Oklahoma Sooners: Texas Tech Red Raiders
TYLER, Texas -- East Texas often is considered one of the nation’s most underrated areas in finding elite talent when it comes to college football recruiting. Sunday featured the inaugural East Texas Sports Network combine, which showcased more than 100 players from East Texas.
The event took place at the Accelerate Performance Enhancement Center (APEC) training facility, which has trained professionals such as quarterback Graham Harrell, running back Kendall Hunter and pro baseball pitchers Phillip Humber and Josh Tomlin.
The event took place at the Accelerate Performance Enhancement Center (APEC) training facility, which has trained professionals such as quarterback Graham Harrell, running back Kendall Hunter and pro baseball pitchers Phillip Humber and Josh Tomlin.
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Inspired by Florida's "#ComePlayWRFortheJoker" campaign, our recruiting writers looked at other ways schools can sell themselves on the trail. Here's a look at recruiting pitches for the Big 12:
Baylor Bears
What they’re selling: The new 45,000-seat, $250-million on-campus stadium that will open in 2014. Recruiting is an arms race, and players like fancy stadiums and locker rooms, and Baylor’s upgrade puts them finally on the same level playing field as everybody else in the Big 12.
What they're missing: Help on defense -- specifically at defensive line and defensive back.
Iowa State Cyclones
What they’re selling: Paul Rhoads. He grew up miles from the campus and has helped turn around Iowa State with a physical and fundamentally sound style of football.
What they're missing: A true home-run threat at receiver.
Kansas Jayhawks
What they’re selling: Charlie Weis. He’s taken risks (juco infusion), repaired relationships with area high school coaches and widened KU’s recruiting pool.
What they're missing: Wins. When you’ve won only one conference game in three years, a little bit of everything is missing.
Kansas State Wildcats
What they’re selling: Bill Synder. The plan has worked for years in Manhattan. K-State doesn’t care how many stars a player has attached to his name, a player only earns an offer from K-State unless Snyder personally signs off on it after a lengthy review. It’s a plan that produced a No. 1 BCS ranking and a Big 12 championship in 2012.
What’s missing: I’ve been told by coaches for years that the most difficult position to recruit is defensive tackle. That’s why you often see even average defensive tackles rack up double-digit offers, and finding good depth at defensive tackle has been very difficult to do at K-State.
Oklahoma Sooners
What they’re selling: Oklahoma is proud of its football tradition, and few schools can match the Sooners’ track record for success, facilities and ability to prepare you for the next level.
What they're missing: A renewed focus on evaluating players. It’s what differentiated Bob Stoops’ staff when they started, and it’s how they found players like Sam Bradford, Josh Heupel, Juaquin Iglesias and Donald Stephenson. All at the time were considered to be three-star recruits but wound up being impact players for the Sooners.
Oklahoma State Cowboys
What they’re selling: Their ability to evaluate and develop offensive talent.
What they're missing: Elite players in the Lone Star State. With the best facilities in the conference, it might be just enough to get kids to visit.
Texas Longhorns
What they’re selling: Few in the nation can offer up the type of atmosphere, fan base, tradition and total student-athlete package like Texas can.
What they're missing: A true a difference-maker at quarterback. The last two Heisman Trophy winners have come from Texas high schools, and the Longhorns didn’t recruit one heavily and recruited the other as an athlete.
TCU Horned Frogs
What they’re selling: The Horned Frogs recruit to their style of smash-mouth play on both sides of the ball and don’t care how many stars a recruit has. It hurts them some in the recruiting rankings, but it helps them win a lot of ball games.
What they're missing: BCS conference depth. Heading into their second season in the Big 12 after a 7-6 season, the biggest thing the Horned Frogs need to do is to build the roster to be able to compete year in and year out in the BCS conference.
Texas Tech Red Raiders
What they’re selling: The Red Raiders went through a transition that brought Kliff Kingsbury to Lubbock, and the early reception has been nothing short of positive.
What they're missing: The Red Raiders have never had issues putting up points on people, but under Tommy Tuberville and Mike Leach there was little defense being played.
West Virginia Mountaineers
What they’re selling: WVU is a force in the Atlantic region, can recruit well in Pennsylvania and is arguably one of the best schools at identifying offensive talent in the JC ranks.
