Booker T. vs. Carl Albert Capsule…
By Robert Przybylo
BPrzybylo@opubco.com
Booker T. Washington at Carl Albert
When: 7:30 p.m. Friday
Where: Jim Harris Stadium, CA
BTW
Why the Hornets can win: Feels like I’ve beaten you into the ground with this. However, when you have that type of talent, that’s why they can win. And I feel the team has responded to new coach Darrell Hall and won’t miss a beat.
CA
Why the Titans can win: Because for what it appears they lack in individual talent, they have in the team aspect and a tremendous tradition. There are still studs on this team like Anthony Frazier, Kyle Croak, Quincy Johnson and Dwight Dobbins, they’re just not the four- or five-star recruits we’re used to at CA.
Quote:
People aren’t really talking about us, but that’s OK. We’re just going to go out there and take care of business.” – Dobbins
Key matchup: Carl Albert running game vs. BTW defense. If the Titans win, it’s going to be because of the running game. Kenton Whittington and Tyre LeBlanc will have to have big games against Derrick Alexander and the rest of the Hornets.
The pick: Booker T. 24, Carl Albert 20. Tough to ask this Titans team at this time to play BTW. Hornets have more experience coming back and are hungry after what happened last year. CA is not in trouble, by any means, but it will take a little longer for things to start clicking.
Football: Will 5A be cleared up this week?
By Robert Przybylo
BPrzybylo@opubco.com
Every week I will try to have this post up by Sunday or Monday where I’ll tell you the three biggest questions I have for the week in the greater Oklahoma City area.
There are SO many questions with week 1, but here are the three that are standing out the most.
1. How much more will we know about Class 5A by this time next week?
This is the top thing on my mind this week. IMO, we have the top four teams playing against each other with both games in our backyard.
No. 1 Booker T. is at No. 2 Carl Albert while No. 4 Duncan is at No. 3 Guthrie. Both games are Friday night.
The first is a battle of the last two state champions. The Hornets never got a chance to really defend their title last season after all the forfeitures. However, when both teams were at full strength, BTW got the best of the Titans in Week 1 last year.
Carl Albert looks nothing like the team from last year. Dillan Dansby is small but quick compared to the big, rugged J.T. Realmuto. RB Kenton Whittington should have a huge season behind a solid offensive line.
It’s also a quasi-homecoming for BTW coach Darrell Hall, who won the 4A title with Star Spencer last year. Also interesting to see what the Hornets do without QB Jordy Albert, who must sit out two games.
Go north a little bit and head to Jelsma Stadium for the Bluejays and Demons. It’s being billed as Kentrell Brothers vs. Dominique Petties, but it’s a lot more than that.
How is Duncan going to handle the expectations that come with this season? How much has Guthrie QB Bryan Dutton matured?
2. Has Norman caught up to Norman North?
New Norman blogger James Corley will be at Owen Field on Thursday for Norman and Norman North, and he’s being introduced to a very intriguing matchup.
Loved what I saw from the Tigers last Thursday against McAlester. Zach Long might be a little young at quarterback, but when you have RB Donovan Roberts and WR Jaime Myers, life gets a little bit easier.
Timberwolves have all the tools for a memorable year. Daniel Davis is sensational, and I’m expecting big things from QB Brad Valentino and RBs Raymond Demby and Emilio Gatewood.
I still give the edge to the Timberwolves, but really like what Greg Nation is doing with the Tigers.
3. Will it be two years in a row for Del City over Midwest City?
The tension was there a couple of weeks ago when the Bombers were in attendance for Del City’s scrimmage at Carl Albert, so you know it’s going to be nuts Friday.
The Eagles surprised MWC last year. With this game at Midwest City, definitely expect the Bombers to be even more fired up.
I don’t know if this game is as simple as the Midwest City defense against the Del City offense matchup, but it will go a long way to determining the victor.
Super 30: Week 3 recap…
By Robert Przybylo
BPrzybylo@opubco.com
And down the stretch we come. It’s not that the first half of the Super 30 isn’t an impressive list, but we broke on through to the other side this week.
Starting to look at the kids that either have an insane amount of offers of who have committed to some top-tier schools.
Here’s a look back at the week that was in the Super 30…
No. 18 Trevon Lewis, Midwest City: It’s his time to shine now. With Dominque Jones and Emmanuel Maxwell moving on, Lewis will become the unquestioned leader of what should be another stout Bombers defense. For my story on Lewis, go here.
