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sooner78wakeboard
Sooner Born, Sooner Bred
(Yes committ's change and come and go, but to me it's still pretty interesting.)
The ESPN 300 tight end found a match in Oklahoma, where Bob Stoops and wide receivers coach Jay Norvell have recruited him as a pure pass catcher from the very beginning. The 6-foot-6, 220-pound Andrews announced on Twitter his commitment to Oklahoma, becoming the 12th member of the Sooners' 2014 class.
It was always wide receiver for Andrews and Oklahoma, and during this trip, he got a taste of how that would play out.
"I got a really good sense today of where exactly they see me fitting in," Andrews said. "Throughout the process they never said tight end. I was always dealing with coach Norvell, who is an amazing guy and coach.
"I am going as a wide receiver, 100 percent. They see me going up for jump balls, being a deep threat and being about to high-point the ball. They want me to create mismatches against a smaller cornerback or motion inside to utilize my speed to create a mismatch against a linebacker."
Oklahoma has made a home in recruiting California the last few years, and the success continued Sunday night.
Murrieta (Calif.) Vista Murrieta three-star linebacker Curtis Bolton confirmed via a YouTube video announcement and then via Twitter he is the latest Cali prospect to commit to the Sooners.
Bolton, who is 6-foot-2 and 215 pounds, is ranked No. 50 at outside linebacker and also has offers from Washington, Washington State, and Arizona, among others.
Last week Bolton talked about trying to finalize an official visit to Norman, Okla., this fall and the prevailing thought was it would be on that visit where a potential commitment would happen.
But he felt he didn’t need to wait. The relationship he has built with OU coaches Mike Stoops and Tim Kish gave him enough confidence to go ahead and pull the trigger now.
The addition of Bolton to OU’s commit list is a big one. He is the Sooners’ 13th pledge for the Class of 2014 and the second at linebacker.
And after having no pure linebackers committed for the last class, Bolton and Allen (Texas) High three-star linebacker Tay Evans are more natural in the position. OU was one of the first schools to offer Bolton back in the winter, and it’s clear the early interest has paid off.
Bolton had 70 tackles and 10.5 sacks as a junior.
I hope they offer this kid soon...watched him play last night:
"Sand Springs also forced two turnovers, including fourth quarter interception by freshman defensive lineman Delvin Jordan. Jordan returned the interception to the Sand Springs 5, which set up Patrick's last TD.
"I came around the corner, blocked the pass and it went into my hands," said Jordan, who was all over the field defensively. "I would've scored if I wasn't tired."
NORMAN — Oklahoma coach Bob Stoops fired three assistants last February, replacing them with coaches who brought impressive recruiting backgrounds.
This weekend might be a sign that things are turning back around for the Sooners, who have been criticized for a perceived talent shortage the past few years.
New defensive line coach Jerry Montgomery, who was hired away from Michigan, is bringing in two California defensive tackles — Tashon Smallwood from Fresno and Ainuu Taua from Lompoc — for Saturday's home game against TCU.
The Sooners are also hosting five-star athlete Adoree' Jackson (Gardena, Calif.); five-star running back Joe Mixon (Oakley, Calif.); and four-star athlete Michiah Quick (Fresno, Calif.) this weekend.
Josh McCuistion, who covers OU recruiting for the Rivals network site SoonerScoop.com, said the staffing changes haven't just affected recruiting in the new coaches' position groups, but across the board.
“You can tell talking to the (high school) coaches that deal with these guys year in and year out,” McCuistion said. “They'll say, ‘Man, Oklahoma's more present. They're around. We're hearing from them more.'
“Just little things like that, which, to the kids doesn't mean a whole lot. For the coaches, that's a big part of it. You want to make sure you're welcome in those doors anytime you go in. They used to feel like Oklahoma expected the kids to come there, rather than wanting to work to make sure they came.”
Today, though, the entire OU coaching staff seems fully intent on outworking the competition.
Co-offensive coordinator Jay Norvell, who has been widely viewed as Oklahoma's ace recruiter the past few years, said he's been impressed with Montgomery, offensive line coach Bill Bedenbaugh and special teams coordinator/tight ends coach Jay Boulware so far.
“These guys are all experienced recruiters,” Norvell said. “They've all recruited at great programs, and they've all had reputations of really hustling. You've gotta be a hustler. You've gotta get from school to school, stay in contact with your connections, because your connections are the guys who get it done for you.”
Bedenbaugh established a strong relationship with Troy, Ohio, offensive guard Alex Dalton while still coaching at West Virginia.
Dalton attended a West Virginia summer camp before his junior season and received a WVU scholarship offer from Bedenbaugh just before he left for Oklahoma.
The three-star prospect — who said he always liked Bedenbaugh but that West Virginia “wasn't at the top of my list” — soon picked up an OU scholarship offer and committed to the Sooners in May.
“I like his level of seriousness,” Dalton said. “He was the first coach to ever write me personally in the mail. That said a lot. It's kind of ironic that he was the first one to write me a letter and it turned out that's who I ended up going with.”
Norvell said the best is yet to come for the new assistants, because it typically takes a full year on a new job to really get going in recruiting.
“To be fair to any of those guys, or any coach coming in, it takes almost a year to have worked on a kid in your area to really have that connection,” Norvell said. “But they've all got great ideas, got great energy.
“You know the old saying about recruiting is that it's like shaving — you've gotta do it every day or pretty soon, you look like a bum.”
At 6-foot-3 and 230 pounds, Flowers is a versatile option at Churchill, and he’s expected to be as versatile for Oklahoma. He has rushed for 308 yards and four touchdowns, and he leads Churchill with 49 receptions for 989 yards and 14 touchdowns. Additionally, Flowers has lined up as a Wildcat quarterback. He has completed 2 of 4 passes, but both completions went for touchdowns.
Flowers reminds Sooners fans, physically, of senior fullback Trey Millard. Flowers added that the Sooners coaching staff has talked to him about being a similar type of player
Devante Bond (Roseville, Calif./Sierra College) said that he has verbally committed to Oklahoma. A 6-foot-3, 240-pound outside linebacker with 4.6-second speed in the 40-yard dash, Bond chose Oklahoma over offers from Nebraska, Cal, West Virginia and others.
While Oklahoma is looking for more defensive linemen, it has done a solid job in recruiting tight ends. The Sooners managed to add depth to the position by picking up junior college tight end Isaac Ijalana (Woodland Hills, Calif./Pierce College). A 6-5, 255-pound blocking tight end, Ijalana chose the Sooners over offers from Illinois, Bowling Green and other schools.
The addition of Orso gives OU its first defensive end pledge of the 2014 class, and it’s obvious what first-year line coach Jerry Montgomery is looking for.
He wants his defensive ends big. Orso is that at 6-foot-5 and 250 pounds.