Sugar Bowl Still Paying Off
When junior defensive end Geneo Grissom iced away the 2014 Sugar Bowl with a game-ending touchdown there was wide belief that the game could impact Oklahoma’s immediate recruiting. Just a few days later that belief was proven right when five-star Joe Mixon picked the Sooners at the U.S. Army All-American Bowl.
What few would have believed is that the game could still have reverberations in recruiting when Grissom was set to begin his second year in the NFL.
That reality came to light when Miami (Fla.) Columbus Rivals250 cornerback Trajan Bandy announced his commitment to the Sooners last weekend. It’s part of a story that reveals the causes behind some of Bandy’s previously unknown affinity for Oklahoma.
“I mean I’ve been to Oklahoma before, I have some family up there. I drove past the campus. I’ve seen Oklahoma and how the atmosphere is up there. Bob Stoops and Kerry Cooks, I liked their defense and what they were trying to do this year and what they are going to try to do with me,” Bandy said.
“My aunt lives up there and my uncle, I was up there visiting them and my dad and I were having a long conversation. I think it was when Oklahoma beat Alabama – they put a whooping on Alabama. They saw the stadium and they wanted to take me by there, we rolled by there. It was like ‘dang man! That stuff looks incredible’.
“(So) I’ve been around Oklahoma a little bit, I was probably about 14, so a few years ago. (Now) I’m ready to go look at this practice and see what OU is all about and how they run their practice.
Speaking of that practice Bandy had long been thought to be headed to Norman in a little over a month’s time but according to the No. 15 cornerback in the country it may not take as long as originally expected.
“It may not be April 6, it may be earlier than that. Whenever they start practicing. It may be April but whenever they start practicing, I can’t wait to go up there with my dad,” he explained.
But beyond his previous trip to Norman and family in the area; for Florida’s No. 29 overall player – the highest ranked Sunshine State player the Sooners have landed a commitment from since Roy Finch in 2010 – what was it that sold him on the idea of being a Sooner?
“They told me they were going to play me a bit of everything, move around, like LSU played Tyrann Mathieu. Cornerback, a little bit of nickel, some strong safety. I like the idea of moving around. No other school told me that and I like Oklahoma with both coach Cooks and coach Stoops they are genuine and they are real,” he said.
“They were real with me from day one, those guys always stayed in contact with me, every single day. There isn’t a day when those guys haven’t messaged me on Twitter or talked to me or just saying ‘what’s up?’.
“I like that about them, I didn’t feel love from other schools like I did Oklahoma. It’s a pleasure to have a head coach always in your inbox and checking in with you. I’m just so thankful; I’m ready to be a Boomer Sooner. I want to just do it and I’m ready to get up there and showcase my talent and I’m also going to try and help recruit other guys to Oklahoma so we can get this thing popping.
“I just fell in love with Oklahoma, the coaches, the coaching staff. You can tell those guys are real watching those guys on film, checking out their biographies. Bob Stoops he is always winning, he is the guy for winning a lot of games in college football. Look at the players that came through Oklahoma Adrian Peterson, Demarco Murray, Aaron Colvin, a bunch of guys really. And adding a guy like Kerry Cooks to that coaching staff made me look into that a lot. He coached a lot of guys that are in the league from Notre Dame (as well).
“I like him man, just speaking to him, he offered me, I love everything about him. He is one of those coaches you can talk to him about anything. He has coached some of the best players in the NFL. Looking at his background, from what I hear he gets along with his players very well. He never overlooked me, he said ‘it don’t matter about your size – go out there and ball out and they are going to feel your game’. I liked that about him.
“He trusted me and believed in me and he liked my game and that made me fall in love with Oklahoma – he is an all around good guy.”
“I just can’t wait, I can’t wait to show what I can do.”
Bandy’s competitiveness and physical playing styled, mixed with the reality of being a bit undersized has led to the Mathieu comparisons through much of his young football career. It’s something that he has never shied away from as the ‘Honey Badger’ has long been someone whose game he has respected.
“I just grew up out of Pop Warner and there was some guy named Tyrann Mathieu that people were always talking about so one day I got on Youtube and looked him up ‘I was wondering who is this guy that everyone keeps mentioning, who is the Honey Badger?’ I fell in love with his style of play, how he plays the game and how people overlooked him when he was on the high school level. When he got to LSU he was just a playmaker, he always had heart, went up against the biggest receivers. He had a lot of passion for the game; he is just open and out there making plays. I look at myself just like that,” he said.
Of course getting a commitment from an area that Oklahoma hasn’t routinely recruited well, particularly from a player who hasn’t been to Norman in several years, there are plenty of questions about just how firm he is in his commitment. And though he his honest that he won’t be ruling anything out Bandy also admits the idea of him not ending up in Norman seems unlikely to him.
“Just being humble, I don’t want to blow everyone off and say ‘forget you and this and that’ I’m OU, I’m a Boomer Sooner’. I don’t know how that will go, time will tell with all of that but to be honest I’ll all into OU right now. I like their coaching staff but we’ll see how that goes over the upcoming year,” he said acknowledging the reality of coaching changes.
“(But) it would be pretty tough for me to decommit from Oklahoma.”
For now though the nation's No. 140 overall player is just ready to cheer on the Sooners in 2016.
“I’ve watched a lot of their defensive backs but I know those guys will do damage this year and I’ll be cheering those guys on.”