Jay and I will be making an effort to revive the Cowboy Roundup, posting some tidbits every Friday. Without further ado:
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.
Freshman DE's impressing early
In the Redshirt Tracker's 2012 debut, I alluded to Bill Young being really happy with his quartet of true freshman defensive ends. I think two of the four will play this fall. I think it's still a ways off from being determined which two that would be. Victor Irokansi got the early buzz and Emmanuel Ogbah has had some lately. Trace Clark is just quietly being very solid. Eric Davis may have a little more work ahead of him in terms of technique, but the physical side is certainly there. In other OSU seasons, I could easily see all four playing. Young is fairly deep at defensive end this season. Deep enough that he could redshirt all four. I doubt that happens though, because he'll lose three seniors after this season (Bassett, Nicholas and Robinson) and will certainly want to get at least a couple of guys game experience.
Here is what Young had to say about his freshman DE's on Tuesday:
"All four defensive linemen that we recruited - and I'm going to say this over and over and over - they are the sharpest mentally of any linemen we've had since I have been here, as a freshman. Boy, they are just right on it. They're making calls, they're making adjustments. They're doing things that some of the guys that have been here three years aren't doing. So that tells you we recruited some sharp mental kids there, and they have some physical talent, too."
(JJ)
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Texas game huge for recruiting
UK has a post on the board right now saying Peyton Newell will make the trip down from Kansas. It's a good bet that more top names will emerge as probable visitors for that game soon.
(JJ)
******************************
Treadwell and Oklahoma State [/B]
Here's a couple of quick editorial thoughts on Laquon Treadwell and where things stand with OSU:
First off I've always found it intriguing that Treadwell's primary recruiter is Coach Monken as opposed to Coach Dunn. Monken's familiarity with and success within the state of Illinois is obviously the connection here with him having recruited Wes Lunt last year. I don't necessarily think there's anything deeper to it than that but we all saw how Monken went after Lunt on his own last year and he appears to be doing the same with Treadwell this year for the most part so we'll see what happens.
As for Treadwell's thoughts, at this point I think Oklahoma State is the clear number two behind Michigan and he even said as much about a month ago. In all fairness I think that's the best the coaching staff could realistically hope for up to this point being that Treadwell has never been to Stillwater and he's been to Ann Arbor more than once.
The question then becomes can one visit to OSU, albeit an official one, have enough influence to overcome Treadwell's familiarity with the Michigan program that has already been established?
That will play itself out ultimately as Treadwell was pretty forthright earlier this week in saying that he wants to see Oklahoma State before making any decisions. In my opinion, the biggest advantage that OSU will have in their recruiting pitch will be the style of offense with the numbers to back it up. Michigan simply doesn't throw the ball nearly as often as Oklahoma State does and that paired with Justin Blackmon winning two Biletnikoff trophies carries a lot of weight for any wide receiver prospect.
The other potential hole card that Oklahoma State has is Treadwell's uncle, former Cowboy linebacker Ricky Young. If anything it gives OSU another avenue to navigate and I don't think there is any doubt that Treadwell's initial interest in the Cowboy program prior to his recruitment blowing up was instigated by his uncle having played inStillwater.
In the end, nobody knows if the Cowboys will land Treadwell, and they very well may not. But the fact that he's willing to wait out the process to take an official visit to OSU, along with some other schools, certainly presents the notion that Coach Gundy and staff will be given every chance to convince the potential 5-star talent to continue his career in Stillwater. That's all they can ask for at this point.
(Fielder)
******************
Young on Kevin Peterson
In addition to his freshman DE's, Bill Young was asked what other defensive youngsters had stood out to him. He was rather quick with his answer.
"I can tell you, Kevin Peterson has really stood out in my opinion," he said. "I deal primarily with the d-line but we watch film together and study it and he has really played well."
That's great news for the Cowboy defense, as Andrae May is still not participating in practices. That could change as early as Monday, the day classes start. Still, he will have an adjustment period. Devin Hedgepeth is practicing and has made noticeable progress since practices started two weeks ago. He has a ways to go to return to his previous form. Thus, KP showing he's up to the task is big. Miketavious Jones and Ashton Lampkin have had very good camps as well. What was a position with depth concerns behind the two stud starters heading into camp now looks like it will be fine. If May and Hedgepeth get close to 100%, it may be one of the deepest positions on the team in 2012.
