TU adds two mid-term signees
Tulsa football added two mid-term enrollees on the first day of the mid-term signing window. 2016 commits Clay Greathouse and Manny Bunch signed financial aid agreements with TU on Wednesday.
Greathouse, a 6-foot-5 and 295 pound offensive lineman from Wichita Falls (TX) Rider, was the Hurricane’s first commitment back in May. He was a first-team all-district performer as a senior and honorable mention all-state.
“I already signed and delivered it to TU today at lunch,” he told Inside Tulsa Sports on Wednesday afternoon. “It felt great. Finally, this deal is over and I can just focus on school and Tulsa football.”
Greathouse is already enrolled for the spring semester at TU and has his last day of high school on Thursday. Although the Hurricane recently had a change at the offensive line coaching position, with new coach Mike Bloesch taking over, it didn’t seem to faze Greathouse.
“He's a great coach, and it really helps that he was there already,” he explained. “I already really knew Coach Bloesch.”
"I'm very excited -- that's why I'm graduating early. I really love the Tulsa campus, and the football facilities are great. I'm really excited to be at Tulsa this spring."
Greathouse chose Tulsa over offers from North Texas, New Mexico State, Colorado State and Texas State. He will get to participate in spring drills at TU and plans to bulk up with the help of the Hurricane's strength and conditioning staff.
Bunch, a 6-foot-2 and 185-pound athlete from Roland (OK), also signed with TU on Wednesday after committing to the Hurricane back in July over offers from Air Force and Army.
“It feels amazing to finally sign with Tulsa,” he said. “It’s like a big weight has finally been lifted off my shoulders.”
Bunch made his official visit to Tulsa earlier this month on December 4, along with his brother Madison, a defensive back at Southern Nazarene who plans to transfer to TU as a walk-on.
“My official visit was amazing, and my brother was with me,” he told Inside Tulsa Sports earlier this month. “I got to go to the Jenks-BA game Friday night, then Saturday, I got a campus tour and I also got to watch the TU-ORU basketball game.
“My host for the weekend was McKinley (Whitfield), and I got to meet a lot of the players.”
Bunch had a fantastic senior season for Roland, leading the Rangers to the quarterfinals of the state playoffs and an 11-2 record. At quarterback, he completed 62 percent of his passes for 1,868 yards and 24 touchdowns with just 7 interceptions. On the ground, he had another 1,472 rushing yards and 20 more scores.
“I feel like it was my best season of my career,” he explained. “I played with the best group of seniors in Roland history. I finally got to play both ways like I wanted to, and the season didn't end the way I wanted it to, but it was a great season and I'll remember it forever. Our seniors made school history, and that's something to be proud about.”
On defense, Bunch totaled 87 tackles, 10 tackles for loss, 10 pass breakups and three interceptions. Like Greathouse, Bunch also has his last day of high school this week.
