2008 Football Verbal Commitments

Rhino · Jun 11, 2008

Mike Balogun
Linebacker
6'0", 250 lbs., 4.6
Scranton (PA) Lackawanna C.C.

Committed: 01/20/07
Primary recruiter: Brent Venables

• Rivals.com junior college top 100 2008 (95)

Balogun had 90 tackles (72 solo), two interceptions, six sacks, and 11 tackles for a loss last season. He was named Defensive Player of the Year in the Northeast Football Conference and was named a second-team junior-college All-American.

Balogun is 24 and didn't start playing college football until two years ago.

Quotables:

"We've been here for 16 years and probably had 20 Division I linebackers. He's the best one," said Coach Mark Duda. "His combination of strength and speed is unusual. He's a super aggressive guy to the ball. He's really an unbelievable player. He plays with such a motor...we have to pull him off of people in practice most of the time because his motor is at such a high level all the time. He never fatigues. He's just one of those guys built to play. He had a couple of teeth chipped out in his mouth in a game and went back in the next play."
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Other schools considered:
Arkansas, Michigan State, UNLV, Akron, Buffalo, Marshall

Rhino · Jun 11, 2008

J.R. Bryant
Linebacker
6'3", 228 lbs., 4.48
Garden City (KS) Garden City C.C.

Committed: 01/25/08
Primary recruiter: Kevin Wilson & Brent Venables

• Rivals.com junior college top 100 2008 (34)

Bryant had 78 tackles and a sack this past season and was named a NJCAA Football All-American in 2007.

Quotables:

“J.R. has got good size and good speed,” said Davis. “He’s got a good frame. I think the biggest thing about J.R. is, he’s a big kid. A lot of people don’t understand how strong he is. He had close to a 300-pound power cling in the weight room during high school. One thing I remember about J.R. is that he was always a very hard worker in the weight room and on the field. He’s definitely a dominating defensive player. When he played for the Jackets, we basically moved him to linebacker to keep people from running away from him.”

“He’s a smart player on the field,” said Davis. “He does well in the game. He has a good presence, and he always [makes] adjustments and checks on the field at the linebacker position. He has a good grasp for schemes, and the further he gets up in competition, the more important it is to grasp concepts like that.”
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Other schools considered:
Texas Tech, Oklahoma State, South Florida, Arkansas, Kansas State, Nebraska, NC State

Rhino · Jun 11, 2008

Lamar Harris
Athlete / Defensive Back
6'2", 179 lbs.
Gilmer (TX) Gilmer

Committed: 02/05/08
Primary recruiter: Josh Heupel

• Rivals.com athletes 2008 (26)
• Rivals.com Texas Top 100 2008 (35)

Harris has been a silent commit for about a week now. He's made his intentions known to A&M and OU, but it wasn't until today that his coach talked to the media and confirmed his commitment.

Formerly committed to Texas A&M.

As a receiver, Harris had 48 catches for 734 yards and seven touchdowns his senior year. Cannot find any defensive stats right now.

Video:
http://64.237.99.126/oldclips/2008BA062.wmv

Hauling in a 64-yard pass:
[youtube]JVpWweBIaf4[/youtube]

Other schools considered:
Texas A&M, Oklahoma State, Baylor