First are the ground rules. For you new corral members, this is a special feature for subscribers only. The reason why it is posted on the premium board (as opposed to a normal story) is because it is the only way to ensure that the info stays exclusive to Cowboy fans. This will only work if everyone helps make it work.
Furthermore, we're serious about this being a Corral-only piece. Everything that is reported in the Cowboy Roundup must stay in the Cowboy Roundup. That's the way this deal works. Sometimes the info is sensitive enough that it simply doesn't need to be passed on beyond the doors of this thread.
First and foremost here is the latest list that we have been able to put together regarding scheduled official visits. This list will continue to be fluid throughout the next several weeks so keep your eyes on it as it will likely change pretty often as we talk to prospects. Current OSU commits are listed in italics…
October 19-21
Jameel Owens - 4-star WR, 6-3, 210, Muskogee HS (OK)
November 2-4
Patrick Hoog - 3-star OL, 6-4, 293, Medina Valley HS (TX)
Nov 30 - Dec 2
Cooper Bassett - 3-star TE, 6-5, 235, Tuttle HS (OK) CONFIRMED
David Bedford - 4-star DE, 6-5, 240, Independence C.C. (KS)
LeRoy Burgess - 3-star DT, 6-1, 298, Georgia Military (GA) CONFIRMED
Chris Donaldson - 3-star DT, 6-3, 280, Coffeyville, C.C. (KS) CONFIRMED
Zaviar Gooden - 3-star S, 6-2, 195, Pflugerville HS (TX)
Victor Johnson - 4-star S, 6-0, 170, Waco HS (TX) CONFIRMED
Lynn Katoa - 4-star LB, 6-2, 220, Cottonwood HS (UT) CONFIRMED
Kyle Mangan - 3-star LB, 6-2, 225, Brenham HS (TX)
Nigel Nicholas - 3-star TE, 6-3, 247, Ridgeland HS (GA)
Emmanuel Stephens - 3-star DE, 6-3, 225, Blinn C.C. (TX) CONFIRMED
December 7-9
De’Anthony Curtis - 4-star RB, 5-10, 209, Fairview HS (AR) CONFIRMED
Jarvis Geathers - Unranked DE, 6-2, 225, Feather River C.C. (CA)
Derrick Grant - 3-star ATH, 6-3, 205, Lyndon B. Johnson HS (TX)
Maurice Gray - 4-star CB, 5-10, 180, Butler County C.C. (KS) CONFIRMED
Beau Johnson - 3-star RB, 5-11, 210, Butler County C.C. (KS) CONFIRMED
Swanson Miller - 4-star DT, 6-4, 330, Butler County C.C. (KS) CONFIRMED
Andrew Mitchell - 3-star OL, 6-5, 300, Snow College (UT)
Dan Moore - Unranked DT, 6-2, 290, Joliet J.C. (IL)
Adrian Richards - 3-star WR, 6-4, 187, Mesquite HS (TX) CONFIRMED
December 14-16
Eric Lair - 3-star TE, 6-3, 210, Lamar HS (TX)
Josh Williams - 3-star DE, 6-4, 200, Denton Ryan HS (TX)
January 11-13
Marques Parker - Unranked WR, 6-1, 178, NIACC (IA)
January 18-20
Joel Ross - 3-star DT, 6-1, 312, Vandebilt Catholic HS (LA)
********************
Offensive line recruiting can be boiled down pretty simply right now.
Joe Wickline has one spot to fill and the overwhelming preference is to do that with a junior college tackle. Snow JC's Andrew Mitchell is clearly the guy Wick has set his sights on. He's got the frame Wickline looks for and plays with a nasty streak. If they're going to take a JUCO tackle, it has to be a guy who will push Brady Bond for playing time from the get-go. Mitchell is 22 years old and certainly mature enough to handle the transition to Division I.
Wick will be in Salt Lake on Saturday for the JUCO national championship game, though he can't attend because Joe DeForest used the staff’s one allowed evaluation when he went to Butler CC earlier this week (Butler is playing Snow in the bowl game).
