Sour Grapes

[Tollboothmgr]

So I heard the news about Wheaton last night and immediately thought back to losing Jace McLellan, also to Bama, last year. Anger turns to frustration then to conciliation (you know, your standard denial/acceptance mentality) and you move on.
I actually couldn't easily shake it loose this time, and so spent a good solid two or three minutes mulling it over, and this is what I came up with.
Is it possible some of these kids we identify and target for recruitment just aren't good fits here? I know that sounds obvious but what I mean is LR puts out that "family" vibe pretty hard and that may not just be for some of these young men. Perhaps there's also some religion in there on the side? I'm certainly no expert on OU's recruiting style and tactics but when a 2-year commit like Jace and a 100%-lock like Wheaton swap at the midnight hour it makes me wonder a bit.
Perhaps it is just sour grapes on my part to be able to handle this second rejection.

 

[CTOkie]

Let's put this in perspective:
OU is not the first team to lose a recruit to Nick Saban and as long as he's at Alabama, there could be more.
Alabama has been the gold standard this century in college football and its appeal to high school players from coast to coast is enormous.
And Saban's main recruiting turf is all of Dixie (the 11 states that formed the Confederacy) which is the deepest hot bed for talent. He even recruited RB Joshua Jacobs in 2016 out of Oklahoma.
Also, with ATM in the SEC, Saban can sway Texas boys easier.....away from Oklahoma and Texas.
I don't believe it has much to do with being a good fit but more about Alabama under Saban being so great for so long. Five national championships in 11 years (since 2009) and numerous other trips into the 4-team playoffs is impressive.

 

[WP76]

Goes back to what I said in an earlier post. CFB right now is Alabama's world and the rest of us are just living in it.

 

[Plainosooner]

Let's put this in perspective:
OU is not the first team to lose a recruit to Nick Saban and as long as he's at Alabama, there could be more.
Alabama has been the gold standard this century in college football and its appeal to high school players from coast to coast is enormous.
And Saban's main recruiting turf is all of Dixie (the 11 states that formed the Confederacy) which is the deepest hot bed for talent. He even recruited RB Joshua Jacobs in 2016 out of Oklahoma.
Also, with ATM in the SEC, Saban can sway Texas boys easier.....away from Oklahoma and Texas.
I don't believe it has much to do with being a good fit but more about Alabama under Saban being so great for so long. Five national championships in 11 years (since 2009) and numerous other trips into the 4-team playoffs is impressive.

These are different than Jacobs. OU really didn't go after Jacobs that hard. Bama loved on him more. We never led for him. These two are different from each other, but much more similar to each other.. OU had nearly a two year commitment from McClellan that fell through pretty late. This year, there was never a commitment. Bama apparently thought that he'd signed with OU on signing day, but wanted to announce 12-23. They didn't know until he reached out to them on a phone call 12-22, that he was available. And he was as quiet as any recruit in memory.

 

[CTOkie]

These are different than Jacobs. OU really didn't go after Jacobs that hard. Bama loved on him more. We never led for him. These two are different from each other, but much more similar to each other.. OU had nearly a two year commitment from McClellan that fell through pretty late. This year, there was never a commitment. Bama apparently thought that he'd signed with OU on signing day, but wanted to announce 12-23. They didn't know until he reached out to them on a phone call 12-22, that he was available. And he was as quiet as any recruit in memory.

I know about OU's passing on Jacobs, or at least showing lesser interest in him.
My point was that Saban hit the state of Oklahoma for a recruit that contributed well to Saban's teams....a recruit who surely could have helped OU. Maybe Marcus Major can be a contributor in the way Jacobs was for Saban. The day Jacobs signed with Alabama was a surprise to me because Jacobs was not really on OU's hit list and I had not heard a lot of him.
As for Wheaton, when I look at his decision from his vantage point, I can't blame him for signing with Saban, in all fairness to OU.
However, the 2021 class for OU is solid and I expect some additions sometime soon.

 

[newnasty]

I'm not buying that Wheaton contacted Bama. I think Bama contacted him via an outside of the staff, perhaps a HS Coach, Uncle, Dad, someone..telling Wheaton that Bama was intereted and to contact them. Any player including Wheaton to text to Bamas w/ a "what's up?" tells me that he was replying. Look I get the Bama & Saban appeal, but OU has been dirtied by Bama, in B2B years. This is how SEC plays. They shit in the sand box. This Bama dishing out on OU requires someone at OU to step up their game, Go big or go home. They need to
1. either report violations on Bama
2. get dirty themselves
3. Go home and stop reporting top talent in Texas
I'm not sure which OU will do, but doing nothing sends a signal to not only Bama but to all other SEC teams as well. OU will need to reply and do either #1 or #2, if not, #3 will self occur.

