David Oku
Commitments
David Oku has finally committed to play football for Tennessee.
The 5-foot-10, 185-pound tailback from Carl Albert High School in Midwest City, Okla., confirmed his decision to the News Sentinel on Sunday.
“I was really ready to announce back in September,” Oku told Rivals.com. “But I wanted to let things play out a little bit longer and be comfortable with my choice. I definitely am now.
“This is home."
Oku made the decision after a weekend visit to Knoxville for the Mississippi State game.
Oku is widely considered one of the top 100 prospects in the nation, making him the second running back of that ilk to commit to UT for the 2009 signing class, along with Jarvis Giles from Gaither High in Tampa, Fla.
“I think we’re going to be really good to tell you the truth,” Giles said. “Tennessee is real lucky getting that one-two punch.”
Giles certainly doesn’t seem afraid of the competition.
“I’m not one of those jealous type cats; that’s just how I am,” he said, “… He’s a fast cat just like I am. He’s a shifty cat just like I am. The difference is, I’m a lot more explosive.”
The upcoming competition isn’t a concern, Giles said.
“As far as competitive, no state is as competitive as Florida,” Giles said. “Competition is nothing to me. That’s how Florida boys are.”
Oku is UT’s 19th verbal commitment for the 2009 signing class.
Tennessee's signing class for 2012
Tennessee defeats Georgia 3-2 in…
Scripps Interactive Newspapers Group
Comments » 57
snafu14u#241639 writes:
1st
WeLoveTennesseeVols writes:
Boy, isn't this great. (And the 1st shall be last). guess who said that? PS please check out my post on the latest John Adams post. Thanks, hope you like it.
zbbb10#212690 writes:
play abrams ward play warren play paige play donald play frazier play VINSON play CREER. this microwave generation wants an automatic fix. wont happen ebb and flow of college ball is what it is. this could be an historic VOL win. 3 and 4 team takes down number 2 ranked tide. go BIG ORANGE. GILES STOKES ASKEW THIGPEN WALLS HERBERT OKU HUNTER! GO TO THE GAME ALL YOU TRUE VOL FANS!
MidTennVol writes:
Why don't I like this kid after reading this article?
jimr07 writes:
what does that mean?
mpm80#1357758 writes:
this is good news but fulmer has wasted enough #1 classes in talent to get excited about anything but his fireing
knoxtenor writes:
Not to belittle the importance of this kid, nor his talent, but remember the good ol' days when we were successfully recruiting the Top 10 prospects in the country instead of the Top 100?
DingoVol writes:
I will take a 3 or 4 star Florida Running back over any 5 stars from the Northeast or West Coast. Oklahoma kids and Texas Kids can play as well. This is a great thing to have 2 great high school backs from quality high school programs coming in. I would be scared if he said, "he is better than me". This is what we want in a back and we just have to bring in a coach that energizes these commitments and gets them to stay. MORE IMPORTANTLY, we want a coach that makes them BETTER over their 4 years here. That can't be said for the last few years.
indianacurly writes:
it was completely non-sensical ... even by your standards
wkjq#213863 writes:
grader
Ironcity writes:
Between DenmarkVol and WeWhite we have some of the dumbest posters in America on this board. We take 25 kids and we have a poster concerned that this one is not a top ten kid decided by some coach potato with a computer. We have another poster upset at a kid who is happy for the commitment.
pdhuff#552644 writes:
He appears to be the real deal. Thanks, young man.
Hard to get excited about a potential future Vol with staring down the barrel at Nick and friends coming for a little visit Sat nite.
We don't need to be good hosts.
TheVolMan writes:
WeLoveTennesseeVols - As you asked I checked out your post on the latest John Adams column.
Your post was moronic and misguided. Truly.
ect1983 writes:
To say that WeLove TennesseeVols posts are moronic....(as I have many times)......is now considered to be redundant. Hard as it may be, we need to totally ignore them.I know.....it's hard to ignore, if not impossible
auttat writes:
Watch Giles' recruiting videos on Rivals. He aint' no 3 or 4 star back. My personal opinion is he could be the best back in this class.
MidTennVol writes:
“Tennessee is real lucky getting that one-two punch.”
"I’m a lot more explosive.”
Comments like those completely turn me off. Sorry, but I was raised differently. There's a difference between a humble confidence (see Lucas Taylor, Robert Meacham, and others) and being a cocky punk just asking to have the snot knocked out of him in practice (see Kelly Washington and others).
Son, you're lucky to have the University of Tennessee (or any school) interested in giving you a free education for playing football.
Sounds like you've already graduated from the Jamal Lewis "it's all about me" charm school.
We'll see how explosive you are when Berry or Wilson or Frazier or Morley introduce you to their pads.
ole_boi writes:
sounds like you should stop judging a 17/18 year old kid off of one interview.
orangebloodgmc writes:
Maybe we shouldn't over-analyze the exact wording of excited high school boys, as reported by newspaper jounalists.
volsmith writes:
It's good to get a 5 star commitment, but we need 5 star linemen to commit. The backs we've got now could do a lot better if they had anybody to block for them.
richvol writes:
Exactly...
SemperVol writes:
Who thinks he'll get sentenced to life in the secondary?
Headed to the game this weekend. Looks like it's gonna dip into the 40s possibly. Cool fall night, UT-Bama, leaves are turning orange...i'm psyched!
