Bob Stoops Signing Day Press Conference

Head Coach Bob Stoops
Signing Day Press Conference

Opening Statement:

Thank you. Welcome everyone. I'm really excited about the work our staff has done here in recruiting. I thought we signed, today, a great class. It's a really exceptional group of athletes. We have players at every position that we needed. I felt we hit our target in numbers, really, to start camp next year at the right numbers really at every position. Again, I'm excited about the collaborative work of our staff really working together to sign such a great class. There is still a little action, possibly, out there but at this point I'm going to continue to visit about the players that are already signed and in.

“I thought, first, on the offensive side, where we lost quite a few guys and are a little thin in numbers would be on the offensive line position losing four guys. I thought we did a great job signing four players. Two of them are already here, Bobby Evans and Jamal Danley. Again, we have great size and great strength up there and in positions that we really needed them.

“Also, at wide receiver when we made the change here after the holidays, made the change in the direction our offense was going to be going, I thought we did a great job at adding a couple of receivers to go with DeDe Westbrook and John Humphrey. Two really quick, exceptional speed guys. We got some size on the perimeter with Dahu Green and A.D. Miller. A couple of guys that can go up and really get the ball.

“I've always been excited about Rodney Anderson as we like an all-purpose running back. He's a great athlete, he comes from a great program, a winner. He really run the ball well and catches it well.

“Another guy with him, Dalton Wood, a local guy, an Oklahoma guy that is an exceptional athlete when you look at his size and speed. He was a quarterback on a championship type team all the time. He really gives you a lot of versatility. Dalton is one of those guys that we love to have on our team and use in a lot of different ways.

“Defensively, I thought secondary wise was an area where I thought we had been a little bit thin in our numbers over the last year or two and we have really signed six great guys. Three corners and three safeties that I believe is probably the best secondary class that I have been a part of signing. It's a group that is really athletic, has great size and range to them. I think it's a group that is really going to help us improve there. Also, the secondary is also a big part of our special teams. I think this will help fortify our numbers in our special teams, as well.

“We did a great job up front with some guys. Again, with strength and size up front in our defensive front, inside and defensive ends and then I thought we did an exceptional job with two great linebackers. Ricky DeBerry, more of an outside guy, rusher, but also a cover guy and a great tackler and great player. Then Arthur McGinnis, an inside guy that, again, has great presence. He's a big 6-2, 6-3, 235-pound guy inside that is really strong.

“A really special guy in the group also is Austin Seibert is a guy that punts, kicks off, field goals, does everything. He's an exceptional athlete and is a great basketball player on his high school team. He is really an exceptional guy that can do all of those things and a guy that we are really excited about because of his versatility and the strength of leg.”

“I thought, again, we signed guys and 15 or half of the group, a little more than half of the group is from Oklahoma and Texas. We're always going to do our best in the state of Oklahoma. Then we consider branching down through obviously the Texas, Dallas-Fort Worth area, only being two and a half hours away. We consider that our home base and we want to scour those areas before we branch out anywhere else. We did well in those areas. Of course, we have always been able to attract national attention and we have been able to sign players from other states every year, really around the country. We felt like we did a good job of locating key guys in this year's recruiting class, as well.”

On the diversity of the wide receiver corps:

“Well, I said that. The direction change midway through after the holidays, through the last two weeks, the direction in what we were going to do offensively changed so that changed. In the end, we wanted to get more speed and quickness in some of the inside spots. I felt like we did that. Then we got a couple of guys who could go up and get the ball on the outside, as well.”

On the uniqueness of having graduate assistants recruit and having fewer coaches than normal:

“It was business as usual. I would say that we felt great in the situation we were in just because it didn't hurt us. We knew where we were at secondary wise. Primarily, we were in great shape. Even added to that late. Same thing receiver wise, I think as much as anything the receivers were interested in the direction we were going with Coach Riley and what he was able to project to them. I thought that he did an excellent job, along with the other coaches, working that.”

On having a lot of coaches collaborate on the recruiting process:

“As it should be. I know everyone loves to say, everyone wants to say it's this guy. It's only that guy. It should never only be one guy. Rarely is it with us. It shouldn't be. I want collaborative efforts all of the time between myself, of course, but multiple coaches. Even on different sides of the ball. There should always be two, three, or four guys that have a part in it. When we do our best job, that's what it is and that's what it should be as opposed to one person or whoever is trying to take all of the credit for this number of guys. Then it becomes a selfish and individualized effort that sometimes doesn't fit you very well. Or then it just gets about getting a guy that may not be the best guy for you to get here at the end. I thought our guys worked with each other really well in doing so.”

On the importance and the difference social media made with this year's class:

“I don't know about different, but it just becomes a part of the process. It continues to be.”

On Arthur McGinnis' late night Snapchat commitment:

“My wife told me the next morning. She found out about it and I said 'Really? That happened when I was sleeping?' She said 'Yeah. Anyway, whatever way they can do it is a positive with me.”

On being concerned about having a quarterback in this signing class:

“I would if we didn't have any other quarterbacks, but when you have four already on scholarship you feel good about that. And they are all young.”

On signing Dalton Wood:

“Dalton is a great athlete. If you look at a guy with that kind of size, everyone knows that he is right in our wheelhouse with guys that are six-foot three or four. He can run and throw. He is tough. He is one of the better athletes that you will see. We will have fun trying to figure out what is best for him in regards to making plays. We are excited about it.”

On flipping recruits and keeping players committed:

“You just have to continue to recruit. The process is to continue to relate to players and families and project that you feel that this is great opportunity for them. Just continue to project that with them as much as anything and build a relationship.”

On if you try to get a feel of the players' commitment levels:

“Yes, you try to for sure. In the conversations and visiting with them, how sincere you feel in that commitment, or not for sure is something that we are always trying to gage.”

