With the Oklahoma Sooners heading to the SEC in 2024, numerous comparisons have been made regarding who they will be in the new conference.
One common comparison is the Nebraska Cornhuskers in the Big Ten. Nebraska was a perennial power and an elite college football program before joining the Big Ten. Even if they were on a downward trajectory at the end of their Big 12 tenure, the Cornhuskers haven’t found anything close to their Big 12 and Big 8 success in the Big Ten.
Fox Sports radio host Colin Cowherd said the Sooners would suffer the same fate.
His reasonings? Like Nebraska, Oklahoma isn’t a great recruiting state. He believes Nebraska chose the wrong conference for what made them successful in recruiting and Oklahoma will suffer the same fate. He also believes Oklahoma hasn’t found the right head coach.
Now, there are several things wrong with the points he made. The biggest one, he didn’t do his research.
Nebraska geographically isn’t near where they had so much success recruiting. Oklahoma is a little more than two hours from Dallas, one of the best recruiting areas in the nation.
Former head coach Bob Stoops echoed that statement in a recent interview with KREF.
Those people aren’t thinking properly. Where’s Nebraska located? I heard Colin Cowherd talking about it because of recruiting and he said well Oklahoma in-state, we only sign three or four guys. Well, we’re not just Oklahoma. All the way down into Dallas is home territory for us as much as it is anybody else and that’s what they’re not taking into account. Nebraska geographically is removed a good way from any real strong fertile recruiting area, we’re not. That’s a big difference. We fit into the SEC perfectly and I believe it’s going to help us recruit and I believe we’ll handle it just fine. You can’t compare the two. It’s the offseason and they’re just filling up air time. – Stoops via The REF
There’s a lazy narrative out there that OU might be the next Nebraska.
Bob Stoops thinks it’s a terrible opinion.
He told The Rush:
“I heard Colin Cowherd talking about it because of recruiting. We’re not just Oklahoma, all the way down into Dallas is home territory for us.… pic.twitter.com/aThas2fngT
— The REF (@KREFsports) June 29, 2023
The Oklahoma Sooners have poached top players from the Lone Star state throughout their history as a football program. But their recruiting prowess isn’t limited to Texas. Brent Venables and his staff have proven that they can recruit nationally, in particular, the national hotbeds of Florida and California.
The Oklahoma Sooners coaching staff can flat out recruit. Going into the SEC, the Sooners will be an even bigger draw.
If there is someone that knows a thing or two about Oklahoma, recruiting at Oklahoma, and recruiting at a high level, it’s Stoops.
I mean, he’s in the College Football Hall of Fame for a reason. Cowherd is not. So, I think I’ll take what Stoops says to the bank.
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