What they're missing: The 2014 class will have to be all about rebuilding in Morgantown, as the needs are mounting while several impact players have moved on.
Baylor Bears
What they’re selling: The new 45,000-seat, $250-million on-campus stadium that will open in 2014. Recruiting is an arms race, and players like fancy stadiums and locker rooms, and Baylor’s upgrade puts them finally on the same level playing field as everybody else in the Big 12.
What they're missing: Help on defense -- specifically at defensive line and defensive back.
Iowa State Cyclones
What they’re selling: Paul Rhoads. He grew up miles from the campus and has helped turn around Iowa State with a physical and fundamentally sound style of football.
What they're missing: A true home-run threat at receiver.
Kansas Jayhawks
What they’re selling: Charlie Weis. He’s taken risks (juco infusion), repaired relationships with area high school coaches and widened KU’s recruiting pool.
What they're missing: Wins. When you’ve won only one conference game in three years, a little bit of everything is missing.
Kansas State Wildcats
What they’re selling: Bill Synder. The plan has worked for years in Manhattan. K-State doesn’t care how many stars a player has attached to his name, a player only earns an offer from K-State unless Snyder personally signs off on it after a lengthy review. It’s a plan that produced a No. 1 BCS ranking and a Big 12 championship in 2012.
What’s missing: I’ve been told by coaches for years that the most difficult position to recruit is defensive tackle. That’s why you often see even average defensive tackles rack up double-digit offers, and finding good depth at defensive tackle has been very difficult to do at K-State.
Oklahoma Sooners
What they’re selling: Oklahoma is proud of its football tradition, and few schools can match the Sooners’ track record for success, facilities and ability to prepare you for the next level.
What they're missing: A renewed focus on evaluating players. It’s what differentiated Bob Stoops’ staff when they started, and it’s how they found players like Sam Bradford, Josh Heupel, Juaquin Iglesias and Donald Stephenson. All at the time were considered to be three-star recruits but wound up being impact players for the Sooners.
Oklahoma State Cowboys
What they’re selling: Their ability to evaluate and develop offensive talent.
What they're missing: Elite players in the Lone Star State. With the best facilities in the conference, it might be just enough to get kids to visit.
Texas Longhorns
What they’re selling: Few in the nation can offer up the type of atmosphere, fan base, tradition and total student-athlete package like Texas can.
What they're missing: A true a difference-maker at quarterback. The last two Heisman Trophy winners have come from Texas high schools, and the Longhorns didn’t recruit one heavily and recruited the other as an athlete.
TCU Horned Frogs
What they’re selling: The Horned Frogs recruit to their style of smash-mouth play on both sides of the ball and don’t care how many stars a recruit has. It hurts them some in the recruiting rankings, but it helps them win a lot of ball games.
What they're missing: BCS conference depth. Heading into their second season in the Big 12 after a 7-6 season, the biggest thing the Horned Frogs need to do is to build the roster to be able to compete year in and year out in the BCS conference.
Texas Tech Red Raiders
What they’re selling: The Red Raiders went through a transition that brought Kliff Kingsbury to Lubbock, and the early reception has been nothing short of positive.
What they're missing: The Red Raiders have never had issues putting up points on people, but under Tommy Tuberville and Mike Leach there was little defense being played.
West Virginia Mountaineers
What they’re selling: WVU is a force in the Atlantic region, can recruit well in Pennsylvania and is arguably one of the best schools at identifying offensive talent in the JC ranks.
What they're missing: The 2014 class will have to be all about rebuilding in Morgantown, as the needs are mounting while several impact players have moved on.
Darrion Johnson is getting a fresh start at Navasota, and he couldn’t be happier.
The four-star defensive back is in his second week at the Class 3A school after his abrupt transfer from Brenham (Texas) High School, and the move hasn’t hindered his recruitment much.
The four-star defensive back is in his second week at the Class 3A school after his abrupt transfer from Brenham (Texas) High School, and the move hasn’t hindered his recruitment much.
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When 2015 athlete Keke Coutee (Lufkin, Texas/Lufkin) received an offer from Oklahoma last week, he figured another big one was coming next. He was right.
