Jacob Phillips…
Last week Jacob Phillips, OU’s only five star recruit in this class was bitten by the SEC bug and flipped his commitment to LSU.
At first I was really upset, after all how could Bob let this happen and yes, just a week before signing day? After cooling my jets, I focused my anger against the real culprit here, the OU Regents. If OU were playing in the SEC today, Bob would be flipping five stars from LSU to OU.
Stoops did all he could do by invading the Phillips home in Nashville with the entire defensive coaching staff. Of course as we know, once the SEC lights come on, it is game-over for the rest of the football world, particularly the Big 12.
While I saw this one coming as I learned that Jacobs was visiting Baton Rouge last weekend, I could not allow myself to give up hope. The OU staff and I both learned a hard lesson however. Recruiting football players southeast of the Mississippi and Ohio rivers is simply a waste of time. That is SEC country and they don’t like losing games or players.
A snapshot of this year’s recruiting will serve as reinforcement of my point. The Big 12 will end up with one team (OU) ranked in the top ten and the Big 12 will end up with no five star recruits. The SEC on the other hand will have five (5) teams ranked in the top 10 and will land no less than thirteen (13) five star players. Enough said…
At the same time not all the news is bad for the Sooners…This class is the best group to hit Norman in a decade. The Sooners will bring home eighteen (18) four-star recruits, many of which are already on campus preparing for next season. For added perspective on this point, OSU has three (3) four star prospects this year.
Basically, what I glean from all of this is that while National Championships may be out of our reach for the Sooners for a few more years, Big 12 Championships should become a yearly event, particularly with the championship game. For the time being conference championships will have to do.
I do see a light at the end of the tunnel however. If OU can continue to recruit top ten classes, the next coaching regime will be able to jumpstart recruiting and kick it into the next level.
Once the reigns are turned over to Lincoln Riley, the coach-in-waiting, that extra of burst of momentum that comes from a new coach will allow the Sooners to recruit five star players again, and yes compete for National Championships.
Don’t get me wrong I will always be thankful to Bob Stoops for righting the ship, but his timing for securing National Championships has passed him by. The timing for the next guy will be pristine.
When it happens, OU fans will owe Bob a great deal for greasing the skids to make that happen…
Boomer Sooner…