Owens, McGee pick OU

By Mike Kays
Phoenix Sports Editor

January 16, 2008 02:48 am

— A journey with plenty of unpredictability and a bizarre twist came down to a mutual decision for two of the state’s hottest football recruits Tuesday night at Ron D. Milam Gymnasium.
The verdict: Jameel Owens and Stacy McGee are going to be Oklahoma Sooners.
The pair made a joint announcement prior to Muskogee’s wrestling match against Jenks. Owens, the Phoenix Area Player of the Year, did most of the early talking after McGee made a few short, quick remarks and donned an Oklahoma cap, Owens drawing his Sooners’ from the OSU cap he had it tucked underneath.
“Stacy, we’ve gone through this together so I might as well join you,” Owens said.
McGee, the All-Phoenix team’s defensive player of the year, was more talkative about a half-hour later. The No. 3 heavyweight wrestler had the first wrestling match of the night, which he won in a pin.
“That’s where my mind was,” he said. “I wasn’t going to do all this and then go lose in front of all those people.”
Owens was relaxed after a rather nerve-wrecking weekend. On a recruiting visit last Friday, the standout wide receiver was in a car with two University of Tennessee players when they were cited for marijuana possession, one of them being former Millwood star Gerald Jones. Owens and another Tennessee player riding in the car were not cited.
“It was just an unfortunate accident. That’s all I can say about it,” Owens said.
Pete Swink, who Owens has referred to as his “father figure” while growing up, said he heard from Tennessee coach Phil Fulmer an hour after the incident happened.
“I told Fulmer that Jameel didn’t do it, he won’t do it and he’d never do it because he saw too much of it around where he grew up,” Swink said. “He told me the guys had been doing it in the dorm room before they took him in the car. He could smell it and he was very uncomfortable with it. When they pulled them over, they had some in the car.
“His mom (Debra) didn’t know until they day he got back. I told him, ‘You can forget about Tennessee.’ I don’t blame Fulmer for what happened and Tennessee is a good place. It’s just had Jameel decided to go there, I’d have had to move because they weren’t going to take care of him like I knew he needed to be taken care of. I told him, up there he’s a player from Oklahoma. Here, he’s Jameel Owens.”
For McGee, bizarre was a bit more limited in scope. It was seeing his first tumbleweed — “one was up to my waist” — when he and Owens went to Texas Tech. He didn’t make the trip to Knoxville with Owens, but like his teammate, had considered Tennessee, Florida, LSU, Texas Tech and Oklahoma State before committing to OU.
“Everyone else was pretty much second place,” McGee said of his choices. “I just knew where my heart was.”
Owens was leaning toward Oklahoma and thought he’d make that decision at the Army All-American Game in San Antonio two weeks ago, but decided to delay that decision in order to make it at home, with McGee.
“I really didn’t know for sure until (this past weekend),” he said. “Your mind changes so many times, you‘re never locked into one team until you make your mind up. In the end, you just pray to God you make the right decision.”
Debra Owens endorsed the move. Same with McGee's parents, Stacy and Sabrina Coleman.
“I’m satisfied because he is satisfied, and I'm glad we're in a position where we'll be able to see all his games," Stacy Coleman said.
“He’s got aspirations of the NFL and in my mind, OU would be a better road to get there,” Owens said. “We went over some points on each, what I thought and what he thought.”
Muskogee coach Matt Hennesy went over a similar checklist of issues and interests with both. “OU met all of them,” he said. “I talked to Coach (Bob) Stoops this morning and he’s thrilled to have them both.”
Owens donned a No. 4 Sooners jersey — his number at Muskogee and ironically, the jersey that belonged to Malcolm Kelly at OU. Kelly this week became one of three off the 2006 OU team to declare their eligibility for the NFL, opting to sit out his senior season. The others are linebacker Curtis Lofton and defensive back Reggie Smith.
Whether Owens takes Kelly’s number or Kelly’s playing time is unclear.
“I’m just going down there to get myself ready to play,” Owens said. “ If I need to sit down or red-shirt, that’s what will happen.”
McGee, who has played both defensive tackle and defensive end, hopes to play end in Norman.
The 6-foot-4, 225-pound Owens had 59 receptions, 994 yards and 10 TDs in 2007 and was on the receiving end of four two-point conversions. For his four-year career, he had 3,444 yards on 167 receptions and 45 touchdowns.
The 6-5, 275-pound McGee had 98 tackles, 20 for losses, forced 18 passes, six sacks, caused three fumbles and recovered one fumble, two interceptions and broke up eight passes while being out a couple of games. His career marks included 160 tackles (38 for loss) 13 sacks and six interceptions while spending some of the last three seasons injured.
Also making commitments on Tuesday were Roughers quarterback Trae Cook (Central Arkansas) and defensive back Andre Anderson (Missouri State).

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