On The Trail: Oklahoma State Cowboys
For quarterback Brandon Harris (Bossier City, La./Parkway), the schedule book is starting to fill.
The first day to mark off the calendar is Thursday, when his Parkway team scrimmages Alexandria (La.) Senior High to conclude spring drills. He'll play in front of coaches from several major colleges. At the end of the scrimmage, sometime around 7 p.m, he'll announce which six schools he plans on visiting this summer.
"It's going to be a big day," he said. "I can't wait."
The first day to mark off the calendar is Thursday, when his Parkway team scrimmages Alexandria (La.) Senior High to conclude spring drills. He'll play in front of coaches from several major colleges. At the end of the scrimmage, sometime around 7 p.m, he'll announce which six schools he plans on visiting this summer.
"It's going to be a big day," he said. "I can't wait."
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Spring (Texas) Klein Oak High School has a handful of prospects in the 2014, 2015 and even the 2016 classes and plenty of college coaches have made their way to the school in the north Houston area to evaluate them this spring.
One of them is 2014 inside linebacker Josh Mabin, who continues to add schools to his offer list.
One of them is 2014 inside linebacker Josh Mabin, who continues to add schools to his offer list.
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Kentucky dips into Baltimore for Walker
May, 14, 2013
May 14
8:14
AM ET
By RecruitingNation | ESPN.com
Our Lady of Good Counsel (Olney, Md.) safety Kobie Walker is set to play in the Southeastern Conference for Kentucky, the Louisville (Ky.) Courier-Journal reports.
"I don't think anybody has ever come out of Baltimore to commit to Kentucky," he said. "I feel good. It started a trend to hopefully get some more guys out of the area and my schools to go there."
Walker selected the Wildcats over scholarship offers from Boston College, Hawaii, Miami (Fla.), North Carolina State, Oklahoma State, Old Dominion, Rutgers, Syracuse and Wisconsin.
Other programs, including East Carolina, Maryland, Virginia Tech and West Virginia, recruited the 6-foot-3, 188-pound prospect.
"As soon as I stepped on campus, I fell in love," Walker said of his visit to Lexington, Ky., for the Blue-White spring game. "The fans, the coaching, the players that are already there showed a lot of love to me. My dad and I liked it."
Walker registered a 4.75-second 40-yard dash, 4.45-second 20-yard shuttle and 30-inch vertical at this year's National Under Armour Combine in Orlando.
Kentucky has seven players on board for 2014, including five from Ohio and in-state ESPN 150 quarterback Drew Barker (Hebron, Ky./Conner).
"I don't think anybody has ever come out of Baltimore to commit to Kentucky," he said. "I feel good. It started a trend to hopefully get some more guys out of the area and my schools to go there."
Walker selected the Wildcats over scholarship offers from Boston College, Hawaii, Miami (Fla.), North Carolina State, Oklahoma State, Old Dominion, Rutgers, Syracuse and Wisconsin.
Other programs, including East Carolina, Maryland, Virginia Tech and West Virginia, recruited the 6-foot-3, 188-pound prospect.
"As soon as I stepped on campus, I fell in love," Walker said of his visit to Lexington, Ky., for the Blue-White spring game. "The fans, the coaching, the players that are already there showed a lot of love to me. My dad and I liked it."
Walker registered a 4.75-second 40-yard dash, 4.45-second 20-yard shuttle and 30-inch vertical at this year's National Under Armour Combine in Orlando.
Kentucky has seven players on board for 2014, including five from Ohio and in-state ESPN 150 quarterback Drew Barker (Hebron, Ky./Conner).
Offensive lineman Lem Galeai (Euless, Texas/Trinity) has two favorites, and a decision might be looming -- but not before a key member of his family is with him.
Galeai, a 6-foot-5, 305-pound guard, said Oklahoma State and Baylor are neck and neck in his recruiting race. Both schools -- and any other potential darkhorses -- will have to wait until at least mid-June. Galeai said one person in particular has to be in attendance.
“I may do it after my brother comes home,” Galeai said, referring to his older brother Richard-Salanoa Afu Galeai. “He’s on a mission in Tonga, and he comes home on June 17.”
Galeai, a 6-foot-5, 305-pound guard, said Oklahoma State and Baylor are neck and neck in his recruiting race. Both schools -- and any other potential darkhorses -- will have to wait until at least mid-June. Galeai said one person in particular has to be in attendance.
“I may do it after my brother comes home,” Galeai said, referring to his older brother Richard-Salanoa Afu Galeai. “He’s on a mission in Tonga, and he comes home on June 17.”
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Derrick Moncrief (Prattville, Ala./Mississippi Gulf Coast CC), a huge 6-foot-3, 226-pound safety, has committed to Auburn, AL.com reports.
Moncrief, who hopes to enroll at Auburn for spring practice in 2014, also holds scholarship offers from Kentucky, Oklahoma State and Texas Tech.
"They make sure you get your grades," he told AL.com. "The facilities are just amazing. I just want to be a part of the championship run they're going to be on."
He is expected to to play the "Star" position, a hybrid safety/linebacker, in Ellis Johnson's 4-2-5 defense. ESPN considered this an option a few years back when evaluating Moncrief as Southern Miss commit out of Prattville (Ala.) High School:
"Moncrief is an underrated safety prospect with good range, athleticism and ball skills... Has the lengthy frame and physicality that make outside linebacker a possibility."
