Coaches: Red River win won't change recruiting

By Mike Baldwin

Published: October 6, 2008

There’s been a long-running theory that the winner of the annual Red River Shootout owns a recruiting edge in landing some of the top recruits in the Lone Star state. Texas coach Mack Brown said that’s no longer the case.

“We had 19 commitments by March,” Brown said during the weekly Big 12 teleconference. “Recruiting has really changed. It’s not the old battles it used to be. Kids know where they want to go... Kids are committing now before you even get to their homes or get to their schools. It’s very, very different.

“The old battles with coach (Darrel) Royal and coach (Barry) Switzer had, Bob and I just don’t have them.”

Since both offenses are ranked in the top six nationally in scoring — the two teams average a combined 94 points a game — how the defenses play Saturday in the Cotton Bowl will be a critical factor.

They’re the top two highest ranked defenses in the conference. OU is ranked first in total defense, allowing 256.2 yards a game. Texas is second, allowing 295.8 yards under new defensive coordinator Will Muschamp.

“They’ve had some good defenses so I won’t slight any of the past defenses,” said OU coach Bob Stoops. “But watching them play Will is doing a nice job. You can tell the effort is there and they’re disciplined with their responsibilities. They mix things up well. Will has definitely had an impact. It’s obvious to everybody.”

Stoops said controlling emotions is a key factor in rivalry games like Texas.

“People have a misconception just because you’re excited you do well,” Stoops said. “You’ve got to manage it. And everybody is different. Either side of the ball, every young guy is different on how they handle it. In the end you have to manage that excitement in the right way.

“These kid of games rev you up. But we don’t count on that winning (the game). We count on what we do and how we play to win. We need to manage (emotions) the right way.”

Brown said Sam Bradford (18 TD passes, 3 interceptions) played well as a freshman last year in the Cotton Bowl and has improved. Longhorn quarterback Colt McCoy has thrown for 16 touchdowns and only three interceptions.

“When you look at their stats they’re nearly exactly the same,” Brown said. “They’re both tremendous players. They’re both young players with a lot of football to be played... Both are so accurate. They’re just not missing. Sam has gotten better from last year and that’s hard to believe as good as he played his freshman year.”

Oklahoma is ranked No. 1 in the polls and is the defending Big 12 champion. Texas is ranked No. 5. Stoops owns a 6-3 edge over Brown, who is 4-6 against the Sooners during his 10 years in Austin.

“So many coaches get fired now,” Brown said. “It’s hard to imagine a coach making it 10 years, especially at two high profile programs like Texas and OU. I’ve been here the entire time Bob has been a head coach at OU. He’s done a super job there. He’s tough. They’re well coached. They play hard.

“He’s done as good a job at Oklahoma as any of the coaches that have been there and you’re talking about Bud Wilkinson and Barry Switzer, a long line of tremendous coaches.”

Both coaches were asked if there’s as much talent in this year’s game as any other game during their 10-year rivalry.

“It’s hard for me to gauge that,” Stoops said. “It’s probably similar to 2003 and ’04 when we were both doing pretty well. I’d say similar to those. But to say better than that it’s hard for me to do. But it’s up there with the number of good players.”

Brown said: “That’s unfair to say. You go back over those 10 years there’s been some great players in this game. I do think this game will have some really, really good players and a bunch of them will play in the NFL.

“There’s been times when we had the edge in talent, times where they had the edge in talent. But this is a game each year, because of the way both schools recruit, there’s great players in the game every year. It’s one of the reasons it makes it such a fun game.”

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