Sallisaw's Gladd Still Firm on Tulsa

The Sallisaw offensive lineman says his switch to Tulsa from Stanford was all about what's best for him.

Thursday, May 26th 2011, 12:08 pm

By: News On 6

Originally Published: Jan 11, 2011 3:20 PM CDT

Bobby Lewis
Oklahoma Sports Reporter

SALLISAW, Oklahoma – Garrett Gladd was the apple of Stanford’s eye, but the coveted lineman began to second guess his commitment to the Pac-10 powerhouse earlier this month. The 6-foot-4, 295 pound Sallisaw Black Diamond standout planned to play his college football for the Cardinal, until he took an official visit to the University of Tulsa.

“I didn’t have the TU offer when I had the Stanford offer,” Gladd said in a phone interview. “I started having second thoughts during the season about going away and, you know, really when I went to TU it seemed like I fit a little better with their guys than I did with the Stanford guys.”

Gladd switched his verbal commitment from the Cardinal to the Golden Hurricane shortly after Stanford head coach Jim Harbaugh decided to leave the school for the NFL. The timing raised questions about Gladd’s plans. When it comes to picking a school, he insisted the coach doesn’t matter to him.

“You’ve got to be able to enjoy school the other six days out of the week besides just Saturdays at the game,” he admitted. “I feel pretty solid with Tulsa.”

Todd Graham left Tulsa late Monday night. At his introductory press conference at the University of Pittsburgh on Tuesday he said: “Kids sign with coaches. I really believe that.”

Gladd took his official visit with Memorial lineman Garrett Stafford. He spoke to other potential TU commits and all of them seem strong with Tulsa, despite the school losing its head coach to the Panthers.

“They really like what’s going on,” he said. “They’ve got a great team coming back. Hopefully they find some guys to come in there and keep this thing going. Maybe get them back to a big bowl game; maybe get another double-digit win season.”

He said he anticipates signing an official letter of intent on national signing day on February 2nd.

“It’s a little bit more convenient to go to Tulsa than all the way out to California,” he chuckled.

Gladd has drawn attention from teams from all over the country, including Big 12 schools like Oklahoma State, Oklahoma and Kansas State.