NCAA early signing.

[Huntin Hard]

What do you guys think about it? I don't know if this is a good thing or a bad thing for the Sooners?

You guys think it will have a very large impact on recruiting for all programs?

 

[Oklabama]

The problem is going to be with early signees that have committed to schools where the head coach has been fired or taken another job late into the year. This will result in a lot of kids that want out of their commitments. I suspect that will create a new problem but I can see it being a illegitimate argument that we don't have as much as we do today. Couldn't resist. No one else has posted.

 

[Plainosooner]

Oklabama's point is the big one. Now coaches will be pressuring the kids twice during recruiting season. And coaches will have a hard decision if a player who favors you, won't commit. Do you take another guy a little lower on you list in December, because he will?

This creates nearly as many problems, as it solves.

 

[iasooner1]

Why not 'over recruit', get the cream & turn the tables after NSD, After we get the ones we want ? Maybe that's already being done and I know we don't want to be the first as it would appear unscrupulous at best

 

[CTOkie]

I will wait to see how this effects OU's recruiting......but even with stadium expansion and facility upgrades, OU must recruit consistently better than it has, and I don't know if OU recruiting can ever match the Alabama, USC, Florida State, Clemson, LSU or Ohio State levels, year in and year out.
Recent defections in the 2018 recruiting haul has hurt as well as the off the field problems over the past 3 years.
Double digit win seasons are nice, and they certainly pad a coach's resume, but this program has stayed on the outside looking in as far as championships go. Yes, OU made the final 4 playoffs after the 2015 season, but I felt they were not as good as the other three teams. I think Clemson showed that very well.
It's my opinion that OU is painted into corner as a member of the Big 12, which is at best, the 5th strongest conference among D1 teams. I would like to see....in a perfect and perhaps a hypothetical world....at least 4 top notch teams join the conference, or have OU migrate elsewhere. Had Missouri, Colorado (new and improved), ATM and Nebraska not bailed, this conference would be much better. But 4 top notch teams are not coming to the conference. OU has been hurt by the game of musical chairs in the realignment of conferences over the past ten years. The next 3-5 years will be the most crucial years in OU football history.

 

[hOUston...]

I will wait to see how this effects OU's recruiting......but even with stadium expansion and facility upgrades, OU must recruit consistently better than it has, and I don't know if OU recruiting can ever match the Alabama, USC, Florida State, Clemson, LSU or Ohio State levels, year in and year out.
Recent defections in the 2018 recruiting haul has hurt as well as the off the field problems over the past 3 years.
Double digit win seasons are nice, and they certainly pad a coach's resume, but this program has stayed on the outside looking in as far as championships go. Yes, OU made the final 4 playoffs after the 2015 season, but I felt they were not as good as the other three teams. I think Clemson showed that very well.
It's my opinion that OU is painted into corner as a member of the Big 12, which is at best, the 5th strongest conference among D1 teams. I would like to see....in a perfect and perhaps a hypothetical world....at least 4 top notch teams join the conference, or have OU migrate elsewhere. Had Missouri, Colorado (new and improved), ATM and Nebraska not bailed, this conference would be much better. But 4 top notch teams are not coming to the conference. OU has been hurt by the game of musical chairs in the realignment of conferences over the past ten years. The next 3-5 years will be the most crucial years in OU football history.

CT, I do not like what you wrote. However I have to agree with your statement. The truth hurts. Clicked on "like" in spite of my derriere-hurt.

 

[CTOkie]

CT, I do not like what you wrote. However I have to agree with your statement. The truth hurts. Clicked on "like" in spite of my derriere-hurt.

I don't like feeling this way, but I can't help feeling that OU's football fortunes are approaching a crossroads of staying and drowning in the Big 12 or escaping to greener pastures in another conference.
I would love to know which conference would want OU's membership the most.

 

[OUSOONER67]

SEC. Put Missouri, Arkansas, Oklahoma, aTm, LSU, Alabama, Ole Miss, Miss St. in the West

Florida, SC, Georgia, Auburn, Tenn, Vandy, Kentucky, West VA or Florida State in the East

You could flip flop a couple of of those say for example move Tenn to the west and put Miss St in the East or swap one of the Bama schools.

