Evaluating Oklahoma’s Safety Prospects
Posted on: September 17, 2014
Images of McKinley Whitfield and Justin Reid via 247sports.com, images of Will Sunderland and Kahlil Haughton via Scout.com
This past summer we asked former Sooner safety, Tony Jefferson to take our Blind Tape Test and compare safeties Will Sunderland, Justin Reid & McKinley Whitfield. If you missed it, you can see it HERE. With Will Sunderland committing to Oklahoma this past weekend, we asked former director of pro scouting for the Denver Broncos, Chris Trulove, to look at film on the three primary Oklahoma safety prospects (and of course another one of our favorite OK Preps prospects). Chris looked at film on all four (Sunderland, Reid, Haughton & Whitfield), here are his thoughts:
Will Sunderland (VIDEO)
Safety with good length and range. Can play center field and cover a lot of ground. Very good range and timing from the deep middle to the SL on deep fades and is not afraid to lay a lick on the receiver. Times the deep ball well. Is not a trained killer vs. the run, but does not over commit and get out of position. He maintains good field leverage on the ball carrier. Capable last line of defense defender but is often a low dive tackler. Leaves his feet more than desired when tackling. Consistent low tackler, often at the ankles, and is not one to stop a ball carrier in his tracks. Will give up some YAC at the next level and is not going to be an intimidating force in the middle of the field.
Shows good discipline on special teams and has the speed and range to contribute early there. This is a true free safety candidate that needs time to add some bulk and will have to become a true ball hawking QB of a defense to have a great presence at the major college level. He will need time to earn his spot with smarts and consistency.
McKinley Whitfield (VIDEO)
Football player!! Rangy safety with a real knack for hitting. Long, aggressive, and athletic. Good but not elite speed. Versus the pass, he has very good acceleration from the spot to the ball, has good speed and range, and is a nasty hitter at the point of arrival. Has a real presence blowing up crossing routes over the middle. Plays with violence. Shows good ball skills whether over his shoulder, or at him and his spot. Wide receiver action reinforces his possession of ball skills. Can turn and run down field in man coverage, turn and find the ball, and make the high point catch.
Has played a lot of QB suggesting he has the smarts for safety. Good range to the edge vs. the run and has good last step, sudden to burst through tackles. Wraps ball carriers with intensity and does not give up much YAC. Takes good angles and delivers a blow. Can be a bit late to diagnose and react, but with snaps as a full-time collegiate safety his reactions will improve. The game looks fun and easy for him whether at safety, QB, WR, or punt returner. With focus this guy will play a lot of football. Highly graded player that would have an even higher grade if he had truly elite speed.
Justin Reid (VIDEO)
Highly instinctive safety with a real knack for the position. Is very quick out of a standstill and has great burst to the action. Very good overall athlete with good size, quickness, speed, ball skills, and even kickoff ability. Versus the pass, he has a very good burst from his pedal and has the agility and foot quickness to cover some WR’s and most backs or TE’s in man coverage. He has a very good sense of timing for the incoming pass and breaks on the ball well. He has feel for when to play the ball and when to play the receiver. He does run the alley well is not afraid to punish receivers over the middle. He can get to the SL vs the deep ball and can high point it.
Versus the run, he is a quick reactor to the play and to the leverage spot. He is not a huge man at this time but he’ll break down, faces up, and wraps up very well with strength and effort. Very sure wrap tackler. This is a very well-rounded safety that will be ready to play the position at a major college quickly. Very reliable and ready football player with strong and free safety capabilities.
Kahlil Haughton (VIDEO)
Long, lean player that has a lot of physical room to fill out. Free safety candidate with a very nice backpedal and explosiveness out of it. Is a quick-twitch player with range. Has very good speed and can close ground in a hurry. Is last step sudden to the ball whether it’s in flight or in the ball carrier’s hands. He tends to coast at times and get behind plays, but can really turn on the speed when it is time to close. Versus the pass, can play the deep middle due to his speed, range, and arm length to the incoming ball. He does take some gambles undercutting throws and will have to limit that at the next level. He has good timing and ball skills, though, and can come down with the high point ball. He can play over the slot due to his nice pedal and his fluid hip turns. Has man coverage skills and nice zone length. Could even play corner in a pinch. He does like to lay the wood after receivers come down with the ball.
