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.
Well, first off the newest recruiting news includes the fact that Steve Greer committed to Virginia last night and thus there are likely no more linebacker prospects that the Cowboys are going to look at.
With no news having surfaced over the past week or two regarding junior college prospect Gerald Williams, I think it is safe to assume that option is no longer a viable one unless he happens to show up for an official visit this weekend which seems unlikely at best.
The only other remote option at signing a linebacker in the 2008 class would be if the staff makes a late run at Pflugerville’s Zaviar Gooden to test his commitment to Missouri as the OSU staff has him projected for the front seven. IT seems unlikely though as if they would have thought this to be an option then there likely would have been some smoke billowing by now.
So in the end, the coaches are forced to go a different direction and hope they can clean up with some excellent linebacker prospects in 2009. That does not mean that they will not sign a solid athlete with that one unreserved scholarship in 2008 as I believe it will go to Memphis, Tennessee tight end Jamal Mosley.
The reason I feel this way is because Mosley flat out said in his interview that OSU is leading “in this whole recruiting thing.” I even got the impression that whomever he visits this weekend, whether it is Ole Miss or Southern Miss, will have quite a chore on their hands to try and convince him otherwise.
The main reason for Mosley’s strong draw to OSU is his affinity for Brandon Pettigrew and his desire to follow in his footsteps towards becoming a high draft pick in the NFL draft. Mosley is very confident and wants to be mentored by someone that has been there and done that and he will get the opportunity to watch Pettigrew go through it if he picks the Pokes.
With Curtis obviously having one of the two remaining scholarship reserved for him should he decide to accept it, the other I believe is Mosley’s now if he wants it and I’m guessing in the end he will. I would be very surprised if Mosley does not sign with Oklahoma State on Wednesday. (JF)
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I think some people might have been a little surprised at OSU losing out on Greer last night judging from his reviews of how his trip went in Stillwater. I felt the whole time that Greer really enjoyed himself in Stillwater but if Virginia was able to wow him academically that the Cowboy staff may end up losing the battle.
To Greer’s credit, he stuck to his guns based on what he told us earlier in the week before went and visited Charlottesville.
“I’ve been kind of saying the same thing all along in that there are just three things I’m looking for overall,” said Greer. “Great people because I just want to be around a bunch of people that like me and love football and want to have fun. The next thing I’d say is great academics because I really want to get a good education and then last is athletics. I just want to go and be on a winning football team, you know, just good football.”
Another factor that I feel ultimately had more influence on Greer than he might have originally anticipated was the three campus’ relative proximity to his home. All three cities of Stillwater, Chapel Hill, and Charlottesville are at least a seven hour’s drive from Solon, Ohio but Stillwater is twice as far as the other two.
“I kind of want to be close to my family, that is kind of important to me, but at the same time my family, we’re pretty close so they’ve expressed that wherever I want to go they would have no problem coming and seeing me [play],” said Greer.
Ultimately, I think that Greer was willing to go to Stillwater if it was his best option but I couldn’t help but get the sense that his willingness to take a midweek official visit to UVA showed that he was very interested in the Cavalier program, which obviously turned out to be true.
Nevertheless, Greer was a late bloomer in the process that the OSU staff made a serious run at and would have like to have landed as he would have filled the depth chart nicely. With that said, and for those optimists out there, all it means now is that the coaches can dangle the notion of greater early playing time to those top linebacker prospects in the 2009 class. (RC)
********************
Here are a couple of quick 2009 recruiting tidbits…
Joe Wickline was in Lufkin, Texas earlier this week. It's safe to assume the trip to LHS centered on the No. 2 prospect in the nation for 2009 - defensive tackle Jamarkus McFarland.
I don't know if Wick has assumed this territory for next year, or if he was just filling in, as Gunter Brewer has recruited Lufkin the last couple of years.
It also looks like the tide could turn for OSU at Tulsa Union High School in 2009 if they want it to. Highly-regarded Rivals100 running back Jeremy Smith reportedly heavily favors the Cowboys.
