Recruiting

[8timechamps]

Texas, despite being humiliated by OU 4 times in the Mack Brown era, continues to get whom they want out of the Texas high school talent. That might worry me, if they ever did anything at Texas. Seriously, why would a recruit that has offers from OU & Texas pick Texas? Now, if the kid was a lifelong, die-hard wHorn fan, I could kind of see it. But for a kid that is looking to get the best coaching, exposure, etc., why in the hell would they pick Texas?

It will be interesting to hear the recruit reactions to the game. There were many in attendance today. I'll post what I find out in the next few days.

[jkm, the stolen pifwafwi]

To be honest, I think that Texas is suffering from the same crap we've been suffering from - That these high school superstars are peaking wayyyy too early. I was watching Vacarro today and he looks much less athletic than he did 2 years ago (not sure why maybe his body hasn't added weight gracefully, injuries, whatever). Before, he could get away with his lack of football instincts by using his athleticism but now that he's lost a step he's just a goober out there.

[Sabanball]

What I see is a huge waste of talent at Texas. You can have all the talent in the world, but if you do not know how to develop it then how great is that really??

[StoopTroup]

What I see is a huge waste of talent at Texas. You can have all the talent in the world, but if you do not know how to develop it then how great is that really??

You are now seeing what all of us have been seeing for years. Welcome to the club. :D

[StoopTroup]

To be honest, I think that Texas is suffering from the same crap we've been suffering from - That these high school superstars are peaking wayyyy too early. I was watching Vacarro today and he looks much less athletic than he did 2 years ago (not sure why maybe his body hasn't added weight gracefully, injuries, whatever). Before, he could get away with his lack of football instincts by using his athleticism but now that he's lost a step he's just a goober out there.

Maybe Stills playing with his mind (what little there is ;) ) was to much for him?

[Sabanball]

You are now seeing what all of us have been seeing for years. Welcome to the club. :D

Well, you have to admit that Mac had a pretty good run there for a while, but honestly they have not been the same since they played us in Jan 2010-- First they had a losing season and then two 8-5 seasons. Must be the 'Saban Effect'...;)

[StoopTroup]

Well, you have to admit that Mac had a pretty good run there for a while, but honestly they have not been the same since they played us in Jan 2010-- First they had a losing season and then two 8-5 seasons. Must be the 'Saban Effect'...;)

I won't admit he's had anything of the sort. Bob put a 5 year in a row hurt on Mack's Career vs OU. Until Mack can pull that out of his rear....the best run he'll have ever had was when he got diarrhea.

[MyT Oklahoma]

I heard that we had 30 recruits at the game today. Hope they had as good of a time as all of us did.

Speaking of 5 star recruits though, what is Jackson Jeffcoat's record now in the Red River Shootout, 0 and 3?

[redkid]

If jeffcoat would have came to OU when he had that choice,, with his talent and our coaching he would have been awesome,,just goes to show ya how 1 wrong decision can impact a kids life,,not saying he won't be in the NFL just not a high draft pick is all imho.

[MyT Oklahoma]

At least his sister saw the light.

[soonergirlNeugene]

Vacarro having a twitter meltdown as well. Please do update us on what you hear from recruits.
ESPN posted an article about the recruits pregame comments, but I'm not an insider so all I got was this:


Defensive tackle Charles Walker (Garland, Texas/South Garland) is one of the many college football recruiting prospects making the trip to the Cotton Bowl for Saturday’s Texas-Oklahoma showdown.

The 6-foot-4, 280-pound tackle claims an offer from Oklahoma and has received some interest from Texas. Like most of the uncommitted players there, he’s hoping for Saturday to offer an idea of what he wants in a winning program.

“I’m ready to see them get after it,” Walker said. “I want to see how the offenses execute and if the defenses can be on lockdown.”

[Ruf/Nek7]

According to Josh Mccuistion over on Rivals, we had right at 50 total visitors at the game. Now a few of them are already committed athletes and some are just accompanying guys but I would say that has to bode well for OU. If it really is about findiing a winning tradition, the choice is clear.

[5noubus]

I heard that we had 30 recruits at the game today. Hope they had as good of a time as all of us did.