If Texas wants to come then invite West Va to the east and put Texas in the West or flip flop that and add Okie Lite if Texas does not want to go.
It could be done a few different ways. Makes more sense to me for OU to play aTm, Missouri and Arkansas than a move to the PAC 12 or even the BIG. This has probably been shown or suggested before on here but this is just how I would like to see it. Actually just add Okie Lite and TUCK FEXAS. They are the reason we are in this mess to begin with. Let the remaining lil 12 schools form modern version of the Big 8. Not enough left to call it the Big 8? Well we don't have 12 teams anymore either yet we are the Big 12

 

[Plainosooner]

I will wait to see how this effects OU's recruiting......but even with stadium expansion and facility upgrades, OU must recruit consistently better than it has, and I don't know if OU recruiting can ever match the Alabama, USC, Florida State, Clemson, LSU or Ohio State levels, year in and year out.
Recent defections in the 2018 recruiting haul has hurt as well as the off the field problems over the past 3 years.
Double digit win seasons are nice, and they certainly pad a coach's resume, but this program has stayed on the outside looking in as far as championships go. Yes, OU made the final 4 playoffs after the 2015 season, but I felt they were not as good as the other three teams. I think Clemson showed that very well.
It's my opinion that OU is painted into corner as a member of the Big 12, which is at best, the 5th strongest conference among D1 teams. I would like to see....in a perfect and perhaps a hypothetical world....at least 4 top notch teams join the conference, or have OU migrate elsewhere. Had Missouri, Colorado (new and improved), ATM and Nebraska not bailed, this conference would be much better. But 4 top notch teams are not coming to the conference. OU has been hurt by the game of musical chairs in the realignment of conferences over the past ten years. The next 3-5 years will be the most crucial years in OU football history.

The irony is the Mizzou, Colorado and Nebraska used to wink behind OU's back for ragging on the actions of UTexas. Then they let them into OUr 70 year old conference, and suddenly, they understood. And they cut off their collective noses, spiting their faces.

A&M needed to leave. UTexas PR dominated them. They found a way to improve their lot compared to UT. The orangebloods laughed for a while. They're not laughing now.

 

[iasooner1]

We rescued texsa and it bit us in the buttocks. Daphne Boren needs to 'man up' as it were and either leave or lead us out of this mess.

 

[Oklabama]

The Big 8 saved the SWC refugees. Pure and simple. Big mistake. IMO.

 

[JConXtsy]

The Big 8 saved the SWC refugees. Pure and simple. Big mistake. IMO.

Hey man, did you forget your self imposed ban?

sorry, it was too irresistible.

 

[Huntin Hard]

CTOkie I feel like you that the Big12 has to invite teams. 10 is not enough. I felt the move to have a championship game now looks like a desperate move. The Big12 does very badly in the draft in recent years too. Good players want to play elsewhere. Yes OU is backed into a corner.

 

[Huntin Hard]

A move by OU to a different conference is a very risky move too. Rock and a hard place for OU. Who thinks OU missed a big chance to change when other teams left the Big12?

 

[JConXtsy]

missed a chance for sure, but I understood the decision at the time. hindsight is 20/20

 

[JConXtsy]

Texas had just come off a MNC. OU not many years prior. The Big 12 offenses were defining college football. To paraphrase, we had it going.

There was no way to predict that the world was about to figure out our offenses and recruiting to sink to low levels.

I haven't researched, but I'm still confused why the SE produces more and better prospects than Texas.

Lots of people that talk don't get that both Clemson and Alabama are very close to Atlanta where they get a lot of talent.

Why is Atlanta football so good? Better than Dallas?

Football is getting so advanced that I wonder if it's worth figuring out a way to invest in high school programs.

 

[Oklabama]

Hey man, did you forget your self imposed ban?

sorry, it was too irresistible.

Actually....yes. But not this time.

 

[CTOkie]

I haven't researched, but I'm still confused why the SE produces more and better prospects than Texas.

Lots of people that talk don't get that both Clemson and Alabama are very close to Atlanta where they get a lot of talent.

Why is Atlanta football so good? Better than Dallas?

Football is getting so advanced that I wonder if it's worth figuring out a way to invest in high school programs.

Alabama could not enjoy its success with JUST instate talent alone, but it has strong ties throughout the South, especially Florida and Louisiana and can cherry pick everywhere else, even NYC. Also, Alabama is getting some excellent Texas and west coast talent.....and now, the Tide is invading Oklahoma.
Note: 8 of Alabama's 29 2017 commitments are instate and only about 36 players on the current roster are instate.
Alabama does what OU does in recruiting as far as relying on out-of-state talent for its survival, but Alabama, needless to say, has a bigger brand name at this time, plays in a tougher league and wins big games much more frequently than OU.
OU needs:
1...to have the Big 12 add two elite teams (not happening)....or to migrate to the SEC, or elsewhere.
2...change its style of play, away from arena-style football....which also means playing better defensively.
3...recruit toe-to-toe with Alabama, Ohio State, USC, LSU, etc., etc. (which won't happen until the first item mentioned happens)
4...clean up its national image of player mischief. What has happened at OU, happens everywhere, but OU needs to respond to it better (and tougher).
5....for Texas to become elite again, much as I hate to say it.
6...(see number 5) for OU to hold its own against elite Texas teams.
7...for the rest of the current conference to become more competitive, which outside of Kansas and Iowa State, is not that farfetched.

 

[Plainosooner]

Well that's true and it's not. They are recruiting nationwide, but there are three times as many four star and higher football players in Alabama than in Oklahoma every year on average. So they do go elsewhere, but everybody does, except for maybe UT, and that is now changing too.

