Recruiting Watch: David Oku

Running back David Oku is a senior out of Carl Alberts High (Oklahoma) who has narrowed his choice of schools down to five. Nebraska, Florida State, Michigan, Tennessee, and Illinois made the cut. Scout.com has Oku listed as a 5 star (6th overall RB) and Rivals.com has Oku listed as a 4 star (1st overall all-purpose back). He has good speed (4.47), great vision, and great cutback ability - think Lache Seastrunk without the Olympian type speed. His youtube video shows highlights of his junior season where he put up 1,628 yds (9.0 avg) and 20 TDs rushing as well as 71 yards receiving with 1 TD. The only downside to Oku is that his GPA is a 2.4 and his ACT is a ghastly 15 (which I assume he is retaking).

(make sure to watch until at least the two minute mark)



David Oku's official dates:

1. Tennessee - Sept. 20th (vs. Florida)
2. Nebraska - Sept. 27th (vs. Virginia Tech)
3. Michigan - Oct. 25th (vs. Michigan State)
4. Florida State - Nov. 8th (vs. Clemson)
5. Illinois - Nov. 15th (vs. Ohio State)

Sam Webb from The Detroit News recently did a write-up about the recruiting of David Oku. David and his mother, Denise Moore, had some encouraging (from a Husker perspective) things to say.

About Florida State Oku says, "You can ask anyone here in Oklahoma who I like, and they'll say FSU. I'm trying to separate that, though. I'm not going to let that affect where I go. I love the tradition at Florida State, but the thing about them is that they haven't had a 1,000-yard rusher in like 10 years."

About Michigan Oku says, "What coach Rich Rodriguez did at West Virginia was amazing and I think he'll be able to do it at Michigan too. It's going to take some time, but I think they'll be great."

His mother, Denise Moore, says, "I think David will be fine whether it's warm or cold. He is used to playing in the cold. We get snow down here in Oklahoma...I always tell him that the academic part counts before the athletic part. You've got to find a school that you're going to feel comfortable in and is going to give you the kind of education you desire because you never know what's going on in football. You're playing today and you could be hurt tomorrow. You've got to finish out your education and get your degree."

And finally, Oku says, "I'd like to announce my choice on my birthday, which is October 10th."

Alright, let's sort this out. Although Florida State has always been his favorite, it seems as if he knows that FSU is where All-American high school running backs go to die. Oku also seems to know that it is going to be a few years before Michigan gets the right pieces in the puzzle there and lets be realistic here, anyone with a 15 ACT has no chance to make it academically at a Big 10 school (Michigan or Illinois). It's clear that momma wants a degree for her son. In data released by the NCAA, Nebraska football has the highest graduation rate (88%) of any Big 12 school. Furthermore, Nebraska has 262 CoSIDA/ESPN Academic All-Americans (all sports) which is 61 more than #2 Notre Dame. Finally, Oku says he wants to make his decision by his birthday on October 10th, and if my math serves me right, that means he will have visited only two schools by then - Tennessee and Nebraska.

Here is your first assigment Cody Green. Go get him.