Texas Longhorns: Baylor Bears
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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Q&A: 4-star prospect Martin deciding soon 
May, 15, 2013
May 15
1:00
PM CT
By
William Wilkerson | ESPN.com
AUSTIN, Texas -- Versatility is a trait widely admired by college programs, but one that doesn’t always come in the form of someone 6-foot-6 and 247 pounds.
Koda Martin’s size alone makes him an attractive prospect, but couple it with his ability to play on either side of the ball and it’s easy to see why the four-star recruit from Manvel, Texas, has close to 20 offers.
Martin, who is rated as the No. 21 offensive tackle and No. 43 player in the state of Texas, was in Austin on Saturday to get a better feel for one of those schools that offered him.
We caught up with Martin at the Texas State track and field meet to see how everything went with the visit with Texas, and where he stands overall.
Koda Martin’s size alone makes him an attractive prospect, but couple it with his ability to play on either side of the ball and it’s easy to see why the four-star recruit from Manvel, Texas, has close to 20 offers.
Martin, who is rated as the No. 21 offensive tackle and No. 43 player in the state of Texas, was in Austin on Saturday to get a better feel for one of those schools that offered him.
We caught up with Martin at the Texas State track and field meet to see how everything went with the visit with Texas, and where he stands overall.
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FRISCO, Texas -- Soso Jamabo (Plano, Texas/Plano West) would have liked to be a part of this weekend’s Nike EYBL series playing with the Texas Titans. With a sling on his right shoulder, however, the 2015 two-sport star was reduced to watching the Titans on the bench, offering instruction to teammates and being the team’s biggest supporter.
For the rest of the spring and most of the summer, Jamabo’s focus will be on rehabbing after undergoing shoulder surgery on April 30. Jamabo broke some bones and damaged some ligaments in his shoulder during a Texas Class 5A Division-I state quarterfinal playoff. The 6-foot-3, 200-pound athlete is expected to miss 6-10 weeks but is projected to return a couple of weeks before Plano West’s first scrimmage in August.
“It’s early in the process, but it’s going well,” Jamabo said of the rehab process. “I’m just trying to get the shoulder back to usual, if not better. Right now, I’m just doing basic stuff and keep everything as minimal as possible.”
Exactly what kind of football player will Plano West look to see back on the field? Jamabo’s first rush as a varsity player was against Flower Mound (Texas) Marcus on Aug. 31. It went for 12 yards. His second rush: A 75-yard touchdown run.
Since then, Soso has been ... well ... anything but.
Only the shoulder injury managed to slow the electrifying 2015 running back down. He rushed for a team-leading 1,697 yards and 24 touchdowns and also caught 20 passes for 453 yards -- an average of almost 23 yards per catch -- and four touchdowns. On the basketball court, Jamabo averaged 13.8 points, 3.8 rebounds and 2.6 assists in 11 games.
For the rest of the spring and most of the summer, Jamabo’s focus will be on rehabbing after undergoing shoulder surgery on April 30. Jamabo broke some bones and damaged some ligaments in his shoulder during a Texas Class 5A Division-I state quarterfinal playoff. The 6-foot-3, 200-pound athlete is expected to miss 6-10 weeks but is projected to return a couple of weeks before Plano West’s first scrimmage in August.
“It’s early in the process, but it’s going well,” Jamabo said of the rehab process. “I’m just trying to get the shoulder back to usual, if not better. Right now, I’m just doing basic stuff and keep everything as minimal as possible.”
Exactly what kind of football player will Plano West look to see back on the field? Jamabo’s first rush as a varsity player was against Flower Mound (Texas) Marcus on Aug. 31. It went for 12 yards. His second rush: A 75-yard touchdown run.
Since then, Soso has been ... well ... anything but.
Only the shoulder injury managed to slow the electrifying 2015 running back down. He rushed for a team-leading 1,697 yards and 24 touchdowns and also caught 20 passes for 453 yards -- an average of almost 23 yards per catch -- and four touchdowns. On the basketball court, Jamabo averaged 13.8 points, 3.8 rebounds and 2.6 assists in 11 games.
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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.
Fret no more Longhorns faithful, Texas has finally offered ESPN 150 athlete Davion Hall (Texarkana, Texas/Liberty-Eylau).
Now the question becomes, can coach Mack Brown and Co. sway him away from his verbal commitment to Baylor?
Now the question becomes, can coach Mack Brown and Co. sway him away from his verbal commitment to Baylor?
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Question of the Week: Let's talk trades
May, 9, 2013
May 9
10:00
AM CT
By HornsNation staff | ESPN.com
Free agency might be a long way off from never in college football -- at least as far as players are concerned. Coaches, they come and go. Players stick.
But now the time has come to change all that, if only for a day and if only for the purposes of this week’s question of the week. With that in mind and those rules set, here then is the aforementioned question: If you, as Texas’ general manager, could trade for one player within the Big 12, who would it be? And who would you give up for that player?
But now the time has come to change all that, if only for a day and if only for the purposes of this week’s question of the week. With that in mind and those rules set, here then is the aforementioned question: If you, as Texas’ general manager, could trade for one player within the Big 12, who would it be? And who would you give up for that player?
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Plenty of Division I talent has walked through the doors at Houston Cypress Ridge since the school opened in the mid-2000s, and that continues to this year.
One of the Rams' younger prospects already getting looks from colleges is 2015 receiver Kemah Siverand.
One of the Rams' younger prospects already getting looks from colleges is 2015 receiver Kemah Siverand.
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MANVEL, Texas — On the wall across the Manvel (Texas) High School locker room and weight room, there is a poster with the words "Hoka Hey."