Versus the run, he is not at all afraid despite his current lean frame. Not a huge downhill flyer and he needs to improve his run diagnose quickness. He does cover a lot of ground once the light comes on, and he is a nice face up tackler. He lacks the strength right now to be a top-notch wrap up guy, but he faces up very well and tackles with more power than his current frame would suggest. Not going to miss many tackles. Overall, he plays with nice abandon and very good physical skills. He will need to bulk up over his early days in college, but he has a lot of upside. Very nice future free safety candidate at the Big 5 conference level.
Ranking
1. Justin Reid
2. McKinley Whitfield
3. Kahlil Haughton
4. Will Sunderland
123 Comments
Am I correct in my understanding that Whitfield still does not have an offer from OU?
Correct and he’s not a safety target but is a linebacker target for mike.
so let’s split the difference and put Whitfield at nickel where I feel he belongs anyway
Interesting, he may be able to play the Striker position.
I just posted the same thing above. He could be a better version of Hayes. I think he’s got more speed than the film suggests, he just needs someone to teach him better technique so he doesn’t have wasted steps.
Can’t coach instincts. I’ve said all along that nickel was his spot or where Striker is playing. Bottom line is he is football fast.
No doubt his instincts are unreal. Can’t believe we are waiting around but so is Arkansas so maybe it’s a deal where they all want to keep Alabama and lsu out of oklahoma. Yet I think ou, osu and Arkansas will be the top 3 if they offered.
I really like Reid and would’ve put MW 3A lack of experience. But there is no denying the guy is an athlete and can play football. As soon a 1 major offers, the landslide will start with Ark, Osu, some of the smaller regional schools and hopefully OU.
I’m wondering what it is that is delaying the offers, if it’s just that they don’t want everyone offering? But I think he would stay local, strong should have thought about offering whitfield over jamile. Just saying some team is going to get a real football player.
IMO, and K said it too, it’s strictly numbers and this year, unlike the past few, OU is in on a lot of highly ranked kids. Almost any other year, think Mac gets the offer, maybe a late ‘scramble’ offer, which he could get yet. In on 3-4 very good, more polished safeties and the same with LBs, where Coach Mike is considering him. He just was not on the OU radar early enough.
Not that I dissagree….but if Whitfield was as good as so many think he could be, I kinda figure Mike would have offered him. I trust mike SOOOO much more than other defensive coaches from the past. If Mike doesn’t want to give a schollie just yet, there is a reason.
I’m with you and I sure don’t want to compare my eye for talent against Coach Mike? See how it plays out.
a “target” with no offer.
Not that I would rank these guys differently I am a bit surprised 2-4 wasn’t a 3-way tie for 2nd because his evaluation seemed similar of those three as far as equally nice things to say about their game and equally critical of what they should work on. I would like to take all 4 though and play whitfield maybe as a striker/Roy backer if we don’t land 2 really good olb prospects. Or he could play more like Hayes did vs Tennessee. Haughton I believe would also be good as a nickel safety/corner, he looks fluid enough to play corner.
His top 3 were separated by only a tenth of a point here and there. There was a big drop between Haughton and Sunderland based on last years film
Ouch. Hopefully he comes in and works his butt off to try and contribute in the next couple of years.
I think the coaches really believe in the potential of Sunderland. There has really been some growth from his sophomore to junior year and even more since. He’s shown out at several camps and has the measurables to really develop. You can’t teach size and speed.
Perhaps I’ve missed it, but can anyone at TFB explain why OU hasn’t offered Whitfield? Apparently everyone else thinks he’s a stud, do the coaches feel otherwise? Not criticising, just curious. Thanks.
I don’t know if I’d go so far as to say that “everyone else” thinks he’s a stud considering Minnesota, and to some degree Houston, are his only “big-time” offers. He’s gone to camps at both OU and Arkansas and has not walked away with an offer so there must be something that the coaches either don’t see or haven’t seen yet to warrant an offer.
