OU in the 'Dream Three'
The last year has seen Oklahoma's presence in Southern California has been a very different thing from years past. However, that isn't to say the Sooners under Brent Venables aren't keeping a close eye on the situation in the area. That reality was exemplified by the recent offer made to Los Angeles (Calif.) Cathedral defensive tackle Ashton Sanders.
The big man was committed to Cal for much of the summer but also held offers from Arizona State, Notre Dame, Utah, Washington, and Wisconsin amongst many others. Oklahoma joined the list going from non-existent contact to an offer in just a matter of days.
"This all came about (quickly)," Sanders said recently. "Coach (Todd) Bates contacted me through Twitter and he said ‘don’t you want to come play in the SEC’ and I (told him I was interested). The coaching staff followed me on Twitter, he contacted my coach and I got in touch with coach Bates on the phone and then later that night, my mom and dad, and I [were on the phone with him] they offered me and I set up an official visit.
"(Bates) didn’t really have a message, I know one thing he got across is that he really wants to coach me, mainly he was telling me about the program and coach Venables. He is a very different coach and the way he talks – most of it wasn’t even about football. It was about how, it was about his character and how he lives through his life and how he writes poems and stuff, and I also write poems too so we connected that."
Sanders wasted no time in setting up a visit with the Sooners and a big part of that is not only Bates' track record as a nationally respected defensive line coach but also Oklahoma's head man having a similar reputation.
"For one, I can tell that coach (Brent) Venables is a great coach, and has a defensive mindset. What he did at Clemson with the defensive line is very surreal. And coach Bates, is just a phenomenal coach, he really develops – his rap sheet is top notch, up there with (Ohio State assistant) Larry Johnson. That’s something I could willingly be a part of."
And though Sanders did have plenty of attention prior to Oklahoma's involvement he says that working on his conditioning has been a huge part of his development in the last two years.
"I’m going to give it to you straight, after my freshman year, I had a surgery on my knee due to cartilage. I gained weight, I played my sophomore year at 350-pounds, and my junior year at 330-pounds but I was still moving around," he explained. "Now I’m 278-pounds and moving out of this world."
Though Sanders has been committed to a Pac-12 program he says the idea of playing for a major program in the south has always been appealing to him.
"I always wanted to play big-time football in the south, most of my family is from the south. My dad is from Slidell and my mom is from California but my grandpa is from Shaw, Miss.," he said.
Sanders, who will be in Norman this weekend, says that he is considering an official to Washington State but is interested to see if any other schools emerge late for him as the Sooners did.
"It was Oregon and Georgia, along with Oklahoma for the ‘dream three’ for me," he said.