But Florida has more top college prospects than Texas does these days. I saw some graphic after the NFL draft that Florida high schools have more draftable guys than Texas does. Or had more drafted. That's pretty amazing. Florida is big, but Texas has more people. But Florida seems to have more elite football players.

 

[CTOkie]

Well that's true and it's not. They are recruiting nationwide, but there are three times as many four star and higher football players in Alabama than in Oklahoma every year on average. So they do go elsewhere, but everybody does, except for maybe UT, and that is now changing too.

But Florida has more top college prospects than Texas does these days. I saw some graphic after the NFL draft that Florida high schools have more draftable guys than Texas does. Or had more drafted. That's pretty amazing. Florida is big, but Texas has more people. But Florida seems to have more elite football players.

That all depends on who's graphics you want to accept. My source (Texas Football) claims there are more players in the NFL who played high school football in Texas than from any other state. Also pointing out that almost 1/4 of NFL QB's are Texas high school products.
But one thing is certain: Texas, California and Florida are the top three states for high school talent. OU sits on top of a very deep talent pool in the state of Texas and must tap into it for its own survival.
No question the state of Alabama produces more and better players than the state of Oklahoma. My observation is 1) Alabama could not survive as it has with just instate talent (as is true of any team outside of Texas, California, Florida) and 2) that too many of the 4-6 really top players in Oklahoma go to OSU or out-of-state. Also, it seems too often the further OU goes to get talent, the more baggage comes with it. That's not to say OU should not pursue recruits nationwide.
I would think that recruiting male athletes needs to include "recruiting" the parents or guardians of these kids. If a coach is not impressed with how the parents relate to their sons and what kind of environment is provided, he should walk away. And once on campus, there should be tighter guidelines to control the players from day 1. Second chances should be fair and not based upon the player's level of talent.

 

[JConXtsy]

Texas is way down the list in per capita. An Alabama kid is almost twice as likely as being an NFL player as a Texas kid.

 

[CTOkie]

Texas is way down the list in per capita. An Alabama kid is almost twice as likely as being an NFL player as a Texas kid.

Tell that to Stoops. I'm sure he will change his recruiting ways.

 

[JConXtsy]

Damn, it was just a list and a stated fact.

If you dive deeper into racial makeup which some people like to stick their head into the ground about, you get a better picture.

Hispanics makeup only 0.6% of the NFL player population.
So basically throw away the Texas Hispanic population (almost 11M), and Texas is now much smaller at only 17M. Alabama loses only 200,000 of its population due to Hispanics; 4.6M.

Now, African Americans makeup 2x the NFL population than non-Hispanic whites. Alabama has a per capita African American population more than 2x that of Texas; 26.8% vs 12.5%.

Therefore if you normalize for those racial factors, Texas does indeed generate a statistically higher degree of NFL players when comparing apples to apples (whites to whites, African Americans to African Americans).

 

[CTOkie]

JCon, I'm not debating you.
All I'm saying is that the state of Texas has been and always must be OU's best avenue for getting talent. This fact must be considered when OU leaves the conference....and hopefully takes Texas with it.

 

[iasooner1]

Yes to texsa recruits (nawlins should be a natural target also); taking the steers with, not so much. Too much of a slime trail...

 

[Oklabama]

" recruiting male athletes needs to include "recruiting" the parents or guardians of these kids. If a coach is not impressed with how the parents relate to their sons and what kind of environment is provided, he should walk away".[/QUOTE]

 

[JConXtsy]

JCon, I'm not debating you.
All I'm saying is that the state of Texas has been and always must be OU's best avenue for getting talent. This fact must be considered when OU leaves the conference....and hopefully takes Texas with it.

Yeah, I was just making the point that it's difficult to compare states head-to-head. Nearly half of Texas is Hispanic now, and right now, they don't represent much of the football population. It's my opinion that their involvement is growing, but it's just not there yet like it is with African Americans and Caucasians.

As you increase the magnification on the microscope, you start to drill down to evidence that suggests Texas can be just as good or better than the southeast in recruiting if you know where to look and focus your attention.

The DFW area alone probably produces enough talent to field a championship caliber team. Oklahoma needs to get back to dominating recruiting in the area. Like you suggested, maybe they are wasting too much time being concerned with national recruiting and should live-or-die by regional recruiting.

 

[Huntin Hard]

Texas or Texas teams must go with OU if they change to different conference. OU will have hard time recruiting Texas if they never play in Texas.

 

[JConXtsy]

Texas or Texas teams must go with OU if they change to different conference. OU will have hard time recruiting Texas if they never play in Texas.

As long as we're in a head-to-head deficit against Texas, we need to keep them on a yearly schedule.

After we beat them the next 17 years in a row and take the upperhand in the series at 62-61, then we can dump their corpses in a back alley somewhere.