That is what is so confusing. Grades out good by a former pro scout and certainly passes the eye test. Yet, camped at OU and Arky but still no offer from either. Grades are okay it seems so either OU is in on guys they feel are better or they are just wanting to see him in actual games to better evaluate. Of course the other side is that they just don’t feel he is OU good. Guess we will just have to wait and see.
Completely agree. My guess is that OU coaches don’t feel like he plays against near the competition as the other three. Roland, OK is not the same as Texas or New Orleans, or even Midwest City for that matter.
Ronnell Lewis(Sorry about the spelling)….Dewar Oklahoma….Was a beast on the field.
No doubt he was a beast. But who was that RB a few years back that trampled HS rushing records, but then was never able to get on the field at OU? I think he ended up transferring to Tulsa? Level of competition, while not determinative, does play a role in recruitment.
Courtney Tennial Glenpool RB
That’s the one.
Courtney came the same year as one Adrian Peterson….. and he did see the field ….just very little, If my memory serves me right he also got injured.
Fair enough, but Courtney rushed for over 3,400 yards his senior year of HS while AD “only” rushed for 2,900. My only point is that level of competition is a factor in the decision to offer or not to offer.
But peterson played at a very low class didn’t he? It’s just he showed exceptional talent.
He did, I believe, but I’d be willing to bet a low class in east Texas is slightly better than east OK.
While you’re probably right about the level of competition, it is 4A so it’s not like it’s 8 man.
True, but there’s a big difference between 6A and 4A. Hell, a huge difference between 5A and 4A. But, yeah, there are studs at the 4A level for sure. See example below.
Really…..I think all four guys would do a job for this defense. I could actually see these guys stepping in quickly in our system. I am curious if Whitfield has grade issues and that is why they haven’t pulled the trigger?
Apparently his grades aren’t an issue according to his brother, who used to post here frequently.
Well??? Then why not give the guy a ring(phone call) and ask if he wants to play.. just sayin’. you can’t teach the god given stuff. I believe that Mike, Bob and the rest of our coaches can make him a stud!!
I’m guessing that same question could be asked to all of the coaches who haven’t yet offered him. I trust in our coaches so there must be something they don’t see. My guess is it’s the level of competition that he faces.
I wonder how Mike Stoops would rank them. Minus Whitfield, since he is not being considered by OU at safety.
Whitfield, please.
Little frustrating to see everyone continuing to bang the Whitfield drum. If he was as stellar as you point out, he would have an offer from Oklahoma and other big programs. I understand the feeling of wanting to promote him and you guys believe in him, I can respect that, however if he was as much of a big time prospect how come Arkansas hasn’t offered him? Even after he camped there. Especially with how much they need safeties. (Or anyone on defense for that matter).
Again, I can appreciate the way you guys believe in him, I just don’t think it’s as open and shut as you guys do.
We don’t believe it’s an open and shut case. We like him and we’ve simply presented alternative opinions for y’all…namely Tony Jeffersons, JJ Meadors, Clay Macks and Chris Truloves. It just so happens that everyone we’ve asked to look at his film and everyone we trust that’s worked closely with Whitfield believes in his talent and ability. I don’t know why you would be frustrated by this? He’s a local kid that we like and if we are right about him he won’t be the first kid that major college coaches have been wrong about (including Mike Stoops) and if we’re wrong then what’s the harm? That a local kid got undue credit? Again, not sure why that is “frustrating”?
That you got a former NFL scout to eval these players and his eval coincides with what most of us have seen only corroborates the excellent work you are doing here.
Some/many of us would be disappointed if Whitfield isn’t even offered. There is no guarantee he would choose OU. He’s a stud that will make plays.
It’s peculiar to me that people would take an opinion about a football player so personally.
Yeah, the negativity from fans of the same football team surrounding a local recruit surprises me. I understand disagreement, but there’s no place for that level of frustration.
It’s always something.
K, we like a lot of guys that don’t have offers. I wish ILB Griffin had an offer yesterday but.. TFB talks OU recruiting along with promoting Okie talent like Riley Daniel, Jace Sternberger, Kayden Jackson, & Jousha Little to name a few. This site has helped some kids with scholly’s, how huge is that to a parent who doesn’t know the recruiting arena. Not only is this site a wealth of info for OU junkies but you also help kids & parents along the way. Very Cool stuff.
