The Big Three

The 2011 season for high school football players is now in full swing and the recruiting story lines within Oklahoma and the Plains will only grow as the season wears on.

Before the season even began, however, there were some noteworthy moves made within the state that need to be addressed.

The state’s top three players for the class of 2012: Alex Ross from Jenks, Barry Sanders and Sterling Shepard from Oklahoma City’s Heritage Hall all made moves regarding their national perception and their future colleges.

Ross and Shepard both plan to attend the University of Oklahoma and have committed to OU last spring. This summer, Ross, a running back recruit for Jenks did what many accomplished players do after committing to a school: He laid low. But the reason this was a significant move for him is because he spent his summer gaining considerable size, gaining 10 pounds of what seems to be lean mass, now running at a stout 215 pounds. Not only is he very big, he is quite fast, winning Class 6-A’s state championship in the 200-meter dash.

Working to get bigger and faster this summer will show as the season wears on for this future Sooner. He looks to continue his dominance that started during last year’s playoffs.

Sterling Shepard, a wide receiver for the Chargers of Heritage Hall is small in stature, standing at 5-foot 11-inches and 185 pounds, but he is huge in his impact. As one of the state’s best wide receivers, his ability catching the ball is well known, but he is also one of the great defensive backs in the state. Last season Shepard rushed, received and returned for over 20 touchdowns with an especially impressive run during the 3-A State Championships.

This summer, Sterling said he worked on getting stronger in his lower body and he also dominated the 7 on 7 competitions with his team. Look for a faster and stronger Shepard to run through more tackles while showing improved speed.

Barry Sanders shares the name, position and is the son of the great Detroit Lions and Oklahoma State Cowboys running back Barry Sanders. He is fast, strong, has great vision, runs through arm tackles and like his father, can make incredible cuts on a dime.

Sanders spent much of his summer traveling around the country to see some of the schools he is interested in attending. Because of his name, he has had much attention since his freshman year in high school, but he has continually showed that the hype is not totally without merit.

Sanders ran for over 1,000 yards last season in only seven games. He broke his foot midseason on a touchdown run that ended his season easrly. Before the injury, Sanders looked as if he would run for more than 2,000 yards in the season. But this year, he hopes to continue what he began the season before.

Sanders is choosing between Stanford, UCLA, Florida State, and hometown Oklahoma State University. There are some other schools still working to get in the mix such as Ole Miss and Alabama.

Next time, look for stories from Shepard and Norman’s George Kittle and what the recruiting process has been for each of them.

Also look for interviews with recruiting leaders such as Josh McCuistion and Eddie Radosevich.