Oklahoma freshman Britt Mitchell supposedly quit the team during the summer and joined the marines. Not quite. He actually transferred to UTEP.
"I just didn't enjoy it up there" in Norman, Mitchell said. "Since I've been here at UTEP I've loved every minute of it. I like it a lot better here."
No one likes El Paso. Except maybe girls with eyebrows drawn with sharpies. So how much did Norman have to suck for him to embrace El Paso?
Because offensive linemen usually take at least a couple of years to contribute, retention is important. You have to have something in the pipeline at all times. Now the obvious way around this is by accepting transfers whether from junior college or another D1 school.
Which OU does. They recently picked up Jarvis Jones from LSU. Jones was actually kicked off the LSU team for violating team rules.
But OU checked him out, and he's a good kid and shit.
"Every decision we make is scrutinized backwards, forwards and sideways," athletic director Joe Castiglione said. "When you work with the people we work with here every day, you don’t have to worry about the character issues. They are going to take care of them. That, above everything, is why we’re successful."
Castiglione is probably surfing Youtube right now.
OU's starting left tackle, Phil Loadholt, originally signed with LSU out of high school but failed to qualify. When you can get guys in school that can't qualify for LSU, and when you can get guys in school who get kicked out of LSU...you've got an advantage that other teams don't.