Speaking of 5 star recruits though, what is Jackson Jeffcoat's record now in the Red River Shootout, 0 and 3?




We saw all the recruits! There were a bunch of them.
I do think Jeffcoat is one their best but he can't do it by himself

[PLaw]

To be honest, I think that Texas is suffering from the same crap we've been suffering from - That these high school superstars are peaking wayyyy too early. I was watching Vacarro today and he looks much less athletic than he did 2 years ago (not sure why maybe his body hasn't added weight gracefully, injuries, whatever). Before, he could get away with his lack of football instincts by using his athleticism but now that he's lost a step he's just a goober out there.

There is a lot to this statement above.

1) A lot of HS blue chip Jsr. and Srs. are 1-2 years older than many kids in their same class. They have been held back at some point during their education and if they were one of the oldest kids in the class to begin with, then they can have a two year physical maturity advantage over kids in their program or their opponents.

2) NCAA rules which allow offering 'ships so early. Factored with the above, then a lot of kids reach their physical maturity early and get the 4 and 5 star nods from the recruiting services. They look great on film because of their physical maturity advantage.

3) A lot of these kids have been able to play at a high level with poor fundamentals because of the early physical advantages over opponents.

4) Coaching and being coachable. We've seen where a young player is electric and creates a lot of buzz, but he just doesn't develop. And, on the other side of that issue are coaches who do not put their players in a position to be successful. I think we have several examples on our roster.

5) Prima dona attitudes. When a kid has been told how great he is since Jr. High school; has a maturity advantage over his competition; and experiences success because of the team around him, then he may not develop the right work ethic at an early age. He is not prepared for what is required to be a Div 1 player.

End of the day, it's about FOCUS, COMMITMENT, SENSE OF URGENCY, and PLAYING TO WIN. Any program that has 20% or more of their roster that don't have these qualities, will have problems. It's the old 20-60-20 rule. 20% will give you exceptional effort regardless of the circumstances. 20% will do the minimum to get by. It's how the coaches deal with the 60% and drive out the slackers that drives the success of the program When you get that 60% moving toward the side of the pendulum of the exceptional 20%, then the peer pressure and management dealing consistently with the slackers will deliver results. Bottom line, it's why the Bama oversigns because the slackers aren't going to be around.

BOOMER

[8timechamps]

Sounds like a lot of the recruits are being politically correct in their interviews, saying things like "One game isn't going to make my decision" or "I'm still taking my time", but I think anyone that saw the game had to walk away thinking two things:

1. Texas really does suck.
2. Oklahoma is really good.

Anyway, as I get comments, I'll leave them here. Here's one from class of 2014 Offensive Tackle Recruit Ty Barrett (Dallas/Skyline):


“OU fans were really into the game,” he said. “Their whole team and their swagger about the game was different, but it was a good different. The team came out ready to play, for real, and the fans came out more hype than Texas. The fans, coaches and players all were into it.

Texas has those great D-ends in Jackson Jeffcoat and Alex Okafor, but seeing how OU dealt with the D-ends and their blitzing was something. They seemed to pick up every blitz. I don’t think Landry Jones got touched out there. They were on it.”

[SoonerorLater]

There is a lot to this statement above.

1) A lot of HS blue chip Jsr. and Srs. are 1-2 years older than many kids in their same class. They have been held back at some point during their education and if they were one of the oldest kids in the class to begin with, then they can have a two year physical maturity advantage over kids in their program or their opponents.

2) NCAA rules which allow offering 'ships so early. Factored with the above, then a lot of kids reach their physical maturity early and get the 4 and 5 star nods from the recruiting services. They look great on film because of their physical maturity advantage.

3) A lot of these kids have been able to play at a high level with poor fundamentals because of the early physical advantages over opponents.

4) Coaching and being coachable. We've seen where a young player is electric and creates a lot of buzz, but he just doesn't develop. And, on the other side of that issue are coaches who do not put their players in a position to be successful. I think we have several examples on our roster.

5) Prima dona attitudes. When a kid has been told how great he is since Jr. High school; has a maturity advantage over his competition; and experiences success because of the team around him, then he may not develop the right work ethic at an early age. He is not prepared for what is required to be a Div 1 player.