Thanks for the kind words Boom! And yeah I like Griffin a lot 🙂
Yes, that is quite bizarre. Dude has issues.
I’ve said it before & I’ll say it again…Mac is the player I personally covet the most. KSL is high on my list, as is Gallimore and Ykili Ross, but I think Whitfield is a giant pink diamond in the rough. I am a firm believer that in-state kids bring an intangible element–perhaps it’s a degree of pride–that shows up in the biggest games because the victory is a little more personal for them. Let’s face it, when you win, the top caliber high school athletes want to play for you. It doesn’t matter if it’s OU, USC, Bama, FSU or Texas. Winning is the ultimate magnet for an out of state kid. That’s fine and you want talent on your team. But when you have guys like Teddy Lehman, Rocky Calmus, Julian Wilson, Sam Bradford, Dan Cody, Gabe Ikard, Aaron Colvin. Matt Skinner…or whoever you want to plug in there, winning means more than just a shot at the NFL or $$. It means something more personal to them. I think that’s why you see 2* Oklahoma guys matching up with 4-5* guys on other teams.
I agree that Mac is a stud. However, not being from Oklahoma (just there for school), I’ll just have to disagree with the rest of your post. Yes their are a lot of 3 star studs that have gone through our program. But again its all just a numbers game. Out of 2K HS kids, only
50 years of watchin football don’t make me an expert but does qualify as a fan? Seein same same EasTex – and in any event will track his career and do wish him the best of luck where ever he winds up.
As do I.
I think we will hear about and see this young man playing well on Saturdays in the future.
I guess the word “frustrated” is probably the incorrect term to use. I just feel that if he was as good as everyone says, including Chris, he would have just that many more offers. His tape has been out and he’s been to camps. I do appreciate putting the local kids out there, and I don’t have an issue with that. I’m just not sure he’s Oklahoma good, and while time hasn’t run out, it seems that Mike thinks there are better options out. I like what you guys do, and I’m not trying to pick an argument, so if it came off that way I’m sorry. I guess I just haven’t bought into the player for Oklahoma and that’s probably part of it.
Understand. Here’s a good one. Chuck Long had to push the coaches to use a last minute scholly on Bradford as he was only a 3*. Think of it this way. I don’t remember to many D1 schools after Striker as a 3* S/LB at 6’190. Not great speed but not big enough to play LB. It was a stretch but guess it’s paid off. That’s what we see in Whitfield or at least I do. I mean when Saunders played TE in high school at 150 who wanted him? I’ve said this all along, put him in a Jenks uni for the last 4 years and everyone would want him.
It’s possible, and pushing the offer thing I get. I’m not saying he’s worthless and can’t play. I just think the biggest factor to me as an indication, was when he wasn’t offered by Arkansas. With all the help they need there, that really stood out as a sign. They may be wrong, along with Oklahoma, and I’ll eat crow all day long. I just don’t see it right now. I’m not here trying to bash the kid or the site. I like what goes on. Just my opinion. Frustrated appears to have been the wrong term.
Nope, I get it and realize you have no ill will on Whitfield, no worrie. We all have our favorites which makes being a fan so much fun. I like the ILB Griffin from Florida but he doesn’t have an offer either. Doesn’t mean I’m not going to pull for him.
Wasn’t offered by Arkansas because the think they have him in their pocket.. Lunney told kinley run a 4.5 we’ll offer.. so he did and asked kinley would he commit if they offered.. kinley said yes but guess what no offer
I was wondering if this was the same problem w/an OU offer: They think they have him in their pocket? It’s frustrating to me, and I’m not directly involved. I could only imagine what it must feel like for you and Mac. Good luck. Hope to see Mack in Crimson and Cream.
Boom, just not true. Bradford was one of the first, if not the first recruit of his class.
wrong, look it up. Long had to fight at the end to get him.
I don’t have to look it up. I know his Dad personally. He committed during the summer between his Jr and Sr years.
BoomerDave, please accept my apology. 5/27 commit date so I was wrong. I misunderstood the conversation with Long and the other coaches. Again, thanks for pointing that out to me.
