TU gains commitment from Texas lineman
The University of Tulsa coaches had a productive Saturday at their Individual Football Camp, where they picked up two commitments from Cedar Hill (TX) High School teammates, Jerrell Norton and Brandon Washington. Washington, a talented offensive tackle, and his high school coach, Joey McGuire, explained why the 6-foot-2 and 320-pounder chose to commit early to the Golden Hurricane.
Although the heat was scorching on the two practice fields as Washington went through the offensive line drills, he told our staff that he enjoyed the camp and thought the camp was 'cool'.
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"The camp was really cool for me," said Washington. "I committed to Tulsa after the camp was over and did so because I really felt at home there. I love the atmosphere at Tulsa, and that's really important to me. The coaches remind me of my high school coaches, and I get along with them really well."
"Coach (Todd) Graham has been recruiting me, and I really like him, but one of the main reasons I chose Tulsa was because of Coach (Spencer) Leftwich, their offensive line coach. He reminds me of my offensive line coach at Cedar Hill, Coach Leonard."
Washington was also impressed with the academics at Tulsa and credited Coach Leftwich with providing him a complete picture of the school, the small class sizes and the individual attention he will receive as a student.
"I know in talking with Coach Leftwich that I'll get a great education at Tulsa," added Washington. "I'm going to major in Computer Technology, and I know they have a good program there. Also, Coach Leftwich told me that there would be only 15-to-20 students in most of my classes, and I would be able to form a good relationship with the professors."
Washington is somewhat of an unknown by many recruiting services, but has been recognized as one of the top offensive lineman in the state of Texas by Dave Campbell, in his 2005 Texas Football magazine. Washington was selected to the pre-season Super Team as a third-team offensive lineman.
Cedar Hill coach Joey McGuire believes that if Washington had not committed to Tulsa early, he would be receiving major offers later in the year.
"Tulsa got in on Brandon early, and right now, he only has the offer from Tulsa and Ohio University. However, Baylor, Kansas and SMU have been recruiting him hard, and I know that they would be offering him soon, if he hadn't committed to Tulsa."
Coach McGuire explained why Washington made the early pledge to Tulsa and credited Tulsa's offensive line coach, Spencer Leftwich, with making Washington feel comfortable at Tulsa.
"One of the main reasons he choose Tulsa was because of Coach Leftwich. He gets along with him really well, and it's important to like your offensive line coach. Brandon also knows he's going to get a great education at Tulsa and play in a competitive conference in Conference USA."
"After the camp was over, Brandon took a shower and then spoke with Coach Leonard, our offensive line coach. Brandon asked him what he thought about committing early, and Coach Leonard thought Tulsa was the right fit for him. Brandon and Coach Leonard have a father-son type relationship and are really close, so I know Brandon feels good about the decision."
"Tulsa has a great staff, and I know both he and Jerrell (Norton) feel good about being able to play for them," he added. "Also, with the closeness of Tulsa and some of the other teams in their conference, Brandon's parents will be able to see a number of his games."
Coach McGuire is very proud of his star offensive lineman, both as a player and a person, describing him as a team leader.
"Brandon is like Jerrell, in that he's kind of quiet. But he's a real leader for our team, especially on the offensive line. This will be his third year as a starter for us and the other guys look up to him. He helps our guys out and encourages them. Both he and Jerrell are players that think more of the team than they do of their individual statistics."
"Brandon has lost some weight and is now at 323-pounds, but as hard as he's been working, I feel he will be down in the 310-pound range before we open the season with Lake Highlands."
Coach McGuire concluded by discussing how he felt his two players and his team will fare this fall.
"I expect that Jerrell and Brandon will have great seasons. Brandon played offensive tackle as a sophomore, but we moved him to guard last year. We're moving him back to tackle, which is his best position. I expect him to have a great year."
"Jerrell is probably going to be used as a wide receiver at Tulsa, but we're playing him at quarterback this fall. I wouldn't be surprised if he threw for around 2,500 yards and rushed for another 1,500 yards. With these two, and the other players we have, I expect us to be really competitive this fall."
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