OU-Texas: Recruiting Battles

Whether it was the early years of Mack Brown and Bob Stoops or since Charlie Strong's arrival; even back to the years of Darrell Royal, Bud Wilkinson, and Barry Switzer being on campus there are annual Red River recruiting battles that end up in the mythical. With perhaps a season-defining game, for both programs, coming up on Saturday it seemed a good time to take a look back at some of the recruiting battles that have shaped the rivalry over the past 15 years.

Texas wins, Oklahoma wins, eventual stars, inevitable busts - and even a few players whose verdict is still out - there is plenty to see in this breakdown of some wild recruiting battles.

The Skinny: Alexander is one of the few battles here that didn't take place on Big 12 turf but the talented linebacker existed in a time before most every Louisiana recruit ended up in the SEC. Alexander visited Texas in November of 2001 before heading to Oklahoma a month later. He also took trips to hometown LSU and Ole Miss in January of 2002 but chose the Sooners, after weeks of rumors, on Jan. 26 committing to Brent Venables.

The Impact: Alexander was a repeated All-Big 12 honoree but in 2006 took things to a new level, winning the Big 12 defensive player of the year honor as well as making numerous All-American lists.

The Skinny: Daniels is among the two most recent members of this breakdown and in both cases for Oklahoma, the recruitment was painful. Oklahoma was Daniels' first offer and though there was a coaching change from then to the time of his decision his interest in the Sooners never seemed to waver. He committed to Oklahoma on his birthday, December 18, but the day before his choice he picked up an offer from Texas. As time went on Daniels' familial connection to the Longhorns coaching staff became apparent and as time went on the Longhorns became more and more the obvious choice after Daniels' decommitment on Jan. 20. He eventually chose the Longhorns on Feb. 2.

The Impact: Daniels has, as of yet, not registered any stats in his freshman year and seems like to redshirt.

The Skinny: There are perhaps no more peculiar stories than that of Delance who was tied to not only the two programs but social issues, and one of the bigger problems that Oklahoma has faced in the Bob Stoops era - the SAE video. When he was offered, Delance talked about Oklahoma was a school he grew up dreaming of playing for and committed on Nov. 25, shortly after a visit to Oklahoma for Samaje Perine's record-breaking Kansas game in 2014. But then the SAE video broke in early March 2015 and Delance quickly backed away from the Sooners and never seemed to allow them back in the picture.

The Impact: Delance is likely to redshirt.

The Skinny: For a player that made his final decision, and almost never wavered, almost a year to the day from National Signing Day Good had plenty of drama. Just a few weeks before his decision to the entire recruiting world had Good pegged to leave Northeast Texas for Austin but behind closed doors Good liked the coaching staff and the setup of Norman better than what he found in Austin and simply chose the Sooners and was part of one of the most five-star heavy classes in the Bob Stoops era.

The Impact: Injuries and various other issues kept Good from ever reaching his potential.

The Skinny: Early in his high school career Kelly was as sure a thing to sign with Texas as one player could be. He grew up a Longhorn fan and dreamed of wearing the burnt orange No. 4 like Roy Williams before him. However, when he saw fellow East Texan Adrian Peterson choose the Sooners it seemed to open up the idea of another school. Throw in that the Sooners were in the middle of back to back national title game appearances in the late July of 2004 - when he chose the Sooners.

The Impact: Kelly would go onto be one of the program's best receivers, in spite of playing seasons with three different starting quarterbacks. He still sits among the program's top 10 in career receptions, touchdowns, and yardage and was a two-time All Big 12 honoree.

The Skinny: Coming into the season of recruiting it was unlikely that a guy from just north of Austin could have such a profound impact on both programs. Oklahoma offered Kirkendoll during the late fall and quickly shot to the top of his list. Then on December 18 he made the call and committed to Oklahoma. In the next month Kirkendoll would be offered by Texas and invited to visit the Longhorns officially. In the same time frame he said he'd heard rumors of possible NCAA punishment over the then-white hot Rhett Bomar/J.D. Quinn situation. He committed to Texas in late January. But a more than slight positive? His departure opened up a spot for Ryan Broyles to become one of the NCAA's all-time leading receivers.

The Impact: Kirkendoll was never a superstar for the Longhorns but was always a steady option for Colt McCoy with 121 career receptions - which saw him end his career in the Longhorns all-time top 10.

The Skinny: Lampkin may be as twisting a tale as any on this list. The big defensive lineman picked up his Oklahoma offer in November of 2013, and within a matter of weeks had committed to Jerry Montgomery. Lampkin maintained that commitment, in spite of numerous new offers, until late April of 2014. Not long after Lampkin picked up a Texas offer but never could quite put Oklahoma to bed, even taking an official visit in December. He signed with Oklahoma but was upset about Texas' near-immediate change of defensive line coaches after Signing Day. He chose to look around, due in no small part to a Spanish class that he struggled to get into Texas' admissions. He chose Oklahoma in the summer of 2015 and was eventually made eligible.

The Impact: Lampkin redshirted in 2015 and has been suspended for the first six games of 2016.

The Skinny: McFarland was a player that, like some others on this list, was pegged for Texas from day one in his recruitment. And pretty much from that day on, things went crazy. McFarland became the central piece of a series of stories from the New York Times, including one that referenced a wild - later to be exposed as untrue - story of a hotel party amongst some Texas fans. McFarland kept everyone guessing, though many felt the choice would end up as Texas, before committing to Jackie Shipp on Christmas day - a story that broke through in one edition of the Times articles.

The Impact: McFarland never quite lived up to the expectation that came with one of the more ballyhooed recruiting stories in Texas history but he collected over 20 career starts and logged 17 career tackles for loss.

The Skinny: The story with Peterson is one that is well known, he grew up with posters of Texas Longhorns on his wall and had always dreamed of being their next star running back. As he emerged as the nation's best player in 2004 - all seemed in place for that very thing to happen. Then he attended the 2003 Red River Rivalry game that that Oklahoma dominated 65-13 and from that point the Sooners were at the top of the list, even after a trip to UCLA where he met the infamous 'Monica', and the overtures of the Longhorns and Texas A&M.

The Impact: Peterson was a multi-year All-American, even finishing as a runner up for the Heisman trophy as a true freshman. He has gone on to a hall of fame NFL career and is widely considered the best running back of his generation.

The Skinny: Turner was one of the most straight forward situations on this list. The talented Millwood product visited Oklahoma frequently and was always upfront about the reality that Oklahoma was just closer to home than he wanted to be. As the wire-to-wire choice as the state's top prospect it was a big coup for Texas who solid Turner on the track record of Duane Akina and Texas' ongoing success at the position.

The Impact: Turner was a solid player for the Longhorns but never seized a starting position and truly took over a starting role.