BoomerDave, my apologies. 5/27 commit date so I was the one who was wrong. I misunderstood what they said on TV between Chuck and the other folks. Thanks for the correction.
Well he holds 14 D1 offers..
sheesh
http://fakeplus.com/pictures/jpg/-one-mans-frustration_20120406172610.jpg
It’s not decided that he will not receive an offer from Oklahoma, it just hasn’t happened yet (if at all). The kid is clearly a very talented athlete, in the state, and many of us are interested in following his career (whether it be at OU, or elsewhere). There’s a long way left to go before NSD, and it’s very possible the offers will come.
Take lessons from this poster, Michael Brock. He disagrees, but at least is respectful about it.
While completely off topic, any updates on Guarantano (or any of the other 2016 QB’s for that matter) and how he liked his visit?
Nothing on Guarantano but Alex spoke to Shane Buechele…we posted that update in the “Recruit Reactions” post.
17act only taken once and 3.4 gpa Purdue tulsa etc offered. Where you need better grades to get in
How has McKinley done so far this season?
glad to have ya back
Let him know that many of us are pulling for him.
Maybe you should send this info to Mike Stoops, because he is clearly a complete idiot when it comes to evaluating talent. Give it up on Whitfield. Its getting annoying. He obviously is not good enough to get any offers from a big time school.
We write about what we love Michael. If that’s “annoying” then we advise you to either stop visiting the site or simply read the 100s of other posts that don’t include McKinley Whitfield. And to your final point, the NFL is riddled with players who weren’t “good enough” to get any offers from big time schools. Putting aside the fact that he has 12 offers including two from BCS programs despite being from a tiny town and being found very late in the process.
NFL Talent evaluators put a late round grade on Tom Brady who got passed up by every team for a little over six rounds and started his career 4th on the Patriots depth chart but somehow through all the doubters has become one of the greatest statistical QBs in the NFL. (and he married Gisele!!!). But you may say that was the NFL not college so I will counter that argument with a guy that got 5 offers as a high school senior and the biggest school looking at him was Colorado in the middle of their terrible years. He was considered by most a 2* prospect from a small town. He eventually decided to start his college football career at Central Michigan before transferring to Wisconsin and he SOMEHOW MIRACULOUSLY provided the evaluators who gave him the 2 stars wrong by becoming a Top DE in the NFL, a 2x ALL-Pro and Defensive Player of the Year Award Winner! May I introduce you to Mr. J.J. Watt!!! Tell anybody that has a problem with this site and the content provided to see the complaint department. (ITS THAT SMALL ROOM IN THEIR HOUSE WITH THE WHITE PORCILEN SEAT WITH A SILVER HANDLE AND WHEN THEY GET THROUGH BE SURE AND FLUSH!!!) SMH!!!
*Mic drop*
You guys will start to get more of these idiotic posts like the guy above as your site gets more popular. Personally, I say just ignore them, because they are either trolling or actively seeking out something to complain about. I’m not sure how something as subjective as high school recruits can annoy someone so much at a site they aren’t forced to visit, but hey, that’s just me. Keep up the good work, thanks for the info.
I’m told the Arkansas staff was excited about Whitfield after seeing his film, and had every intention of extending an offer when he camped, but he was average or struggled against equal athletes and looked more like a project at safety (I don’t think they were looking at him as a LB). I don’t know that’s true, but the same folks who told me about Arkansas pursuing Cantrell before the OU staff acknowledged his existence, provided the Whitfield info.
Heard the same thing on him, for what it’s worth.
But what yall fail to realize everything Mckinley does is self taught or what I’ve shown.. nd I played DT in college.. So I don’t know everything about db..
I can understand that. I have nothing against him, and really would like to see him succeed. I’m just not sure it is Oklahoma. As much as I like the home state kids to succeed.
No kiddin, he’s raw. Bradford was raw too and he didn’t have big time offers. He looked average in HS but he also played about every sport so he didn’t have time to focus on one. Same with Whitfield.
Big time schools have the luxury of signing more polished kids than Whitfield. He may be middle of the road at this time to some but pulling for an Okie kid to get more pub/hype. It will work out, I just hope he goes to get an education out of the offer no matter who it is.
