Former Oklahoma Sooner offers hopeful recruiting advice for struggling young players
We've all been in a position of struggle when life doesn't break the way you want it to. In the football world, this happens every single season for hundreds, if not thousands, of players across the country. For high school recruits, this struggle is even more real. Thousands of players fall through the cracks of […]
We've all been in a position of struggle when life doesn't break the way you want it to. In the football world, this happens every single season for hundreds, if not thousands, of players across the country.
For high school recruits, this struggle is even more real. Thousands of players fall through the cracks of recruiting and don't get the same recruiting breaks that other players do. Many of them have to do pitch themselves to coaches instead of the other way around, and that can be disheartening for them if they don't hear back.
One former Oklahoma Sooner knows that pain and struggle all too well. Former first-round pick and elite speedster Marquise "Hollywood" Brown went through this battle himself and offered advice to any players going through it right now.
A small zero-star prospect in the class of 2016 out of Hollywood, Florida, Marquise Brown spent most of his high school career trying to earn a spot on college radars. He finally broke through his junior season when Utah State offered, and he committed to the Aggies in May of 2015.
Then, as a senior, the offers started breaking through. In September of 2016, a full year after committing to Utah State, the Washington State Cougars made him an offer. A few weeks later, it was the West Virginia Mountaineers. Three days later, it was the TCU Horned Frogs, Tulane Green Wave, Cal Golden Bears, and Arizona State Sun Devils.
All of a sudden, the offers started pouring through for Brown. Nebraska, Oregon, Kentucky, Missouri, and Tennessee all offered him within a span of a few days. Shortly after, the USC Trojans and Oklahoma Sooners offered him. After visiting each, Brown committed to Oklahoma and signed with the team. Three years later, he was a first-round pick, courtesy of the Baltimore Ravens.
"Hollywood" went through the same journey many recruits do and stuck with it. He followed the process to keep his dream alive and was rewarded for his efforts. His message of hope is one that I think all of us, not just recruits, can learn and take heart from.
