Tulsa Welcomes Eight New Players to the Team

Originally Published: Jan 12, 2010 3:20 PM CDT

Gerald Goodridge
Oklahoma Sports Staff Writer

TULSA, Oklahoma -- The start of classes at the University of Tulsa also means that the Golden Hurricane football squad grew by eight.

Eight players enrolled and will begin classes this week, including a transfer from Oklahoma, two junior college transfers, four grayshirt players and one high school prep athlete.

Wide receiver Jameel Owens (6’2”, 220lbs) comes to Tulsa by way of the Sooners after redshirting the 2009 season. Owens played in his true freshman year at OU, catching four passes for 44 yards.

Owens is a graduate from Muskogee High School in 2007, when he was named a top-50 prospect by Sports Illustrated/Takkle.com and was an Army All-American. In his four seasons playing for the Roughers, Owens accounted for 167 receptions, 3,444 yards and 45 touchdowns.

Owens is currently in the process of filing a waiver of NCAA Bylaw 14.5.5 that requires a four-year transfer to sit out one academic year. If his waiver is denied, Owens will be unable to compete until the 2011 season.

Defensive lineman Darrell Zellars was a two-year starter at Hutchinson Junior College in Kansas before joining the Golden Hurricane. The 6-foot-2-inch, 285-pound lineman was credited with 67 tackles, 26 tackles for loss and four sacks in his sophomore season with the Blue Dragons.

Milton Howell (6’2”, 195lbs) was recruited as an athlete by Tulsa and will play safety for the Golden Hurricane, but played quarterback for Navarro Junior College before an injury ended his season in 2009. In four games, Howell rushed for 399 yards and passed for nine touchdowns in his season in Texas.

Donnell Hawkins graduated high school early and enrolled at Tulsa early as well after being sidelined during his senior season with an injury. The 6-foot-1-inch, 195-pound linebacker collected 147 tackles and six sacks in his junior campaign at Copperas Cove High School in Texas.

Tulsa also had four grayshirt players begin classes this week, tight end Greg Brown (6’2”, 250lbs) from Bixby, offensive linemen Stetson Burnett (6’4”, 310lbs) from Lawton MacArthur, Shawn Jackson (6’0”, 240lbs) from Tulsa McLain and Brian Mincher (6’3”, 290lbs) from Jenks.

The players earned the grayshirt designation after signing in February, but waiting until the following spring semester to enroll.