Sooners land 2010 verbal
The 2009 recruiting class isn’t finished, but that hasn’t stopped Oklahoma from working on next year’s group.
The Sooners received their first commitment for the 2010 recruiting class, garnering a verbal commitment from defensive tackle Daniel Noble out of Flower Mound, Texas, according to the recruiting Web site Rivals.com.
Noble reportedly had offers from Stanford, Texas Tech, Wisconsin, Arizona and Auburn.
By Jake Trotter
Combine roster announced
Oklahoma safety Nic Harris, safety Lendy Holmes, wide receiver Juaquin Iglesias, wide receiver Manny Johnson, offensive tackle Phil Loadholt and offensive guard Duke Robinson will be among the more than 300 college players participating in the NFL Scouting Combine Feb. 18-24 in Indianapolis.
How they perform there will go a long way in determining their status for the April draft.
A noticeable omission on the Sooner combine list is center Jon Cooper, the Big 12’s offensive lineman of the year last season.
Cooper, a four-year starter at OU, apparently didn’t fare well at the Shrine game, according to various reports of scouts who attended the practices leading up to the all-star game.
Now, Cooper will have to prove himself at OU’s pro day later on in March.
By Jake Trotter
OU No. 1 in another poll
A week after ranking as the No. 1 college football program all-time by ESPN, the Oklahoma Sooners are No. 1 in another ranking.
The Bleacher Report made OU its No. 1 program of all-time as well. OU is followed by Alabama and Penn State. To read the rest of the rankings, click on the link.
By Jake Trotter
“Sooners Send The Right Message”
The Oklahoman received an email today from Matt Eventoff, who is a public speaking expert. Eventoff was in Miami a couple of week ago on business and just happened to stay at the same hotel the Sooners did during the BCS National Championship. Eventoff was so impressed by what he encountered, he decided to write us an email, with the subject line “Sooners Send The Right Message.”
Here’s what Eventoff had to say in his email:
“As a communications and messaging strategist based in Princeton, NJ, I am blessed (or cursed) with a hypersensitivity to how people communicate, and what message people send through verbal communication, body language and actions.
On a recent business trip to Miami, I spent a few days at the Fontainebleau Hotel, and happened to coincide with the BCS title game. Little did I know upon my arrival that I would be spending the next few days with Sooner Nation, including the team, and what seemed like an endless sea of maroon and white. I was born on the campus of Purdue University and did my undergrad work at an ACC school, so I was no stranger to college football and passionate fans.
That being said, the sheer number of fans and the intensity and devotion to OU was overwhelming. I didn’t know what to expect — I do know one thing I did not expect what to become an overnight fan of the OU players and the fans from all over Oklahoma.
In my world, everything you do communicates a message, and I mean everything. This was no different for the OU players and fans.
The reality was that the few acres that the Fontainebleau sits on had become Oklahoma with a beach for the week. Maroon and white everywhere. Thousands of fans. I was not wearing (crimson) and white, I speak with a Northeastern accent, and knew no one else there except for my small little group. That didn’t stop nearly everyone I encountered from starting a conversation, smiling, and generally being very warm and inclusive — I am still wondering if there was a pregame tailgate I wasn’t invited to.
I happened to be in the auxiliary lobby of the hotel at the same time as the OU players on the morning following the devastating defeat. That being said, as I was walking through the lobby to the restaurant, I casually told ONE player in passing, “you guys played well, you should be proud.” He, and three teammates standing with him, smiled and thanked me — and then started a conversation, asking about where I was from, what I did, etc.. This cascaded into a number of conversations with a number of players.
These players have been in the national media spotlight all year, had tens of thousands of fans, many three times their age, follow them to Miami, a few will be instant millionaires next year, and they had just had what for many had to be one of the roughest nights of their college lives. I am not a coach, agent, writer or even a fan, and was dressed in a sweatsuit. The players could have nodded or just said nothing and it would be completely understandable. They did the opposite.
Everything you do sends a message, and the message sent by the actions and conduct of the OU players and fans did more, in my eyes, for the University and state of Oklahoma than any advertising program could have.
In an era where there are endless stories of players and fans behaving poorly, stories of egotistical and arrogant athletes, and stories of big time programs getting into some sort of hot water (stories that have included OU in years past), the class and dignity exhibited by the fans and players of OU did the University and the State proud. You might not have one the game but I guarantee you did gain new fans of Sooner Nation. Congratulations.”
By Jake Trotter
Bradford speaks
Oklahoma quarterback Sam Bradford was the subject of a compelling Q&A with Tim Brando in this morning’s Sporting News daily newspaper.
Here’s what Bradford said:
“There are a lot of things that went into that decision,” Bradford told Brando. “But I think one of the things that was very important in my decision was when I feel I’m prepared and ready to make the next step and play at the next level, then that’s when I want to go. At this point, I don’t feel I’m prepared as I could be. If I come back for another year, I’ll feel I’ll be more prepared to make that step, if I decide to next year. I didn’t want to go and get drafted and not play when I could have stayed in college and played. I feel like coming back will prepare me even more for the next level.”