He registered 46 tackles, three interceptions and seven pass breakups last season.
The Tigers have six players on board for 2014 following Moncrief's decision.
Moncrief, who hopes to enroll at Auburn for spring practice in 2014, also holds scholarship offers from Kentucky, Oklahoma State and Texas Tech.
"They make sure you get your grades," he told AL.com. "The facilities are just amazing. I just want to be a part of the championship run they're going to be on."
He is expected to to play the "Star" position, a hybrid safety/linebacker, in Ellis Johnson's 4-2-5 defense. ESPN considered this an option a few years back when evaluating Moncrief as Southern Miss commit out of Prattville (Ala.) High School:
"Moncrief is an underrated safety prospect with good range, athleticism and ball skills... Has the lengthy frame and physicality that make outside linebacker a possibility."
He registered 46 tackles, three interceptions and seven pass breakups last season.
The Tigers have six players on board for 2014 following Moncrief's decision.
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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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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TUSCALOOSA, Ala. -- Since the conclusion of spring practice, the University of Alabama coaching staff has been busy hitting the road, evaluating recruits. No coach has compiled more miles than offensive coordinator Doug Nussmeier.
Nussmeier, the Crimson Tide’s quarterback guru, has already seen three prospects this week. After checking in on DeShone Kizer (Toledo, Ohio/Central Catholic) on Tuesday, he made a stop in Norman, Okla., on Wednesday to watch David Cornwell, the nation’s No. 1 pocket passer.
Nussmeier, the Crimson Tide’s quarterback guru, has already seen three prospects this week. After checking in on DeShone Kizer (Toledo, Ohio/Central Catholic) on Tuesday, he made a stop in Norman, Okla., on Wednesday to watch David Cornwell, the nation’s No. 1 pocket passer.
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In his first trip to Stillwater, Okla., offensive lineman Cole Anderson (League City, Texas/Clear Falls) had all of his questions answered -- and all of his expectations fulfilled.
A 6-foot-5, 265-pound interior lineman, Anderson gave Oklahoma State high marks after taking in the football team’s spring game on Saturday. Anderson commented on the campus atmosphere, the scenery of Stillwater and the camaraderie between the players and the coaching staff.
A 6-foot-5, 265-pound interior lineman, Anderson gave Oklahoma State high marks after taking in the football team’s spring game on Saturday. Anderson commented on the campus atmosphere, the scenery of Stillwater and the camaraderie between the players and the coaching staff.
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At 5-foot-11 and 180 pounds, Fonzale Davis (Dallas/South Oak Cliff) quietly is rising in the recruiting ranks as a wanted receiver. While he still is waiting for his first offer, he has several Big 12 and SEC schools watching his every move.
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Kaaya has sights set on several schools 
April, 23, 2013
Apr 23
12:37
PM ET
By
Erik McKinney | ESPN.com
It's been a busy spring for quarterback Brad Kaaya (West Hills, Calif./Chaminade), who has logged visits across the country, including trips to Arizona State, Miami, Stanford and UCLA. This past weekend, the 6-foot-4, 213-pound signal-caller was at Oklahoma State, getting his first look at the Stillwater, Okla., campus.
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Texas Tech was always high on the list for Oklahoma City Millwood wide receiver Cameron Batson. But he never could invest 100 percent without a trip to campus.
That changed this weekend, when he made his first visit to Lubbock, Texas, for the spring game.
That changed this weekend, when he made his first visit to Lubbock, Texas, for the spring game.
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ASHBURN, Va. -- Strong winds and a chill in the air greeted the quarterbacks Saturday at the Washington Redskins’ practice facility for the third regional stop this year on the Elite 11 circuit. Most handled the conditions admirably. However, as they did two weeks ago in Dallas, the coaches declined to hand out that golden ticket to the finals.
Mitch Sherman of RecruitingNation attended the event. Here’s what he learned:
East Coast QBs impress
A year after the states of New Jersey and Maryland sent Kevin Olsen and Shane Cockerille to the Elite 11 finals, quarterbacks from the Northeast and mid-Atlantic regions again showed their skills on Saturday. Notably, new West Virginia commit William Crest of Baltimore Dunbar and 2015 prospect Brandon Wimbush (Jersey City, N.J./St. Peter’s Prep) threw well. “Don’t sleep on us,” Crest said. And no one is, despite the larger number of quarterbacks produced out West, in Texas and the Southeast. A 2016 prospect, Jarrett Guarantano (Oradell, N.J./Bergen Catholic), looked good, as did Stephen Barmore of Southington, Conn., who has been offered by Yale.
Henderson lives up to billing
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Oklahoma State coach Mike Gundy wasn’t pleased with how the Cowboys attacked the Oklahoma high school scene for the Class of 2013.
He said it would change for the Class of 2014. Saturday was more proof of that as top in-state outside linebacker Gyasi Akem (Broken Arrow, Okla./Broken Arrow) confirmed in a text message that he committed to the Cowboys at the school's spring game.
He said it would change for the Class of 2014. Saturday was more proof of that as top in-state outside linebacker Gyasi Akem (Broken Arrow, Okla./Broken Arrow) confirmed in a text message that he committed to the Cowboys at the school's spring game.
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