Mark Stoops Transcript on JUCO signings, Drew Barker and more
By Jason Marcum
On how badly he needed a corner …
“You just always need one. You just do. A.J. is a big guy. He is six foot and roughly 190, 195 pounds and he just needs some size. He is physical, he’s mature and it just helps.”
On the excitement of recruiting …
“We are all so excited. Our fan base, and everybody has a part in helping us land the caliber of player that we are. People are excited about it.
“Drew (Barker) coming in mid-year is different than a regular high school (player) coming in (in the summer). He is going through off-season conditioning, going through spring ball and in the spring you have a day off in-between every practice, so you have a lot of time to mentally soak things in. It goes in much slower than it does in the fall. I think that’s very big, and I think it’s big at quarterback. I’m excited to get him in here and get him rolling. I expect him to come in here from day one and compete for the starting job. That’s why we recruited him. But I think when you look at all the 2014 class that we either have them in here committed, or verbal — that I can’t touch on — there is no question that they’re going to improve our football team and help us get better for the future.”
On what Drew Barker has done for recruiting …
“He has played a critical role in this. He really has. Just his commitment to us early in the process. He did that to help solidify the rest of his class and help us recruit the last of his class, and he has helped us do that. He is a very mature young man and he has great leadership skills. Obviously those are important skills when you’re talking about a quarterback.”
On his 2014 recruiting class …
“We’re going to sign up as many as we can. We can count three off from last year so we can go up to 28 this year. We plan on signing all 28.”
On if recruiting physical players is a point of emphasis…
“I think you’ve heard me talk about it throughout the year and I said it day one since I walked on campus, this is a physical league. There is no getting around that. You have to be physical and we have to recruit good size. We have to develop the players we have here to get bigger and stronger, so I think that is a point of emphasis.”
On the transfers last week…
“It’s normal attrition. We’re dealing with 85 guys on scholarship and there is going to be some attrition and we appreciate the work that those guys did for our program and wish them the best of luck.”
On if there are any more transfers to report…
“I don’t think so. Sometimes I may hear that they are looking, but to this point that is all that I know of.”
On how much work the players who redshirted this season have to do…
“I think any time you are coming back with these guys who have some experience and playing in games and playing in this league, it helps. A guy like Braylon (Heard) has been there before, competing at a very high level. He sat out this year, but he knows what he’s getting into. I think that will be a much easier transition for a guy like Braylon.”