9:30 a.m. update: Sooners have 13 LOIs
CAMPUS CORNER – OL Kyle Marrs (9:08 a.m.), CB Gary Simon (9:13 a.m.) and OL Ty Darlington (9:26 a.m.) are in. Simon was in earlier, was off the board while OU waited for additional paperwork and now he’s back, officially. Everyone I’ve spoken with — coaches, analysts — is really high on Simon. Likely the most underrated player in the class. It would be surprising if you don’t hear his name in the coming years.
OU is still waiting on letters of intent from:
-Laith Harlow, TE, Tallahassee (Fla.) Godby
-Will Latu, OL, College of the Canyons
-Alex Ross, RB, Jenks
-Eric Striker, LB, Seffner (Fla.) Armwood
-Derrick Woods, WR, Inglewood, Calif.
OU is still waiting on decisions from:
-Courtney Gardner, WR, Sierra CC
-Damien Williams, RB, Arizona Western CC
= Ryan, Trav
Sooners add Gary Simon
BY RYAN ABER
raber@opubco.com
One of the pieces of suspense for OU’s recruiting class entering signing day was taken care of pretty quickly when St. Petersburg (Fla.) Gibbs cornerback Gary Simon committed to the Sooners this morning ahead of his official announcement.
Simon (6-foot-1, 177 pounds) chose the Sooners over Iowa State and Arkansas.
Other players who the Sooners could add to their class by the end of the day are juco wide receiver Courtney Gardner and running back Damien Williams.
Other than the official latter from Simon, OU is still waiting on letters of intent from:
-Ty Darlington, OL, Apopka (Fla.)
-Laith Harlow, TE, Tallahassee (Fla.) Godby
-Will Latu, OL, College of the Canyons
-Kyle Marrs, OL, San Antonio Brandeis
-Alex Ross, RB, Jenks
-Eric Striker, LB, Seffner (Fla.) Armwood
-Charles Tapper, DE, Baltimore (Md.) City College
-Derrick Woods, WR, Inglewood, Calif.
John Blake recruiting lights out
A glance at the national team recruiting rankings, and the top five are no surprise. LSU, Ohio, USC, Texas, Alabama.
But check out who’s knocking on the door at No. 6.
North Carolina.
A big reason for that is former Oklahoma head coach and current UNC defensive line coach John Blake, who’s recruiting like a man on fire for Butch Davis and the up-and-coming Tar Heels.
According to Rivals.com, Blake had a hand in landing at least eight commitments for UNC, including five-star defensive end Donte Moss, the No. 16-ranked overall prospect nationally.
He also helped UNC reel in Jheranie Boyd, the nation’s No. 3 wide receiver, who at one point was being pursued heavily by OU.
Blake, who’s been at UNC since 2007, hasn’t just been a big-time recruiter, either.
Last April, he turned two perennial underachieving defensive linemen into NFL Draft picks, including first-round selection Kentwan Balmer.
Say what you want about Blake’s tenure as OU’s head coach.
But there’s no dispute, he’s one of the top performing position coaches in all of college football.
By Jake Trotter
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
