Three-point stance: Texas, Oklahoma, Notre Dame
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Okay, I haven't said enough about the Oklahoma Sooners' start to this season and how a big year in the Big 12 could impact recruiting. With the Longhorns clearly down, this is a great chance for Oklahoma, the conference's second-biggest program, to take the reins and push to the top not only in wins but in recruiting. Now a 2-0 start is nice, but let's get real -- there's still that little issue of TCU and Baylor -- both top five teams -- looming at the end of the schedule. However, the comeback win over Tennessee on the road, middle fingers and profanity aside, makes me feel as if these Sooners, led by former three-star quarterback Baker Mayfield (above), could be something special.
Mayfield is a contagious guy, his brand of football brings out the best in everyone. There are serious playmakers on this offense in Samaje Perine, Sterling Shepard, Joe Mixon and others. You need a quarterback who wills a team to wins regardless of how ugly his numbers and interceptions may be and Mayfield has that "it" factor. Tennessee is a loaded team talent-wise and it was up two touchdowns, but OU wouldn't crumble and its spunky QB has a lot to do with it. OU has a few hurdles before Baylor and TCU in November on back-to-back weekends, especially West Virginia and Kansas State (and it certainly can't stumble against Texas on Oct. 10), but it could be playing some huge games down the stretch if all goes well. And that would be huge for recruiting.
OU is currently No. 53 in the country (ironically one spot ahead of Texas) with 10 commitments and only two of them, quarterback Austin Kendall and linebacker Bryce Youngquist, are four-stars. However, the 2017 class is off to a great start with one of the state of Texas' best quarterbacks, Chris Robison, already on board and a commitment from Texas four-star defensive back Robert Barnes last week. Last year, the Sooners had a good class, finishing No. 14 in the country, and they were No. 15 in 2014 and 2013, but that's still somewhat removed from the consistent top 10 national recruiting finishes from 2002 to 2010. Bob Stoops needs recruiting to approach those glory days. He needs to steal more top prospects out of Texas from not only the Longhorns but also the Aggies, Bears, Horned Frogs and even now Houston. And this could be the team and season that helps him do it.
3. Apologies to Notre Dame
I apologize Notre Dame fans. I feel like I could be a jinx. Last week, I was gushing at how great things were setting up for the Irish after pounding Texas at home in front of a ton of top-level recruits as the Irish seemed set for a playoff run. And then the Virginia game happened. The only good thing that came out of it was a key comeback win as the Cavs improbably allowed Notre Dame's best offensive player, wide receiver William Fuller, to get solo coverage down the sideline with under a minute left. How does that even happen? But I digress.
The loss of Malik Zaire (above), which followed the loss of running back Tarean Folston, which preceded the loss of tight end Durham Smythe, has the Irish facing a nasty schedule with C.J. Prosise learning how to be a running back on the fly, quarterback DeShone Kizer being thrown into a leadership role he might not be ready for and four tight ends trying to replace the best blocker-receiver combo player on the team. Now Notre Dame has to deal with Georgia Tech, Clemson, USC and Stanford on the schedule, not to mention a sneaky-good Temple team and can't afford any more injuries the rest of the way. The playoffs, despite the current 2-0 record and the No. 8 ranking nationally, are likely out of the question barring some amazing circumstances, and if more than three losses mount, that will effect recruiting.
Zaire is one of the nicest kids I've ever covered in high school, so it was heartbreaking to see him go down to injury and a strong Notre Dame program is exciting for college football, so once again I'm sorry. It's gotta be my fault, it always is. I'm not writing off the Irish completely, but Brian Kelly has his work cut out for him in a big way.
Mike Farrell
National Recruiting Director
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