Garden City (KS) CC's Zach Roth is the other likely JUCO OT option. Philip Freeman fits the mold, but probably doesn't have the attitude Wick wants from an older guy. From the high school ranks, Jeffrey Hyde is a possibility. If Les Miles ends up at Michigan, Thomas Parsons' commitment to LSU will be severely tested. (JJ)
********************
With new Texas A&M head coach Mike Sherman having apparently re-secured the commitment of Beaumont Central’s Derrick Hall, here are a few quotes that weren’t included in the released update that might give you guys an idea of why the Cowboys may have decided to back off once he seemed to reaffirm his pledge to the Aggies.
Regarding his qualification status, Hall tried to break down what he is lacking at this point, and to his credit he did say that he was hoping to not make a “new” decision before getting qualified but Sherman’s call evidently changed his mind.
“To me, totally, I didn’t plan on making a solid decision until I get my stuff together book wise and I get my books ready. When I know I’m good for sure is when I’ll make a decision because I can’t make a decision if I’m not ready yet. Really I’m just waiting on my TAKS score and whenever my test score comes back I’m good to go. It is a state test where you’ve got to pass Math, English, Social Studies, and Science with a 4.5 and I passed Math, English, and Social Studies the first time and I failed Science by like a point and I had to take it over and I’m waiting on my results. As soon as I pass that I’m good to go and I can make a decision to call the shot,” said Hall.
The unfortunate part about all this is that it appears he is further away than he thinks as his core grades may not be where they need to be either and he doesn’t have much of a support system in place to help push him in the right direction.
“Really and truly, I don’t really have any parents,” he said. “That is really something I don’t, I don’t have any support system other than my brother (Charles Thomas) and he is going to be one of the higher recruits coming out of 2009. I’ve got him and the coaches and that’s it.”
So you have to feel bad for the kid and he is certainly one that you hope pans out but I have a hard time believing that he will be on a division one campus somewhere next year. (RC)
********************
Though the class already has a pair of tight ends in Justin Horton and Cooper Bassett, a third could be added if the right guy is available.
Eric Lair is having his commitment to Minnesota tested, but may keep getting cold feet on an actual visit to OSU.
Arlington Lamar's Chandler Spence is a possibility.
A new name to watch is Nigel Nicholas from Rossville, Georgia. Though he's been committed to Duke since March, a January visit is possible. He's significant also because he is teammates with 2009 wideout Michael Bowman, who may be better known to OSU fans as "Adarius' little brother."
A couple you can cross off your lists are Georgia Military's Patrick Wilkinson and Norman North's K.J. Williams. (JJ)
********************
A lot of people appear to be pretty concerned on the Kye Staley front with his desire to take his official visits. Here are my thoughts…
I for one have yet to get the impression that Staley is looking to go visit somewhere with hopes of being swayed a different direction. Truthfully, the impression I get is the same as always and that is that he is going on visits to experience the recruiting process.
He has said from the get go when he originally pledged to OSU that he had every intention to take most of his official visits. It is just that now that recruiting is the primary focus of schools, fans start to freak out a little bit.
Now, that doesn’t mean that something couldn’t happen to change his mind as he seems to enjoy the attention but he does come across as being happy with his commitment to OSU and the momma factor as well as proximity to home certainly play into OSU’s favor.
All in all the coaches will not get lazy on him because he is still getting hit up pretty hard by several schools and in the end sometimes the best recruiting jobs are done by keeping guys committed rather than getting them committed. (JF)
********************
As many as three spots can "count back" to the 2007 season, if the staff finds mid-term transfer to fill them.
If you're not familiar with how this works, it is a function of being under the 85-man scholarship limit in the previous season. We know of two spots that were created when Quinton Prince failed to make it past the Clearinghouse and when Alex Odiari was booted in the fall. Not sure exactly where the third one comes from, but it's apparently there.
The late-season booting of Paschal Smith, Calvin Mickens and Marcus Brown are not a factor here as they count against the '07 limit.
Gundy said in his news conference he expected to sign 27 in the class. It could be as high as 28 if they count three back with mid-term guys. (JJ)
********************
I caught up with Camden Fairview running back De’Anthony Curtis last night after an in-home visit with Coach Luper and as you might have noticed he is penciled in for an official visit next weekend.
