OBU 2014 Signing Class

[Lionheart88]

http://www.obutigers.com/news/2014/2/5/FB_0205144935.aspx

Whole lot of 4A talent, including 3 from Arkadelphia itself, Warren, Nashville, Dumas, Hamburg, Valley View, Arkansas Baptist, etc.  In addition to talent from all levels of Arkansas high school football (down to Gurdon in 2A, up to Conway and LR Central in 7A) and a lot of Texas kids.

[DogsWin7]

They signed Logan Morris....he's a good player too.

[OPoraquê]

Lionheart88, one could make a joke that Ouachita Baptist University largely recruits its students from LDS territory: Little Rock-Dallas-Shreveport.  I believe I was told OBU is now starting to recruit (students as well as student/athletes) more heavily from the Houston area as well.

That's what for the most part Coach Knight seems to do as well, with many skill players coming in from Arkansas (often South Arkansas) and special teams/line/defensive players from the "LDS + Houston".  Even though he's signed some high-yardage south Arkansas kids the past few years here's an amazing number: in their high school years, if you add the three-year stats of Frazier, Howell, Jones, Kirkpatrick (the young man from Gurdon) and Oliver and divide them by five, these young men all accounted for 6,300+ yards and EIGHTY touchdowns apiece in their careers.  Also noteworthy that indeed, OBU signed as many Texas players this year as the past couple of years combined, and these young men were key contributors on teams like Mesquite Horn (9-3 in Texas 5A before losing to state champ Allen), Galena Park North Shore (12-1 in Texas 5A, Greater Houston area) and Whitehouse (12-1 in Texas 4A, only team to beat Texas 3A state champion Carthage).  Again, I think the new stadium will help change things in terms of recruiting...those associated with the Tiger athletic program have predicted as much.

As Frazier learned, college isn't high school.  But it sounds like these guys are good young men overall as well as talented players.  They may or may not replicate their high school success but there will be some athletes to make things happen on the field this next year for Ouachita Baptist football.  Hope their winning seasons continue, and better.

[ATU]

What no Austin K from Glen-rose.

[Lionheart88]

Walking on, perhaps?

[OPoraquê]

If you mean Austin Kirkpatrick from Gurdon, the young man signed with OBU yesterday...

[Lionheart88]

No, he means Austin Kehner, son of Glen Rose's Coach Kehner. Austin's brother Steven is a current OBU running back.

[OPoraquê]

Thanks, Lionheart88.  Too many Austin Ks. 

[Valleysports]

Sounds a little weak to me!   

[Lionheart88]

All depends on your frame of reference.  If recent past results are anything to go by, they're supermen compared to whatever Tech signed up this year.   

[Valleysports]

The kids Tech picked up, this year, wouldn't play at little schools like Whitehouse, TX.  In fact our QB transferred from there to play big boy football. 

BTW - we took Trey Bradley, OT / 6-4 / 280, from you. 

[Lionheart88]

You know one of our signees was a USA Today National Offensive Player of the Year, right?

[OPoraquê]

The kids Tech picked up, this year, wouldn't play at little schools like Whitehouse, TX.  In fact our QB transferred from there to play big boy football. 

BTW - we took Trey Bradley, OT / 6-4 / 280, from you.

Valleysports, no need for snide comments. You all got Josh Qualls (OPOY from NWA, I think) and the Oklahoma 4A OPOY (I think) from Poteau for QBs.  Bodes well for both ATU and OBU.

[Valleysports]

ha ha dang - I was just about to come back with - we got players from NWA!  I'm just talking smack -  other than Qualls, who I'll be getting to know, I don't keep up with it much.  I wish nothing but good for OBU!

Jimmie Jackson (Bentonville)?

[Lionheart88]

I'm mostly interested to see what we do with all the QBs we signed.  We already had at least two, add in Frazier, then there's Arkadelphia's Jakahari Howell, Warren's Drake Jones, Gurdon's Austin Kirkpatrick, and Hamburg's Logan Morris.  None of those guys were listed as QBs (ATH, FB, ATH, and TE, respectively), so I'm sure they'll be playing something else, but there's a lot of passing talent on the team (16,373 yds and 173 passing TDs between the four of them) that could get used in all sorts of fun ways.