End of the day, it's about FOCUS, COMMITMENT, SENSE OF URGENCY, and PLAYING TO WIN. Any program that has 20% or more of their roster that don't have these qualities, will have problems. It's the old 20-60-20 rule. 20% will give you exceptional effort regardless of the circumstances. 20% will do the minimum to get by. It's how the coaches deal with the 60% and drive out the slackers that drives the success of the program When you get that 60% moving toward the side of the pendulum of the exceptional 20%, then the peer pressure and management dealing consistently with the slackers will deliver results. Bottom line, it's why the Bama oversigns because the slackers aren't going to be around.

BOOMER

think reason number 1 is huge factor these days. When I was playing in high school I would say 80-90% of the players on the field were 16-17 year old sr and jr in HS. With the remainder being some sophomores and an occasional older Sr. who had been held back along the way (for academic reasons usually). Now you have schools that early on want to enroll kids in T1 after Kindergarten (I think there might be economic factors involved the way they push it) and parents that just hold their kids back to get an edge athletically. I had two sets of parents on my daughter's softball team just come flat out and tell me they held there kids back for this reason. I think their intentions were good. Get their kids scholarships. So you have in at least one of those cases a girl, or really an almost 20 yr old woman competing with 16 year olds. It's hard to knock them because it is probably going to work. But the chance of a 20 year old being peaked out is a much more likely possibility.

[MamaMia]

We wont have any recruits there next year, so I hope this game made an impression on some high school juniors.

[StoopTroup]

Anyway, as I get comments, I'll leave them here. Here's one from class of 2014 Offensive Tackle Recruit Ty Barrett (Dallas/Skyline): “OU fans were really into the game,” he said. “Their whole team and their swagger about the game was different, but it was a good different. The team came out ready to play, for real, and the fans came out more hype than Texas. The fans, coaches and players all were into it.

Texas has those great D-ends in Jackson Jeffcoat and Alex Okafor, but seeing how OU dealt with the D-ends and their blitzing was something. They seemed to pick up every blitz. I don’t think Landry Jones got touched out there. They were on it.”

And thus we have again set the recruiting hook once again.

Isn't it beautiful? :D

[FirstandGoal]

think reason number 1 is huge factor these days. When I was playing in high school I would say 80-90% of the players on the field were 16-17 year old sr and jr in HS. With the remainder being some sophomores and an occasional older Sr. who had been held back along the way (for academic reasons usually). Now you have schools that early on want to enroll kids in T1 after Kindergarten (I think there might be economic factors involved the way they push it) and parents that just hold their kids back to get an edge athletically. I had two sets of parents on my daughter's softball team just come flat out and tell me they held there kids back for this reason. I think their intentions were good. Get their kids scholarships. So you have in at least one of those cases a girl, or really an almost 20 yr old woman competing with 16 year olds. It's hard to knock them because it is probably going to work. But the chance of a 20 year old being peaked out is a much more likely possibility.

I've seen this as well. My son used to play competitive soccer and also played for his high school team and has a very late April birthday. He had not even been 18 for one month when he graduated high school.
I can't tell you how many times I was made to feel almost sub-par as a mother that I didn't wait an extra year to start him in school by a coworker whose almost 20 year old graduated high school the same year.

[cobrapilot]

Texas, despite being humiliated by OU 4 times in the Mack Brown era, continues to get whom they want out of the Texas high school talent. That might worry me, if they ever did anything at Texas. Seriously, why would a recruit that has offers from OU & Texas pick Texas? Now, if the kid was a lifelong, die-hard wHorn fan, I could kind of see it. But for a kid that is looking to get the best coaching, exposure, etc., why in the hell would they pick Texas?

It will be interesting to hear the recruit reactions to the game. There were many in attendance today. I'll post what I find out in the next few days.

I am a Sooner always and I love Norman, but really compare Norman or even OKC to Austin, and its party scene. No comparison. Now if you are going to the NFL I'd go to OU if I knew my last stop was d1 and I didn't care that much, I'd go to Texass. Oh. Maybe that's why they play like the did yesterday

[MamaMia]

Maybe Stills playing with his mind (what little there is ;) ) was to much for him? What? Stills has a great mind.