There will be an update on him later today but here are a few teaser quotes that would certainly hint that OSU might be making an solid impression.
On how his in-home visit with Curtis Luper went…
“It went good, we talked about a lot of stuff,” he said. “We talked about how one of his running backs got hurt (Keith Toston) with an ACL and then I might have a chance to come in and play as a freshman at Washington State.”
So where does OSU stand relative to Arkansas at this point?
“They’re about the same,” he said. (RC)
********************
A few new names to keep an eye on - Beaumont Westbrook's DE Marcus Malbrough and CB Mike Williams, Port Arthur Memorial CB David Whitmore (Nebraska verbal), Brenham RB Lester Ward and Northwest Mississippi CC LB Patrick Trahan. A&M verbal Lamar Harris may be opening things back up again too. (JJ)
********************
I caught up with Vandebilt Catholic DT Joel Ross this week he appear to be one in a line of many that is being affected by the current coaching carousel taking place around the Midwest.
“I don’t know, I don’t know if I’ll still be thinking about going [to Ole Miss] because the one that was recruiting me, [Coach Orgeron], he was the one that got fired so I don’t know,” he said.
Ross also included that he talked to OSU’s Coach Barnes this week who is apparently trying to get Ross to add his name to the list of current commits.
“He’s always asking me if I’m ready to be a Cowboy,” he said. “I said, I don’t know, not yet, not at this second.”
Furthermore, it looks like Ross will be officially visiting Oklahoma State after the New Year rolls round.
“I talked to [Coach Barnes] about that and I think it will be around January 18 or somewhere around that weekend,” he said.
In the end, I get the impression that Ross still likes OSU, OU, and Arkansas although he’s not sure with Arkansas since Nutt is now at Ole Miss.
In other words, he’s really confused by all the coaching moves but I get the sense that he is thinking he may want to try and stay closer to home than he originally thought and that may be what is holding him back, otherwise it would appear that OSU would be the easy frontrunner. We will just have to let this one play out as there may not be anything definitive until signing day. (JF)
********************
This post was edited on 11/30 2:20 PM by Jay F
Furthermore, we're serious about this being a Corral-only piece. Everything that is reported in the Cowboy Roundup must stay in the Cowboy Roundup. That's the way this deal works. Sometimes the info is sensitive enough that it simply doesn't need to be passed on beyond the doors of this thread.
First and foremost here is the latest list that we have been able to put together regarding scheduled official visits. This list will continue to be fluid throughout the next several weeks so keep your eyes on it as it will likely change pretty often as we talk to prospects. Current OSU commits are listed in italics…
October 19-21
Jameel Owens - 4-star WR, 6-3, 210, Muskogee HS (OK)
November 2-4
Patrick Hoog - 3-star OL, 6-4, 293, Medina Valley HS (TX)
Nov 30 - Dec 2
Cooper Bassett - 3-star TE, 6-5, 235, Tuttle HS (OK) CONFIRMED
David Bedford - 4-star DE, 6-5, 240, Independence C.C. (KS)
LeRoy Burgess - 3-star DT, 6-1, 298, Georgia Military (GA) CONFIRMED
Chris Donaldson - 3-star DT, 6-3, 280, Coffeyville, C.C. (KS) CONFIRMED
Zaviar Gooden - 3-star S, 6-2, 195, Pflugerville HS (TX)
Victor Johnson - 4-star S, 6-0, 170, Waco HS (TX) CONFIRMED
Lynn Katoa - 4-star LB, 6-2, 220, Cottonwood HS (UT) CONFIRMED
Kyle Mangan - 3-star LB, 6-2, 225, Brenham HS (TX)
Nigel Nicholas - 3-star TE, 6-3, 247, Ridgeland HS (GA)
Emmanuel Stephens - 3-star DE, 6-3, 225, Blinn C.C. (TX) CONFIRMED
December 7-9
De’Anthony Curtis - 4-star RB, 5-10, 209, Fairview HS (AR) CONFIRMED
Jarvis Geathers - Unranked DE, 6-2, 225, Feather River C.C. (CA)
Derrick Grant - 3-star ATH, 6-3, 205, Lyndon B. Johnson HS (TX)
Maurice Gray - 4-star CB, 5-10, 180, Butler County C.C. (KS) CONFIRMED
Beau Johnson - 3-star RB, 5-11, 210, Butler County C.C. (KS) CONFIRMED
Swanson Miller - 4-star DT, 6-4, 330, Butler County C.C. (KS) CONFIRMED
Andrew Mitchell - 3-star OL, 6-5, 300, Snow College (UT)
Dan Moore - Unranked DT, 6-2, 290, Joliet J.C. (IL)
Adrian Richards - 3-star WR, 6-4, 187, Mesquite HS (TX) CONFIRMED
December 14-16
Eric Lair - 3-star TE, 6-3, 210, Lamar HS (TX)
Josh Williams - 3-star DE, 6-4, 200, Denton Ryan HS (TX)
January 11-13
Marques Parker - Unranked WR, 6-1, 178, NIACC (IA)
January 18-20
Joel Ross - 3-star DT, 6-1, 312, Vandebilt Catholic HS (LA)
********************
Offensive line recruiting can be boiled down pretty simply right now.