“They’re rivals,” he said. “I figured they were going to offer me sooner or later.”
“They’re rivals,” he said. “I figured they were going to offer me sooner or later.”
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KATY, Texas -- When Rodney Anderson got called up to Katy High School's varsity squad for the Tigers' 2011 season opener, he was unsure what to expect.
Then a 160-pound freshman, the 2015 running back was elevated as a receiver to help in an area in which the Katy coaches felt they needed a boost in depth.
"It was a huge adrenaline rush," Anderson said of his new responsibilities. "Mentally, I was just trying to make sure I remembered everything and carried out my assignments."
One injury to a teammate changed everything: his position, his playing time, his future.
Then a 160-pound freshman, the 2015 running back was elevated as a receiver to help in an area in which the Katy coaches felt they needed a boost in depth.
"It was a huge adrenaline rush," Anderson said of his new responsibilities. "Mentally, I was just trying to make sure I remembered everything and carried out my assignments."
One injury to a teammate changed everything: his position, his playing time, his future.
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It’s no secret that Oklahoma has been looking to dip into the junior college waters to try to find one more recruit for its Class of 2013.
The Sooners spent a good chunk of February looking for a diamond in the rough. Turns out OU simply had to wait another two months before he emerged.
The Sooners spent a good chunk of February looking for a diamond in the rough. Turns out OU simply had to wait another two months before he emerged.
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Some athletes simply have recognizable nicknames. Wide receiver Byron Daniels (San Antonio/Madison) is known around his high school as “Scooter.”
“I don’t even know how I got it,” Daniels said. “I was named after my dad, and it was something my family called me. When they called for Byron, both of us turned around.’”
Daniels said his grandfather was the first to call him Scooter. What many probably didn’t know was that the name would fit as a football player. In addition to being quick and elusive, he runs with a level of power that many 5-foot-11, 170-pound athletes don’t have.
That combination of talents has made Daniels a major recruiting target for several college programs. Daniels has seven offers, and he’s looking to earn more as the spring season progresses.
“I don’t even know how I got it,” Daniels said. “I was named after my dad, and it was something my family called me. When they called for Byron, both of us turned around.’”
Daniels said his grandfather was the first to call him Scooter. What many probably didn’t know was that the name would fit as a football player. In addition to being quick and elusive, he runs with a level of power that many 5-foot-11, 170-pound athletes don’t have.
That combination of talents has made Daniels a major recruiting target for several college programs. Daniels has seven offers, and he’s looking to earn more as the spring season progresses.
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The NFL draft is done, and you can find some raw data at the bottom of this post, but here are a few thoughts:
Here's the ranking of players drafted, by Big 12 team.
1. Oklahoma -- six players
2. West Virginia -- three players
2. Texas -- three players
2. Kansas State -- three players
5. Iowa State -- two players
5. TCU -- two players
7. Baylor -- one player
7. Kansas -- one player
7. Oklahoma State -- one player
10. Texas Tech -- zero players
Here are the conference rankings:
1. SEC -- 63 players
2. ACC -- 31 players
3. Pac-12 -- 28 players
4. Big 12 -- 22 players
4. Big Ten -- 22 players
6. Big East -- 18 players
Here is the full list of the 22 players from the Big 12 who were drafted:
- You can see our thoughts on the first round here, so today, we'll focus on the rest of the draft.
- What a nighmare spot for Geno Smith to land after a rough drop out of the first round. Sure, he might be able to earn some early playing time for the Jets, and it's not hard to see him beating out a couple of first-round picks in Mark Sanchez and Tim Tebow, but the Jets are a complete zoo with six quarterbacks on the roster, and Chaz Schilens (what??) and former TCU receiver Jeremy Kerley as their top targets in the passing game. Good grief. Smith won't be pressured to play early, but it's hard to imagine him walking into a worse situation as a rookie quarterback, with no one to really learn from, tons of distractions and a zoo-like atmosphere on a Jets team that isn't expected to come anywhere close to the playoffs next season.