[AirWarren]

I'm hearing Jones will be an Hback type player.

[Lionheart88]

He's listed as a fullback in the article, so that makes sense.  Mostly I'm thinking about all the options that opens up for flea flickers, direct snaps, and so on.  I've seen games where Coach Knight's had four or five different guys take the snap.  Steven Kehner threw several passes, including at least one TD, last year.

[OPoraquê]

He's listed as a fullback in the article, so that makes sense.  Mostly I'm thinking about all the options that opens up for flea flickers, direct snaps, and so on.  I've seen games where Coach Knight's had four or five different guys take the snap.  Steven Kehner threw several passes, including at least one TD, last year.

^^^^ This!

ha ha dang - I was just about to come back with - we got players from NWA!  I'm just talking smack -  other than Qualls, who I'll be getting to know, I don't keep up with it much.  I wish nothing but good for OBU!

Jimmie Jackson (Bentonville)?

No problem, valleysports.  Same here for ATU.  BTW, OBU had at least two other players, each from Texas, decommit to ATU and Harding this season, respectively.  It all works out, and I wish them the best as well.

Jimmie Jackson made very many if not most (apart from the young man who caught a BIG pass against Euless Trinity, speaking of Texas) of the long, spectacular catches for Bentonville this state championship season.  He will be missed, I do believe, and I hope he does even better things for ATU while getting his education there.

[OPoraquê]

I was looking for something else, but I found this posted today in the Siftings-Herald for Arkadelphia.  Looks like Howell (twice all-conference in baseball before this season) will play baseball for the Tigers.  Oliver (also all-state in basketball last season) and Mitchell were his teammates on the Arkadelphia 2013 state championship team, according to this story (surprised they didn't just place the original digital picture rather than this scan, but...).  Guys who earn that many awards elsewhere and are on state championship teams in other sports are frequently VERY good athletes.  Like Lionheart88 said, AHS coaching connections have apparently helped.  Looking forward to seeing what these 2014 signees can do in the future at the future

.

[Lions84]

OBU doing a great job.

[FilmCrew]

So...With all of these Quarterbacks on the team, does anyone leave?

[Lionheart88]

Frazier was the only one signed this year who's likely to play QB at OBU.  He and Benson Jordan will both be seniors, with only the kid from Malvern who was a freshman this past year left in 2015.  So I'd guess no.

[FilmCrew]

I think you will see one clear starter coming out of Spring Ball. I feel like one or two might leave and one might redshirt.

So is this all of them?

Tanner Stevenson
Jesse Stone
Benson Jordon
Austin Warford
Lucas Reed
Ty Towers
Kiehl Frazier

[Lionheart88]

Towers played WR at OBU before having to convert back to QB midseason due to injuries in 2012, no reason to think he won't be back at WR in '14 (well, except that the website still lists him as a QB on the roster.  I think that's an oversight).  Jordan and Frazier will both be seniors next year, I fully expect one or the other to start.

In '15, that leaves Reed, FR (whom I believe redshirted this year), Stone, RS-SO (who was 1 of 2 passing and had a single reception in 2013), and Warford, true FR, (who went 1 of 2 passing and had 25 rushes in 6 games).


Who is Stevenson?  I don't see him on the website roster or list of signees, nor do I remember him from the games I made last season.



3, maybe 4 QBs sounds like a lot, but Coach Knight is probably a little paranoid about having spares after the nightmare in 2012 where Cooper went down in game 1, Jordan went down in game 4 (IIRC), and even Towers missed a few plays one game, leaving RB Chris Rycraw as the temporary emergency backup QB.  Counting guys like Jakahari Howell, Drake Jones, and Austin Kirkpatrick (none of whom are likely to ever be the regular QB at OBU), he's got plenty of options just in case this year.  Will one or two look for greener pastures?  Maybe.  But maybe they'll just be happy getting one of the best educations in the country on the school's dime while they ride the pine.  I know if I'd been offered a full ride for any sport I'd have taken it even if I never saw the field.

