Jermie Calhoun of Van verbals to Oklahoma

[Phil C]

He is rated by Scout as the top Texas recruit of the 2008 class. He had several interested in him including A&M. I don't know why UT didn't try to get him because I had heard from other web sites that UT was his first choice. We can't let too many of these type of players get away. This gives Oklahoma 4 of the top 5 players in Texas according to Scout. Remember verbals are non binding until signing day in February of next year. The Aggies have got some good players in the top 25.

http://rivals100.rivals.com/content.asp?cid=651409

[kaorder1999]

UT told him they were no longer pursuing him because he wasnt making the grades and they werent going to take a chance on him....

[kaorder1999]

there was an article about it in the Dallas Morning News

[Phil C]

Originally posted by kaorder1999
UT told him they were no longer pursuing him because he wasnt making the grades and they werent going to take a chance on him....

But why? Why would Oklahoma take a chance on him and Texas not take a chance?

Is Oklahoma an easier school to get adequate grades than UT or A&M? You never hear anything happening in Oklahoma because of grades such as what happened to Ramonce Taylor before the legal trouble.

[kaorder1999]

i think UT is having some trouble graduating players and the NCAA is going to try to crack down on that. Im guessing Mack just dont want to lose any scholarships later down the road!

[Phil C]

Originally posted by kaorder1999
i think UT is having some trouble graduating players and the NCAA is going to try to crack down on that. Im guessing Mack just dont want to lose any scholarships later down the road!

But why isn't Oklahoma having any trouble? We have to put up with Texas players doing great for them in the fall and what is worse we are losing one that actually wanted to come to us and was rejected.

[Emerson1]

Originally posted by Phil C
But why? Why would Oklahoma take a chance on him and Texas not take a chance?


Because it's OU, the entire sooner nation is praying they don't go under ncaa sanctions

[kaorder1999]

i have no idea the truth to this but Ive also heard that Calhoun may have trouble graduating from Van in time.....who knows.

[kaorder1999]

there are van posters on here...wish they could enlighten us!!!

[icu812]

Originally posted by kaorder1999
i have no idea the truth to this but Ive also heard that Calhoun may have trouble graduating from Van in time.....who knows.

Since he's never been academically ineligle to play any sport in Van I don't see how graduating in time could be a problem. Getting good grades in high school isn't the problem, the problem could be his test scores (he hasnt taken any test yet) to get into college. I'm thinking UT wasn't going to wait until he took the SAT or ACT to find out. Could be a huge mistake, we'll see....

Congrats to Jermie, he's a great kid and athlete.

[icu812]

From Tyler paper:

Van's Calhoun Picks OU
Van's Jermie Calhoun, expected to be one of the state's top senior running backs next fall, has orally committed to play football at Oklahoma.

Calhoun, who rushed for 1,592 and 20 touchdowns last season, visited the school Saturday to inform the coaches of his decision.

"When he went down there for the first time, he really fell in love with it," said Van head coach Brady Pennington. "He loved that it was such a national-powerhouse school, yet had such a small-school feel to it.

"He's really good friends with (Oklahoma receiver) Manuel Johnson out of Gilmer. They played some basketball together. It didn't hurt that he got to show him around."

Calhoun has also been recruited heavily by Alabama, Florida, Kansas State, LSU, Nebraska, Oklahoma State and Texas A&M.

Calhoun is the area's second big-time junior running back to have committed to Oklahoma.

The other is Gilmer's Justin Johnson, who is also expected to be one of the state's top seniors next fall.

Oral commitments are non-binding.

[kaorder1999]

Originally posted by icu812
Since he's never been academically ineligle to play any sport in Van I don't see how graduating in time could be a problem. Getting good grades in high school isn't the problem, the problem could be his test scores (he hasnt taken any test yet) to get into college. I'm thinking UT wasn't going to wait until he took the SAT or ACT to find out. Could be a huge mistake, we'll see....

Congrats to Jermie, he's a great kid and athlete.

the article i read said that UT ws concerned with his grades...it didnt say classroom or test speicifically but it just said they were concerned with his grades. Guy I talked to from Van said something about him not graduating in time

[icu812]

Don't know all the details and even if I did I'm not sure posting more info concerning his grades on a public forum is the thing to do. I hope he does well on his test scores and gets the chance to show what he can do in college. I'd also like to see him lead the Vandals on a deep playoff run next year. I understand on offense we are going to some spread sets next year.