Straight from the coaches' mouths: Player-by-player commentary on OSU's recruiting class
Published: 2/7/2013 2:43 PM
Last Modified: 2/7/2013 2:46 PM
Oklahoma State University’s sports information department was industrious enough to secure comments from Cowboy assistant coaches on every player in the signing class.
Rather than let all those comments go to waste, I’ll cut-and-paste them in this blog for readers who want to see what the coaches are saying about the new Cowboys:
--Kasey Dunn on receiver Marcell Ateman: “Marcell is a very tough and physical player. He’s had tremendous production throughout his career and has caught a ton of balls. He’s a true Cowboy. He is he type of player that could play the X, Y or Z position in our offense. He’s got the range and speed and length and great hands to be effective anywhere.”
--Glenn Spencer on (probable) outside linebacker Dawson Bassett: “We had Dawson Bassett in camp for two years in high school and he always impressed me with his effort and athleticism. He’s very rangy and has very good change of direction. The question is how quickly will he put on weight and strength? We’re not sure at this point if he’d be more of a weakside linebacker or inside receiver. We love his toughness and athleticism. He’s a kid who may end up being one of the gems of the class. He’s 6-4, 215 and can run and he will work hard and bring a great attitude every day. It’s hard to pass up on a kid like him.”
--Jemal Singleton on running back Rennie Childs: “Rennie is the type of back that we need - a strong runner. You take a look at his film and you see that he’s not afraid to run a guy over, but he’s also got speed and elusiveness to run away from a guy.”
--Joe Wickline on offensive lineman Zachary Crabtree: “Zach is the true prototype of an edge tackle - a guy that can play right or left. He’s an excellent pass protector and athlete. He’s 275 now, but I see him topping out at about 320. He’s outstanding from a standpoint of comprehension - knowing what to do and how to do it. He loves football and was recruited highly. With his brother going to school here and his parents having an affiliation, he was a great fit.”
--Jason Jones on cornerback Darius Curry: ““Darius Curry has size. He’s a big, physical corner who is athletic. He has a high football IQ - his dad was his high school defensive coordinator. Darius is a smart football player and can do a lot of different things. In high school, they played him at quarterback, receiver, safety and corner. They put him all over the field and he did well.”
--Van Malone on safety Tre Flowers: “We don’t have a guy in our safety group like Tre -- he’s a tall, rangy guy and we don’t have that. His range and his ability to attack the football is what’s really impressive to us.”
--Wickline on offensive lineman Brandon Garrett: “We expect Brandon to come in and challenge for a starting spot. He’ll be at about 295 pounds for the spring. He’s got good fundamentals and is very intelligent. He is an athletic player with good bend.”
--Ty Linder on kicker Ben Grogan: “Ben Grogan has got a huge leg, first of all. He makes 60 yard field goals in practice consistently. Consistency is the other thing. In one game, he went 5-for-5 on field goals. His coaches say he’s got ice in his veins and loves to be under pressure. His huge leg and his consistency is what drew us to him.”
--Joe Bob Clements on defensive tackle Ofa Hautau: “The first thing that immediately grabs your attention about Ofa Hautau is that he’s a high-motor player. He’s sideline to sideline. He’s all over the place. You can tell that he plays with a tremendous amount of energy and strength. He’s a guy that can be very disruptive for us up front. Our hope is that he comes right in and makes an impact immediately.”
--Spencer on defensive tackle Ben Hughes: “Ben is a 315-pound kid right now. He has got the girth that we’re looking for and a big body. He’s a quick kid. He’s the kind of kid at 315 that you’d think can hold a gap immediately. We’ve got to get him to learn the speed of the game in the Big 12 and play at the same rate every play. His strength numbers and body mass make him a candidate for early playing time.”
--Wickline on offensive lineman Jack Kurzu: “In our scheme, I see Jack Kurzu as an inside guy playing either right or left guard, maybe some center. He’s more of a road-grader type. He’s physical and athletic and very smart. He understands the game. Jack has shown through his years that he wants to be and is going to be a very good college football player who can excel at this level.”