Bradford also said that his disappointment after losing in the BCS National Championship Game also played a part in his decision:
“After every game, you walk off the field knowing there are several things you could have done better,” Bradford said. “I think coming back next year will give me a chance to reduce the number of times I say that walking off the field. Obviously, I’m going to make mistakes in every game, but if I can get that number down from — I don’t even know what to say it is; let’s say, six or seven reads or assignments this year — bring that down to two or three times next year, then that’s a big improvement for me.”
By Jake Trotter
Reed not giving up
Former Oklahoma linebacker Mike Reed, whose plight Berry Tramel chronicled last year in this wonderful column, is not giving up on his dream of playing football in the NFL.
Reed, who transferred to UCO last year, is on the Texas vs. The Nation all-star game roster. Reed will be playing for The Nation, which will be coached by Florida Atlantic’s Howard Schnellenberger.
Sooner fans, most of whom have never seen Reed play, can watch him 2 p.m. Saturday during the all-star game on the CBS College Sports channel.
By Jake Trotter
OU No. 1 (all-time)
Who is No. 1 for the ages?
Well, according to ESPN.com’s prestige rankings, Oklahoma is.
ESPN’s prestige rankings are a numerical method of ranking the best FBS college football programs since the 1936 season. Point values were assigned for certain successes (win a national title, earn 25 points) and failures (get your program banned from the postseason, lose two points). The research department ran all the numbers through the computer to come up with the No. 1 program (and Nos. 2 to 119) of the past 73 seasons.
Here’s what ESPN said about OU:
1. Oklahoma Sooners
Total points: 1,968
Positives: When you look at the big picture of college football since 1936, no program has achieved greatness as consistently as Oklahoma. We didn’t even count the fact that Oklahoma owns the longest win streak in FBS history (47) or leads the nation with a .765 winning percentage since World War II. The 1956 Oklahoma team catapulted the Sooners past Notre Dame to the top of the Prestige Rankings, and it’s been in the top spot ever since. OU’s seven national titles have spanned four decades. The Sooners have finished in the final poll’s top 5 an astounding 29 times. But the real fuel for OU’s rise to the top of our rankings has been its conference dominance. The Sooners finished the regular season with at least a share of their conference’s best record a stunning 39 times, seven more than any other program in the country.
Negatives: Oklahoma was downright mediocre in the ’90s. The Sooners ranked 51st in that decade’s rankings, directly behind Hawaii. OU also didn’t have a single major bowl win and suffered through three losing seasons. The Oklahoma program also has been punished by the NCAA to varying degrees six separate times in its history.
Through the decades: Through 1958: 1st | 1968: 1st | 1978: 1st | 1988: 1st | 1998: 1st
Did you know? Oklahoma has been voted the No. 1 team in the country by the AP a record 97 times, including twice this past season to break a tie with Notre Dame.
By Jake Trotter
Senior Bowl reunion
After a three-year hiatus, quarterback Rhett Bomar will be reunited with two of his receivers from his freshman season at Oklahoma.
Bomar will team up with Sooner wideouts Juaquin Iglesias and Manny Johnson on the North team in Mobile, Ala., during Saturday’s Senior Bowl, which will be shown at 6 p.m. on the NFL Network.
Bomar started at OU in 2005 before he was booted from the team for receiving payment for work he didn’t do at a Norman-area car dealership.
That season, Iglesias caught 19 passes for 290 yards and two scores. Johnson had 10 receptions for 170 yards and a touchdown.
Sooner left tackle Phil Loadholt and strong safety Nic Harris and Oklahoma State tight end Brandon Pettigrew will also be playing for the North.
By Jake Trotter
Jones de-commits from Sooners
Oklahoma is back down to 20 verbal commitments.
Three-star athlete Darius Jones, of Marshall, Texas, told the recruiting Web site Rivals.com Tuesday that he has switched his commitment from OU to Baylor and intends to sign with the Bears.
“My heart was never into Oklahoma,” Jones said. “I’ve been down to Baylor a lot of times this past summer and every time I went down there it got better and better.”
Jones had been committed to OU since last July.
By Jake Trotter
Bradford was never close to leaving Oklahoma
Blair Kerkhoff had a story in the KC Star about Sam Bradford’s decision to come back:
A final word on last week’s deadline for underclassmen announcing their NFL draft intentions: Oklahoma quarterback Sam Bradford was never close to leaving college.
“He wanted to come back to OU for at least one more year all along,” said Sam’s father, Kent Bradford.
Sam Bradford’s decision caught some by surprise. He was being touted as one of the top two quarterback prospects, along with Georgia’s Matthew Stafford, and depending on his draft position would have signed a contract with a set-for-life guarantee.
By Jake Trotter