MWC Carl Albert's David Oku, also a Rivals100 guy, might be a tad higher on the board, so it will be interesting to see how Smith's recruitment goes. Last we heard he wasn't going to be able to make it to Stillwater for Junior Day this weekend due to a previously-scheduled ACT exam.
Finally, according to AggieYell.com's Brian Perroni, Oklahoma State offered 2009 Rivals100 prospect Craig Loston on Wednesday. The one-time verbal commit to Texas A&M from Aldine (TX) Eisenhower is extremely hard to get a read on, but I would guess OSU is on the outside looking in right now. (JJ)
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Here are my thoughts on Kye Staley and his recruitment heading into the weekend and on into signing day.
A lot of people, way back when, originally thought that Staley was going to be one of those prospects that took his recruitment all the way down to the wire and rightfully so considering the interest that he was receiving. It came as a shock to many, not that he committed to OSU, but that he did it in August before his senior season and before he took any official visits.
With that said, I think he may have gotten a little bored and wanted to build some suspense as signing day approached so he took his official to Arkansas. I do not, however, feel that it was with the intent to find something that he felt presented a better situation for him than OSU.
I think Arkansas may have given him a little something to think about but I do not feel it was near enough to get him to change his mind. With that said, Staley has done an excellent job of being coy and keeping things close to the vest with everything being “50/50” over the past week or so.
In the end, I would be very surprised if he did not stick with his original commitment to Oklahoma State for a number of reasons, the most prevalent being that his mother wants him there.
With that said, Staley wanted to create some suspense and intrigue around his recruitment and he has certainly achieved that with the anticipated presser on Wednesday. Mission accomplished. (JF)
********************
Well, at press time there are four prospects that are slotted for four spots to fill the remainder of the Cowboys’ 2008 class.
Curtis and Mosley are the two that are not currently committed to Oklahoma State and Staley and Thomas are the two that are and those four are going to be the names people follow the closest over the next couple of days.
While several have commented on Staley I thought I’d give my impression of where Johnny Thomas stands heading into his final official visit to Arkansas this weekend.
Between Staley and Thomas, I feel the Cowboys are in more danger of losing Thomas to the Razorbacks. That’s not to say that I think it will happen, but more a line of thinking that if one of the two ultimately picks the Hogs, Thomas would be the one.
I get the feeling that this is the sentiment of the majority of the people I’ve talked to but to Thomas’ credit he has taken three official visits following his initial one to Stillwater and he has openly said that none of them have compared to his experience at OSU.
It is pretty common knowledge that Thomas comes from a pretty rough background and that he was advised, and rightfully so frankly, to enjoy the fruits of the recruiting process and take all his trips so that he can see what is out there.
While OSU could still very much win out in the end, the only thing that I think could tip the scale in Arkansas’ favor is if they preach to him about playing running back because while he has humbly admitted that he would play whichever position helped the team the most, he has hinted that he would prefer to stay on offense and OSU is recruiting him as a defensive back.
Now, of course, the ideal situation for OSU would be to hang on to Thomas and Staley while picking up commitments from both Curtis and Mosley. If that is how things shake out on signing day then Coach Gundy and staff would finished as strong as one could have hoped and will easily have themselves a Top 25 recruiting class. (RC)
********************
Here is what I know regarding the latest on in home visits…
Mike Gundy, Joe DeForest, and possibly Trooper Taylor were in-home with Kye Staley on Thursday night. There are no reports on how that visit went as of press time but Bobby Petrino makes his in-home visit on Friday.
As of now, Staley is set to announce his decision in a press conference on the morning of National Signing Day at Guthrie High School.
Curtis Luper was in-home with De'Anthony Curtis on Thursday night.
I can't even try to guess what Curtis is going to do but I completely believe that OSU is very much still in the fight because of a very strong relationship built by Luper.
The one thing I will throw out there is that the longer it drags out without a final statement from Curtis on where he is headed, the better it will look for OSU's chances.
May well be another one that goes all the way to signing day. (JJ)
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.