People are entitled to have a different opinion than you, it will happen virtually everyday. Many people, myself included, are very high on Whitfield. You being annoyed doesn’t change the fact that many people that know what they are talking see his talent.
Michael, there are players in the Pro Bowl who didn’t get D- offers. Case in point, Alabama gets 4* and 5* all the time. I refuse to believe Alabama will go unbeaten, ever. Some 3* player is going to make more plays than a 4* or 5*. It called determination to be great. That’s all that matters. McKinley has that determination.
The site is provides info to us OU junkie’s along with promoting kids who don’t get any pub. Whitfield is one of those from a small Okie town that we just happen to be pulling for. Can’t blame us for wanting a kid to have a free education who happens to be a raw athlete. He will play D1 ball somewhere, some of us just hope it’s OU. Nothing more or less.
Yeah man mike, he stinks. Just the worst.
I’ll alert the media and let them know something annoys you
And yet a pro scout thinks he’s better than two guys who have those offers. Weird.
Haha….you said annoying! Smh….
Would love all 4! If we strike out on some of our current OLB targets, that may just happen!
With Sunderland on board, Reid thinking about commiting on his visit, and Haughton almost committing a month ago, I’d say we’re in good shape at the safety position for a while.
I think OU lands Reid and Haughton. McKinley would be a late OLB/Nickel offer and but we’re sitting good with a lot of stellar targets there. I’d be curious to see if McKinley’s frame could hold 225 lbs down the road. Maybe turn into a Jordan Evans type ILB.
Good call. Jordan ran down their RB to save a score so he’s got wheels. Only Whitfield was called a violent hitter. Maybe he should go to this position.
And with Mike liking him at LB, that just might be the thought process. In any event, thanks TFB for another Trulove breakdown. Was just asking for an eval of the safety prospects on another thread – Reid vs Haughton.
And 1 more thing, or 2…as for speed, see Whitfield was laser timed at Arky with 4.55-4.58 at 6’3. Reid is Sparq verified at 6’1 194 with a 4.64 40 and has a ton of offers. So it isn’t ‘lack of speed’. Like Boom said, if the kid had been wearing a Jenks uniform, or Lawton or Mac he would have teams beating down the door. In fairness, he also would be playing against top competition. I wonder when watching his film, he makes it so effortless, like the proverbial man among boys, that people diminish his obvious athletic skills.
Watch his hudl you can tell he doesn’t belong there.. he stand out every coach I’ve talked to who plays kinley has said all were worried abt is stopping kinley… yet he’s still putting up crazy #s
Well on offense 7 rushing tds and I think 2 passing.. against stillwell who just moved down from 5a ran for 220 with 3 rushing.. and Muldrow 4 rushing and a passing td
Did Mac tell you I got onto him the other day because I thought he was speeding up his senior highlights? Then I realized he wasn’t haha. He’s really taking a step forward in terms of speed.
Well they keep saying he’s not fast but when your 6’4 and run 4.5 and 21.8 in the 200 I don’t understand how you don’t have pretty good speed.. I’m no expert or comparing him to Deanthony thomas, but didn’t he run 4.58 at the combine??
If you are where you need to be when you need to be there, you’re not slow. Tell McKinley we want him to be a Sooner.
Mac is fast enough to play center field. On film he looks like he’s got good not great speed. But he’s also an untrained athlete in terms of speed so I expect him get faster. The other thing that Sailor and I talked about was how the length of his legs makes him look a little slower than he really is. He’s got long strides. I tell you the same thing I tell Mac, it’s all gonna work out. The kid is a football player and the right school is going to see it and give him his chance and he’ll make Spiro and the state proud. He’s one of the kindest young men we’ve had the pleasure of talking to even though he’s a dawg on the field.
I guess we can all just call him Mac moving forward. Fair enough
Kind of how they say Julian Wilson is not fast, just long. I could see TCU offering this kid and him being a all conference type FS for them.
Agree. And not everyone on OU a staff supported the move but it was coach Viney who really got him ready and insisted he could do it.
He has a few clips of his senior year on hudl
http://www.hudl.com/athlete/1813236/highlights/161665379#
Stud!
Thx, fun to watch.