(JJ)
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.
Freshman DE's impressing early
In the Redshirt Tracker's 2012 debut, I alluded to Bill Young being really happy with his quartet of true freshman defensive ends. I think two of the four will play this fall. I think it's still a ways off from being determined which two that would be. Victor Irokansi got the early buzz and Emmanuel Ogbah has had some lately. Trace Clark is just quietly being very solid. Eric Davis may have a little more work ahead of him in terms of technique, but the physical side is certainly there. In other OSU seasons, I could easily see all four playing. Young is fairly deep at defensive end this season. Deep enough that he could redshirt all four. I doubt that happens though, because he'll lose three seniors after this season (Bassett, Nicholas and Robinson) and will certainly want to get at least a couple of guys game experience.
Here is what Young had to say about his freshman DE's on Tuesday:
"All four defensive linemen that we recruited - and I'm going to say this over and over and over - they are the sharpest mentally of any linemen we've had since I have been here, as a freshman. Boy, they are just right on it. They're making calls, they're making adjustments. They're doing things that some of the guys that have been here three years aren't doing. So that tells you we recruited some sharp mental kids there, and they have some physical talent, too."
(JJ)
******************************
Texas game huge for recruiting
UK has a post on the board right now saying Peyton Newell will make the trip down from Kansas. It's a good bet that more top names will emerge as probable visitors for that game soon.
(JJ)
******************************
Treadwell and Oklahoma State [/B]
Here's a couple of quick editorial thoughts on Laquon Treadwell and where things stand with OSU:
First off I've always found it intriguing that Treadwell's primary recruiter is Coach Monken as opposed to Coach Dunn. Monken's familiarity with and success within the state of Illinois is obviously the connection here with him having recruited Wes Lunt last year. I don't necessarily think there's anything deeper to it than that but we all saw how Monken went after Lunt on his own last year and he appears to be doing the same with Treadwell this year for the most part so we'll see what happens.
As for Treadwell's thoughts, at this point I think Oklahoma State is the clear number two behind Michigan and he even said as much about a month ago. In all fairness I think that's the best the coaching staff could realistically hope for up to this point being that Treadwell has never been to Stillwater and he's been to Ann Arbor more than once.
The question then becomes can one visit to OSU, albeit an official one, have enough influence to overcome Treadwell's familiarity with the Michigan program that has already been established?
That will play itself out ultimately as Treadwell was pretty forthright earlier this week in saying that he wants to see Oklahoma State before making any decisions. In my opinion, the biggest advantage that OSU will have in their recruiting pitch will be the style of offense with the numbers to back it up. Michigan simply doesn't throw the ball nearly as often as Oklahoma State does and that paired with Justin Blackmon winning two Biletnikoff trophies carries a lot of weight for any wide receiver prospect.
The other potential hole card that Oklahoma State has is Treadwell's uncle, former Cowboy linebacker Ricky Young. If anything it gives OSU another avenue to navigate and I don't think there is any doubt that Treadwell's initial interest in the Cowboy program prior to his recruitment blowing up was instigated by his uncle having played inStillwater.
In the end, nobody knows if the Cowboys will land Treadwell, and they very well may not. But the fact that he's willing to wait out the process to take an official visit to OSU, along with some other schools, certainly presents the notion that Coach Gundy and staff will be given every chance to convince the potential 5-star talent to continue his career in Stillwater. That's all they can ask for at this point.
(Fielder)
******************
Young on Kevin Peterson
In addition to his freshman DE's, Bill Young was asked what other defensive youngsters had stood out to him. He was rather quick with his answer.
"I can tell you, Kevin Peterson has really stood out in my opinion," he said. "I deal primarily with the d-line but we watch film together and study it and he has really played well."
That's great news for the Cowboy defense, as Andrae May is still not participating in practices. That could change as early as Monday, the day classes start. Still, he will have an adjustment period. Devin Hedgepeth is practicing and has made noticeable progress since practices started two weeks ago. He has a ways to go to return to his previous form. Thus, KP showing he's up to the task is big. Miketavious Jones and Ashton Lampkin have had very good camps as well. What was a position with depth concerns behind the two stud starters heading into camp now looks like it will be fine. If May and Hedgepeth get close to 100%, it may be one of the deepest positions on the team in 2012.
(JJ)