 

[newnasty]

I don't think Leigh will be signing w/ us either. Gator is just as dirty.

 

[OUnabomber]

Hey Saban probably went to his house and danced in his living room floor with everyone.

 

[kcstorm06]

Hey Saban probably went to his house and danced in his living room floor with everyone.

Come to Bama and stand on the sidelines. Your care package will come tomorrow for signing.

 

[BlackUnicorn]

These are different than Jacobs. OU really didn't go after Jacobs that hard. Bama loved on him more.

Nobody knew of Jacobs. His best offer was Wyoming immediately after his senior season

OU offered him before Bama did. I’m sure the OU offer put him on Bama’s radar

Bama was his dream school. There was no decision.

 

[soonersoldier]

Nobody knew of Jacobs. His best offer was Wyoming immediately after his senior season

OU offered him before Bama did. I’m sure the OU offer put him on Bama’s radar

Bama was his dream school. There was no decision.

Unicorn I like your input keep it coming.

 

[LAY THE WOODY]

Oh for cryin out loud, let's just face it. Saban makes players better, that's why he's able to recruit so well. Dang almighty.

 

[soonersoldier]

Oh for cryin out loud, let's just face it. Saban makes players better, that's why he's able to recruit so well. Dang almighty.

It's all relative, just ask the Miami Dolphins. I do not subscribe to anointing any one person.

 

[CTOkie]

It's all relative, just ask the Miami Dolphins. I do not subscribe to anointing any one person.

But it is one person....one who surrounds himself with assistant coaches who recruit and develop players better than everyone else. Saban is arguably the greatest college coach ever, and he's not done yet. He and Belichick, in my opinion, are the two best ever coaches and they're still active. I may not root for their teams to win, but I admire their abilities.
Wilkinson, Bryant, Switzer, Stoops (early on), Royal, etc. and their coaching staffs had little problem attracting recruits.
As for Saban's two year gig at Miami, he inherited a 4-12 team from 2004 and had two QB's to work with, Frerotte and Harrington, who sucked.

 

[LAY THE WOODY]

It's all relative, just ask the Miami Dolphins. I do not subscribe to anointing any one person.

Eh, nick's niche is at the college level. He gave it a shot but the difference between the two levels is apples and oranges. He was clearly above his head jumping on that offer from the dolphins and he bailed faster than a moonshiner runnin from the sheriff. The NFL will squire college football's most successful coaches, but they just don't fit at the pro level. Heck, if anyone shoulda made the jump, we're talkin Stoops and today Meyer. Bob knew then and today Meyer knows better. Not to say it won't happen again but Klingsbury at Cardinals is, well, it's the Cardinals you know. You know?

 

[newnasty]

Texas Tech ain’t Bama or OU that’s why Klingsbury jumped plus he had Kyler as his pick. 🤪

 

[LAY THE WOODY]

Texas Tech ain’t Bama or OU that’s why Klingsbury jumped plus he had Kyler as his pick. 🤪

No doubt about klingsbury jumpin on the kyler bus plus it's Bidwill's style.

 

[WP76]

John Madden used to say of coaches, "there are college guys and there are pro guys." In Madden's day that was almost universally true as I can think of very few men who were successful at both. John Robinson of NC USC did take the LA Rams to a Super Bowl. In our era, we have Jimmy Johnson and Pete Carroll who built championship teams at both levels. Barry Switzer did as well but, as much as I like "The King," I'm not sure how much credit to give him for Dallas' last Super Bowl win.

 

[CTOkie]

John Madden used to say of coaches, "there are college guys and there are pro guys." In Madden's day that was almost universally true as I can think of very few men who were successful at both. John Robinson of NC USC did take the LA Rams to a Super Bowl. In our era, we have Jimmy Johnson and Pete Carroll who built championship teams at both levels. Barry Switzer did as well but, as much as I like "The King," I'm not sure how much credit to give him for Dallas' last Super Bowl win.

Great post, as usual.
I have watched a little more pro football lately, especially with Patrick Mahomes showcasing his Mount Rushmore talent.....along with Tony Romo showcasing his talent in the broadcast booth. I haven't seen such excellence since the days of Hank Stram and John Madden.
However, NFL football is becoming too much like a prison yard rumble with silly "all about me" celebrations and the pro wrestling antics after (and sometimes during) most every play (standing over a fallen opposing player, huddling during a game for a photo op, cheap shots, etc.). And the pregame shows are useless with scripts that never change. Not even Terry Bradshaw's humor can win me over.
Coaching in the NFL seems to be almost devoid of coaching players to play smart, disciplined, team-first football. And I am seeing some of the crap filtering down into the college and even high school levels.