You always have the guys that are highly recruited and just can’t miss. The best example of that type of players are the likes of a Tommie Harris or an Adrian Peterson. They lived up to all of the hype.

     Then you have guys like a Mark Clayton, a Mark Bradley or a Derrick Strait. Schools weren’t exactly trying to knock down their doors to sign them to letters of intent. But look at the type of college players they were.

     A player to watch closely the next few years at Oklahoma will be Ryan Broyles. Remember the Sooners waited forever to offer him a scholarship. And he was just a couple of miles away from them at Norman High School.

     In fact, there are those who believe the only reason OU did pull the trigger and extend the offer was because Broyles had given Oklahoma State coach Mike Gundy a verbal commitment to attend Oklahoma State.

     Now Broyles hasn’t done anything yet at OU. He was set to get a lot of playing time last year as a true freshman at slot receiver. But before the season ever got underway he got into off the field trouble. So he wound up getting redshirted.

     And this year at spring practice he only went through four sessions and then suffered a broken collarbone. Still, you get the feeling the Sooner coaching staff is very high on his potential.

     ”We’ve seen enough of Broyles since he has been here to know that he has a chance to become a very good player for us,” said Bob Stoops. “He does a lot of things really well.”

     Receiver coach Jay Norvell is also extremely high on this redshirt freshman.

     “I know he was only out there four days in the spring, but he’s the type of player that can get you excited with some of the things he brings to the table. He is a very athletic player.”

     What Broyles does bring to the Sooners is a receiver with a lot of speed who can make things happen once he gets his hands on the ball. That’s something OU didn’t show much of in the spring.