--Spencer on defensive end Vili Leveni: “When you look at Vili on film, you see a real rangy kid with a lot length and long arms, but he’s deceiving size-wise. He looks thin on film, but when you see him in person, he has a great lower body. As a sophomore, he was 218 pounds and now he’s up to 255 pounds but is still very athletic. He still has great growth potential. He’s got a 35-inch vertical and he’s explosive. He played everywhere up front. He’s a very quick kid and is fast off the ball.”
--Jones on cornerback Taylor Lewis: “Taylor is very athletic, but what we really liked about him is that he’s a competitor and he has an unbelieveable work ethic. He loves football and he comes from good high school program. Taylor came to our camp here and did well. He really competed. What we noticed about him is that he loves to come down and hit you and get physical.”
--Jones on cornerback Jerel Morrow: “Jerel is big and very athletic -- he’s a 48-foot triple jumper. Our track coaches tell me that his high school mark would have ranked second in the Big 12 last year. When we look at Jerel, we can see him doing well in playing man-to-man against the bigger receivers that you find in the Big 12.”
--Spencer on defensive end Naim Mustafaa: “Naim is a big-time defensive end who can rush the passer and is very athletic. He has a very high motor and is a competitor. He uses his hands very well. He is a quiet person by nature, but he turns it up when he’s on the field.”
--Malone on safety Deric Robertson: “Deric plays at Killeen High School, which in the state of Texas is well-known for the speed of its players. He’s got really good size for a safety and he has played some corner. With his size and speed, we’re looking for him to be a versatile player.”
--Wickline on offensive lineman Jesse Robinson: “We got on Jesse late. We had him in some camps and liked him all along, but we just didn’t know where we would be slot-wise. He kind of falls into the category of a two-dimensional guy - he can play inside, he can play outside, he can play right or left. He’s very athletic. He’s strong, but is going to get a lot stronger and a lot bigger. Jesse is an upbeat kid and very intelligent. He comes from a program where they’ve done a great job with all their players. He’s been well-coached. Football is important to him and he loves Oklahoma State. It’s a great fit for both of us.”
--Wickline on offensive lineman Jaxon Salinas: “Jaxon is a good kid. He’s the guy that everybody looked at but maybe they weren’t ready to take thinking he should be an inch taller, can he be this or can he be that. He’s plenty tall. He’s got nice weight and some good strength numbers. He’s a great leader. He’ll be the one that probably ends up running the show playing center. He’s got some nice girth to him, which we need inside. He’s physical, he gets after it and football is really important to him.”
--Dunn on receiver Ra’Shaad Samples: “Ra’Shaad is a football junkie -- a complete gym rat. He’s a coach’s kid. He’s competitive and tremendously strong for his size. He has the reach of someone who is 6-foot-4. He can reach longer than me and I’m 6-2 and he’s 5-11. He can dunk a basketball with two hands just jumping vertically from straight under the hoop with no kind of start.”
--Malone on safety Jordan Sterns: “Jordan was the leader of a good team that played for a state championship. He’s a competitor. He’s got incredible ball skills and is a threat to turn the ball over and score for your defense on any given play.”
--Spencer on defensive tackle Vincent Taylor: “Vincent Taylor is very explosive. At 275-280 pounds, he’s really quick. He’s going to have to learn how to play at this competition level. He’s dominated his competition to this point. He comes from a good program and we know he works hard. He has an incredible wingspan. For a defensive tackle, it’s good to play low and still have long arms to separate off blocks. He has the feet of a linebacker.”
--Singleton on running back Corion Webster: “What we saw in Corion Webster was a very explosive straight-line guy that also had great ball skills. For us in this offense, we need a guy that can hit the home run but can also be a receiver out of the backfield. Corion can do both of those.”
--Spencer on defensive end Sam Wren: “We saw Sam late in the process but we knew we liked him. He’s what we call a quick-twitch kid. He’s got a lot of bounce. As soon as he learns the terminology, we think he’s ready to play physically. He’ll get a lot of looks during the spring because we’re trying to have him ready to play immediately.”
Written by
Jimmie Tramel
Sports Writer
