Ever hear something that's just kind of funny to you? I think most people atleast have dealt with basic rumors and perhaps heard of someone gossiping behind your back. What if the people doing the gossiping are college football coaches?
Buddy of mine lives and works in another Big 12 city, over the last seven years or so he's ingrained himself into the community for social and business reasons despite graduating elsewhere. We caught up with each other in late February and the talk turned to sports and the Kansas rebuild.
That's right. Kansas. Kansas has beef with Oklahoma
My friend attended a boosters luncheon as guest of one of his business partners. Apparently David Beaty doesn't really take too fondly to Oklahoma at all. This conversation was joking and I pretty much laughed it off as him just pulling my leg but he doubled down on it and said that the Kansas staff feels Bob and Oklahoma are predatory.
Conversation went on and basically it boiled down to the Kansas staff feels a little picked on based on the Bledsoe plucking and bringing Thibs home.
Now lets rewind this. Oklahoma has a bit of history under Stoops of targeting Kansas in recruiting. I mean under Bob alone the list of prospects Oklahoma has plucked out of Kansas is impressive: Phillips, Bell, Grissom, McCay etc. So I understand the frustration, that is a legit frustration among multiple KU boosters
Predatory tho? It was relayed that the KU staff feels Oklahoma's staff is lazy when it comes to recruiting, piggybacking off others work and just swooping in late and others in the Big 12 coaching circle feels the same. Which absolutely makes no sense as it relates to Bledsoe and I can't recall Oklahoma swooping in late on really anyone tied to the Big 12 in the last two cycles I really chalk that all up to a young and to this point unsuccessful coach trying to fire up his base and donors, because the next pitch my buddy heard was about keeping Kansas kids home
Anyway what compelled me to write about this today was me doing my research for next months Big 12 post, I came across several discussions online about Beaty, Stoops, and Bledsoe etc that really reinforced the whole gossip nature of this. I get trying to grow enthusiasm for your base, but realistically putting pressure on yourself in this manner seems foolish to me. Kansas offered the likely #1 prospect in state Miles Emery in October of 2016. Oklahoma offered in February of 2017. Wonder how that plays out? Don't over promise and under deliver, even at Kansas
Kansas, we're talking about Kansas.
