Oklahoma LB has OU, OSU offer

Located Northwest of Oklahoma City is a small town named Kingfisher, Okla. And while the population might not be the biggest, Kingfisher is home to one of the biggest prospects in the Class of 2005 for the state of Oklahoma.

Meet 6-1, 225-pound linebacker Curtis Lofton.

“He’s a strong player and is a great athlete,” Kingfisher athletic director Craig Peterson said. “I coach him in basketball, but there is no doubt about it, he’s one heck of a football player. He’s one of the best athletes in the state of Oklahoma.”

Lofton runs a 4.6-second 40-yard dash, bench-presses 275 pounds, squats 500 pounds and has a vertical leap of 26 inches. He earned all-state honors from the Daily Oklahoman and was the little city defensive player of the year after racking up 187 tackles.

“I would say I get to the ball really fast and make big plays when I need to,” Lofton said. “I think I can play both inside and outside linebacker, but I like to be in the middle. That allows me to get to either side of the ball.”

Becoming one of Oklahoma’s best prospects wasn’t something that came easy for Lofton. He started playing football in the fifth grade, but it wasn’t until he was a freshman in high school that he started to blossom.

“I was kind of clumsy and really small compared to everybody back in the fifth grade,” Lofton said. “Then in seventh and eighth grade, I caught up to everybody. Then my freshman year, I passed everybody up. I’ve been a starter on varsity for two years now. I guess the rest is history.”

No doubt about it. Lofton helped guide Kingfisher to a state championship this past season and he’s hoping to do it again in 2004.

“We won state this year, and we want to do it again next year,” Lofton said. “I’m going to work hard and get bigger and faster this summer. That’s only going to make the team better, too. I’m a leader by example, but if somebody needs yelling at, I can do it.”

All of those things combined have led Lofton to earn scholarship offers already from the two in-state teams – Oklahoma and Oklahoma State. Lofton said he grew up an Oklahoma State fan, but isn’t going to let his allegiances be the reason why he commits to a school.

“I grew up kind of an OSU fan,” he said. “When OU and OSU are playing for, I tend to cheer for OSU. But I honestly am giving everything some serious thought. I want to find the school that’s the best fit for me and what’s going to make me happy. I want see how I get along with everybody. If it’s at OU, then that’s fine. If it’s at OSU, then that’s fine. It could even be somewhere else, too.”

Lofton is also getting heavy attention from Arkansas, UCLA and Tulsa. He visited UCLA unofficially this past week while he was on spring break. He’s also already visited Stillwater for an OSU spring practice and he’s also going to hit Norman this week to take in the Sooners practicing.