No. 17 Archie Bradley, Broken Arrow: Making adjustments is pretty easy for Bradley. Whether it was transferring from Muskogee to Broken Arrow or playing football and baseball, the man has a plan for everything. For Justin Harper’s story on Bradley, go here.
No. 16 Hunter Davis, Choctaw: A polarizing figure with great size and speed. Problem was he didn’t play his heart out on every play, now it’s playing a role in the recruiting process. He’s determined to show what he’s made of. For Scott Wright’s story on Davis, go here.
No. 15 Cody Miller, Lawton: The Wolverines have one of the most talented pools of kids in the state. But every team needs that one guy it can look to when the times are tough. For Lawton, that is Miller. For my story on Miller, go here.
No. 14 Tyler Lockett, Booker T.: Another Lockett, another Kansas State commit. His father, Kevin, and his uncle, Aaron, had great careers for the Wildcats. It wasn’t a slam dunk, but Tyler is ready to add to that legacy. For Scott Wright’s story on Lockett, go here.
No. 13 Daniel Davis, Norman North: Ya know, if Davis’ football career ever goes south, he has a backup plan. The Timberwolves star and Stanford commit is obsessed with swimming pool basketball and is poised for another great year. For Justin Harper’s story on Davis, go here.
No. 12 Kameron Doolittle, Edmond Memorial: He’s been having fun this summer playing basketball and other things like that, but yes, he does realize he is a top recruit. With four offers, Doolittle is in no rush to make a decision. For my story on Doolittle, go here.
We’re entering the top 10 this week. For more thoughts on all the Super 30 kids, including stories, bios, blogs and videos, keep it locked on NewsOK.com.
Super 30: No. 14 Tyler Lockett, Tulsa Washington
Though his college future is as a football player at Kansas State, Tulsa Washington's Tyler Lockett will return to the basketball court for the Hornets next season, meaning they will have four starters back from the 5A state championship squad.
I could’ve talked to Tyler Lockett for another hour when I had him on the phone for an interview earlier this week. There were a dozen more things I would’ve liked to bounce off him, just to understand what shaped him, what his young life was like as the son of an NFL player, stuff like that.
Heck, I barely touched on basketball long enough to find out if he’ll play for Shea Seals’ defending 5A champs again next season — and the answer is, ‘yes.’
But as great as all that would’ve been for me, I’m sure an 18-year-old has better things to do in the middle of the summer. So we’ll come back to that other stuff another day.
Still, I came away with a lot of interesting stuff that wasn’t able to make it into Friday’s story about Lockett, No. 14 on our Super 30 list. Here are a few of the leftover nuggets from the Tulsa Washington star:
On Kansas State coach Bill Snyder, who coached Tyler’s father, Kevin, and uncle, Aaron: “I wanted to play for a legendary coach. I think coach Snyder is a great coach, and I think he’ll get the Wildcats back to the top again.”
On new Tulsa Washington coach Darrell Hall: “He’s a very good coach. I believe he can lead us to a state championship. He brings a lot of discipline. He’s making the game mental for us. We have the athletes and the ability, but he’s putting the mental part in us.”
On why he would prefer to redshirt next season at K-State: “I want to get bigger. I want to learn the offensive and defensive systems, because I want to try to play both ways, and I want to know it all when I get my chance to get on the field. Also, I’ve been getting some college credits alread, and if I redshirt, it will be easier to focus on my first semester, and then I can have 24 hours completed when most of the other freshmen only have 12. I think that will be a good start for me.”
– Scott Wright, swright@opubco.com
OKVarsity.com camp: QBs come out to play…
By Robert Przybylo
BPrzybylo@opubco.com
This feels like ages ago after Millwood’s Josh Turner committing to Texas for football and Edmond Memorial’s Drew Dahlberg committing to Oklahoma for baseball all in the same time period.
But a ‘long’ time ago (try Saturday early afternoon), I was pumped about the one-day camp that OKVarsity.com held at LaFortune Stadium in Tulsa.
For the record, that was my first time at the Stadium, not bad. More than 50 players participated in the three-hour event.
Without question, the quarterbacks were the story of the day. Not necessarily because of their performances (though they were good), but because six top QBs were there: Del City’s Chazten Gonzales, Jenks’ Sawyer Kollmorgen, Shawnee’s Brayle Brown, Yukon’s Corben Jones, Booker T.’s Jordy Albert and Bridge Creek’s Ryan Spangler.
That was the first time I’ve seen Jones and Albert so now I get it. Albert was one of the QBs in the Steve Clarkson Dreammaker Tour while Jones is just going to be a junior at Yukon. Spangler is so tall – something you really can’t appreciate until you see him. It will be interesting to see if his future is in football or basketball.