Joe Wickline has one spot to fill and the overwhelming preference is to do that with a junior college tackle. Snow JC's Andrew Mitchell is clearly the guy Wick has set his sights on. He's got the frame Wickline looks for and plays with a nasty streak. If they're going to take a JUCO tackle, it has to be a guy who will push Brady Bond for playing time from the get-go. Mitchell is 22 years old and certainly mature enough to handle the transition to Division I.
Wick will be in Salt Lake on Saturday for the JUCO national championship game, though he can't attend because Joe DeForest used the staff’s one allowed evaluation when he went to Butler CC earlier this week (Butler is playing Snow in the bowl game).
Garden City (KS) CC's Zach Roth is the other likely JUCO OT option. Philip Freeman fits the mold, but probably doesn't have the attitude Wick wants from an older guy. From the high school ranks, Jeffrey Hyde is a possibility. If Les Miles ends up at Michigan, Thomas Parsons' commitment to LSU will be severely tested. (JJ)
********************
With new Texas A&M head coach Mike Sherman having apparently re-secured the commitment of Beaumont Central’s Derrick Hall, here are a few quotes that weren’t included in the released update that might give you guys an idea of why the Cowboys may have decided to back off once he seemed to reaffirm his pledge to the Aggies.
Regarding his qualification status, Hall tried to break down what he is lacking at this point, and to his credit he did say that he was hoping to not make a “new” decision before getting qualified but Sherman’s call evidently changed his mind.
“To me, totally, I didn’t plan on making a solid decision until I get my stuff together book wise and I get my books ready. When I know I’m good for sure is when I’ll make a decision because I can’t make a decision if I’m not ready yet. Really I’m just waiting on my TAKS score and whenever my test score comes back I’m good to go. It is a state test where you’ve got to pass Math, English, Social Studies, and Science with a 4.5 and I passed Math, English, and Social Studies the first time and I failed Science by like a point and I had to take it over and I’m waiting on my results. As soon as I pass that I’m good to go and I can make a decision to call the shot,” said Hall.
The unfortunate part about all this is that it appears he is further away than he thinks as his core grades may not be where they need to be either and he doesn’t have much of a support system in place to help push him in the right direction.
“Really and truly, I don’t really have any parents,” he said. “That is really something I don’t, I don’t have any support system other than my brother (Charles Thomas) and he is going to be one of the higher recruits coming out of 2009. I’ve got him and the coaches and that’s it.”
So you have to feel bad for the kid and he is certainly one that you hope pans out but I have a hard time believing that he will be on a division one campus somewhere next year. (RC)
********************
Though the class already has a pair of tight ends in Justin Horton and Cooper Bassett, a third could be added if the right guy is available.
Eric Lair is having his commitment to Minnesota tested, but may keep getting cold feet on an actual visit to OSU.
Arlington Lamar's Chandler Spence is a possibility.