Welcome back. How’s the team doing 3-0?
Looks good so far! You can see he’s a half step faster this year.
Good lord that young man is LEGIT!!
Watched Whitfield play last night (his Spiro team played my hometown Haskell team) and I must say, the kid has wheels and was all over the field. Haskell has a couple RBs that are pretty speedy, but on a few long runs Whitfield simply reeled em in with relative ease. I noticed on some of his open field tackling opportunities he would simply try to arm tackle, and missed a few because of it. Idk if he’s being tentative because he didn’t wanna risk injury or what, but many of us football fans watching noticed the same thing. Overall, Haskell threw the ball to the opposite side of the field or to the flats for the most part, and Whitfield was still there within seconds. Looked good on offense as well, has top end speed to burn.
How do these guys compare to Steven Parker?
We didn’t ask Chris to look at Steven’s old film because they’re different ages. But I personally think Steven is going to be a stud. He looks good early on.
Why is OU slow-playing Whitfield? Just don’t understand their thinking re: McKinley. Thanx for the write ups. I’m leaving OUInsider. Tired of their stale act, most especially James Hale. No video. No pics. SOS everyday. 247 sucks. You guys, however, are a refreshing change and improvement over anything OU-related on the web. Thanx!
John, coach Mike Stoops like McKinley but they have their safety board set. If they had missed on Sunderland then we would have likely seen an offer for McKinley. Also, I hope you don’t mind that I edited your post. Appreciate the very kind words!
No I don’t mind. You’re right. I was rude. Thanks too for educating me on McKinley. If not at Safety, can he spin down to LB?
Would hope that they could still bring him on as an ATH, then figure it out later…is this likely to happen, or no?
I’ve penned a personal handwritten letter to the Stoops brothers. In purple crayon. Telling them if they don’t offer Whitfield a scholly in the next 72 hours, I’m putting their nuts in a blender. Expect to see some movement soon, and I’m not talking about the blender.
Someone needs to tell Mr. Anthony McKee that he needs to edit his twitter profile page. Pretty inappropriate for a HS senior, IMO.
There’s a lot of kids that need to. I don’t know that McKees is as bad as others I’ve seen.
Hate to see all the arguing on Whitfield. It bothers me NONE that anyone on this site thinks he’s a great player with great instincts. Mike isn’t perfect. So MAYBE he is missing something with Whitfield. I dunno. But there is no reason to be rude about the topic.
Whitfield is definitely one of the recruits out there I’d hate to see us miss out on. He’ll do great wherever he ends up, though.
I like Whitfield and think he could find a place in OU’s defense. That said, here’s the thing about small school/big school. At a small school it is possible for one elite player to dominate a game where at a big school there is more of a talent pool so the level of play is more evenly distributed across the field. This can make things more complicated for an evaluator but there are things that show up that a trained eye should see and be able to separate from the competition level (school size) when it comes to athletic ability. I don’t know why some offers are made early and others are on the back burner even though there are conflicting evaluations presented by different people with different backgrounds and experience but it happens. Just have to pull for the home kids and hope it all shakes out in our favor.
Justin Reid and Steven Parker? Yes please.
I guess I’ll throw my 2 cents in. ha ha. What this site is doing is terrific. I think the issue has to do with our ability, due to the internet, twitter etc. to get frustrated now at a very micro level with every move the coaches make or don’t make, and when and how they make them. It’s one thing to be high on a kid, think he’s talented and deserves an offer. It’s another, IMHO, to start thinking that our coaching staff are idiots because they don’t pursue a certain kid, or if they do pursue him, they don’t do it in the same way that we might think they should. During the exact time that the coaches were recruiting many of the defensive players that we are so high on now, there were many slamming the coaching staff for being ineffectual and having no clue about recruiting. letting guys get away, not getting talented enough players, etc., when in fact, the results have turned out pretty well. At the same time, we don’t want to assume that the coaches never overlook anything, or never make a mistake, either. Somewhere in between is a place where the knowledgable folks, mods and posters, on this site can find a prospect that they think is maybe undervalued or just not publicized enough, and is worth having, and promote him with evaluations and comments to the fullest extent.. I think it’s great.
It must be Trulove!