On Lincoln Riley's impact in recruiting:

“Lincoln has a strong presence and a great background. He is impressive, and players that have gotten to know him see that.”

On if he feels good with depth at the linebacker position with 11:

“That is are target number to go into the fall, so I do.”

On if he expects Austin Seibert to compete at kicker and punter:

“Absolutely, sure we would be. As long as he is able to handle it whether it be the endurance of it all. It is something that we will work towards, we will just see.”

On if it is more difficult for a kicker to specialize at the college level:

“I would guess the endurance and fatigue of it all would have to factor in. You have to get such a volume of practice with it all that, at this level, could start to wear you down. He [Austin Seibert] is a powerful guy, so we will try to manage that in a positive way and see what he is able to handle. He comes in with an awfully powerful and strong leg.”

On the pipeline with Jenks High School in Tulsa:

“All of those players for the most part have come in here and had excellent careers. They have helped us compete to win games. Marquise [Overton] is another guy that we like his toughness and strength in there on the defensive line. We expect him to come in and be a tough, physical player for us.”

On if there was anything different recruiting Neville Gallimore out of Canada:

“Yeah, I remember leaving New York and landing in Ottawa in a bit of a blizzard. What a wonderful, beautiful family; just a great family. We had a great visit. Neville wasn't able to be there, but we had a great visit with his parents, Coach Montgomery, his brother and his brother's wife. We all had a great visit. We had Neville on the phone. It was a little different that way, but once you are in the home there isn't a lot different. Had to go through customs on the way back.”

On if he signs players to compete right away:

“We definitely sign players now with full intent to play them right away and having them ready to play. We have to do all we can in feeding them information and training them to be ready to play. Different circumstances may come up where they are not ready. We don't ever want to put a guy out there when they are ready to be successful. It is our intention to get them ready to play. I believe that in today's world, there are so many players trained at a higher level at a younger age. They are paying attention and being developed a better level at a younger age. The high school level does such a good job at bringing them a long that there are more players ready to play. We do have the intentions of playing them all as we sign them.”

On defensive back Will Sunderland:

“Will is a guy with excellent size, quickness, range, and athletic ability. I remember just pulling up to watch him play basketball, and what an exceptional athelete he was just doing that. Those guys Will, Prentice [McKinney] and Kahill [Haughton] are really good athletes to go with that size in the secondary.”

On if the coaches were looking for size in the safety recruits:

“Again they were guys that we liked. They just happened to have the size to go with it. It doesn't have to be, but in certain circumstances the way they were this year, it just worked that way.”

On recruiting areas, selling the chance to play close to home in the College Football Playoff in areas like New Orleans:

“I don't know that it is so much of that. I don't think that it is a lot of that. I think it is just more for them at their positions I think. It may be some of that, but it isn't something that we are trumpeting. It can't hurt. I think that it be positive knowing that it has the chance to happen every year.”

On what impact alternate uniforms and the stadium project made in recruiting:

“I don't know that they did or not. The stadium project will continue to move forward. Our leaders will continue to evaluate it. It's something that will happen and something that we're excited about as it continues to move forward.”

On whether this January was tougher from a recruiting standpoint coming off the 2014 season:

“No, it's never easy, it never tougher. It's always about the same. You look around the country, win or lose, it's always a battle. I don't remember it any other way. Some years better than others, but it's always a battle.”

On the value of social media and fans getting excited:

“Any time you're reaching people it's a positive. We do our best to include whoever wants to be included. You do the best you can with it. You're just trying to reach kids. You're constantly trying to find different ways to touch people to spark an interest.”

At what point did you identify Jordan Wood as a prospect?

“I can't remember exactly at what point, but I remember watching him through the middle of the year. Every coach that watched him at different positions liked him. As I reflect back, it's a little bit similar to Dan Cody. Everyone that watched him liked him. Everyone wants to say you have to play here (position). That's where I say that I'm going to watch him. I watched him and I liked him. I don't care where he's going to play, I'm going to offer him a scholarship. He's a local guy. He's got size, quickness, athleticism, he's got everything. We'll figure out where he's going to play. We don't worry about the numbers and our guys say, 'let's go get him.' He's just one of those guys who we hope turns out like Dan Cody and some of the other guys we've had that were really exceptional who coming out of high school it was hard to figure out what they were going to do on top of all of the special teams they play.”

Is there a possibility he could play a number of positions?

“Oh yeah. Tight end, fullback, H-back. He can do all of that. I'm sure if you move him to defensive end – and I'm not looking to do that – I'm sure he could do that. We labeled him as a tight end/H-back/fullback, but that's subject to change. He's got two slashes. H-back and fullback are pretty much the same.”

How much fullback will you use in this offense?

“It's too early to tell until we got on the field and how we can deploy them in different ways. Way too early for that.”

How much did the increase in scholarship values/cost of attendance come up in recruiting?

“Not all that much. So many schools were already saying, 'this is what it is.'”

Was being able to bring families in on visits a positive?

“I thought it was a real positive, being able to take care of more family members when they came in from more of a distance. That was definitely a positive.”

How important was it to land Ricky DeBerry from Virginia?

“Ricky was great. He committed early. He's a really personable guy. He's got a big personality, great family. They were able to project that and reach out to other people. Really, it was a big key for us. He was a leader with this class and how he continued to be such a positive influence with other recruits and their families. He helped us a lot that way.”

How important it is to have 25 percent of this class already on campus?

“It helps. Those guys will get a big jump to be able to play in the spring and train for the next six or seven weeks.

Will you have any position changes among your veteran players?

Not today. That's something that as we get into spring ball that I'm not afraid to announce.”

Any updates on your coaching search?

“No, but I'm hoping between this week and next week that we'll be able to have those finalized.”