Big 12 Blitz: Hanging on to commits
Four-star Texas A&M commit Corey Nelson visited Oklahoma last weekend, and he is reportedly considering a USC visit as well. Will the Aggies hang on to the talented linebacker?
We break down recruiting in the Big 12 as National Signing Day nears in a special edition of the Big 12 Blitz.
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With only a small handful of slots left open in Colorado's 2010 signing class, the recruiting activity is limited. Harold Mobley, a three-star athlete out of California, could be an impending commitment that would take up one of those remaining slots. Another possibility could be Joe Hemschoot, who had an in-home visit with Colorado on Tuesday and was scheduled to meet with Oregon's Chip Kelly on Wednesday evening. Hemschoot is set to announce his college decision on Thursday. One other prospect that Colorado coaches will keep a close eye on is Louisiana three-star quarterback Munchie Legaux. Despite being a Colorado commit, he has recently taken an official visit to Arizona and has added a Cincinnati offer to his list.
Committed players Brandon Jensen, Nick Kron, T.J. McCullough and Clifford Morgan all came to Ames, Iowa, for official visits last weekend. All left excited about their futures. The one uncommitted prospect on campus was Daytona Beach (Fla.) Mainland defensive tackle Kenneth Kirksey. He has pared his list to Iowa State, Michigan State, Rutgers and Florida State. Another player to watch is junior college running back Albert Gary out of Butler Community College in Kansas.
The headliner of Kansas' most recent official visit weekend was four-star running back Brandon Bourbon, who is currently committed to Stanford. Bourbon will take his final official visit to Notre Dame this weekend before making his final decision on Feb. 3. Bourbon was joined by MTSU commit Judd Hunt, North Carolina commit Jabari Price and uncommitted prospects Darrin Kitchens and Steven Funderburk. Chicago offensive tackle Fabbians Ebbele is scheduled to visit the Jayhawks this weekend. Though some more names remain on the Kansas board, Turner Gill's first class will likely be a small one in terms of numbers.
Things have been relatively quiet for Kansas State. The Wildcats landed most of their recruits early in the process. The Wildcats are still hoping to lure at least one more quality junior college offensive linemen, and that player could be John Cullen. The problem with landing Cullen is that almost everybody else wants him, too. K-State has also picked up grayshirt commits from quality in-state kids like Curry Sexton, Deveon Dinwiddie and Colorado athlete Kyle Klein.
Signing Day looks as though it will be anticlimactic for Mizzou, but Gary Pinkel and his staff like that just fine. Pinkel has assembled his best signing class at Missouri. The Tigers' success in state and in East Texas led to a class that is currently in the national top 20. Last weekend, Missouri hosted three committed prospects - Jared Parham, Mitch Morse and Kony Ealy - for official visits.
The biggest fish left for Nebraska in the class of 2010 is five-star defensive end Owamagbe Odighizuwa. The Oregon native is expected to announce his decision on National Signing Day between the Huskers, Oregon State and UCLA. The Cornhuskers have at least one other big name to keep them busy until then. Four-star quarterback Brion Carnes is getting a heavy push from Nebraska after enjoying his official visit to Lincoln last weekend. The athletic quarterback out of Florida has been looking around since the departure of Jim Leavitt from South Florida. Nebraska also recently picked up a grayshirt commitment from athlete Bronson Marsh on Tuesday.
Though most of the hay is in the barn for Oklahoma's 2010 class, there are a few major recruits that are still very much in play. One of those recruits took a surprise visit to Oklahoma last weekend. Texas A&M linebacker commit Corey Nelson has been recruited by Oklahoma from the start, and could have a difficult decision on his hands come Signing Day. Nelson's visit to OU reportedly went extremely well. The state of Texas' top-rated player, Jackson Jeffcoat is the other big name to watch. There was a recent in-home visit by four OU coaches, and there are rumors that his father, University of Houston assistant coach Jim Jeffcoat, could be offered a position on the OU staff.
With a class that is nearly full, an uneventful close is exactly what Oklahoma State is hoping for in the final week before Signing Day. The Cowboys picked up a commitment from former Texas Tech offensive tackle commit Javius Townsend over the weekend. This weekend, Oklahoma State is expecting four-star defensive tackle Calvin Barnett to take in the Stillwater, Okla. campus. Also on campus will be the invitees to Oklahoma State's first Junior Day of the year. The OSU coaches are ready to get to work on the class of 2011.
The final stretch before National Signing Day is generally a snoozer for Texas fans because most of Texas' commitments are locked up in the spring. While that is once again the case for the class of 2010, two five-star prospects are keeping Longhorns guessing in linebacker Jordan Hicks and defensive end Jackson Jeffcoat. Hicks will likely be the first to reveal his school of choice; he has an announcement set for Friday at 12:30 p.m. (Eastern). Hicks is expected to choose Texas, Florida or Ohio State. Jeffcoat has yet to set his announcement plans, but many consider Texas to be one of the favorites to land the five-star standout.
While Texas A&M has put together a great class in the class of 2010, the Aggies are going to have to scrape and claw until the end to keep that class intact. Four-star linebacker Corey Nelson visited Oklahoma last weekend, and he is reportedly considering a USC visit as well. Louisiana wide receiver commit Jarrett Fobbs also went into enemy territory on an official visit to LSU. Now, he is expected to play host to Les Miles on an in-home visit this week. A&M will also have to hold off mounting interest in defensive tackle Brandon Jackson from the likes of Alabama, Arkansas and LSU. Jackson is scheduled to take an official visit to Baton Rouge this weekend.
Following a sudden coaching change, Texas Tech has been fighting to hold onto its strong class. Already with a couple of decommitments since Leach's departure, the Red Raiders are focused on keeping the rest of the class intact. Players like Kadron Boone (visiting LSU) and Eric Lawson (visiting Tennessee) are still evaluating their options and three-star commit Urell Johnson is now expected to commit to Illinois . Texas Tech is still actively recruiting, too. The Red Raiders recently landed massive offensive tackle Aleon Calhoun and linebacker Joe Carmical out of Arkansas.
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