Though the term's original meaning was "It's a good day to die," when Crazy Horse let the Sioux to a victory at the Battle of Little Bighorn in 1876, around Manvel High, it takes on a much more amiable meaning. Specifically, it's used to symbolize teamwork. At the top of the poster are the words "Hoka Hey = Play Unselfish."
Though the term's original meaning was "It's a good day to die," when Crazy Horse let the Sioux to a victory at the Battle of Little Bighorn in 1876, around Manvel High, it takes on a much more amiable meaning. Specifically, it's used to symbolize teamwork. At the top of the poster are the words "Hoka Hey = Play Unselfish."
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Attending camps like the Nike Football Training Camp can open a whole bunch of eyes and put things into a real perspective for its participants, especially those younger in age.
It certainly had that effect on 2015 linebacker Cameron Townsend (Missouri City, Texas/Ridge Point) when he traveled to Allen, Texas, on April 7 for the NFTC.
Townsend, who already has offers from Texas and Baylor. was one of the top sophomores in attendance. But he learned quickly, particularly by rubbing elbows with high-profiled juniors, that he wasn’t the only one college-bound.
HornsNation caught up with Townsend to talk about what he learned from that camp and where he goes from here.
It certainly had that effect on 2015 linebacker Cameron Townsend (Missouri City, Texas/Ridge Point) when he traveled to Allen, Texas, on April 7 for the NFTC.
Townsend, who already has offers from Texas and Baylor. was one of the top sophomores in attendance. But he learned quickly, particularly by rubbing elbows with high-profiled juniors, that he wasn’t the only one college-bound.
HornsNation caught up with Townsend to talk about what he learned from that camp and where he goes from here.
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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
Schools inquiring about 2016 Texas DB
April, 29, 2013
Apr 29
10:00
AM CT
By
William Wilkerson | ESPN.com
There is a lot a young defensive back can learn through repetitions against an older sibling or friend. But it's just not going to have the same effect as, say, going up against an NFL wide receiver.
The talent gap was extreme, but Bailey Phillips already was well versed in going up against older wide receivers. He wasn't going to shy away from Pittsburgh Steelers rookie Emmanuel Sanders during a workout back in 2010, the summer before Sanders left for training camp.
The talent gap was extreme, but Bailey Phillips already was well versed in going up against older wide receivers. He wasn't going to shy away from Pittsburgh Steelers rookie Emmanuel Sanders during a workout back in 2010, the summer before Sanders left for training camp.
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Methodical approach for 5-star DE Garrett
April, 23, 2013
Apr 23
1:00
PM CT
By
Sam Khan Jr. | ESPN.com
When it comes to how he approaches athletics and everything that comes with it, Arlington (Texas) James Martin defensive end Myles Garrett is methodical.
The five-star defensive end does things his way -- and not in a bad way.
The five-star defensive end does things his way -- and not in a bad way.
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#BlueChipBattles: ESPN 150 release edition
April, 19, 2013
Apr 19
11:49
AM CT
By RecruitingNation | ESPN.com
Student Sports, ESPN, ESPNSpeedy Noil, Adoree Jackson and Da'Shawn Hand are three of the most coveted recruits in the Class of 2014.
: RecruitingNation summoned its writers from around the country to outline the recruiting battles for the ESPN 150's top 10 prospects.
Plus, rank the battles in SportsNation.
#TopFBMixtapes: Athlete mixtapes are all the rage in this highlight-crazed era of sports. We reached out to our Twitter followers to find out which 2014 football stars had the best highlight reels on YouTube, then had our staff rank and comment on the top submissions.
Tom Luginbill writes
: After talking to many coaches across the country and hearing their frustrations, here are their five biggest complaints about homemade highlight videos.
ALLEN, Texas -- The arrival of three scholarship offers in the past month means it’s officially time for Zach Rogers to start getting serous about recruiting.
The 2015 offensive lineman from Lewisville (Texas) Hebron knew this day would come eventually, but he wouldn’t have expected those big three -- Texas, Oklahoma and Baylor -- to jump into the mix so early on in his high school career.
The 2015 offensive lineman from Lewisville (Texas) Hebron knew this day would come eventually, but he wouldn’t have expected those big three -- Texas, Oklahoma and Baylor -- to jump into the mix so early on in his high school career.
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ALLEN, Texas -- Like many high school football players who aspire to play at the next level, Missouri City (Texas) Ridge Point linebacker Cameron Townsend dreamed of getting his first scholarship offer.
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ABOUT HORNSNATION
Sean Adams
Sean Adams has covered the Texas Longhorns and college football for the last 12 years as a writer and radio host. Sean co-hosts "The Big Show" with Erin Hogan each afternoon on ESPN Austin 104.9 The Horn. He lives with his family in Round Rock, Texas. Email him at thisean@gmail.com.
Max Olson
Max Olson joined ESPN in 2012 after covering the University of Nebraska for the Omaha (Neb.) World-Herald and high school and college sports for the World-Herald and Rivals.com. Olson is a University of Nebraska graduate and lives in Austin, Texas. Email him at maxolsonespn@gmail.com.
Carter Strickand
Carter Strickland joined ESPN.com in 2011 after covering the University of Georgia for Atlanta Journal-Constitution, the University of Oklahoma for The (Oklahoma City) Oklahoman and Washington State University for The (Spokane, Wash.) Spokesman-Review. Strickland lives with his wife and family in Austin. Email him at cstrickland70@gmail.com.
William Wilkerson
William Wilkerson joined ESPN.com in 2011 after covering high school sports, college sports and the Texas Rangers over four years at the Fort Worth (Texas) Star-Telegram. William is a University of Texas graduate and lives in Austin. He can be reached at wilkerson.espn@gmail.com.