DingoVol writes:
That is my point. You look at the number of stars and where they are from before you decide what kind of player you have. I think this kid will be fantastic. Again, I want no 5 stars from the Northeast or West. Give me 3-4 stars from Florida, Texas, Oklahoma and Georgia.
SemperVol writes:
Is he really a 5-star? Rivals list him as 4. Oh well, 4-star from Florida is probably pretty exciting to watch.
Welcome, kid.
VolGraduate writes:
Yeah Fulmer is slipping in recruiting...This will be a top 5 class once Marlon Brown and that dual threat qb sign
rockytop4ever writes:
Great pick up for the Vols. Keep em coming! Gotta love two highly rated RB's with confidence like that. Go Vols beat bama!
rockytop47 writes:
Wonder who the coach is going to be? Man you need to stay in your trailer! FULMER is her to stay! Thankfully most of the trash on this site will be GONE with the republican party!!!! GO VOLS, GO FULMER and GO OBAMA!!!!!!!
ect1983 writes:
Keep your politics out of here u dip.......in re Fulmer here to stay......rrrrriiiiggghhhttt......and he always "coaches 'em up", that's why we always worry about Philbert getting hired away.
nicksjuzunk#646117 writes:
It is rare... but I fully agree with you. I was only about 8 when those cats were running the show but those were my first VOL memories with Andy Kelly running the show.
huntined#565710 writes:
Glad to see we get some SPEED ..These two backs will be a threat every time they touch the ball..Just got to let them get in the game and show what they can do. O.C. will see what speed can do for this team..
SemperVol writes:
I'll keep my guns, my freedom, and my dollars.....
rockytop47: You can keep the CHANGE!!!
And so this post doesn't get smited....Go Vols, Beat 'Bama!!!
(By the way Go Obama look eerily similar to Go Bama...consider that next time you post during Bama week)
MidTennVol writes:
Maybe so. And maybe Lucas Taylor, Meacham and others just didn't have it in them to say such stuff when they were 17 and 18. Maybe they were just raised differently.
givehim6 writes:
SUPER! Hope Giles & Oku can keep running like thay do now. Theres something about playing for UT thay will make a player slow down. Look at Warren all-american before UT now? But glad to have you young man.
TommyJack writes:
Daneman: I TOTALLY get your point. Problem is, this is now the culture we live in (for the most part). Probably a good kid. The mouth just comes along with the package these days.
RockyTop1998 writes:
WeLoveTennesseevols
Do you have a bad drug habit, or were you dropped as a kid? I have heard the people @ the soup kitchen in Knoxville speak before and they make more sense than you.
pdhuff#552644 writes:
Logic is not needed. You will offend some to suggest that we have a dearth of SEC caliber linemen,although is it is glaringly true.
Watch Sat nite.
rblakeh writes:
This guy sounds ready to COMPETE. Looking forward to seeing him in Orange and White.
murrayvol writes:
Cut these guys some slack. It's the highlight of their day.
murrayvol writes:
No we don't but the Tide will probably roll in just far enough in the first half that the 2nd half ebb won't matter all that much.
MidTennVol writes:
Agreed, TJ. I'm just a little old school, maybe too much, when it comes to such stuff. And that's the way I'm raising my two boys and girl.
I'll cut him some slack -- it is only two sentences in a newspaper article after all.
OakyVol09 writes:
I see where you are coming from, but go and read the other articles about Mr. Giles before judging. He sounds more along the lines of what you speak of in those articles. I like the confidence, but do not like the Vols are lucky comment. And I would bet Mr. Oku will have something to say about who is more explosive. (I have not seen either one of these guys, so I do not know)
murrayvol writes:
You took the post right off my keyboard. I'd be significantly more excited if I knew there would be a few holes to run through.
bluetick writes:
I have to agree with this SemperVol.. they never know where they will end up or how early they will play. I'm not a coach and don't want to be but after you see some of the other coaches playing 'studs' early on, wonder why we can't do that also. Berry is an exception. I think the coaches have been using 'time served' as a factor when to and not to put them in the game instead of who is the best. Remember when we got Cadillac Williams, Jabari Davis, Cedric Houston and some other scat back from Louisiana in the same year, only for Cadillac to derail to Auburn? Not sure where any of the ones we actually 'got' ended up but do know where Cadillac is and he started immediately in college and NFL. We need to get these guys in and let them loose immediately and stop being so conservative.
murrayvol writes:
I would guess Denmark to be in our age bracket (well over 40). I too have to fight off that reaction on occasion.
If he can play, I can bite my tongue.
BigVolinCarolina writes:
Looks like we'll have a couple of cats playing for us. Reeeoowwwwwww!!!!!!!!!!
bigorangeman writes:
Stupid
SemperVol writes:
Nice rebuttal.
beachvol writes:
I can just see these "1st" guys sitting at their computer hitting F5 every few seconds to see if a new article has been posted just so they can be "1st" to post. The funny thing is, half the time their "1st" post is 2nd or 3rd! It's aggravating to read, but at least it keeps them off the streets.
jwright13#576991 writes:
you are a loser with a loser's mentality
TommyJack writes:
Murray: You are over looking the halftime adjustments our razor sharp staff will make.
Major_Magilicutty writes:
Off topic: Fulmer stays another year. He's given a chance to turn it around. You heard it here.
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