OU Football: Sooners Hot on the Trail of Decommitted Baylor WR
By Chip Rouse
The OU football recruiting effort for 2017 is off to an especially strong start, with a dozen four-star recruits already in the fold, and the Sooners are one of three Big 12 racheting up their powers of persuasion in hopes of landing a highly rated wide receiver formerly committed to Baylor.
Devin Duvernay, rated as the No. 3 wide receiver in the class of 2016, originally committed to Baylor, but because of an inexcusable and costly breakdown in the administrative process, officials at Baylor neglected to submit his signed National Letter of Intent paperwork to the Big 12 offices.
It certainly didn’t help matters, in Duvernay’s view, that head coach Art Briles last week was relieved of this duties at Baylor in connection with a series of alleged sexual assaults involving current and former members of the football team, but the failure by the university to properly file his NLI papers with the conference is what freed Duvernay from his prior commitment to Baylor and allowed him to reopen his college recruitment.
Once word got out that the highly rated wide receiver was back on the open market, the phone literally started ringing off the hook, Duvernay told ESPN’s Gerry Hamilton. One of the schools hot on his trail was Oklahoma, which Duvernay acknowledges was his No. 2 choice when he committed to Baylor.
The 42nd-ranked player in the 2016 ESPN 300 was contacted by many of the top college football programs after word got out that he would not be attending Baylor. Among those schools reaching out to Duvernay, in addition to OU, were Texas, TCU and Oklahoma State from the Big 12, as well as Alabama, Florida State, Ohio State, Texas A&M and Miami (Fla.).
In the past week, the highly recruited wide receiver reportedly has narrowed the possibilities down to three schools: Oklahoma, Texas and TCU.
The Sooners may have the upper hand as the process unfolds. In addition to being a strong second choice when Duvernay ultimately chose Baylor, his cousin, quarterback Kyler Murray, is now at OU, having transferred from Texas A&M at the end of the 2015 season.
Time will tell, but Duvernay could be a valuable addition to the Sooners. Blessed with one of the most prolific passing offenses in the country behind Big 12 Player of the Year Baker Mayfield, OU could use some immediate help in the receiving corps following the departure of All-Big 12 performer Sterling Shepard.
Duvernay, who hails from the small town of Sachse, Texas, near Dallas, played in the Under Armour High School All-America game. His high school numbers totaled almost 5,000 all-purpose yards and 40 touchdowns. While in high school, he also was the 6A state 100-meter champion.