- On the flip side, how happy is Sam Bradford after this weekend? And how awesome is Tavon Austin and Stedman Bailey getting to continue playing together? The Rams just gained an entire state as a fan base. You'll be able to see plenty of St. Louis games in West Virginia, I'm betting. Don't be surprised if both of those guys are starters in Week 1 for a team badly in need of receivers after losing Danny Amendola to the Patriots. Austin is obviously more physically gifted, but Bailey has great hands and knows how to play the position. You don't catch 25 touchdown passes on accident.
- Meanwhile, great landing spot for Landry Jones, who stuck around Oklahoma an extra year, passing up a first-round grade from the advisory committee. He appeared to regress this year, falling back to the fourth round. Walking into a place where he had to start early with few weapons would be a tough spot for any quarterback, even though Jones, with four years of starting experience, would be as ready as anyone. Instead, he'll sit behind Ben Roethlisberger, and considering how much Roethlisberger gets hit, don't be surprised if Jones is forced into starting duty once or twice next season. On a random note: Jones' landing spot is a little funny considering his wife played with Roethlisberger's little sister, Carlee, on the women's basketball team at Oklahoma.
- How perfect is Arthur Brown going to the Ravens? It's too bad he won't get to learn from Ray Lewis firsthand, but you can bet Lewis will have a hand in Brown's development. Brown is mean, fast and smart. That fits the Ravens perfectly.
- Jerry Jones loves him some Big 12 offensive skill talent. Dez Bryant blossomed this season, but the Dallas Cowboys went out and grabbed running back Joseph Randle and receiver Terrance Williams, the league's top rusher and receiver. I don't see Randle as a star in the NFL, but a solid contributor. Williams, though, will be fascinating to see in an offense thin at receiver behind Bryant. Miles Austin has had health issues, and Bryant has, too. Keep an eye out for Williams to make a splash in an offense that loves to throw it around. Randle will be backing up a familiar face in ex-Oklahoma running back DeMarco Murray.
- Great fit for Kenny Stills in New Orleans. The Saints have several aging receivers there to teach Stills a thing or two, but enough passes to get him some early experience. I'm betting on Stills as a 1,000-yard receiver in Year 3.
- Very cool reunion out in Arizona with Alex Okafor joining his old teammate, Sam Acho, on the Cardinals. It will be fun to see those guys on the field.
- Texas Tech was the only Big 12 team without a player drafted.
- Very shocked to see Oklahoma's Tony Jefferson and Iowa State's Jake Knott go undrafted. More so with Jefferson, who left school early and had great physical gifts. ESPN had him as the No. 5 safety in the draft at one point, but he wasn't among the more than 20 safeties drafted. Very odd. I have to wonder what's going on there. Has to be something other than his physical skills. He didn't necessarily show a lot of improvement throughout his career, but he was an All-Big 12 talent who made 100+ tackles this season. More on the Big 12's notable undrafted players later this morning.
- Not a good year for the Big 12 in the draft, with an all-time low 22 players drafted, but you also have to consider that it's just the second year that the league had just 10 teams. Texas A&M and Missouri had a combined eight draft picks, helping the 14-team SEC set an all-time record for draft picks by conference. By eight selections, of course. Generally, not a good trend for the Big 12. Most alarming: The SEC East and SEC West both had more draft picks than any other conference in college football. Good grief.
Here's the ranking of players drafted, by Big 12 team.
