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Sooner Recruiting Update January 27, 2002 by Mac Thompson Prep Sports & Recruiting Columnist
It's been a couple of weeks since my last recruiting update and a lot has changed. The Sooners have added some big time prospects to their 2002 class. Let's get started with some big news that apparently was broke by James Hale's website ouinsider.com this morning.
According to Hale, juco linebacker Lance Mitchell (a current Florida signee) will enroll at OU on Monday. Apparently there was some problem with his SEC eligibility. Although I haven't personally confirmed this report, I have no reason to doubt Hale. He's probably the premier Sooner recruiting guru around. If it indeed happens, Mitchell will probably be the biggest name in the Sooners' class so far. Most recruiting services list Mitchell as the best linebacker prospect in the country.
The Sooners also got a major commitment yesterday from Baton Rouge (La.) Christian Life linebacker Rufus Alexander. Alexander is an excellent athlete and will have a chance to backup Mitchell, current OU linebacker Teddy Lehman and new linebacker signee Pasha Jackson (who was Mitchell's juco teammate in California) next season. Alexander is 6-2, 215 pounds and runs the 40 in 4.5 seconds.
Also in the past couple of weeks the Sooners picked up commitments from wide receiver Jejaun Rankins, linebacker/DE prospect Zack Latimer, athlete DaBryan Blanton, offensive lineman Abner Estrada and tight end Laenar Nixon.
Rankins and Blanton are pure speedsters and both will compete at both the wide receiver and defensive back positions. Latimer is probably the Sooners biggest prep recruit. Latimer is the best player in Colorado and will probably compete with Jimmy Wilkerson and Jonathan Jackson for playing time next year at defensive end.
Including Mitchell, the Sooners now have 21 commitments. I expect the Sooners to sign 24, so that leaves three spots left to fill in the next couple of weeks. Some of the prospects the Sooners are still in on include Houston offensive lineman Tony Ugoh, Miami defensive lineman Kareem Brown, Florida offensive/defensive lineman Davin Joseph, California safety Aaron Miller and California lineman Fred Matua. I expect the Sooners to end up with Ugoh, Joseph and Miller. If that happens, the Sooners class should be near the top of the national rankings and Sooner fans should be extremely excited about the future.
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