OU Football Recruiting - Revisiting The Class Of 2008

by ccmachine on Feb 9, 2012 1:55 AM CST in Football

Oklahoma landed the nation's tenth ranked recruiting class (as ranked by Rivals) last week with a total of 25 commitments. However, we all know that a class ranking really isn't determined by how they look going into school its determined more so by what they've accomplished before they leave the school. For that reason we're going to take a look back to four years ago at the 2008 Oklahoma recruiting class.

The Sooners had the nation's sixth ranked recruiting class in 2008 with a total of 21 commitments. Some of them panned out to be super stars at their respective positions, some were quality role players and a few were flat out busts. One of them also had his collegiate career completely hijacked by the NCAA.

Name	Position	Rivals Ranking	What Happened
Mike Balogun	LB	3-Stars	Played in 10 games in 2008 with two starts (one of them being the BCS Championship Game. Had his career hijacked by the NCAA in 2009 when he was ruled ineligible. Is currently on the roster with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
J.R. Bryant	LB	4-Stars	Played sparingly at linebacker and defensive end but spent the majority of his time at Oklahoma as a special teams player.
Jermie Calhoun	RB	5-Stars	Never was able to settle into a starting role at Oklahoma and despite his five star status often found himself buried on the depth chart. Rushed for 242 yards and one touchdown on 56 carries through the 2009 and 2010 seasons. Announced that he would transfer before the 2011 season and is now enrolled at Angelo State University in San Angelo, TX.
Daniel Franklin	LB	3-Stars	Will be a senior this fall after redshirting in 2008. Has played in a total of 29 games from 2009-2011 as a backup linebacker and member of special teams.
Stephen Good	OL	5-Stars	Played in seven games as a true freshman in 2008 and became a steady member of an offensive line rotation beginning in 2009. Despite being a four year player he never established himself as a dominant force on the line.
Ben Habern	OL	4-Stars	Played in three games as a true freshman in 2008 before an injury ended his season. Became the starting center in 2009 and has been one of the best linemen on the team since. Has one more year of eligibility because he received a medical hardship in 2008.
James Hanna	TE	4-Stars	Solidified his place in OU folklore for his 76-yard touchdown catch to seal the 2010 Bedlam game in Stillwater. Caught 52 passes for 720 yards and 9 touchdowns in his four seasons as a Sooner tight end.
Lamar Harris	ATH	4-Stars	Landed as a defensive back at OU. After sitting out 2008 with a redshirt he has played as a reserve DB and special teams player.
Joseph Ibiloye	DB	4-Stars	Transitioned to linebacker prior to the 2009 season and has played in a total of 38 games since 2009. Has a total of 46 tackles during that time. He may transition to nickelback for 2012. Redshirted in 2008.
Joshua Jarboe	WR	4-Stars	Was given the boot by Coach Stoops for improper behavior before even starting his freshman season. After bouncing around to a couple of other schools he ended up at Arkansas State.
Justin Johnson	LB	4-Stars	Moved to running back upon arrival at Oklahoma. Saw spot duty as a true freshman in 2008 and the transferred to Abilene Christian in 2009.
Landry Jones	QB	4-Stars	One of the most prolific passers in Oklahoma football history. Has thrown for 12,540 yards and 94 touchdowns since 2009. Is the first quarterback to win three bowl games under Bob Stoops.
David King	DE	4-Stars	Has played in 30 games since 2009 with 8 starts. Has recorded 43 tackles and 3 sacks during that time. Will have a chance to start the 2012 football season atop the depth chart at DE.
Stacey McGee	DT	4-Stars	After making two game appearances in 2009 he started 11 games in 2010 only to drop back down to 3 starts in 2011. Has recorded 49 tackles and 1.5 sacks during that time. Will be a senior this fall because he redshirted in 2008.
Dejuan Miller	WR	4-Stars	Had his best season as a sophomore in 2009 when he recorded 36 receptions for 434 yards and 1 touchdown. Had his 2010 season sidelined with a knee injury and never was able to return to the type of player we saw in 2009.
Britt Mitchell	OL	3-Stars	Left the team in 2008 to "join the military" but somehow ended up at UTEP,
Jameel Owens	WR	4-Stars	Played in nine games as a true freshman in 2008 where he caught 4 passes for 44 yards. Transferred to Tulsa before the 2009 season.
David Sims	LB	3-Stars	Transferred to Iowa State where he had a fairly solid career as a defensive back. Was named the Big XII defensive newcomer of the year in 2009.
Casey Walker	DT	3-Stars	Has played in 22 games with 12 starts since 2009. Recorded 24 tackles and a sack during that time. Will be a key contributor on the defensive line in 2012.
R.J. Washington	DE	5-Stars	Has played in 26 games since 2009. Had a breakout season in 2011 by recording 5 sacks and 16 tackles. Will be looked upon to start and lead the DE's in 2012.
Tress Way	K	2-Stars	Became the starting punter in 2009. Has recorded season long punts of 74, 85 and 67 yards over the last three season in route to becoming one of the best punters in the nation. Will be a Ray Guy candidate in 2012.

