Oklahoma Sooners

NORMAN, Okla. -- Is it possible that Oklahoma could be shut out from all of the elite defensive backs in the state of Texas for the Class of 2014?

It didn’t seem likely last year. But now, in the middle of spring, it’s getting a lot tougher to gauge where the Sooners fit in with some of the best the Lone Star State has to offer.

There were only four defensive backs in Texas that finished in the ESPN 300 for the Class of 2013, so it wasn’t that big of a deal for OU to not get one of them.

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SAN ANTONIO -- You knew about Tony Brown, Jamal Adams and Ed Paris. Those three have been talked up, written about and recruited for more than a year.

But admit it: You know decidedly less about Arrion Springs, the San Antonio Roosevelt corner who’s suddenly one of the state’s hottest recruits.

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Watching ESPN Watch List cornerback Tony Brown (Beaumont, Texas/Ozen) compete is almost like watching a one-man show. No matter what he does, there’s the understood notion that he’s going to excel.

On the football field, he’s one of the nation’s best cornerbacks, an athlete with more than 20 scholarship offers. Over the weekend, Brown not only won the defensive back MVP award at the Dallas Nike Football Training Camp but also earned an invitation to The Opening this summer in Oregon.

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ALLEN, Texas -- The 2013 Nike Football Training Camp tour continued in the Dallas area on Sunday as several top prospects from Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas and Louisiana showcased their skills at the brand new Eagle Stadium in Allen, Texas. The defensive back group was as loaded as expected, and several players earned invitations to The Opening.

Recruiting Nation’s Max Olson attended the camp. Here’s what he learned:

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The Nike Football Training Camp series will continue outside of Dallas on Sunday. Athletes will trek to Allen, Texas, the home of one of the most impressive high school stadiums in the country. Allen Eagles Stadium, a $60-million facility, opened last year and featured nearly 22,000 fans watching Texas powers Allen and Southlake Carroll clash.

Here are five storylines to watch on Sunday.

Talented DBs aplenty

It’s been said on multiple occasions that the 2014 class may be one of the strongest in years at producing big-time defensive backs in the region. The battle for defensive back MVP has the potential of being extremely competitive with players such as Laurence Jones (Monroe, La./Neville), Jamal Adams (Lewisville, Texas/Hebron), Tony Brown (Beaumont, Texas/Ozen), Steven Parker (Jenks, Okla./Jenks) and Arrion Springs (San Antonio/Roosevelt) expected to be in attendance. Chris Hardeman (Houston/Alief Taylor) has committed to LSU, while Dylan Sumner-Gardner (Mesquite, Texas/West Mesquite) and Armani Watts (Forney, Texas/North Forney) have pledged to Texas A&M. Deionte Thompson (Orange, Texas/West Orange-Stark), a 2015 prospect, has verbally committed to Alabama. All of the DBs will have their shots in one-on-one drills against equally talented ESPN Watch List receivers such as Malachi Dupre (River Ridge, La./John Curtis), K.D. Cannon (Mount Pleasant, Texas/Mount Pleasant) and Texas commit Lorenzo Joe (Abilene, Texas/Cooper).

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Oklahoma and Texas A&M are getting awfully familiar with each other here lately. The Aggies broke the hearts of Sooners fans by landing the commitment of ESPN 150 defensive tackle Justin Manning (Dallas/Kimball) two weeks ago.

OU returned the favor by getting three-star defensive tackle Kerrick Huggins (Dallas/Skyline) to flip to the Sooners from the Aggies.

OU basketball got a leg up on A&M with a 64-54 win in Oklahoma City last weekend. Oh yeah, there’s also the Cotton Bowl coming up Jan. 4 at Cowboys Stadium.

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With several months to go until national signing day for the Class of 2013, it's never too early to look at Oklahoma’s top prospects for 2014 with a 14 for ’14 wish list.

Up first was the offense and now it’s time to look at defense where the Sooners have not been bashful offering the top prospects across the nation.

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When describing Oklahoma’s philosophy with recruiting the last couple of years, a new trend has emerged. The Sooners have been targeting recruits from Florida and California more than ever before.

The success of the “Cali Trio” (running back Brennan Clay, wide receiver Kenny Stills and safety Tony Jefferson) from the 2010 class has opened the doors to a more nationwide approach.

However, when you take a look at the ESPN Watch List for 2014 and the Sooners, OU is back to defending its familiar territory.

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Bob Przybylo answers readers' questions about Oklahoma football and basketball recruiting in his mailbag every week. Got a question for Bob? Send it to his mailbag at bprzybyloespn@gmail.com.

Sonny in Dallas asks: I really like what Shipp has been doing last two weeks. Any chance OU gets a commitment from some of these defensive tackles?

Bob Przybylo: Of course there is a chance, but it hasn't reached that point yet. Shipp has obviously gone through another round of evaluations and has been ready to strike.

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Every Thursday, SoonerNation releases the Sooner Intel, a sneak peek inside Oklahoma Sooners football recruiting with news and notes on the latest happenings around the program. Talk about it on our forum. A few things discussed in this week's update:

• One top 2014 prospect got his first look at OU's campus
• An early 2014 RB offer met a former Sooners star and alma mater of his high school
• The Sooners had a surprise visitor on campus last weekend

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Every weekday morning, a member of the SoonerNation gives his take on three things happening in the Sooner sports world.

1. Oklahoma had a satellite camp in Houston on Tuesday night in conjunction with McMurry University, and at least three prospects were offered by the Sooners. Class of 2013 prospects Austin Bennett (Manvel, Texas/Manvel) and Caleb Benenoch (Katy, Texas/Seven Lakes), along with 2014 defensive back Tony Brown (Beaumont, Texas/Ozen) were all offered by OU. Benenoch was recently offered by Texas and decommitted from Michigan State on Tuesday. For more on the offers, check out our forum.

2. Would you believe it if I told you OU spent less money on football recruiting in 2011 than Kansas, Kansas State and Iowa State? Well, believe it. The Sooners spent $356,414 on recruiting for their football program last fiscal year, which ranks 7th in the Big 12. OU actually spent almost $100,000 more in 2010 ($452,601), if you can believe that. Here's the full Big 12 recruiting budget rankings.

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After an impressive showing at the Oklahoma camp, 2014 cornerback Tony Brown (Beaumont, Texas/Ozen) picked up an offer Tuesday from the Sooners.

Brown, a 6-foot, 180-pound cornerback and ball hawk, left the OU camp with his eighth offer overall. He now has offers from Alabama, LSU, Nebraska, Texas A&M, Texas Tech, TCU and Mississippi State, along with the Sooners.

“There was good competition there,” Brown said of the OU camp. “I went there to compete. They had a few guys there who were supposed to be good, and I wanted to go against them.”

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