I kinda strayed away from the usual suspects as took this opportunity to get to know some of the Tulsa-area kids who I won’t get to see too often.
Tulsa East Central had a couple of real standouts in WR Dinazzio Teague and DE Ashton Dandy. I felt Teague had one of the best camps of anybody there. But keep in mind, I didn’t get to pinpoint all 50 kids, and it was easier to gauge how the QB/WRs were doing than anybody else.
What impressed me most about Teague wasn’t so much his speed (though he is fast), but it was his ability to get separation from the defenders. Teague is receiving interest from Texas Tech, among others.
Dandy will be playing DE for the Cardinals but looks more suited to be at linebacker in college. Very impressive physically (passed the eye test) and also had a strong day.
Muskogee already has one top DB for this year in Kyler Harris, but I was impressed by the work ethic and ability of junior Victor Williams. For my money (which isn’t much, by the way), Williams and Teague’s battles were the highlight of my day.
Over at Tulsa Edison, it was John Phillip Hughes who caught my eye. He’s a big boy, about 6-4 and 230 pounds or so, but he showed some real good movement.
Some of your Super 30 kids were in attendance: It was good to see Derrick Alexander of Booker T. and Trent Martin of Jenks. Steven Carpenter of Jenks was there but did not participate. He may have stolen the show if he’d been healthy.
Caught some linemen drills, not too much. I admit I couldn’t identify most of the Tulsa-area ones, but it was good to see Westmoore’s Tyler Newton and Bethany’s Darren Davenport and Hennessey’s Derrick Luetjen again. Newton has a real motor to go with his nice size.
There were 15 juniors there, and I paid close attention to Midwest City’s James Flanders and Putnam North’s Dre Holman. Really think before the end of this year those two names are going to be mentioned at all times when talking about the best of 2012.
Special thanks to OKVarsity.com publisher Justin Mitchell for orchestrating the event and all his assistance.
Look for videos with Westmoore’s Tyler Newton, Del City’s Chazten Gonzales and Yukon’s Corben Jones on NewsOK in the next day or two.
Super 30: Week 1 recap…
By Robert Przybylo
BPrzybylo@opubco.com
We took a break Sunday from our Super 30 recruiting package. With all the all-star games going on and Jenni’s top-notch scholar athlete package, didn’t have room for anything else.
We’re back up on the 30 top football recruits for the Class of 2011 on Monday with No. 25.
To recap, here’s what we’ve seen so far…
No. 30 Brandon Swindall, Millwood: Even with likes of Josh Turner sharing the same field, it’s Swindall who is the Falcons’ No. 1 receiving target. It took a while for Swindall to believe he could do it, but he knows he can now. For Ryan Aber’s story on Swindall, go here.
No. 29 LaRone Richardson, Bishop McGuinness: He’d be rollin’ in offers if he was healthy last year at RB. As is, he looks like himself again and is poised for a great summer and and even better fall. For my story on Richardson, go here.
No. 28 Jabral Johnson, Lawton: One of several recruits who have a vested interest in the whole conference realignment breakdown. Johnson ended the drama early by committing to Arizona in February. For my story on Johnson, go here.
No. 27 Steven Carpenter, Jenks: One of the best WRs in the state but is being hampered by the fact most schools think he is only 170 pounds instead of 190. A solid prospect with great hands. For Justin Harper’s story on Carpenter, go here.
No. 26 Derrick Alexander, Booker T.: It’s a new era for the Hornets under head coach Darrell Hall (formerly of Star Spencer) and Alexander’s mad skills will make sure the defense is not a weakness. For Scott Wright’s story on Alexander, go here.
Super 30: Tulsa Washington’s Derrick Alexander
Darrell Hall hasn’t had a lot of time to spend with his players at Tulsa Washington, but you don’t have to talk long to figure out the new Hornets coach knows how important Derrick Alexander will be to his team.
Hall expects his 6-foot-2, 250-pound athlete to fill a variety of needs for his team, particularly at left tackle and defensive end, though he can play linebacker or defensive tackle if needed.
From my perspective, he was a genuinely fun kid to talk to. Comfortable, honest and intelligent throughout the interview. He was able to laugh at himself a little, talk about his positives as a player, as well as the areas where he knows he needs to get better for college.
He performed well at a camp at Arkansas on Monday and has had could be hearing more from them, as well as Missouri State and Colorado State, on a scholarship offer in the near future. Oklahoma has shown interest, too. His first formal offer so far is from Louisiana-Monroe.