[StoopTroup]

What? Stills has a great mind.

Yes....I was talking about Vaccaro.

[MamaMia]

Yes....I was talking about Vaccaro.

I see. You mean Stills was playing with Vaccaros mind.

[8timechamps]

I am a Sooner always and I love Norman, but really compare Norman or even OKC to Austin, and its party scene. No comparison. Now if you are going to the NFL I'd go to OU if I knew my last stop was d1 and I didn't care that much, I'd go to Texass. Oh. Maybe that's why they play like the did yesterday

I think if you're a college kid, looking for the best place to go have fun, you'd probably pick Austin over Norman. As a college football player (and you'd have to be pretty good to get an offer from both), I don't think the party scene is as big an issue. And, if it is, that's probably not the kind of kid you want anyway. From just a football standpoint, I'd think the option would be pretty clear cut.

[StoopTroup]

I think if you're a college kid, looking for the best place to go have fun, you'd probably pick Austin over Norman. As a college football player (and you'd have to be pretty good to get an offer from both), I don't think the party scene is as big an issue. And, if it is, that's probably not the kind of kid you want anyway. From just a football standpoint, I'd think the option would be pretty clear cut.

I think if you are an Oklahoma Born and Bred kid and you have a bunch of friends or your Dad played at OU (Bradford for example) there's no way tu is going to get you because you want to go to a party school. Maybe if Grandma raised you and hit you with a shoe or a ruler, you are ready to be on your own and ready to go to a Party School but I'm with you. The kids that go there because it's a party School aren't exactly what I'd be looking for as a Coach. They can have them IMO. Just take a look at Justin Blackmon for example. He went to Stoolwater, "The King of 3.2 beer and loose Women". :D Justin got in lots of trouble taking trips to party. He was a great player for them but I don't think he would have done well at OU. It was best he went somewhere else. I know some folks will think it's crazy to not try and sign him and then contain him but I don't see that particular situation working out to well for Coaches. Signing Kids that are responsible and hard working and there to play football and get an education is a much better way to go IMO and OKC and Norman have become big enough that if you want a party....you shouldn't have to much trouble finding one IMO.

[8timechamps]

I think if you are an Oklahoma Born and Bred kid and you have a bunch of friends or your Dad played at OU (Bradford for example) there's no way tu is going to get you because you want to go to a party school. Maybe if Grandma raised you and hit you with a shoe or a ruler, you are ready to be on your own and ready to go to a Party School but I'm with you. The kids that go there because it's a party School aren't exactly what I'd be looking for as a Coach. They can have them IMO. Just take a look at Justin Blackmon for example. He went to Stoolwater, "The King of 3.2 beer and loose Women". :D Justin got in lots of trouble taking trips to party. He was a great player for them but I don't think he would have done well at OU. It was best he went somewhere else. I know some folks will think it's crazy to not try and sign him and then contain him but I don't see that particular situation working out to well for Coaches. Signing Kids that are responsible and hard working and there to play football and get an education is a much better way to go IMO and OKC and Norman have become big enough that if you want a party....you shouldn't have to much trouble finding one IMO.

I've thought for a long time that Stoops has done an excellent job of keeping the best Oklahoma kids. I don't think a kid born and raised a Sooner would ever leave for UT, at least not because he thought he'd be a better player by going there.

There is something I find interesting about Texas, and that's their supposed recruiting championships. Outside of Jeffcoat, Okafor and Diggs (all guys we offered in recruiting), I just didn't see any exceptional talent. For all the great recruits they've landed, they sure don't show up on the field.

[8timechamps]

Couple of quick comments from two recruits that attended the game:


"To think I might be able to play in a game like that is really exciting."

He's not committed, but I'm guessing if he is excited to think he may play in a game like that, he's not talking about being on the receiving end of a beat-down.


"All I can say is wow. That's what I was like the entire day. It was just...wow."

And the big one:


“They (OU) played with a lot more heart.”

When asked if Saturday felt different for him:


it was just another blowout. I’ve seen a few of them for OU