Thoughts and Observations: Signing Day 2010
by Brandon Chatmon
bchatmon@opubco.com
–I don’t see how you can be an Oklahoma State fan and not be excited about this class. Forget about stars, forget about rankings and look at the offer lists of some of these guys. You’ll see schools like OU, Alabama, Florida, LSU, Miami (Fla.), Tennessee, Michigan, Notre Dame, Florida State… i.e. schools that can recruit nationally and go in an pull out recruits that want from any state. Yet OSU won out. So I repeat… I don’t see how you can be an Oklahoma State fan and not be excited about this class.
–Obviously the big news of the day was Calvin Barnett and his flip to Arkansas. And he’s a huge loss, no doubt about it. Talent-wise, he’s second to none. But at the same time you have to ask yourself: If a player doesn’t have a burning desire to be a Cowboy do you really want him? Think about the commitment it takes to play college football, the commitment to the program, the commitment to your teammates, your coaches and the overall belief in what the program is trying to accomplish and where it is going. If a guy isn’t 100 percent down with that cause do you really want him?
Shaun Lewis: Everyone wanted him... he wanted to be a Cowboy.
–I continue to be shocked that OSU fans aren’t more excited about Shaun Lewis. While I had Calvin Barnett ranked No. 1 overall in my breakdown of OSU recruits, I’m not so sure Lewis shouldn’t have been at that spot all along. I put Barnett ahead of him because elite DTs are VERY, VERY hard to find. That said I only thought Calvin would be a part of the rotation as a true freshman. I wouldn’t be the least bit surprised if Shaun Lewis earns a starting spot at some point in 2010.
–See what I wrote above and replace the name Justin Gilbert for Shaun Lewis.
–The most excited people in the world should be OSU’s recruits at receiver. Chris Dinkins, Kevin Johnson, even Montra Nelson should be doing cartwheels. Especially Johnson, he’s been overlooked but he just has great football saavy, work ethic and is a better athlete than people give him credit for. Expect him to play right away also.
–OSU’s offensive line class, for the second straight year, is very solid. We can talk all we want about this skill player, that skill player, this blue chip receiver and that standout running back. As a school south of OKC proved this year, none of that matters if you don’t have talent and depth up front.
Joe Randle: Wore K-State colors but the smile tells you how he feels about being a Cowboy.
–I love the confidence of Joe Randle. I went up to Wichita today (the reason I was MIA for much of the day) and asked him point blank why the depth chart didn’t concern him. He basically said… I’ll learn behind Kendall for a year then after than it’s on! You have to like that type of confidence.
–I’ve followed recruiting for years and I’m not sure I’ve seen a class of defensive players with this much versatility. The linebackers are athletic, fast and physical. The safeties are physical hitters who can also cover. They have a lot of guys who looks like they can play corner or safety… sounds like Markelle Martin, Victor Johnson, Daytawion Lowe, etc. It’s clear how much Bill Young values versatility.
–I can’t believe it’s taken me this long to get to the quarterbacks, Johnny Deaton and Nathan Sorenson. Maybe because I’ve written so much about them already. But I think both guys have the physical abilities to lead OSU to a Big 12 south title before their careers are over. It will be their mental approach, will to succeed and work ethic which separates them from each other and anyone else competing for the starting job.
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Comments
hey, would it be possible to switch some of those athletic offensive tackles to DT’s guys like Anthony or Townsend?
Steven,
I’d say that’s unlikely. They were recruited as offensive linemen so that’s where I’d expect them to stay. It’s hard to just move guys around like that, especially when they were recruited for the offensive side of the ball.
–Brandon
Just because a kid is a 5 star coming out of high school doesn’t mean they can cut it in college. I’d much rather have a player on our team that wants to bleed ORANGE.
GO POKES!
I agree totally Brandon. It is so refreshing to have someone actually comment about OSU without some backhanded compliments or how we did a great job of recruiting as the 2nd best school in the state. Even more I appreciate your ability to keep okie u’s name out of an OSU article. Already plenty of hacks working at the Jokelahoman that feed the bandwagon crew. Well done.
Brandon, I’ve said this before and I’ll say it again…you are one very good up and coming talented sports writer/reporter. You tell it like it is, pull no punches,
are honest, positive and objective in your approach. I’m an old guy and I like to see that in a young one like you.
OSU fans appreciate you and so should the Oklahoman. I predict you’ll move up the ladder soon or else someone will hire you away.
Great, great write-up, Brandon. Every one of your points (especially about Barnett) are right on. This class is extremely exciting to me for every reason you stated. The versatility on defense is sick. For the most part, they will be young but I think they will also be very hungry and will soak up Bill Young’s knowledge like sponges.
The DT and corner position concern me a bit. We don’t have much of an answer for DT other than hoping our experienced guys can carry us far enough that our speedy DEs can get around the edges.
As for corner, hopefully Martin can adjust well to this level of competition as I’m sure he will be asked to compete for the starting role immediately. Also, Justin Gilbert is a guy who I hope makes the transition from athlete to corner fairly easily. He definitely has all of the physical abilities.
A very good class indeed. I can’t wait to see how things start to progress in Spring! Go Pokes!