Mailbag – Some Recruiting Questions
Posted on: November 19, 2013
We got a few questions from some readers regarding recruiting so we’ll answer a few here:
1. Question said that Scout mentioned Ainuu Taua is high on Oklahoma and asked us what we think.
He definitely likes OU but this one probably isn’t going to happen. And to be totally honest I don’t think that’s a bad thing. I’m not sure I’m buying that Taua can play NG and OU isn’t looking at him as a 4i. Talked to someone that knows him and he also seemed skeptical about Taua being able to play the NG. Obviously don’t like to second guess the coaches but I have to here.
2. Question about Tee Shepard and whether he’ll end up at Oklahoma.
It doesn’t look like. OU had a lot of advantages here but for certain reasons it’s very hard to get some kids out of Mississippi once they get into the JUCO system there. Not really a big deal though. Oklahoma is going to be something like 5 deep with cover guys next year. The guy we really like is Nebraska commit Trai Mosley. We’ll have his evaluation up later this week. I know Broyles gave him the highest grade he’s given to date. He loved him.
3. Question on how the Oline recruiting going to end up.
Right now Oklahoma is in on some really good guys. If they can close well it could end up being one of the best OL classes in a long time. Obviously still too early but Oklahoma has a legit shot at some guys we like. And JY is a huge fan of the two interior road graders already in the fold – Dalton and Alvarez. We’ve got an Alarez write up coming soon. He posted a Dalton write-up a few weeks back. JY just loves both those guys. The biggest flip OU could make is Jovan Pruitt – we’ve got a write up about him coming as well. JY believes he is future first rounder. OU has a chance at him. Also, starting to hear about OU possibly getting serious about a guy we are very high on but we’ll let you know once we’re able to confirm whether there is legitimate chance. We know OU likes him and we know he’d consider OU but the distance might be an issue. He’s an SEC territory OL.
As always we’d like to thank the readers for writing to us and we’d like to tell the rest of y’all to please feel free to email us your questions about anything football related. Thanks!
27 Comments
Just how much ground did Monty and Bedenbaugh have to make up when they came on board? It seems like we were pick #3 for most guys the past few years and i’m hoping that changes but i wonder if the hill was too high to climb for most 2014 guys
That’s definitely part of it. But what should be clear is that a lot of times people think “oh Oklahoma struck out on so and so and now we’re down to the 5th guy on our board”. That’s not exactly the case. A lot of other factors in play. Remember that the recruiting process isn’t just about the recruit getting to know Oklahoma – it’s also about Oklahoma getting to know the recruit and right now the recruiting philosophy at Oklahoma is about finding high upside kids with character. Just because Oklahoma didn’t make a top 3 for some kid all Oklahoma fans wanted doesn’t mean Oklahoma missed – sometimes it means Oklahoma realized something the fans don’t know. And by the way this note isn’t meant to reference any of the kids mentioned above. Just a general response 🙂
Interesting stuff…best OU site I’ve seen….
My suspicion about college coaches is maybe some rely on “star” evaluations because it lessens accountability. If I recruit a 4 star player and he is a bust, I can say, “well, he was a four star…look who else offered him.” If I offer a 2 star player and he is a bust, all eyes will be on me.
Zach, thank’s so much. You see a lot of coaches relying on star evaluations. What I like about this current staff is that in building this class, I see a lot of good players. We don’t really care about star ratings, since we rate guys ourselves. We definitely see a direction in how Mike is building the defense, and how Coach B is building the o line etc. The New England Patriots are aces in the draft since they draft to the needs of their system. They get good solid players that fit their needs. That’s how they’re at the top year after year after year. With Monty, Mike and B, we can definitely see where we’re going. We don’t rate this class like a lot of corporate sites do at all.
Very interesting point Zach. Thanks for the insightful comment. You would be absolutely amazed to know just how peculiar the recruiting process is. I know a place where there are literally 3 D1 caliber players and not one of them is being looked at or is even in the corporate evaluation site databases. And again that’s just 1 school. Any site that bases their “evaluations” on offers is a very flawed system because it’s built on a very flawed system. But beyond that it’s just not right to say a kid is 2 star when he hasn’t even been evaluated. Say “Not evaluated” but don’t give the public the impression that he was given a real look and that’s the honest opinion of an analyst. It’s not fair to the kid and sadly it actually affects the opportunities he gets.
Well put K, drives me crazy with the star obsession. Then fan after fan piles on as if it’s certainly true, with no knowledge whatsoever.
That’s what I love about this site, objectivity beyond pass/fail.
Yeah, there are some guys we’re in on on both sides of the line that could turn out to be truly special players for us. Corporate star rankings be darned, some of these guys are special players.
Have you guys heard anymore about Mixon? Last week you seemed to feel he was cooling on OU, but wonder if any of that has changed for him the past week?
Still the same “issue” there Billy. If I had to guess right now I’d say he’s not coming to OU as it stands at the moment.
Well, shoot. Thought OU was the leader, but knew it was very close. Also caught wind that distance is now becoming a determining factor for him. Not sure, though.
I will say if we end up getting De’Chavon Hayes, that will make me feel better about possibly losing Mixon and/or Starks, who seems to be very silent these days.
It might be with other schools but it isn’t the hang up with OU. He likes OU. Just another issue that isn’t really anything OU can anything about. But it’s not a done deal either way.
And I’m with you on Hayes – jeez that guy has burners in every direction. Don’t know much about where Starks stands. JY did a write up about him a few weeks back.
Can you tell us where we stand with the Cali guys?
I’m not sure we know of all the Cali guys. But of the main ones – Quick will most likely end up at OU. As of right now the rest aren’t looking good.
I had a friend tell me that the issue with Mixon is the kind that could cost us more than losing a RB recruit. Any truth to that?
No truth to that as far as we know bud.
Awesone!! My buddy thinks he is a know it all. Its great to have the Football Brainiacs around so I can set him straight.
Well we certainly don’t know it all. And there are some kids/families where we do hear that. But we absolutely have not heard anything like that about Joe. In fact we’ve heard nothing but good things about him.
Thanks Super K, you guys do a geat job!!!
Thanks brother.
Super K
Interesting input on Taua and Mosley. Who do you believe we’ll end up with at RB? Being a former Rivals recruiting analyist myself and based on his “highs” on every trip he makes, I’ve never been confident about Mixon.
Prob not quite ready to say who OU gets at RB. I do think that Warren fella is nice and if I’m OU I’d seriously consider offering if he can indeed qualify. Mixon is good; no disputing that but as of right now it’s just not happening for OU.
Do you guys see Hayes as a true tailback or more of a slot guy?
RB all the way to me 🙂
We have got to get Hayes!
Agreed. He’s a special back.
What I like about our recruiting now is the fact that we are going back to what worked for us. We won a championship and competed for others with 2-3 star players. Our coaches evaluations were pretty accurate and helped us land good players. Many of the 2-3 star players became All-Americans. Then we had some classes with 4-5 star recruits that did not pan out. Some of the coaches got lazy and our recruiting went downhill. I’m really excited about this recruiting class and the work our coaches are putting in!
Exactly. That’s Mike bringing that spark back. He doesn’t care what ratings say. If a kid can play he can play. You got Bedenbaugh and Montgomery who are very similar as well. We’ve had the skill position players for years, but have been lacking up front on both sides. Insert some animals, and we’re right back.