Well, first off the newest recruiting news includes the fact that Steve Greer committed to Virginia last night and thus there are likely no more linebacker prospects that the Cowboys are going to look at.
With no news having surfaced over the past week or two regarding junior college prospect Gerald Williams, I think it is safe to assume that option is no longer a viable one unless he happens to show up for an official visit this weekend which seems unlikely at best.
The only other remote option at signing a linebacker in the 2008 class would be if the staff makes a late run at Pflugerville’s Zaviar Gooden to test his commitment to Missouri as the OSU staff has him projected for the front seven. IT seems unlikely though as if they would have thought this to be an option then there likely would have been some smoke billowing by now.
So in the end, the coaches are forced to go a different direction and hope they can clean up with some excellent linebacker prospects in 2009. That does not mean that they will not sign a solid athlete with that one unreserved scholarship in 2008 as I believe it will go to Memphis, Tennessee tight end Jamal Mosley.
The reason I feel this way is because Mosley flat out said in his interview that OSU is leading “in this whole recruiting thing.” I even got the impression that whomever he visits this weekend, whether it is Ole Miss or Southern Miss, will have quite a chore on their hands to try and convince him otherwise.
The main reason for Mosley’s strong draw to OSU is his affinity for Brandon Pettigrew and his desire to follow in his footsteps towards becoming a high draft pick in the NFL draft. Mosley is very confident and wants to be mentored by someone that has been there and done that and he will get the opportunity to watch Pettigrew go through it if he picks the Pokes.
With Curtis obviously having one of the two remaining scholarship reserved for him should he decide to accept it, the other I believe is Mosley’s now if he wants it and I’m guessing in the end he will. I would be very surprised if Mosley does not sign with Oklahoma State on Wednesday. (JF)
********************
I think some people might have been a little surprised at OSU losing out on Greer last night judging from his reviews of how his trip went in Stillwater. I felt the whole time that Greer really enjoyed himself in Stillwater but if Virginia was able to wow him academically that the Cowboy staff may end up losing the battle.
To Greer’s credit, he stuck to his guns based on what he told us earlier in the week before went and visited Charlottesville.
“I’ve been kind of saying the same thing all along in that there are just three things I’m looking for overall,” said Greer. “Great people because I just want to be around a bunch of people that like me and love football and want to have fun. The next thing I’d say is great academics because I really want to get a good education and then last is athletics. I just want to go and be on a winning football team, you know, just good football.”
Another factor that I feel ultimately had more influence on Greer than he might have originally anticipated was the three campus’ relative proximity to his home. All three cities of Stillwater, Chapel Hill, and Charlottesville are at least a seven hour’s drive from Solon, Ohio but Stillwater is twice as far as the other two.
“I kind of want to be close to my family, that is kind of important to me, but at the same time my family, we’re pretty close so they’ve expressed that wherever I want to go they would have no problem coming and seeing me [play],” said Greer.
Ultimately, I think that Greer was willing to go to Stillwater if it was his best option but I couldn’t help but get the sense that his willingness to take a midweek official visit to UVA showed that he was very interested in the Cavalier program, which obviously turned out to be true.
Nevertheless, Greer was a late bloomer in the process that the OSU staff made a serious run at and would have like to have landed as he would have filled the depth chart nicely. With that said, and for those optimists out there, all it means now is that the coaches can dangle the notion of greater early playing time to those top linebacker prospects in the 2009 class. (RC)
********************
Here are a couple of quick 2009 recruiting tidbits…
Joe Wickline was in Lufkin, Texas earlier this week. It's safe to assume the trip to LHS centered on the No. 2 prospect in the nation for 2009 - defensive tackle Jamarkus McFarland.
I don't know if Wick has assumed this territory for next year, or if he was just filling in, as Gunter Brewer has recruited Lufkin the last couple of years.
It also looks like the tide could turn for OSU at Tulsa Union High School in 2009 if they want it to. Highly-regarded Rivals100 running back Jeremy Smith reportedly heavily favors the Cowboys.
