Denzel Ward Note
Posted on: December 18, 2013
So most of you know by now that the big OT out of Chicago was planning on taking a trip to Oklahoma. Those plans we’re made two days ago. And then all of a sudden yesterday he tweeted out the following:
Why the sudden change? Honestly we don’t have any idea but the optimistic side of me started to wonder if maybe they’ve made some in-roads with Jovan Pruitt or Frison. Last I heard Oklahoma felt decent about Frison but certainly far from a sure thing and while Denzel isn’t an elite tackle it wouldn’t make sense to back off a kid unless you felt REALLY good about someone else. It may very well just be that Denzel changed his mind but that’s what I’m checking on. Nebraska offered yesterday but something tells me it might be more the appeal of South Florida than anything else.
I made a call last night to see what I could find out on Jovan so if I hear anything I’ll let y’all know. Last time we spoke to Jovan’s coach he seemed adamant that Oklahoma was still in the mix but it always seemed like early playing time was the thing that made Arkansas so appealing to Jovan.
OU needs to find some OTs in a bad way. We only brought in one HS OT last year so to say there is a big need for OTs in this class would be a bit of an understatement. I’m as concerned as y’all but I talked to someone close to the program and he said “don’t worry they’re gonna bring some kids in”. I hope he’s right.
Some of y’all wrote in asking about Denzel’s talent and so JY had written up an evaluation on him. It’s not really relevant anymore so I won’t post it but his general thoughts we’re that Denzel was good at a lot of things but not elite at any one particular thing. Not necessarily a dancing bear and not necessarily a mauler – somewhere in between. He wasn’t particularly confident that he could be all conference but believed that if he worked exceptionally hard it was something that could happen.
8 Comments
Thanks for the update on Ward Super K. Hopefully the Sooners can pull in a couple of those other OTs they are looking at, whether it’s HS or JC guys. Does JY have any lowdown on St. John and why he hasn’t seen the field very much this sesaon for OU? Seems like OU was pretty high on him, but he’s been a non factor this season. Keep up the great work guys,much appreciated.
St John hasn’t seen the field at all…he went juco in 11 so we get him for two more years
I thought he had played very, very briefly early in the year, but still well under the redshirt year % qualifier.
I’m almost positive that St John hasn’t played at all…he’d def be under the medical %s unless it was later in the season which he didn’t…I’m just stoked we have him for two more years at this point lol
my pleasure Ed. Yeah Ace saw him in the summer and said he’s super athletic but he was lost. He came in late so he just wasn’t ready to handle the blocking scheme. But again Ace said he has plenty of athleticism so I’m sure he’ll be ready for next season.
OU does need some OT’s “in a bad way” for sure. I know it’s been discussed on here (at least I think so at some point), but do you think us losing on some of these recruits has to do with us not having super flashy facilities like other top-tier schools? I went to OU and the school itself is amazing, but I think some of these kids see the football facilities, then go to Oregon, UT, OSU, etc. and see “nicer” facilities.
Our tradition is impeccable, but it can only go so far with today’s kids. They want flashy as well as a great chance to win. I could be wrong, what do you guys think?
It’s different for different kids. When you look at someone like Jovan it’s all about being able to start as a freshman. Arkansas is telling him he can. OU can’t tell him that – it would be completely untrue. What people have to remember is Coach Bedenbaugh is new and hasn’t had the time to build as many relationships but it’s also the fact that there are a ton of OTs this year. We hear that complaint a lot this year. We just did a feature on an OL in Mustang OK though that we believe is “OU good”
give me the horses that want to play here anyday, to all those that go elsewhere good luck to you, unless OUr boys see you on the field.