A new name to watch is Nigel Nicholas from Rossville, Georgia. Though he's been committed to Duke since March, a January visit is possible. He's significant also because he is teammates with 2009 wideout Michael Bowman, who may be better known to OSU fans as "Adarius' little brother."
A couple you can cross off your lists are Georgia Military's Patrick Wilkinson and Norman North's K.J. Williams. (JJ)
********************
A lot of people appear to be pretty concerned on the Kye Staley front with his desire to take his official visits. Here are my thoughts…
I for one have yet to get the impression that Staley is looking to go visit somewhere with hopes of being swayed a different direction. Truthfully, the impression I get is the same as always and that is that he is going on visits to experience the recruiting process.
He has said from the get go when he originally pledged to OSU that he had every intention to take most of his official visits. It is just that now that recruiting is the primary focus of schools, fans start to freak out a little bit.
Now, that doesn’t mean that something couldn’t happen to change his mind as he seems to enjoy the attention but he does come across as being happy with his commitment to OSU and the momma factor as well as proximity to home certainly play into OSU’s favor.
All in all the coaches will not get lazy on him because he is still getting hit up pretty hard by several schools and in the end sometimes the best recruiting jobs are done by keeping guys committed rather than getting them committed. (JF)
********************
As many as three spots can "count back" to the 2007 season, if the staff finds mid-term transfer to fill them.
If you're not familiar with how this works, it is a function of being under the 85-man scholarship limit in the previous season. We know of two spots that were created when Quinton Prince failed to make it past the Clearinghouse and when Alex Odiari was booted in the fall. Not sure exactly where the third one comes from, but it's apparently there.
The late-season booting of Paschal Smith, Calvin Mickens and Marcus Brown are not a factor here as they count against the '07 limit.
Gundy said in his news conference he expected to sign 27 in the class. It could be as high as 28 if they count three back with mid-term guys. (JJ)
********************
I caught up with Camden Fairview running back De’Anthony Curtis last night after an in-home visit with Coach Luper and as you might have noticed he is penciled in for an official visit next weekend.
There will be an update on him later today but here are a few teaser quotes that would certainly hint that OSU might be making an solid impression.
On how his in-home visit with Curtis Luper went…
“It went good, we talked about a lot of stuff,” he said. “We talked about how one of his running backs got hurt (Keith Toston) with an ACL and then I might have a chance to come in and play as a freshman at Washington State.”
So where does OSU stand relative to Arkansas at this point?
“They’re about the same,” he said. (RC)
********************
A few new names to keep an eye on - Beaumont Westbrook's DE Marcus Malbrough and CB Mike Williams, Port Arthur Memorial CB David Whitmore (Nebraska verbal), Brenham RB Lester Ward and Northwest Mississippi CC LB Patrick Trahan. A&M verbal Lamar Harris may be opening things back up again too. (JJ)
********************
I caught up with Vandebilt Catholic DT Joel Ross this week he appear to be one in a line of many that is being affected by the current coaching carousel taking place around the Midwest.
“I don’t know, I don’t know if I’ll still be thinking about going [to Ole Miss] because the one that was recruiting me, [Coach Orgeron], he was the one that got fired so I don’t know,” he said.
Ross also included that he talked to OSU’s Coach Barnes this week who is apparently trying to get Ross to add his name to the list of current commits.
“He’s always asking me if I’m ready to be a Cowboy,” he said. “I said, I don’t know, not yet, not at this second.”
Furthermore, it looks like Ross will be officially visiting Oklahoma State after the New Year rolls round.
“I talked to [Coach Barnes] about that and I think it will be around January 18 or somewhere around that weekend,” he said.
In the end, I get the impression that Ross still likes OSU, OU, and Arkansas although he’s not sure with Arkansas since Nutt is now at Ole Miss.
In other words, he’s really confused by all the coaching moves but I get the sense that he is thinking he may want to try and stay closer to home than he originally thought and that may be what is holding him back, otherwise it would appear that OSU would be the easy frontrunner. We will just have to let this one play out as there may not be anything definitive until signing day. (JF)
********************
This post was edited on 11/30 2:20 PM by Jay F
