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pantheraonca ●
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oufisherman
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SoonerSeif ●
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OU MAJOR
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SoonerSeif said...
Don't underestimate Shepard. He's going to be a big time player. If Shepard was from Cali or Florida, everyone would be drooling. He's rated higher than Neal and for some reason, he seems to be the forgotten one. 41 inch vertical, doesn't drop a pass, incredibly smart and football savvy. I know Sterling, and anyone that doesn't put him up there with Metoyer or Gardner will be pleasantly surprised. He's a beast and also had an offer from Bama, since I know alot of people try to use Saban as a gauge of how elite a player is. I'll take him over every WR we have coming in, and that's not a knock on the others but a praise of how good Shep is.
Stuck in Mexas
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Stuck in Mexas
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matthewsharp
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hooknladder
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pantheraonca said...
Compiled by Alan. Mark will not be able to access the internet for a while. This is long, guys.
On paper, at least, this is the best job ANY TEAM has done recruiting at wr in college football for some time. Unreal.
Courtney Gardner, from Canyoneer’s perspective, is potentially the best wr coming into any program for next year. DGB may (and that is a may) have more upside, but for the next two years Canyoneer would take Gardner every time. Canyoneer looks for explosiveness, lateral movement skills, strength, separation, speed and route running skills for receivers and Gardner has all of those. He probably will be a 6’4”-230 wr within a year. And with 4.4 speed, and the wingspan and hands of a 7 footer.
The kid has some academic challenges, and also needs to tone down his behavior on the field but he is something that OU has not had under BS. Malcolm Kelly had similar size, but not explosiveness, And Gardner will be a major, major contributor on special teams, where his incredible leaping ability and quickness will make kickers very nervous. If he adjusts well to OU he will make a huge difference.
Damien Williams is also a major talent. If he and Gardner were HS kids they would be equal to 5 stars based on talent alone. Damien was a surprise in a way since TT was really selling the idea of him being the featured back, and OU wouldn’t promise him that, or anything else for that matter. Both Gardner and Williams have NFL talent, and if they can clean up some habits (ball protection for Damien) and for Gardner, some behaviors (showman stuff that Novell will jump on) OU will have guys who can immediately not only play for OU, but can STAR for OU. They are both difference makers.
As Canyoneer has told me, all colleges are looking for those difference makers, those athletic freaks who can just about take over a game. And with Gardner, Williams, and also with Metoyer and Neal OU has got them. Old Pops has been waiting for a long time to see Metoyer play (as we all have) and he thinks the kid is Dez Byrant (with some improvements) all over again. And Neal is absolutely unreal, and will be one of those freshmen who will play, and play a lot over the course of the year. Both of these guys are those explosive quick twitched guys OU needs. And ALL are potential stars at the collegiate level, at least.
Canyoneer has watched Woods play, and loves the kid, but agrees that he is a kid that would do better at safety. And a redshirt year. And it is going to be interesting to see where Shepard plays, since he has those great hands, chance of direction, and brains. From Canyoneers perspective, he would love to see him play on returns and as a CB. Even though he has those great hands and his football IQ if off the charts dad thinks he would make for a major talent at a position which is the hardest to play at in the Big 12, cornerback. Dad is old school, and he believes strongly that you take your best all around talents and make them defensive players. But he is torn on that guy.
McNamara is for real, and he will be solid for OU, and beyond. There are simply no lb’s in the Big 12 that can stay with him once he fully develops. And he LOVES the play of BGreen and thinks that he is the 2nd most underrated recruit out there. Kid can catch and run patterns, and gives OU tremendous blocking at that position. As far as Latu is concerned, Dad has the same concerns we all do. Qualifying and staying on track off the field. On the field the kid is a monster, and will push Johnson from day one (although dad thinks Johnson comes back bigger and much better than last year). It is going to be hard to keep Latu off the field eventually.
Last but not least T Knight, who dad thinks is the clone of a young Jason White, before his leg injuries. He thinks Knight was every bit as good as some of those 5 star QB’s out there, and MILES ahead of Conor Brewer who went to tejas (although Conor is a great kid from a great family).
To sum it up, Canyoneer thinks OU will be playing for the MNC this year. Canyoneer is old school, and believes that you win championships with upperclassman. You can win games, sometimes in a spectacular fashion, with underclassman, but championships come with upperclassman.
OU will be in there for several reasons. The biggest reasons will be depth and experience. OU is now an experienced team (excepting TE), and because of the influx of JC talent they have a lot more depth and more difference makers.
1) They have seniors where they need them on the DL. Although none of the DL are great players YET, all are solid, and as seniors they can make up with technique and experience what they lack in pure skill. Having said that, he expects at least King, RJ, and McFarland to be very, very good. And there are some VERY talented young guys involved as well. 2) A very strong LB crew, Kellen Jones is going to be a monster. And pops has heard great things about Shannon, Lindley, and A Franklin. Nelson is going to be a major star. They are loaded there. Wort is solid. 3) Talent and better coaching in the DB with simpler schemes relying more on attacking and on individual physical skills. And Colvin, Hurst, Jefferson, and Everett have strong physical skills. If Simon makes it, he will probably play some as well. Great future. Fewer breakdowns due to less confusion. 4) A team that can break the long td AT ANY TIME. OU has not been able to break those 60 -70 yard runs and pass receptions for some time. They will this year. Expect Damien, Courtney, Neal, Metoyer, Shepard,et al, to break some. Courtney runs some of the best deep routes around. And he will break some. 5) OU now has more difference makers, and kids that can literally take over a game. Those guys, Whaley (please get healthy) Williams, Gardner, Neal and others can be dominant players. And don’t forget that Stills was hurt last year, and he is clearly a MAJOR TALENT. And Jaz as well as Jackson are serious and talented players (if Jaz plays and he certainly might). Metoyer is going to make us all very happy as well. Major talent and difference makers at every position on offensive skill positions. 6) And aghast, Canyoneer thinks OU wil be able to run the ball this year with the development of Shead, and Nila (and he has heard great things there) and the improvement of the tackles. Latu is a player, and if the guys in front of him don’t perform, he will. And by running the ball successfully, the psychology of this team completely changes. The improvement of the OL with a years experience and an influx of talent (Latu) is going to be substantial. Seniors and Juniors win games on the line.
Concerns: Qualifying of Simon, Latu and Gardner. Gardner should make it fairly easily, but there are legitimate concerns for Latu and Simon. The surgery to Habern is an issue, a possible serious issue if he doesn’t return to form, and the same can be said for Whaley. If Whaley comes back strong OU will have two of the three top rb’s in the conference (lets face it, Gray is a great player, but questions to his durability are real).
Depth and experience at TE is an issue, and Canyoneer would not be surprised if OU doesn’t look at the JUCO TE who they talked to earlier if he graduates from JC and passes his physical.
I know Canyoneer would have a long talk to BB about playing TE on a full time basis. He would have an NFL future there, and make a LOT of money based on the direction the NFL is going (I am sure there will be some screaming about this, but as a coach the idea of a 3 TE set with Green, Bell, and McNamara is a dream. Think about it, at least).
Old Pops said that he would be buying us tickets to the MNC game. And I hope he is on track. Remember, last year he called me premature. This year he is pretty confident OU gets there.
From Canyoneer and Mark (long)