1. Oklahoma -- six players
2. West Virginia -- three players
2. Texas -- three players
2. Kansas State -- three players
5. Iowa State -- two players
5. TCU -- two players
7. Baylor -- one player
7. Kansas -- one player
7. Oklahoma State -- one player
10. Texas Tech -- zero players
Here are the conference rankings:
1. SEC -- 63 players
2. ACC -- 31 players
3. Pac-12 -- 28 players
4. Big 12 -- 22 players
4. Big Ten -- 22 players
6. Big East -- 18 players
Here is the full list of the 22 players from the Big 12 who were drafted:
FIRST ROUND
- Oklahoma OT Lane Johnson, fourth overall, Philadelphia Eagles
- West Virginia WR Tavon Austin, eighth overall, St. Louis Rams
- Texas S Kenny Vaccaro, 15th overall, New Orleans Saints
- West Virginia QB Geno Smith, 39th overall, New York Jets
- Kansas State LB Arthur Brown, 56th overall, Baltimore Ravens
- Baylor WR Terrance Williams, 74th overall, Dallas Cowboys
- Texas WR Marquise Goodwin, 78th overall, Buffalo Bills
- West Virginia WR Stedman Bailey, 92nd overall, St. Louis Rams
- TCU receiver Josh Boyce, 102nd overall, New England Patriots
- Texas DE Alex Okafor, 103rd overall, Arizona Cardinals
- Oklahoma QB Landry Jones, 115th overall, Pittsburgh Steelers
- Kansas State WR Chris Harper, 123rd overall, Seattle Seahawks
- Oklahoma WR Kenny Stills, 144th overall, New Orleans Saints
- Iowa State LB A.J. Klein, 148th overall, Carolina Panthers
- Oklahoma State RB Joseph Randle, 151st overall, Dallas Cowboys
- TCU DE Stansly Maponga, 153rd overall, Atlanta Falcons
- Kansas OT Tanner Hawkinson, 156th overall, Cincinnati Bengals
- Oklahoma WR Justin Brown, 186th overall, Pittsburgh Steelers
- Kansas State FB Braden Wilson, 204th overall, Kansas City Chiefs
- Oklahoma DT Stacy McGee, 205th overall, Oakland Raiders
- Oklahoma DE David King, 239th overall, Philadelphia Eagles
- Iowa State OL Carter Bykowski, 246th overall, San Francisco
Damon Sayles talks with Dallas Skyline offensive tackle Ty Barrett. Barrett, a 2014 Watch List member, holds more than 15 FBS scholarship offers.Q&A: 2014 WR Leonard talks Texas offer 
April, 3, 2013
Apr 3
1:00
PM CT
By
William Wilkerson | ESPN.com
The Longhorns aren’t messing around anymore. Their coaching staff is out in front on a lot of evaluations, which was made possible by their ability to get ahead of the game while dealing with a smaller class in 2013.
That’s enabling them to offer recruits at a much faster pace than in past years.
One of the latest to receive an offer is 2014 wide receiver Dorian Leonard from powerhouse Longview (Texas) High School. He picked his up during Texas’ recent monster recruiting weekend.
Leonard, who is 6-foot-4 and 200 pounds, also has offers from Florida State, Oklahoma, Oregon State and Texas Tech. He joins K.D. Cannon (Mount Pleasant, Texas/Mount Pleasant), Armanti Foreman (Texas City, Texas/Texas City), Demarre Kitt (Tyrone, Ga./Sandy Creek) and Trey Quinn (Lake Charles, La./Barbe) as 2014 uncommitted wide receivers with Texas offers.
Lorenzo Joe (Abilene, Texas/Cooper) and Roderick Bernard (Houston/Sharpstown) are the Longhorns’ WR commitments thus far for 2014.
HornsNation caught up with Leonard to get his thoughts on what this offer means.
That’s enabling them to offer recruits at a much faster pace than in past years.
One of the latest to receive an offer is 2014 wide receiver Dorian Leonard from powerhouse Longview (Texas) High School. He picked his up during Texas’ recent monster recruiting weekend.
Leonard, who is 6-foot-4 and 200 pounds, also has offers from Florida State, Oklahoma, Oregon State and Texas Tech. He joins K.D. Cannon (Mount Pleasant, Texas/Mount Pleasant), Armanti Foreman (Texas City, Texas/Texas City), Demarre Kitt (Tyrone, Ga./Sandy Creek) and Trey Quinn (Lake Charles, La./Barbe) as 2014 uncommitted wide receivers with Texas offers.
Lorenzo Joe (Abilene, Texas/Cooper) and Roderick Bernard (Houston/Sharpstown) are the Longhorns’ WR commitments thus far for 2014.
HornsNation caught up with Leonard to get his thoughts on what this offer means.
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Juco lineman lines up several big visits
April, 1, 2013
Apr 1
5:02
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By
Jared Shanker | ESPN.com
A series of visits are coming for one of the best junior college offensive linemen in the country, and he could start naming favorites shortly thereafter.
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Plenty of reasons to like 2014 DE Garrett
March, 27, 2013
Mar 27
8:33
PM CT
By
Damon Sayles | ESPN.com
The Twitter account for Myles Garrett (Arlington, Texas/Martin) tells half truth.
