The Football Brainiacs

The 2016 class, for the most part, is done and dusted. And the OU staff have now shifted their recruiting focus to 2017. But before we do the same, I want to take a quick look back at a few of the ups and downs from the 2016 and what can be learned from each going forward.

– Abdul Adams and Joshua Jacobs: There probably isn’t a position I dislike scouting more than running back. But even I can see Abdul Adams (OU signee) and Joshua Jacobs (Alabama signee) are fun to watch. At the level those guys play, you’re splitting hairs trying to pick between them.

The Sooners did a nice job of continuing their excellent RB recruiting and because of it, the blow of missing out on Jacobs is certainly mitigated.

The Lesson for 2017: While they certainly weren’t alone, OU was clearly very late in discovering Jacobs. The lesson to learn for 2017 is to make sure the state of Oklahoma is thoroughly mined, and the in-state players are fully evaluated. That means finding them now, staying in touch, and ensuring they feel wanted or desired enough to at least come camp at OU where the coaches can get an up close look at them.

– Chris Daniels: Diron Reynolds, Bob Stoops and the OU staff did a great job of recruiting Chris Daniels. Just because they ultimately lost out to Texas does not change that fact. In fact, for the longest time Daniels’ father was squarely in OU’s corner because of the relationship he had built with the OU staff and the tremendous respect he has for coach Reynolds. In fact Daniels’ father said about Reynolds, “hands down, my favorite defensive line coach.” But somehow Texas still managed to steal Daniels late.

For TX kids that’s not always surprising, but Daniels’ family is originally from Arkansas and grew up rooting for the Razorbacks. However as we discussed on TFB many times, Daniels’ family had a lot of personal ties to Charlie Strong and that certainly played a considerable role in Daniels’ recruitment. Not to mention Strong is known as a good recruiter regardless.

That said, I can’t help but feel like a lot of what swayed Daniels in the end was the official visit to Austin where he was around a former teammate and current Texas starter, Patrick Vahe, and all the other local kids Texas had in that same weekend.

The Lesson for 2017: Build a foundation. Typically recruiting kids in a certain area (Texas or Oklahoma for example) ensures they know each other, and a lot of the time they can be your best ally in recruiting one another. The see each other at camps, games, etc. and end up building a strong foundation with each other that is sometimes harder for them to walk away from, perhaps even proving to be more important than the relationship they have with a school and/or coach. Additionally, they can band together and collectively recruit other guys.

That doesn’t mean OU should back off recruiting nationally — as far as I’m concerned they got a STEAL out of D.C. in Parnell Motley — but they need to continue to work to make sure there is a foundation of committed recruits who help the coaches recruit other kids. In this 2017 class, OU already has a couple guys like that in Levi Draper and Robert Barnes.

The Lesson for 2017: Get out of your own way. Whatever the reason for Cobb’s decommittment, the Sooners can’t shoot themselves in the foot. Honestly, that wasn’t even the only story we’ve heard about of an OU staff member choosing a less desirable course of action. The reason maintaining good relationships throughout the process is critical for OU is because not only can it affect the current recruit, it can affect relationships in the region for future recruits. Going off and a player that’s tied to a certain group of coaches, trainers, players, etc. can come back to haunt you down the road.

– New Coaches: For whatever reason, new coaches tend to struggle a bit in their first year of recruiting. Jerry Montgomery was one of the best recruiters Stoops has ever hired, and even he struggled that first year.

The Lesson for 2017: There’s really no lesson for OU here, but there is a lesson for the fans…be patient. OU had several new coaches recruiting in this past cycle, and I fully expect them to recruit at a higher level in 2017.