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Question for James about RB recruiting...

  • Why did OU not recruit Jonnathan Gray? I know they wanted Alex Ross and I'm glad we got him, but it almost seems like OU didn't have any interest at all in Gray. OU has really missed on RB recruits since DeMarco (the fact that our starting RB this year was a walk-on is pretty good evidence). Finch is a slot-receiver on any other team. Brandon Williams has potential, but I never really saw anything out of him that made me oooo and ahhhh. Calhoun and Miller were busts who transferred. And even Alex Ross, another with a lot of potential, seems like a huge gamble for health reasons. I've always felt that you can't have too many good running backs. Why in the world would OU barely recruit a guy like Gray, who is only a couple of hours from Norman... who also happens to be THE most explosive running back to ever come out of the state of Texas (he has smashed every rushing record that exists). Its kind of a head-scratcher.

    SoonerBredCD

  • He is also injury prone... He is a great RB don't take this the wrong way but OU simply felt like they had a better chance with Ross and they liked him more... We will see in a couple of years...

    “If a team is to reach its potential, each player must be willing to subordinate his personal goals to the good of the team.”- Bud Wilkinson

    treaddav

  • we did recruit him, but we only had 1 offer to give out and Alex Ross was that guy. Ross took the scholarship and the coaches are really pleased with him. After that, we stopped recruiting him.

    as treaddav said above, Jonathan Gray has had quite a few injuries already (shoulder surgery on both shoulders in high school)

    he will have those same issues in college, I know Ross had a collarbone injury but that injury hasn't affected AD and Ross has a whole lot of potential and is the kind of big back we need here.

    signature image signature image signature image

    University of Oklahoma: B.S. Aerospace Engineering '10, M.S. Mechanical Engineering '12

    greensooner

  • greensooner said...

    we did recruit him, but we only had 1 offer to give out and Alex Ross was that guy. Ross took the scholarship and the coaches are really pleased with him. After that, we stopped recruiting him.

    as treaddav said above, Jonathan Gray has had quite a few injuries already (shoulder surgery on both shoulders in high school)

    he will have those same issues in college, I know Ross had a collarbone injury but that injury hasn't affected AD and Ross has a whole lot of potential and is the kind of big back we need here.

    I'd say we've had more than one RB scholarship available to give out since approximately the first week of the season.

    SoonerBredCD

  • Also, as I recall, Gray was a heavy lean for Texas from day one.

    spudman

  • SoonerBredCD said...

    I'd say we've had more than one RB scholarship available to give out since approximately the first week of the season.

    One goes to Whaley

    SoonerNatChamps

  • spudman said...

    Also, as I recall, Gray was a heavy lean for Texas from day one.

    This as well... Why waste valuable time and resources on a kid we know has no interest in OU what so ever? OUr coaches could have been aware of this from the get go, resulting in the non-recruitment of Gray... I hope he has a great career at Uterus and enjoys the physical stomping his team will receive for the next four years of his college career... :)

    boomersooner

    “If a team is to reach its potential, each player must be willing to subordinate his personal goals to the good of the team.”- Bud Wilkinson

    treaddav

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    jdross1982 ●

  • SoonerBredCD said...

    I'd say we've had more than one RB scholarship available to give out since approximately the first week of the season.

    he committed to the Horns in April though, I was stating at the time we only had one

    I agree we have more than one now but I doubt we take another RB in this class, next year we prob take 2 with Whaley gone and Finch and Clay will be Seniors in the 2013 class

    signature image signature image signature image

    University of Oklahoma: B.S. Aerospace Engineering '10, M.S. Mechanical Engineering '12

    greensooner

  • I don't think it was as clear-cut a decision for him to go to Texas as some of you make it sound. As I recall, Texas and TCU were a dead-heat for several months before he finally committed to the horns. That doesn't necessarily mean he had an interest in OU. But I would like to think that if TCU was in the mix, OU could have been in the mix as well, if our coaches recruited him really hard.

    SoonerBredCD

  • Gray wanted to go to Texas. TCU gave a big push, mostly the fact they are so close to his home. He is a very good back. OU needs people to plug holes, make holes and hold on to the football, as a prioritiy over more running backs. He is an unknown risk, because of previous surgeries. No one really knows.

    jimnrh

  • Gray recently got ejected from a playoff game fot showboating/taunting. It is one thing to draw one flag but to get the second and get ejected raises some questions about his maturity in my opinion.

    DenverSooner

  • DenverSooner said...

    Gray recently got ejected from a playoff game fot showboating/taunting. It is one thing to draw one flag but to get the second and get ejected raises some questions about his maturity in my opinion.

    Boys will be boys... Their opponent was hated rival, Stephenville, who beat them earlier in the year. Not a big deal, IMO. Particularly since he hasn't shown a history of this type of behavior.

    SoonerBredCD

  • I know Cale missed on Felix Jones and Knile Davis, both who wanted to come here.

    goldsooner

  • I agree with you that we will regret not recruiting another RB, but Gray was a TX lock starting at birth!

    hml4ou

  • Why in the world would OU barely recruit a guy like Gray, who is only a couple of hours from Norman... who also happens to be THE most explosive running back to ever come out of the state of Texas (he has smashed every rushing record that exists). Its kind of a head-scratcher.

    Calling Gray the most explosive running back ever to come out of the state of Texas is a statement I've not heard expressed by anyone since Gray came on the scene, and is, in my opinion, an overstatement. OU has had a Heisman winner and Heisman runner-up in Billy Sims and Adrian Peterson, either of whom I would consider more explosive than Gray. JMO.

    "Burnt orange makes me puke!" - Mother Teresa (unverified)

    VladTheEmailer

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