Showing posts with label Sooners. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Sooners. Show all posts

Tuesday, August 27, 2013

Deandre Goolsby

Another big-time prospect cut his list down this week. On Sunday, Deandre Goolsby (6-4, 225, Derby, Kan./Derby) announced his top five with an Instagram picture he uploaded to Twitter.

Unlike some prospects at this time of year, this list probably shouldn't be taken with a grain of salt. Goolsby has visited all of his favorites, and seems to have a pretty good handle on the recruiting process. His first official visit is set to Oklahoma for September 7, as the Sooners play host to West Virginia.

Two of the programs on his list – Kansas State and Ohio State – have yet to take a tight end in this class. Arkansas (Jack Kraus), Florida (C'yontai Lewis) and Oklahoma (Carson Meier) all have a commit pegged to play the position in their respective groups.
 The Razorbacks are currently pegged as the favorite according to the 247Sports' Crystal Ball feature. Arkansas also reportedly leads for Plantation (Fla.) tight end Ravian Pierce, the top tight end prospect in Florida, in what has to be considered a down year at the position here in the Sunshine State. Bret Bielema comes from Wisconsin, where the Badgers obviously had a great deal of success with the tight end position (Travis Beckham, Owen Daniels, Garrett Graham, Lance Kendricks) during his stay in Madison. I'm sure this fact is not lost on Goolsby.

From the Florida perspective, the Gators have to improve on the tight end position. It is arguably the weakest position group heading into the 2013 season, although there are a pair of promising young players in Kent Taylor and Colin Thompson for which there are high expectations for the future. Even with C'yontai Lewis in the fold already, I expect the Gators to continue looking at their options. Generally speaking, this isn't the strongest crop at the tight end position in recent years. Goolsby represents one of the best available options left on the board. Considering he did make a summer visit to Gainesville, he figures to be one of the top priorities at tight end moving forward for UF.

Highlights:

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Monday, August 26, 2013

Jamarkus McFarland

The name of former Oklahoma defensive tackle Jamarkus McFarland showed up on the waiver wire today, a casualty of cut-down day as the San Diego Chargers looked to get down under 75 this afternoon on the way to the eventual 53-man roster limit in a few days. McFarland is one of hundreds of players who will be without a team after today. In that sense, his story is not particularly page-turning. But unlike nearly all the other players released from active rosters in the NFL today, McFarland was the center of a hotly-contested battle between the Sooners, Texas and a host of other schools that eventually led to a lengthy New York Times profile that detailed some of the slimier aspects of his recruitment.

Knowing what they know now, I wonder if Bob Stoops and Mack Brown still think McFarland was worth all the effort?

In 47 career games (23 starts) for Oklahoma, McFarland recorded 80 tackles (17.0 for loss), 7.5 sacks, three passes defended and an interception. Solid numbers, no doubt. But certainly a bit of a disappointment for an Army All-American who touched off one of the more memorable tussles on the recruiting trail for the Class of 2009.

Now, McFarland is just one of many young athletes who will have to now consider a future without football. It's only notable, because it's a reminder that as we get caught up in the hoopla over stars, All-America bids and recruiting rankings, we really don't have a crystal ball in front of us. There's no telling how these guys will develop, how they will respond to potential adversity and how they will adjust to moving up a level in competition.

In other words, for all the projections and prognostications, we really have no bleepin' clue what any of these kids are going to do once they move on to college. As I read a lengthy (but good) piece on five-star defensive lineman Da'Shawn Hand by the Washington Post today, I can't help but wonder whether his college career arc will be closer to Clowney, or that of McFarland. We can debate it all day, but the fact of the matter is we really have no idea.
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Top five for RB Joe Mixon

Five-star RB Joe Mixon (Freedom, Calif./Oakley) has re-released his list of "Top Five" schools. This guy is clearly having fun with the recruiting process, but nonetheless, here's a look at the schools that made the cut:













Wisconsin should come as no surprise. As often as the Badgers churn out 1,000-yard rushers – sometimes even two in a given season – you would figure they would be under consideration with more big-time running backs. Florida and Oregon are also intriguing options for the 6-foot-1, 207-pound prospect, but both schools already have five-star running back prospects committed to their respective programs for the 2014 class already. I think this one will ultimately come down to two schools: California and Oklahoma.

Both run wide-open offenses and have a need for a multi-purpose threat such as Mixon. He can stay a little closer to home, and help Sonny Dykes try to rebuild the program at Cal. Or, he can head to Norman and replace a trio of talented departing rushers in Brennan Clay, Roy Finch and Damian Williams.


In labelng an "all-purpose" back, recruiting services typically try to distinguish small "scatbacks" who can contribute in the passing and return games, from the more traditional 20-carry-a-game workhorse running back. Mixon, however, fits both descriptions. He's a big guy who can carry between the tackles, but he has breakaway speed and can be a threat on the perimeter as both as runner and receiver. He's also an accomplished return man at the prep level as well. Wherever Mixon winds up, he should prove to be an immediate-impact player.

Of course, with as wild and crazy as Mixon's recruitment has been to date, you might be able to toss all of this out the window by next week. In any case, expect a number of schools in addition to the five above, to continue their pursuit of the blue-chip running back.
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