Oklahoma Sooners: Andrew Williams
NORMAN, Okla. -- The foundation of championship teams is often built upon the disruptive nature of its defensive line. The foundation of a quality defensive line is unearthed on the recruiting trail.
Cracks in both foundations emerged during the 2012 season at Oklahoma.
The Sooners finished 10-3 with a Big 12 co-championship but had one of their least disruptive defensive fronts in recent memory. And they’ll kickoff the 2013 with a very inexperienced defensive interior.
Cracks in both foundations emerged during the 2012 season at Oklahoma.
The Sooners finished 10-3 with a Big 12 co-championship but had one of their least disruptive defensive fronts in recent memory. And they’ll kickoff the 2013 with a very inexperienced defensive interior.
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Every Friday, 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:
Read the Sooner Intel after the jump.
- The latest on OU's pursuit of former ESPN 150 defensive back Tee Shepard.
- An OU offer would change the recruitment for a three-star wideout.
- The Sooners' defensive ends coach is developing a bond with a four-star end.
- What's next for OU and offensive line target Alex Dalton?
- A top linebacker offer talks about where the Sooners stand.
- One of ESPN 300 DE Matt Dimon's teammates is keeping in touch with the Sooners.
- A Dallas safety is hearing a lot from OU and might visit this summer.
- OU is taking an interest in a defender at Adrian Peterson's old high school.
Read the Sooner Intel after the jump.
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OU needs Montgomery to be elite recruiter
February, 26, 2013
Feb 26
5:47
PM CT
By
Jake Trotter | ESPN.com
NORMAN, Okla. -- Well before an official announcement welcoming him to the Sooners’ coaching staff, Jerry Montgomery was stumping on the recruiting trail, pitching Oklahoma to some of the top defensive line prospects in the Class of 2014.
With his latest hire, which the school finally announced Tuesday, head coach Bob Stoops showed again he’s hoping to bring better players up front to Norman. And he’s hoping that Montgomery -- and new offensive line coach Bill Bedenbaugh -- will be the ones who can close the deal on blue-chip line prospects the Sooners have come up short on in recent years.
Montgomery knows how to make a good first impression.
Not long after he accepted Stoops’ offer, Montgomery was on the phone with ESPN Watch List defensive ends Da'Shawn Hand (Woodbridge, Va./Woodbridge) and Andrew Williams (McDonough, Ga./Eagles Landing Christian Academy) and talking to them about Oklahoma.
Landing players the caliber of Hand and Williams won’t come easy. They have impressive offer sheets, both holding offers from Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Ohio State and USC. Yet to become nationally relevant past October once again, signing such line blue-chippers is almost a requirement.
The Sooners got by last year up front as they shared a Big 12 title. But against the likes of Notre Dame and Texas A&M, the Sooners were exposed for what they have been: a finesse team ill-equipped of playing dominant, championship-caliber football in the trenches.
That trend was going the wrong way, too, as OU whiffed on almost all of its top offensive and defensive tackle targets in the 2013 recruiting class.
Stoops is banking that Montgomery will help reverse the trend. At Michigan, he quickly gained a reputation as one of the Wolverines’ most prolific recruiters. Montgomery had a hand in Michigan landing all three of its 2014 commitments, and he had already developed relationships with some of the nation’s top rising high school seniors such as Hand and Williams.
Montgomery arrives in Norman not a day too soon, either. Over the weekend, OU already lost out on two of its top defensive tackle targets for 2014 as Zaycoven Henderson (Longview, Texas/Longview) committed to TCU while Tashon Smallwood (Fresno, Calif./Central) chose USC.
Sooners fans are clamoring for those days to be at an end. And that with Montgomery on board, the school of Lee Roy Selmon and Tony Casillas and Gerald McCoy will become a bastion of championship line play again.
With his latest hire, which the school finally announced Tuesday, head coach Bob Stoops showed again he’s hoping to bring better players up front to Norman. And he’s hoping that Montgomery -- and new offensive line coach Bill Bedenbaugh -- will be the ones who can close the deal on blue-chip line prospects the Sooners have come up short on in recent years.
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Lon Horwedel/Icon SMINew Oklahoma assistant Jerry Montgomery wasted no time in recruiting for the Sooners.
Lon Horwedel/Icon SMINew Oklahoma assistant Jerry Montgomery wasted no time in recruiting for the Sooners.Not long after he accepted Stoops’ offer, Montgomery was on the phone with ESPN Watch List defensive ends Da'Shawn Hand (Woodbridge, Va./Woodbridge) and Andrew Williams (McDonough, Ga./Eagles Landing Christian Academy) and talking to them about Oklahoma.
Landing players the caliber of Hand and Williams won’t come easy. They have impressive offer sheets, both holding offers from Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Ohio State and USC. Yet to become nationally relevant past October once again, signing such line blue-chippers is almost a requirement.
The Sooners got by last year up front as they shared a Big 12 title. But against the likes of Notre Dame and Texas A&M, the Sooners were exposed for what they have been: a finesse team ill-equipped of playing dominant, championship-caliber football in the trenches.
That trend was going the wrong way, too, as OU whiffed on almost all of its top offensive and defensive tackle targets in the 2013 recruiting class.
Stoops is banking that Montgomery will help reverse the trend. At Michigan, he quickly gained a reputation as one of the Wolverines’ most prolific recruiters. Montgomery had a hand in Michigan landing all three of its 2014 commitments, and he had already developed relationships with some of the nation’s top rising high school seniors such as Hand and Williams.
Montgomery arrives in Norman not a day too soon, either. Over the weekend, OU already lost out on two of its top defensive tackle targets for 2014 as Zaycoven Henderson (Longview, Texas/Longview) committed to TCU while Tashon Smallwood (Fresno, Calif./Central) chose USC.
Sooners fans are clamoring for those days to be at an end. And that with Montgomery on board, the school of Lee Roy Selmon and Tony Casillas and Gerald McCoy will become a bastion of championship line play again.
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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.