Having now followed this stuff for 15 years, and most of Stoops' run at OU, the thing that sets this class apart from all others is its integrity.
Sure, Stoops landed some high-ranking classes back in the early days of his recruiting. But he also got burned by a lot of those recruits (think Dampeer, Bomar, etc). Stoops learned from that. The lack of off-the-field issues in the program these last two years is evidence of that (note Mixon's deal was 2.5 years ago). Stoops and his staff (read Gundy) made a conscious shift somewhere to not compromise on character at all. Maybe we paid a bit for it, for a while. But now we've clearly figured out how to recruit character without compromising on the athleticism and physical prowess of the players.
My impression of these recruits is that they are not only incredible athletes, but they are also solid people, and great teammates. Lots of cohesion. Lots of enthusiasm for each other, and for the team. I don't see a primadonna in sight.
I think this class is going to set Stoops up for a dynasty run to end his career over the next 5-10 years. Add two, maybe three more NCs to the trophy case.
Boomer!
Sure, Stoops landed some high-ranking classes back in the early days of his recruiting. But he also got burned by a lot of those recruits (think Dampeer, Bomar, etc). Stoops learned from that. The lack of off-the-field issues in the program these last two years is evidence of that (note Mixon's deal was 2.5 years ago). Stoops and his staff (read Gundy) made a conscious shift somewhere to not compromise on character at all. Maybe we paid a bit for it, for a while. But now we've clearly figured out how to recruit character without compromising on the athleticism and physical prowess of the players.
My impression of these recruits is that they are not only incredible athletes, but they are also solid people, and great teammates. Lots of cohesion. Lots of enthusiasm for each other, and for the team. I don't see a primadonna in sight.
I think this class is going to set Stoops up for a dynasty run to end his career over the next 5-10 years. Add two, maybe three more NCs to the trophy case.
Boomer!
Last edited:
