'18 JC RB Darwin Thompson (Signed to Utah State)

[WasianCU]

247sports
ESPN
Rivals
hudl

Northeastern Oklahoma A&M CC (Miami, OK) / Jenks HS (Jenks, OK)

3 years to play 2

Twitter: https://twitter.com/dtrainn3

Ht: 5'9"
Wt: 195
40:

247s rating: 3*-83 grade; #1 APB (#95 overall JC)
ESPN rating: unranked RB
Rivals rating:

247s Composite:

Reported Offers: Utah State, New Mexico, Southern Miss, Middle Tennessee, South Alabama, Troy

 

[WasianCU]

No Colorado offer yet.

 

[WasianCU]

https://247sports.com/college/colorado/Article/RB-Darwin-Thompson-Collecting-Rings-Awards-and-Offers-110807025

"I have offers from Utah State, Southern Miss, Middle Tennessee, and New Mexico," Thompson said. "I have talked to Syracuse, Louisville, Colorado, Arizona State, Troy, and Pitt. Those are the main schools right there."

"I have visits scheduled with all of the schools that have offered me, but as more offers come things can change. I’d really like to play in the Pac-12, so Colorado would be a good one to get, but I am excited about all of the opportunities for the next level."

Confirms what I already thought, which is that we're definitely interested in adding a JC RB. Will be interesting to see how that plays out.

HS Profiles:
Scout/247s - unrated APB
Rivals - 2*-5.4rr; unranked APB

 

[BehindEnemyLines]

Jenks hs puts out a lot of talent.

 

[Buffnik]

Jenks hs puts out a lot of talent.

I believe that OK is a state that CU can recruit better than it historically has. It's one of the population high-growth states, too, with a passion for football. Technically a border state and more of one than AZ is (which is only a corner point border within the Navajo reservation). Considering how far the Front Range is from Utah's SLC area talent and how bad our other true border states are with HS talent - WY, NE, KS, NM - this seems like a logical place for CU to emphasize recruiting.

 

[BehindEnemyLines]

I believe that OK is a state that CU can recruit better than it historically has. It's one of the population high-growth states, too, with a passion for football. Technically a border state and more of one than AZ is (which is only a corner point border within the Navajo reservation). Considering how far the Front Range is from Utah's SLC area talent and how bad our other true border states are with HS talent - WY, NE, KS, NM - this seems like a logical place for CU to emphasize recruiting.

Jenks and Tulsa Union are factories. It would be a coup to establish a presence in those 2 schools - your competition is (obviously) OU and OSU primarily, with Arky, the Kansas schools, and Tulsa on a second level.

Those 2 high schools have fairly recently had players go to the $ec and Texas.

Think Mullen on steroids.

 

[OkieBuffster]

Jenks and Tulsa Union are factories.

Think Mullen on steroids.

I live in Jenks and work by Union. Some of the greatest HS games I’ve ever seen were between these two schools. I’m not sure if a Colorado HS team could complete against them. They are factories on steroids...

 

[BehindEnemyLines]

I live in Jenks and work by Union. Some of the greatest HS games I’ve ever seen were between these two schools. I’m not sure if a Colorado HS team could complete against them. They are factories on steroids...

Yeah, there have some good ones.

What is it - Union or Jenks has been the 6A champs for 20 years, and no other teams?

 

[OkieBuffster]

Last team to win the 6A other than Jenks or Union was Midwest City in 1995.

 

[delabuffs]

I believe that OK is a state that CU can recruit better than it historically has. It's one of the population high-growth states, too, with a passion for football. Technically a border state and more of one than AZ is (which is only a corner point border within the Navajo reservation). Considering how far the Front Range is from Utah's SLC area talent and how bad our other true border states are with HS talent - WY, NE, KS, NM - this seems like a logical place for CU to emphasize recruiting.

I agree with this. OK would probably be the 2nd most talented state in the P12 footprint- they consistently put out 10-20 P5 level recruits every yr. A lot of dline talent which is hard to come by out west.

Would think Eliot could build a foothold for CU while he was here.

 

[Sideburn]

I remember playing that MWC team in 95...Vernon Maxwell made me his bitch all game long. One of the most amazing runningbacks I had the honor of getting trucked by. Rocky Calmus was another. Also played against Jenks in the playoffs twice...definitely a factory. That area has it figured out. They run the same offensive and defensive system in the middle and high school...they have also gotten with the little league coaches and have taught them the system. For the last decade those players learn the system starting around age 5 (watered down of course for young minds) and carry it with them through their playing careers. It creates factories unlike any seen on the west side of the state. Broken Arrow, Owasso and Bixby have started doing the same and you see the results showing up on the field. Also, not breaking up into multiple schools like the west side does has helped them. I believe BA has a student enrollment over 4k...at the high school. That is larger than a lot of small colleges. Union itself has a campus that rivals universities. It's disgusting and yet remarkable all at the same time. Imagine what Putnam City, Norman, or the Edmond schools could do if they didn't divide into multiple schools.

 

[BehindEnemyLines]

I remember playing that MWC team in 95...Vernon Maxwell made me his bitch all game long. One of the most amazing runningbacks I had the honor of getting trucked by. Rocky Calmus was another. Also played against Jenks in the playoffs twice...definitely a factory. That area has it figured out. They run the same offensive and defensive system in the middle and high school...they have also gotten with the little league coaches and have taught them the system. For the last decade those players learn the system starting around age 5 (watered down of course for young minds) and carry it with them through their playing careers. It creates factories unlike any seen on the west side of the state. Broken Arrow, Owasso and Bixby have started doing the same and you see the results showing up on the field. Also, not breaking up into multiple schools like the west side does has helped them. I believe BA has a student enrollment over 4k...at the high school. That is larger than a lot of small colleges. Union itself has a campus that rivals universities. It's disgusting and yet remarkable all at the same time. Imagine what Putnam City, Norman, or the Edmond schools could do if they didn't divide into multiple schools.

Good stuff.

Mustang is one of the few west side schools that is trying to suck up land and build more classrooms. The problem is that area is growing so fast that they may have to split and build a new hs. The locals are currentry against a split.

The Moore area schools might benefit from the community focus/involvement in youth sports and some day have that type of "pipeline" that the eastern school do now. I'm just not sure they have the available space to sufficiently expand the hs's. Southmoore might.

 

[Sideburn]

Good stuff.

Mustang is one of the few west side schools that is trying to suck up land and build more classrooms. The problem is that area is growing so fast that they may have to split and build a new hs. The locals are currentry against a split.

The Moore area schools might benefit from the community focus/involvement in youth sports and some day have that type of "pipeline" that the eastern school do now. I'm just not sure they have the available space to sufficiently expand the hs's. Southmoore might.

This is where I played and went to school. I would have sold my soul for the athletic support that the community shows now. Still live in the area and it has exploded. Facilities are phenomenal and there is lots of support for the coaching staff of all sports, not just football. Mustang is definitely looking to expand, but they are running out of room. They turned what was South middle school into a freshman school and built another middle school a few years back, but I'm not sure that will hold up much longer. I recently went back to the school with a buddy of mine that ran X county and we were amazed at what the campus has turned into. Really the only place to expand is south towards the river, but even that is limited. One thing that helped was Yukon building a new HS and they shifted the dividing line. 10th use to be the line but now it's Reno.

With all that said, sorry for derailing a recruit thread. Oklahoma is definitely a state that CU needs to target more. There are probably 15-20 D1 athletes in the Tulsa area in a given year. West side has some players but in general they seem to be smaller, slower and less pipelined as their eastern counterparts. One of the amazing things is that OU and OSU really don't get all the good players. Lots of players choose to leave state. Some of it is OU recruits over them with kids from Texas, but they do take the cream of the crop most years. OSU has really built up their recruiting stature under Gundy with the help of moneybags pickens...but now OSU's facilities are becoming dated and falling behind again in the arms race.
I do wish CU would recruit OK and TX much more than they do. And it has picked up with the addition of Chiv. I would like to see Cali targets drop a bit and focus more on the southern plains, but I know why CU targets where they do. It's a regional bias on my part for sure, but I just believe TX recruits are tougher than their Cali counterparts.

 

[Buffnik]

Oklahoma is definitely a state that CU needs to target more. There are probably 15-20 D1 athletes in the Tulsa area in a given year. West side has some players but in general they seem to be smaller, slower and less pipelined as their eastern counterparts. One of the amazing things is that OU and OSU really don't get all the good players. Lots of players choose to leave state. Some of it is OU recruits over them with kids from Texas, but they do take the cream of the crop most years. OSU has really built up their recruiting stature under Gundy with the help of moneybags pickens...but now OSU's facilities are becoming dated and falling behind again in the arms race.