MWC Carl Albert's David Oku, also a Rivals100 guy, might be a tad higher on the board, so it will be interesting to see how Smith's recruitment goes. Last we heard he wasn't going to be able to make it to Stillwater for Junior Day this weekend due to a previously-scheduled ACT exam.
Finally, according to AggieYell.com's Brian Perroni, Oklahoma State offered 2009 Rivals100 prospect Craig Loston on Wednesday. The one-time verbal commit to Texas A&M from Aldine (TX) Eisenhower is extremely hard to get a read on, but I would guess OSU is on the outside looking in right now. (JJ)
********************
Here are my thoughts on Kye Staley and his recruitment heading into the weekend and on into signing day.
A lot of people, way back when, originally thought that Staley was going to be one of those prospects that took his recruitment all the way down to the wire and rightfully so considering the interest that he was receiving. It came as a shock to many, not that he committed to OSU, but that he did it in August before his senior season and before he took any official visits.
With that said, I think he may have gotten a little bored and wanted to build some suspense as signing day approached so he took his official to Arkansas. I do not, however, feel that it was with the intent to find something that he felt presented a better situation for him than OSU.
I think Arkansas may have given him a little something to think about but I do not feel it was near enough to get him to change his mind. With that said, Staley has done an excellent job of being coy and keeping things close to the vest with everything being “50/50” over the past week or so.
In the end, I would be very surprised if he did not stick with his original commitment to Oklahoma State for a number of reasons, the most prevalent being that his mother wants him there.
With that said, Staley wanted to create some suspense and intrigue around his recruitment and he has certainly achieved that with the anticipated presser on Wednesday. Mission accomplished. (JF)
********************
Well, at press time there are four prospects that are slotted for four spots to fill the remainder of the Cowboys’ 2008 class.
Curtis and Mosley are the two that are not currently committed to Oklahoma State and Staley and Thomas are the two that are and those four are going to be the names people follow the closest over the next couple of days.
While several have commented on Staley I thought I’d give my impression of where Johnny Thomas stands heading into his final official visit to Arkansas this weekend.
Between Staley and Thomas, I feel the Cowboys are in more danger of losing Thomas to the Razorbacks. That’s not to say that I think it will happen, but more a line of thinking that if one of the two ultimately picks the Hogs, Thomas would be the one.
I get the feeling that this is the sentiment of the majority of the people I’ve talked to but to Thomas’ credit he has taken three official visits following his initial one to Stillwater and he has openly said that none of them have compared to his experience at OSU.
It is pretty common knowledge that Thomas comes from a pretty rough background and that he was advised, and rightfully so frankly, to enjoy the fruits of the recruiting process and take all his trips so that he can see what is out there.
While OSU could still very much win out in the end, the only thing that I think could tip the scale in Arkansas’ favor is if they preach to him about playing running back because while he has humbly admitted that he would play whichever position helped the team the most, he has hinted that he would prefer to stay on offense and OSU is recruiting him as a defensive back.
Now, of course, the ideal situation for OSU would be to hang on to Thomas and Staley while picking up commitments from both Curtis and Mosley. If that is how things shake out on signing day then Coach Gundy and staff would finished as strong as one could have hoped and will easily have themselves a Top 25 recruiting class. (RC)
********************
Here is what I know regarding the latest on in home visits…
Mike Gundy, Joe DeForest, and possibly Trooper Taylor were in-home with Kye Staley on Thursday night. There are no reports on how that visit went as of press time but Bobby Petrino makes his in-home visit on Friday.
As of now, Staley is set to announce his decision in a press conference on the morning of National Signing Day at Guthrie High School.
Curtis Luper was in-home with De'Anthony Curtis on Thursday night.
I can't even try to guess what Curtis is going to do but I completely believe that OSU is very much still in the fight because of a very strong relationship built by Luper.
The one thing I will throw out there is that the longer it drags out without a final statement from Curtis on where he is headed, the better it will look for OSU's chances.
May well be another one that goes all the way to signing day. (JJ)
