A spectacular waste of time: Mickens commits to Washington
Published: 1/31/2012 11:19 PM
Last Modified: 1/31/2012 11:19 PM
On Jan. 13-14, Jaydon Mickens – a wide receiver from Dorsey High School in Los Angeles – made an official visit to the Oklahoma State campus.
A few days later, during an interview with the Tulsa World, he was asked where OSU stood in his decision process.
"Leading,” he replied. “They're solid."
Rated by both Scout and Rivals as a four-star national prospect, Mickens said his finalists were Oklahoma State, Oregon and Washington. When he canceled a trip to Oregon, it seemed probable that he would sign with the Cowboys.
“I wanted to see what Oklahoma State was all about,” Mickens said, explaining his decision to visit OSU. “I didn't plan to go there and fall in love with it. . . . (Stillwater) is a beautiful little college town, and that's exactly what I love – little college town."
It wasn’t quite a verbal commitment, but it certainly appeared that Mickens was destined to become a Cowboy.
OSU coach Mike Gundy and Jemal Singleton traveled to Los Angeles. Mickens seemed impressed. His Twitter report: "osu home visit was great!"
So, what happened on Tuesday night? Mickens, the MVP of the Semper Fidelis All-American Bowl, committed to Washington. Announced that he will sign with the Huskies on Wednesday.
The Mickens-OSU relationship has dissolved.
Recruiting can be a maddening endeavor for coaches, and this has to qualify as maddening for Gundy. While the Cowboys did seem tantalizingly close to signing Mickens, the whole exercise wound up being a spectacular waste of time.
-- Bill Haisten
Written by
Bill Haisten
Sports Writer