I do wish CU would recruit OK and TX much more than they do. And it has picked up with the addition of Chiv. I would like to see Cali targets drop a bit and focus more on the southern plains, but I know why CU targets where they do. It's a regional bias on my part for sure, but I just believe TX recruits are tougher than their Cali counterparts.

The old adage is that at CU you recruit California for speed and go to Texas for toughness. There's probably something to that in a general sense even though it would be ridiculously unfair to specific players on an individual basis. I believe that we're best off when there's a pretty even mix here.

And I might actually shade a bit to CA simply because job #1 is to win the Pac-12. Every time CU lands a priority recruit form Cali, it forces our conference mates to shift to a Plan B guy. So it's more of a recruiting win than getting a guy from Texas which forces a TCU to move to a Plan B guy.

 

[Sideburn]

[QUOTE="Sideburn, post: 2330656, member: 278]Oklahoma is definitely a state that CU needs to target more. There are probably 15-20 D1 athletes in the Tulsa area in a given year. West side has some players but in general they seem to be smaller, slower and less pipelined as their eastern counterparts. One of the amazing things is that OU and OSU really don't get all the good players. Lots of players choose to leave state. Some of it is OU recruits over them with kids from Texas, but they do take the cream of the crop most years. OSU has really built up their recruiting stature under Gundy with the help of moneybags pickens...but now OSU's facilities are becoming dated and falling behind again in the arms race.
I do wish CU would recruit OK and TX much more than they do. And it has picked up with the addition of Chiv. I would like to see Cali targets drop a bit and focus more on the southern plains, but I know why CU targets where they do. It's a regional bias on my part for sure, but I just believe TX recruits are tougher than their Cali counterparts.

buffnik: The old adage is that at CU you recruit California for speed and go to Texas for toughness. There's probably something to that in a general sense even though it would be ridiculously unfair to specific players on an individual basis. I believe that we're best off when there's a pretty even mix here.
And I might actually shade a bit to CA simply because job #1 is to win the Pac-12. Every time CU lands a priority recruit form Cali, it forces our conference mates to shift to a Plan B guy. So it's more of a recruiting win than getting a guy from Texas which forces a TCU to move to a Plan B guy.

Totally agree with what you state. I don't want all Tx guys, but we do need some more than what we have. I also agree as to the Cali plan. And as we build the program back up, some of the bigger names will start coming.

 

[BehindEnemyLines]

This is where I played and went to school. I would have sold my soul for the athletic support that the community shows now. Still live in the area and it has exploded. Facilities are phenomenal and there is lots of support for the coaching staff of all sports, not just football. Mustang is definitely looking to expand, but they are running out of room. They turned what was South middle school into a freshman school and built another middle school a few years back, but I'm not sure that will hold up much longer. I recently went back to the school with a buddy of mine that ran X county and we were amazed at what the campus has turned into. Really the only place to expand is south towards the river, but even that is limited. One thing that helped was Yukon building a new HS and they shifted the dividing line. 10th use to be the line but now it's Reno.

With all that said, sorry for derailing a recruit thread. Oklahoma is definitely a state that CU needs to target more. There are probably 15-20 D1 athletes in the Tulsa area in a given year. West side has some players but in general they seem to be smaller, slower and less pipelined as their eastern counterparts. One of the amazing things is that OU and OSU really don't get all the good players. Lots of players choose to leave state. Some of it is OU recruits over them with kids from Texas, but they do take the cream of the crop most years. OSU has really built up their recruiting stature under Gundy with the help of moneybags pickens...but now OSU's facilities are becoming dated and falling behind again in the arms race.
I do wish CU would recruit OK and TX much more than they do. And it has picked up with the addition of Chiv. I would like to see Cali targets drop a bit and focus more on the southern plains, but I know why CU targets where they do. It's a regional bias on my part for sure, but I just believe TX recruits are tougher than their Cali counterparts.

Yeah, we kinda sent this out into right field. My last input - Mustang is buying out residential properties to the east, but that's limited. I'm just not sure they can keep up with the Joneses.

Moral of the story? If you're gonna recruit oklahoma, stay in the east.

 

[Sideburn]

Yeah, we kinda sent this out into right field. My last input - Mustang is buying out residential properties to the east, but that's limited. I'm just not sure they can keep up with the Joneses.

Moral of the story? If you're gonna recruit oklahoma, stay in the east.

Fact!
There are some really solid players coming out of the east. Would absolutely love a pipeline into BA, Owasso and the Tulsa schools.