As for this fall, he knows expectations will be high for the Hornets, regardless of the difficulties they faced last year, or the fact that they’ve got a new coach.
“The gold ball is the goal every year,” he said. “It’s got to be if you’re at Booker T. Washington. It’s the expectation. It’s a must.”
– Scott Wright, swright@opubco.com
Booker T: Jordy Albert not sure about attending Dreammaker event…
By Robert Przybylo
BPrzybylo@opubco.com
Exciting news to hear three of the top quarterbacks in the nation in the Steve Clarkson Dreammaker Tour come from Oklahoma but that does lead to some potential conflicts.
Booker T’s Jordy Albert performed so well that he has been invited to the July event in Hawaii. But does a five-day event in Maui trump some quality time spent with your team?
And while the Tour is great publicity for the individual athletes, it would basically put Albert out of pocket for the Hornets for at least a week, including all the travel.
Albert told me he’s not sure what he is going to do yet. Especially with new coach Darrell Hall, you hate to miss any time with a new regime that you don’t have to.
He won a regional award titled the “All Field General Team” for the Midwest Region. This media-based award, allows him the opportunity to attend the Super 7 event in Maui with the Super 7 QB’s and members of the Tour’s private training family.
Edmond quarterback Jack Hatzfeld will not be attending the event. The youth QBs do not have their expenses paid for, and it’s tough to really gauge how much 12-13-year-old kids would get from something like this.
I don’t know, but wouldn’t you guess that to go to Maui for a week would run you between $4,000-6,000? David Hatzfeld, Jack’s father, said they have chosen not to go for personal reasons.
Hatzfeld turns 13 later this month and will be in the seventh grade at Summit Middle School.
Still trying to get word with the Garrett family in Checotah as 13-year-old Chandler Garrett is also one of the youth QBs invited to Maui.
The Tour, for those that haven’t read some of our previous pieces, is a sports version of ‘American Idol,’ searching for the top quarterbacks in the country. Alums include USC’s Matt Barkley and Ohio State’s Terrelle Pryor.
Jordy Albert, Jack Hatzfeld, Chandler Garrett advance to Dreammaker Tour final…
By Robert Przybylo
BPrzybylo@opubco.com
Three Oklahoma quarterbacks have advanced to the finals of the Steve Clarkson Dreammaker Tour.
Checotah’s Chandler Garrett, 13, and Edmond’s Jack Hatzfeld, 12, are two of the 10 finalists in the youth division while Tulsa Washington quarterback Jordy Albert has advanced in the high school division.
The final is a five-day event in Maui, running July 1-5.
The finale of the Dreammaker Tour was two weeks ago in Santa Barbara, Calif., and the kids were notified Wednesday they had advanced. Less than 150 quarterbacks were invited to California.
The Tour is a sports version of ‘American Idol,’ a reality TV series searching for the country’s next great quarterback. Alums of Clarkson’s tour include Southern California quarterback Matt Barkley and Ohio State’s Terrelle Pryor.
Future OU teammates Tyler Neal, T.J. Taylor will square off in Faith 7
The Faith 7 game is a little more than a week away, set for June 12 at 7:30 p.m. at Oklahoma Baptist in Shawnee.
For local college fans, there are four players in the game who have signed with the three of the state’s Division I programs. That includes Putnam City West product Tyler Neal, and 6-foot-4 T.J. Taylor of Denison, Texas, who will be opponents next week and teammates the next four years at Oklahoma.
Also playing for Team Texas will be Oklahoma State signee Michael Jamal Cobbins out of Palo Duro High School in Amarillo. A skinny 6-foot-10, Cobbins can step outside and shoot a little, too. And Jordan Clarkson, a Tulsa-bound Texan from San Antonio, is a 6-foot-4 scoring machine. He is the all-time leading scorer at Wagner High School.
Overall, both rosters sound pretty impressive — and big. Texas has five guys 6-foot-8 or taller, and the Okies have five who are 6-foot-6 and up. As for the Oklahoma squad, it seems like a pretty complete team. If y ou were trying to put the best team together — not just the five best players, but fill each position to fit a team’s needs — this would be pretty close to what you’d come up with out of Oklahoma’s class of 2010.
You’ve got a couple of point guards in Star Spencer’s Kendre’ Talley and Enid’s Chris Fitzpatrick who can run an offense and score on their own, as well as a third point guard in Garber’s Bryce Lamer who is a glue guy and will do a lot of different little things to help a team. Xavier McClish is a pure shooter/scorer with good size at the 2-guard, and Tulsa Washington’s Tharone Chilton is a solid combo guard.