Since signing the class of 2008 Oklahoma has gone 42-12 in football with two Big XII championships and a 3-1 bowl record. The lone bowl loss was to Florida in the 2008 BCS Championship Game.

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Comments

My comments on this class....

More bust than anything. The 5 stars, the players everyone was excited about were total busts. Only Washington is doing anything, and that is not much. Sure Landry has sexy stats, but is the source for many a Sooner heartache. Tress Way was a nice surprise, but kickers never get any hype anyway. Best player in the class was Habern. If you are to make a snap judgement on this class, I would say that it not panning out is a primary reason OU has had some disappointing seasons lately.

I'm a Sooner Born and a Sooner Bred, and when I die I'll be a Sooner Dead!!!

by DGiroux on Feb 9, 2012 4:56 AM CST reply actions

On the other hand.... Sam was a 3 star prospect and Ryan was a 4 star

They’ve had some pretty good recruiting classes too.

Note to Douglas M: Remember that 99% of what I say involves BS

by King Sam Rules! on Feb 9, 2012 8:19 AM CST via mobile up reply actions

Great job on this CC!

"The less I know about other people’s affairs, the happier I am. I’m not interested in caring about people. I once worked with a guy for three years and never learned his name. Best friend I ever had. We still never talk sometimes." - Ron Swanson
Crimson and Cream Machine - There's only one Oklahoma!
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by Jordan Esco on Feb 9, 2012 7:05 AM CST reply actions

Thanks!

by ccmachine on Feb 9, 2012 1:35 PM CST up reply actions

just goes to show

How much of a crap shoot recruiting can be. Interesting to say the least

by mattsooner333 on Feb 9, 2012 8:31 AM CST via iPhone app reply actions

Agreed

Blackmon was the 81st best receiver I think according to Rivals. And Crabtree was only like 15 and Ryan was 11 or so. That means that between the only two time Bellitknickoff winners and maybe the best statistical WR of all time, you have no “top ten WR” rankings from recruiting.

Note to Douglas M: Remember that 99% of what I say involves BS

by King Sam Rules! on Feb 9, 2012 8:53 AM CST via mobile up reply actions

Crabtree was listed as an athlete.

And Broyles was listed as a corner

by KratosWasASooner on Feb 9, 2012 3:13 PM CST up reply actions

More fuel for your argument

Clicked post before my thoughts were digitized.

by KratosWasASooner on Feb 9, 2012 3:14 PM CST up reply actions

Something worth noting

From 1992-2000, OU recruited only two top ten classes – in 1992 and 1993. Do you remember the heights of success that the Sooners achieved 1994-97? Me neither.

By contrast, our 2000 national title team didn’t have a single player from a top ten recruiting class.

by ClarkusKentus on Feb 9, 2012 1:03 PM CST reply actions

Agreed

You cannot rank intangibles…

by OU JJ on Feb 9, 2012 2:51 PM CST via mobile up reply actions

Right

And we had some pretty well regarded athletes in those classes that won the championship, but the recruiting classes as a whole supposedly weren’t great. Yet we went undefeated and beat a team for the BCS championship that had top ten classes in 3 of the 4 years leading up to the game.

by ClarkusKentus on Feb 9, 2012 4:59 PM CST up reply actions