Enough of the hype
Published: 2/8/2007 12:59 PM
Last Modified: 2/8/2007 12:59 PM
Maybe Richetti Jones will sack Georgia quarterback Matthew Stafford twice and force and recover the game-clinching fumble in Oklahoma State’s opener this September.
Maybe Dez Bryant will make OSU fans forget about D’Juan Woods and Adarius Bowman with a fantastic freshman season at wide receiver.
Maybe William Cole will come in and supplant Perrish Cox as a starting cornerback and make Cox, last year’s freshman phenom, merely a kick returner.
But maybe, just maybe, these highly acclimated players of OSU’s 2007 recruiting class do not make an immediate impact this fall for the Cowboys. And that is not necessarily a bad thing.
There is no doubt that Jones, Bryant and Cole are viewed as difference makers in the future. Expecting them to produce the moment they step on the Stillwater campus might be asking too much.
Rewind to last year. Cox was the jewel of the 2006 class and he lived up to the advanced billing as a cornerback and kick returner.
But how much buzz was there about Patrick Lavine on signing day last year? Or Keith Toston? Or Russell Okung? Those three arguably had a bigger impact on OSU’s 7-6 season than Cox.
Lavine was a high school safety, but he became OSU’s top linebacker. Toston was an afterthought, the Plan B at running back after Michael Goodson decommitted and went to Texas A&M. All Toston did was finish as OSU’s second-leading rusher and give the ground game a nice 1-2 punch with Dantrell Savage. Okung started the last eight games at right tackle and looks to be the foundation of the offensive line for the next three years.
Mike Gundy and his coaching staff deserve accolades for putting together another stellar recruiting class. But don’t be surprised if the early gems are not those players that had several stars next to their names from those Internet recruiting services.
---- Matt Doyle
Written by
Bill Haisten
Sports Writer