Garrett’s bio reads, “The big silly guy who plays football? Yea thats me,” and those who know Garrett know he enjoys to laugh and joke around. What the Twitter page doesn’t tell is just how athletically gifted the ESPN Watch List defensive end is. In fact, in addition to being the silly guy, friends have a nickname for him that seems to fit.
“They call me Superman,” Garrett said. “I guess it’s cool. It makes me laugh.”
Garrett’s bio reads, “The big silly guy who plays football? Yea thats me,” and those who know Garrett know he enjoys to laugh and joke around. What the Twitter page doesn’t tell is just how athletically gifted the ESPN Watch List defensive end is. In fact, in addition to being the silly guy, friends have a nickname for him that seems to fit.
“They call me Superman,” Garrett said. “I guess it’s cool. It makes me laugh.”
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Q&A: '14 WR Byron Daniels has top three
March, 27, 2013
Mar 27
11:00
AM CT
By
Bob Przybylo | ESPN.com
San Antonio Madison High has been kind to Oklahoma before. It was the home of former OU running back Jacob Gutierrez. And the Sooners went back to that spot to land ESPN 300 wide receiver Dannon Cavil for their 2013 class.
OU is once again at San Antonio Madison and once again targeting a top offensive target in receiver Byron Daniels.
Daniels, who is 6-foot-1 and 168 pounds, has offers from OU, Texas Tech and Nebraska, among others and has seen his stock increase in the last couple of months. He had 47 catches for 712 yards with a team-leading 13 touchdowns last season.
OU is once again at San Antonio Madison and once again targeting a top offensive target in receiver Byron Daniels.
Daniels, who is 6-foot-1 and 168 pounds, has offers from OU, Texas Tech and Nebraska, among others and has seen his stock increase in the last couple of months. He had 47 catches for 712 yards with a team-leading 13 touchdowns last season.
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WR Cannon talks training, newest offers
March, 24, 2013
Mar 24
8:02
PM CT
By
Damon Sayles | ESPN.com
DUNCANVILLE, Texas -- Speed might best define ESPN Watch List wide receiver K.D. Cannon (Mount Pleasant, Texas/Mount Pleasant). His hands might be a close second. His outstanding 4.37-second 40-yard dash time and his 104 catches for 1,597 yards and 25 touchdowns support that.
What Cannon has been recently working on is how to overcome size mismatches against larger defenders in the secondary. At 6-foot-0 and 170 pounds, he knows that at the next level he will go up against cornerbacks and safeties who are 15 or 20 pounds heavier -- and just as quick.
What Cannon has been recently working on is how to overcome size mismatches against larger defenders in the secondary. At 6-foot-0 and 170 pounds, he knows that at the next level he will go up against cornerbacks and safeties who are 15 or 20 pounds heavier -- and just as quick.
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OU going back to basics recruiting Texas
March, 19, 2013
Mar 19
8:00
AM CT
By
Bob Przybylo | ESPN.com
NORMAN, Okla. -- There had been a noticeable trend in Oklahoma's recruiting for the last couple of seasons. The Sooners were stepping out of Texas and going national.
With a winning tradition like OU has, it makes sense. You can offer a recruit in California or Florida and just say, “We’re OU. We want you.”
With a winning tradition like OU has, it makes sense. You can offer a recruit in California or Florida and just say, “We’re OU. We want you.”
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ABOUT SOONER NATION
Jake Trotter
Jake Trotter joined ESPN.com in 2011 after four years with The (Oklahoma City) Oklahoman, covering OU and Big 12 football. He's a graduate of Washington and Lee (Va.) University and lives in Oklahoma City with his wife. Email him at trotterjake@gmail.com.
Brandon Chatmon
Brandon Chatmon joined ESPN.com in 2011 after spending eight years with The Oklahoman, covering Oklahoma State University, high schools and recruiting. Chatmon lives in Norman, Okla. Email him at bchatmonespn@gmail.com.
Bob Przybylo
Bob Przybylo joined ESPN.com in 2011 after spending four years with The Oklahoman, covering high schools and recruiting. Przybylo lives in Oklahoma City. Email him at bprzybyloespn@gmail.com.