Q&A With Wagoner's Prince McJunkins

McJunkins talks about college choices, says he's narrowed his list to three.

Thursday, July 28th 2011, 6:02 pm

By: News On 6


Originally Published: Jan 7, 2011 9:6 PM CDT

Dave Davis Oklahoma Sports Mobile Journalist

TULSA, Oklahoma – The Wagoner Bulldogs did not end the season the way they wanted to in 2010. The Bulldogs lost a heartbreaker in overtime to Douglass in the 4A championship game back in December.

But that doesn’t change the fact that Wagoner senior quarterback Prince McJunkins III had an incredible season: more than 2,100 passing yards, about 650 rushing yards, 33 passing touchdowns, 15 rushing touchdowns, and three interceptions.

Oklahoma Sports talked with Prince about his future and some of the highlights from the interview are listed below.

Oklahoma Sports: Back in December, we asked you what schools you were looking at, and you told us Missouri, Missouri State, Louisiana-Monroe, Wyoming, and New Mexico State. Have you narrowed down your choices? PM: Yeah, Louisiana-Monroe is in my top three. I really haven’t heard much from Missouri State, New Mexico State or Wyoming. Then there have been schools like Pitt State [Pittsburg State, Div.II school in KS] that came in . . . Arkansas Tech and Central Arkansas. So I would say probably Louisiana-Monroe, Pitt State and Arkansas Tech are my main choices right now.

Oklahoma Sports: Is there a favorite out of those choices? PM: No, there’s no order. I’m going to take my visit next week, [January] 14th and 15th. I will be down in Monroe, Louisiana for my official visit down there. Then the week after that, on the 22nd, I will be down in Pittsburg, Kansas for my official visit [to] Pitt State.

Oklahoma Sports: What do you like about each school?
PM: Earlier in the year, I took an unofficial trip down to Louisiana-Monroe for a game. And down there, it was just so great. I had gelled with all of the coaches and the players were nice. It’s a good-sized town. And the fans, they just get into the game, which means a lot. They had a pretty good-sized crowd . . . that right there, I like. And Pitt State, I talk to them almost every week. The coach continues to tell me great things: where they want me at, what they want me to do, and how much I can contribute to the team . . . hearing all that is nice.

Oklahoma Sports: Have any of the coaches promised you starting time? Has that been a factor?
PM: Really, not playing in my first year of college will be okay. That’ll just give me time to mentally pick up the game, get adapted to the college life – you know, to college football. That’ll just give me time to get bigger, stronger and faster, so next year I’ll be ready. [The] Coaches said playing time is soley based on how I work out at it . . . I’m so determined to work hard so I can prove to the coaches - prove to my teammates, wherever I am - that I’m their guy. I trust in them so they can trust in me, even though I might be playing as a freshman or something like that.

Oklahoma Sports: What would you say is the biggest factor in your decision, no matter where you go?
PM: Really, family. Moms don’t wanna be too far from their sons . . . the distance will be key, not for me, but for my family, so they can come watch a game . . . it doesn’t matter whether I go to Florida or way up to New York, I’ll be fine. Really, I have to see something in the coaches; to see that they’re telling the honest truth that they want me, not trying to feed me no lies. I hear so much from all the coaches that are trying to recruit me . . . if they’re honest that’s a big key, that means if you’re gonna trust me then I can trust you.

Oklahoma Sports: When do you think you’re going to make your decision? Do you think you’ll wait until February 2nd (Signing Day)? PM: Oh, no. Trust me, if I love it on that first visit, then you guys will find out . . . I will commit there, probably that day, if I like Monroe. If not, then I’ll probably wait until the next weekend, when I take my visit down to Pitt State. If I see some things that I like down there, then I might commit there. I’m not gonna wait too late . . . because I might not have a scholarship left. If I go down to a place and I like it, then I will commit; I’m not gonna wait until the end.

Oklahoma Sports: Finally, what has your dad told you? What advice has he given you about this whole recruiting situation?
[Note: Prince McJunkins II, Prince’s father, was a star quarterback for Wichita State in the early 80’s]

PM: I mean, really, he’s just trying to let me experience it. It’s a once in a lifetime deal. I’m blessed to have the things that I have, because I’m sure that there are players that wish that they were in my shoes, trying to be recruited . . . I’m just blessed. He’s kind of taking a back seat. He’ll say some stuff here and there . . . like, “You might wanna look out for the coaches to see if they’re lying or just trying to tell you some stuff just so you can be one more player on the team.” He’ll say some stuff here and there, but really, he’s gonna leave it all up to me.
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