OU Football - Recruiting Update for Class of 2012 (Part Two)

Ok, we're going to give this a second shot.  Not sure what went wrong with the original post, but hopefully the issues have been resolved.

With the 14 current verbals our Sooners currently have and that we discussed in Part One, OU has what would like be another Top 10 recruiting class.  However, if they are able to secure commitments from some of the players we're about to discuss it could potentially become one of the most highly rated classes in school history.  The Sooners are legitimately in the Top 5 for the #1 and #2 overall recruits as well as several other highly rated prospects. No sense in wasting any time, let's get right into it.

Dorial Green-Beckham 6'6" 220 lbs, WR - 'DGB', as he's known within recruiting circles, is as talented a prospect as there has been in recent memory.  He is a man amongst boys in the state of MO and is just an unfair matchup for anyone who attempts to cover him.  Routinely beating triple teams, he has every single quality that a WR could possess if he were created in a lab.  There is no doubt whatsoever that he will start from Day 1 no matter where he signs.  He is that good.

He and his family rarely do interviews and even less often offer any tangible information on the recruiting process. So reliable info on him and his future decision is few and far between, but if there is one person I trust on this subject it would be our friend Josh McCuistion of SoonerScoop.  He believes that DGB's top three consists of OU, Missouri, and Arkansas with OU reportedly in good shape to secure his commitment. He is believed to be making his decision at the Army All-American game or sometime there after. With Sterling Shepard, Durron Neal, and Trey Metoyer already in the 2012 class, DGB would push it to possibly the highest rated WR class ever.

Mario Edwards 6'4" 275 lbs, DE - Edwards has been committed to Florida State since March, but has recently been open about his desire to look around at other schools.  After taking in the RRSO and witnessing OU's destruction of Texas, he stated in an interview how high he had become on the Sooners.  In fact, in a even more recent interview things sounded even more positive for OU with Edwards.

Edwards listed a top four of OU, LSU, Florida State and Texas. The top two are OU and LSU.  On those two teams "LSU, they have a tradition of great defensive linemen. OU, their defense gets after it a lot. I could definitely see myself playing for those two teams."

It can't hurt that FSU has had a tough go of things in 2011, but distance is also believed to be playing a role in his possible decommitment.  FSU is a very difficult 14+ hour trip from his home in Denton, TX as compared to a short two hour drive up I-35 to Norman.  It's also believed that he and his father, a former NFL player, like what OU is currently doing with their defense using multiple different schemes and requiring their DEs to do so many different things. They reportedly think it would be his best option to develop him for his future pro career.  Edwards would into Venables defense about as perfectly as any defensive lineman prospect in recent years.

Edwards and DGB are the #1 and #2 overall recruits respectively depending on which service you prefer and the fact that both are so seriously considering OU is almost unprecedented. If the Sooners were able to secure commitments from both it would be one of the biggest recruiting coups of all time.  McCuistion who covers recruiting for a living has stated that he cannot remember the #1 and #2 prospects signing with the same school.

Zach Banner 6'9" 310 lbs, LT - Banner is the son of former NFL All-Pro Lincoln Kennedy and one of the top left tackle prospects in the country.  He lives in the state of Washington and had talked about his fondness for OU, but was never really believed to be a serious candidate for the Sooners.  However, things have changed pretty considerably in the favor of OU.  In a recent interview discussing the recruiting process, Banner dropped this little gem.

"Oklahoma was my best visit, followed by Michigan and then Notre Dame," Banner said. "It's not that the Notre Dame visit was bad, I loved it there, I'm just not sure if socially I fit in that well. They're still on my list but just going off of the visits and where I thought I fit in the best, it would be Oklahoma on top right now."

Obviously in the game of recruiting, A LOT can change between now and signing day but the fact that OU is currently the favorite for an out of state, elite left tackle prospect is very, very exciting.  Especially when you consider that the visit to Michigan he's talking about took place during that crazy UM/ND game.  So the atmosphere had to be insane which means OU holding the distinction of his "best visit" says a lot about his experience in Norman.

Derrick Woods 6'1" 180 lbs, WR/S - The Sooners are looking to go back to the state of CA for the Inglewood product. Woods has recently expressed some serious interest in OU, reportedly trying to set up an official visit for the A&M game (which is going to be a HUGE weekend for visitors by the way).  He's also been quoted as saying he likes the idea of going to school out of state, which is clearly a plus for the Sooners.  Now you'd have to think that even if OU can't get DGB's signature, that they're pretty full at WR.  You might be right, but Woods is a kid who is too good to turn away.  He's said that the OU coaches have been open with him about the possibility of him playing safety instead of WR and he said he's open to it though his preference is WR.  If we can in fact get him on campus Nov. 5th, the chances of a commitment with so many other prospects also there could be very good.