There’s no doubt that two players made the right move. There’s also little doubt that one player made a big mistake.

     Many people were surprised when Reggie Smith and Curtis Lofton decided to give up their senior year at Oklahoma to venture into the NFL draft. No one was shocked when Malcolm Kelly made the move. That was expected for quite some time.

     Okay, who made the right move?

     There’s little doubt that Lofton and Kelly made the wise choice. Let’s look at Lofton. He’s undersized and he not the fastest of linebackers. He was never going to wow people with his dimensions.

     So he wasn’t going to get any taller. And he wasn’t going to get any faster. The reason he made the correct move was because it was a weak year for inside linebackers. If he came out next season he might not have been a second round pick like he was Saturday by the Atlanta Falcons.

     And then there’s Kelly. No one disputes that he’s a big receiver with great hands. Many thought he would be the No. 1 receiver in this draft. That was until he ran poor 40 times for the pro scouts. So should he have come back to work on his 40 speed?

     No!

     “We all knew that Malcolm Kelly was a guy that ran about a 4.7 40. That’s what he would run for us,” said one Sooner coach. “He’s a tremendous receiver, but he just doesn’t have blazing speed that a lot of teams are looking for these days.”

     This was a weak year for receivers in the draft. That’s a solid reason why he was selected by the Washington Redskins in the second round. If he stayed, he might not have been drafted that high next season because it’s a better crop of receivers that will be in the draft.

     And then there’s Reggie Smith, who went in the third round. He was the 75th player picked in the draft.

     There’s no doubt this Edmond native made a big mistake by not returning for his senior year. He has been battling injuries since December. He didn’t play in the Fiesta Bowl.

     Smith ran a 4.65 40. That’s slow for a cornerback to be selected high. He should have come back. When he was healthy he’s quicker than a 4.65 guy. He cost himself some big bucks by leaving a year early.   

     Jeff Capel has put together a very nice recruiting class. He added a very important ingredient this week when he signed junior college star Juan Patillo to a letter of intent.

     Patillo is a guy who will really upgrade the Sooners in athleticism. He’s a 6-6 forward who can play inside and outside. He’s a good shooter and an excellent defensive player. He played at Southern Idaho, which was one of the best junior college teams in the country.

     On the day Patillo signed, OU announced that Tony Neysmith would be transferring. Neysmith played sparingly as a freshman this year and didn’t figure to be a promient figure in future. There were those who thought the extra scholarship would be given to Keith “Moose” Clark, who is currently at Rose State trying to get his academics in order.

     Well, Clark may not get that scholarship, but there’s still a good chance he will be back on the team. Sound confusing? It really is.

     The word is that Clark will be back, but as a walk-on player. The Sooners are struggling with NCAA guidelines in having so many players that must graduate. If they don’t comply with those guidelines, they will eventually lose scholarships.

     If Clark comes back, they want to make sure he can take care of all his academic work. They want to make sure he’s on pace to get a degree. Of the two seniors this year, David Godbold is graduating, but Longar Longar is not.

     Clark would be a welcomed addition to this team.

     “He was just starting to come into his own,” Capel said when he was ruled academically ineligible in January. “He was just starting to get healthy after that knee injury he sustained last year. You could tell he was playing with more confidence.”

     Clark is extremely talented and would give OU a 6-8 forward who can shoot and pass. If he does come back the Sooners are very deep up front with Blake Griffin, Taylor Griffin, UCLA transfer Ryan Wright and junior college transfer Kyle Cannon.

     If all of the players at Kansas and Texas do head into the NBA draft, there’s a chance that OU could be pre-season favorite in the Big Eight race. The program has come a long way from Capel’s first season when the Sooners didn’t get into a post-season tournament.

     I don’t think it was a home run, but I think it was a darn, good selection.

     There might have been some Oklahoma State fans upset when they heard that Travis Ford was going to be the next basketball coach. They had heard all along that Boone Pickens was going to open his checkbook and bring in one of the nation’s elite coaches. This never happen.

     However, I think when Cowboys fans heard Ford at his opening press conference, they became excited. They heard a dynamic speaker. And the had to like his promises of playing at a high speed on both offense and defense. Poke fans will enjoy his racehorse style.

     Ford has done an excellent job coaching at UMASS and at Eastern Kentucky. He was becoming a hot commodity on the coaching circle. That’s why Providence recently offered him a job.

     There’s no doubt the key for the new coach will be his ability to recruit. We don’t know much about that. He hasn’t signed the high profile player yet in his head coaching career.

     But it will be easier to recruit to Oklahoma State than it has been at his two previous stops. Just bring the recruit into Gallagher-Iba during a game and he has to be impressed. Another key for Ford will be his ability to bring in junior college players. That’s essential to have any kind of success at OSU.

     I was hoping the Cowboys could get someone like Tim Floyd at USC or Lon Kruger at UNLV. They both are quite familiar with this part of the country. And they have had a lot of success recruiting in the juco ranks.

     But I think Ford was a nice choice. He inherits a pretty talented team. So there’s no reason why the Cowboys can’t get into the NCAA tournament next season.