[FilmCrew]

Tanner Stevenson attended Conway Christian before signing with UCA. He red shirted last year and transfered mid year to OBU. He was a decent Quarter Back in high school but isn't at the level of what most are expecting out of Frazier.

I have heard some scuttle about one of the quarterbacks leaving already. I guess this will settle itself out sooner than I thought.
   

[FilmCrew]

Tanner Stevenson transfers to Lyon College to play football.

Benson Jordon??

[Lionheart88]

I heard on the radio today (during the broadcast of the 4A state title baseball game) that Jordan graduated this May.  I doubt he's even on campus in the fall except as an alumnus.  A friend who's still in school confirmed to me that Frazier is the expected starter this fall (as if it would've been anyone else with BJ out of the picture).

[OPoraquê]

Lionheart88,

A million things can happen in college athletics, many of those things bad.  That being said:

1.  This year's football class for OBU has an amazing level of talent on paper...and truly amazing numbers gained in high school, even if many of said players never gain half that much at the DII level.

2.  According to OBU's Twitter feeds, this year's incoming freshman class also includes: 1) a Texas 4A state swimming champion (he won it all his junior year), 2) a Texas 5A state wrestling champ (coming to join his brother, also a Texas 5A state champ the year before), 3) a Texas 4A state wrestling champ (off a team that also won the Texas state 4A wrestling championships this year), 4) a starter off the Texas 5A soccer champs, his school in the Greater Houston area, and; 5, a Texas 1A girl's basketball player said by several in the Lone Star State to have been possibly the best pure shooter in the state this past season...she had a DI offer to Arkansas State.  I'm not deluded into thinking these kids were at a level where they could have gotten a full ride to any DI school they chose, but I doubt it's easy for any DII out of state school to land a Texas state champ of any sort, let alone several of them.

3.  You probably saw on the Baseball board where Arkadelphia High baseball is now ranked #10 in the NATION by Maxpreps, and OBU is getting not one but two state championship MVPs (Matros from last year, Howell from this one) from that team in their recruiting class this year as well as some other kids.  The pregame for the 4A championship was almost an OBU commercial when the 9 senior players got their diplomas, with 6 going to OBU where they'll play baseball, football or both, 2 to HSU, 1 to Arkansas.

When you have new facilities (football, at last) being built at a school like Ouachita Baptist, and you start seeing kids like these come in, it bodes very well for the future.  I'm not thinking national championships yet (it sure would be nice, though) but rather an increase in talent across the board.  We will just have to see.

[Lionheart88]

They also picked up Kori Bullard, a 6'4" basketball girl out of Lake Hamilton who had an offer from the Lady Razorbacks before the coaching change, or so I heard.  She will also play volleyball.

[Hoghead]

Davon Potts 6-2, 215 lb All-Stae DE from Hope is a good one OBU picked up !!!!

[Lions84]

OBU making a major commitment to Sports and I expect the new faculties and recruiting to show up with Wins on the Field and Courts.

[Lionheart88]

Forgive the thread necromancy, but I wanted to provide a little update on the class of 2014: after redshirting as a true freshman, Arkadelphia native RB Kris Oliver went out and set a school record for TDs by a freshman (19), and was recently named D-II National Freshman of the Year.

http://obutigers.com/news/2016/2/16/FB_0216163950.aspx

[OPoraquê]

Forgive the thread necromancy, but I wanted to provide a little update on the class of 2014: after redshirting as a true freshman, Arkadelphia native RB Kris Oliver went out and set a school record for TDs by a freshman (19), and was recently named D-II National Freshman of the Year.

http://obutigers.com/news/2016/2/16/FB_0216163950.aspx

What's neat is that this is the second year in a row that Ouachita Baptist football has had a Don Hansen National Player of the Year, after Etauj Allen earned the honor in special teams after the 2014 season.  (I think Hansen names an offensive, defensive, special teams and freshman POY each season.)

BTW, lots of "lions" here to celebrate the Tigers.    Gotta love it.

[Lions84]

It good to see those kids pan out.