Sooners Pick Up Late Addition To 2014 Class

Image via ESPN

As we mentioned in yesterday’s Junior Day Open Post, the possibility of Oklahoma adding a late 2014 commitment in the form of Under Armour All-American long-snapper Wesley Horky was certainly on the table. The Tennessee product was in Norman with his family for an official visit after a scholarship offer from OU special teams coach, Jay Boulware, forced him to reconsider his previous commitment to the in-state Volunteers.

Saturday night Horky took to Twitter to make his commitment to the Sooners official.

While it may seem a bit odd to either (1) be taking a commitment this late while pushing OU’s scholarship count one over the 85-man limit and/or (2) offering a scholarship to a long-snapper, it’s clear Boulware has been given the freedom to make special teams a priority. It remains to be seen how OU will get back down to that 85 number, but clearly the coaches felt comfortable enough that would happen they could offer Horky.

Presumably, OU already had their long-snapper on campus in Trevor Knight’s twin brother, Connor. However even at a position many seemingly take for granted, at a school like Oklahoma you’re going to have competition for a starting spot no matter where you play.

Horky is widely considered to be one of the best in the country at what he does and while that skill may not be highly valued by the common fan, it was deemed valuable enough by Boulware. And considering how well the Sooners’ special teams played this past season in Boulware’s first year, it’s probably safe to defer to the man’s judgment.

 

40 Comments

  • Adrian says:

    Did LJ Moore leaving, Kendal Thompson leaving not put us under the 85 scholarships?

    • Billy Jackson says:

      That’s what I was wondering. Will be interesting to see if anyone else leaves. There’s also the possibility someone doesn’t qualify.

      • Jordan Esco says:

        re: the latter, w/ the most obvious candidate, IMO, being Orlando Brown based on what I’ve heard/read.

        • Leroy Jenkins says:

          I really hope he qualifies. Is it likely at this point that he will or won’t, in your opinion?

        • CoachStauder says:

          I took a lot of heat for my Orlando Brown comments, glad someone finally is on board. Common sense says that they wouldn’t have asked Brown to go to prep school or to a juco. They would have asked him to gray shirt if he could make the grades. I really couldn’t figure out why everyone thought I was crazy for using common sense.

          • JY says:

            Don’t know if it was heat at all. Just reporting what I’ve been told.

          • CoachStauder says:

            Maybe that was the wrong choice of words. However, you definitely did more than report what you heard as you argued your point (which is completely fine of course) as well. It was a fun little debate, but I was on an island with a couple of you guys disagreeing.

            It more than appears at this point that OU was plenty fine with offering a scholly and placing a kid…and it might be at Hargrave. I argued that OU DOES place kids and definitely was told I was wrong. I know it doesn’t happen often, but it does happen. It appears that it will happen with Brown…and it is plenty worth the risk. Kid can be a great player.

          • blaster1371 says:

            Any chance that Tennessee wanted to see if Brown could keep up his conditioning? Didn’t he weigh something like 380 his junior year?

    • Jordan Esco says:

      I thought Moore leaving put them at 85.

    • Daryl says:

      Am I crazy or did I see that Franks left the team too? I thought he transferred also.

  • Sooner Ray says:

    I think they’re fine on ships, if they didn’t have the spot I don’t think they would use one on a snapper. The staff isn’t known for being a bunch of idiots.

    • pitbull17 says:

      Exactly, it’s a 100% possibility that they know something we don’t.

    • Gary Robbins says:

      I agree our coaches know what they are doing. Slow day here 13 degrees, was snowing-now sleeting. I think I’ve got this 85 limit figured out.
      A. Start with 85
      B. Subtract number of early enrollee’s. (4)
      C. Discount: D. Williams, T. Metoyer, B. Glenn, Trey Franks, K. Thompson (-5)
      D. Number that coaches know that will not qualify, be kicked off team, or leave (-2).
      E. Number of Seniors I counted from a Tulsa World roster posting (-16).
      F. Total is a minus 27.
      G. Total number of 2014 signees= 27. Back to 85!!
      Wonder if OU needs a Director of Numbers Coach??? Lol.

      • Sooner Ray says:

        I’m getting pounded with sleet also, feels colder than 13. You’re math might be right. I’m scratching my head looking at the roster, in the neighborhood of 120 names. Do we have that many kids who aren’t on scholarship?

        • Gary Robbins says:

          You’re right. Surely not that many walk-ons . Maybe Jordan has some input on that.

          • Sooner Ray says:

            Hey Gary, did a little digging and read somewhere that a scholarship can be divided up between players as partials and it still counts one and also some players can be hooked up with some real nice financial aid and it isn’t called a scholarship. That may be the way teams are carrying well over a hundred kids and still meeting the 85 rule.

          • Gary Robbins says:

            Thanks-makes a lot of sense.

      • CoachStauder says:

        OU is at 86 with this addition. If Orlando Brown does not make it they are at 85. KT, Trey and LJ put us down to 85 and Wesley put us at 86 for the time being. They have until June.

        • Gary Robbins says:

          Thanks-told you it was a slow day. Just go to D and kick somebody off! In all sincerity I have always wondered how they got to this 85. Like Sooner Ray mentioned The Tulsa World had around 120 or so listed on a roster. Would they have that many walk-ons or what?

          • CoachStauder says:

            Yeah, it’s not abnormal to have that many walk-ons. Practice squad guys, kickers, punters, etc… Often times it’s local kids with talent that are asked to be preferred walk-ons. Too bad they all can’t end up like Dom Whaley! haha

        • blaster1371 says:

          I remember an article here that said Adam Shead’s back problems are chronic and his football future was in doubt.

  • territorysooner says:

    Why does everyone believe the job was Conner Knight’s to start with? This is not meant to be a slam at Conner, he is a great kid and a very good athlete. His primary position is TE (for which he walked on) and he also happened to deep snap. If you ask the punters, there was a HUGE disparity between A. Woods and C. Knight with regard to both the speed and accuracy of their snaps. Just having someone who can “get” the ball back to the punter is not adequate. It is apparent to me the kids on campus are not where the coaches want them, so help/competition was needed. I would think the job is open and Horky will still have to earn the spot in the fall. His primary competition should be C. Knight, although I think there are a couple more kids who might try to put themselves in the mix. My guess is that the fundamentals Horky has specifically worked on and honed for the last few years will move him to the top of the lineup at that position. I think it is a great addition that will add a level of consistency to a position whose importance is often overlooked.

  • Ed Cotter says:

    Congrats Wesley, welcome to Sooner Nation.

  • EasTex says:

    Congratulations and welcome to OU, Wesley.

    What a great weekend trip that turned out to be for the entire family.

    A little surprised at the UA video where only four young men competed for the long snapper job. I knew there wouldn’t be a long snapper there from Pulaski Academy, they don’t punt.

  • Herman Bubbert says:

    It’s a critical skill. If it requires a scholly, I’m good with it. Welcome aboard, Wes.

  • RboomerSooner says:

    Welcome to Sooner Nation…..glad to have a product from where I reside now….good luck

  • Bill Duncan says:

    It looks like he’s throwing darts out there…..

  • bjwalker82 says:

    Didn’t we lose LJ Moore, so now we have a spot?

  • akbuc says:

    I don’t care about them offering a long-snapper. The position is way more important than people think. Anytime there’s a punt block called by a good team, it’s only about a few tenths of a second between getting the kick off and getting it blocked. The long-snapper may be more important than the punter in that respect. I’m just interested in how their going to juggle the scholarships. I hope they don’t end up grayshirting a kid that assumed he was going to get a scholarship. I hate that sort of thing, and I hope that OU doesn’t do that.