR recruiting haul for one team?

We'll probably have the best receiving corp this upcoming year, damn that's a lot lol.

[Okie35]

@coachjaynorvell on Courtney Gardner: "I spent six years in the National Football League trying to find guys like this guy."

You think Gardner will be a one and done?

[RUSH LIMBAUGH is my clone!]

Damien Williams just signed committment. The official list of signees from OU website: http://www.soonersports.com/sports/m-footbl/archive/2012_signing_day_central.html

Rivals and Scout both have our class rated as #8. Here's Rivals: http://www.rivals.com/

[Boomer.....]

11:24 a.m. Damien Williams RB 6-1 215 San Diego, Calif. (Arizona Western)

.

[Boomer.....]

You think Gardner will be a one and done?

You mean 3 and done?

[Boomer.....]

11:29 a.m. Eric Striker LB 6-1 195 Seffner, Fla. (Armwood HS)

.

[Boomer.....]

Josh McCuistion @JLMcCuistion
http://t.co/OVpLxyQb - We have learned that there are extenuating circumstances to the signing of Laith Harlow, sad deal. #OU #Sooners

Some are saying that he has a back injury.

[Okie35]

You mean 3 and done?

I thought he spent two years at a Juco? I never followed him.

[Boomer.....]

They are saying that Harlow has a serious back injury and won't ever play football again. OU is still honoring the scholarship and he will be at OU in the fall. Class, we haz it!

[BoomerJ]

Rivals is saying Harlow is a NO-GO. I don't have the premium membership to read the tidbit, but that stinks. I know that we seem set at TE with this class, but thought he was solid. Wonder if his back surgery had anything to do with it.

Any news out there?

[Boomer.....]

I thought he spent two years at a Juco? I never followed him.

You're right. It all depends how he adjusts to OU and NCAA football. I would bet he stays the course.

[BoomerJ]

Thanks for the update, Boomer. Very sad. Hearing stories like this makes me proud to be a Sooner.
God Bless Stoops.

[Boomer.....]

Rivals is saying that there's an NCAA rule that will let OU honor Harlow's scholarship without it counting against the 85 limit.

[Okie35]

You're right. It all depends how he adjusts to OU and NCAA football. I would bet he stays the course.

I hope he does but the receiving corp is pretty deep.

[Curly Bill]

Rivals has Gary Simon as one of the real "sleepers" of this signing day.

They explained that he's kind of raw, but came on late, and has the tools to be great. A "great" cornerback or two would be awesome.

[Mississippi Sooner]

Rivals has Gary Simon as one of the real "sleepers" of this signing day.

Sounds like Mike Stoops had a lot to do with his decision, too.

[Curly Bill]

Sounds like Mike Stoops had a lot to do with his decision, too.

I think BV was the main man early then passed the baton to Mike to finish. I like that the kid stuck with us even after BV left.

[Always_Sooner]

I still have not heard about Beaver or Blake the two targeted corners.

[Mississippi Sooner]

I look at the overall list and see that Bama has 28 commitments and think, wow, that's a lot. Then I see that Miami has 32. 32???

[Scott D]

I look at the overall list and see that Bama has 28 commitments and think, wow, that's a lot. Then I see that Miami has 32. 32???

Expect some players on the team to not be on the team much longer along with the higher number of players that declared early.

[Always_Sooner]

http://www.tomahawknation.com/2012/2/1/2763526/colin-blake-commits-florida-state-recruit-fsu-tcu

Colin Blake signed his letter of intent to play for FSU.

Brandon Beaver is the only target OU would be waiting on. Then you have Devontee Neal that will make a decision in the next week or so.

[8timechamps]

Where you at 8x?

Sorry Boomer, got stuck in a meeting this morning and couldn't get free (of all mornings, this was one of the few I couldn't slack off).

[cccasooner2]

http://www.tomahawknation.com/2012/2/1/2763526/colin-blake-commits-florida-state-recruit-fsu-tcu

Colin Blake signed his letter of intent to play for FSU.


Mark will probably toughen him up. The Scout profile didn't excite me, "Plays cornerback but might end up at safety because of his size. His physical attributes also make him more of a safety in college. Does not seem to like contact and will not come up and directly hit on run support. Does a good job of dropping in coverage and keeping his man in check. Solid sliding to help out in coverage if the ball is thrown elsewhere." He'll learn that football is a contact sport. Course it also means he will not bite on play action and stay with his coverage. :)

[The Maestro]

I like adding guys named "Striker" and "Tapper" to our defense. Let's hope they live up to the names.

[Boomer.....]

Stoops press conference is about to start:

http://www.soonersports.com/allaccess/index.html?media=295495

[OU_Sooners75]

Now how bout some more commits on D.

Where at on defense?

We have signed some decent to great high school DBs. We have a hybrid LB/DB (Striker).

We have some depth at DL/DE...and signed, what, 3 DEs as well.

OU was not looking for Defense this year outside of a couple DEs and DBs to come in and help.

2013 will be the year OU goes defense (LBs and DTs) and OL heavy. And 2013 is also where the more talented high school defensive players are....there were solid ones this year, but not many compared to next year.

[8timechamps]

In case you missed Stoop presser, here's a summary:

Seemed genuinely excited about how this class shaped up.

Said the last two weeks were critical in getting to 25 signees.

Couldn't speak to the Harlow situation (per NCAA rules).

Ben Habern is recovering from surgery, will miss spring ball, but should be ready for summer workouts.

No new info on Jaz, will miss spring ball, but will also be ready for summer.

Addressed the fact that the Sooners are 4 deep at both DT positions, thus the lack of targets.

Excited to have the 6 guys that are early enrollees, will help tremendously in the summer.

[StoopTroup]

Excited to have the 6 guys that are early enrollees, will help tremendously in the summer.

McNamara is an early guy right? That's the kid I want to see. Hopefully him starting early will get Landry looking his way and we will find out if he can catch like he did in HS or become a extra Blocker on running schemes. He looks big and strong enough to handle the blocking assignments.

[OU_Sooners75]

We had Gresham and very rarely utilized him.

[Curly Bill]

We had Gresham and very rarely utilized him.

Don't know if being sarcastic or serious? I seem to recall us utilizing him a lot, though we perhaps could have done so even more.

[achiro]

Don't know if being sarcastic or serious? I seem to recall us utilizing him a lot, though we perhaps could have done so even more.
My thoughts as well.
In three years he had 111 receptions, 1600 yards, and 26 TD's. How is that not utilizing a TE?

[StoopTroup]

He barely made into the NFL....lol

[Curly Bill]

My thoughts as well.
In three years he had 111 receptions, 1600 yards, and 26 TD's. How is that not utilizing a TE?

...and we had lots of other weapons at the time.

[BoulderSooner79]

Didn't use him much in '09.