Owasso Football Players Face Uncertain Season, Future For Recruiting

The pandemic has changed everything in preparation for the high school football season.

Owasso High School is in the thick of summer workouts and there are already new challenges, more than football, that the Rams are facing.  

Rams head coach Bill Blankenship is coaching his kids through summer workouts amid COVID-19. With so much uncertainty with our country, this high school football season could be the most crucial one for Blankenship. 

Bill Blankenship, Owasso head coach said, "[I’ve] been coaching for 37 years I don't remember anything like this, nothing where you have this kind of extended disruption, uneasiness how we are going to tomorrow."

Not only are the Rams trying to get back and win their second state title, but Blankenship has a much tougher task of getting his seniors noticed by college programs with some of the leagues weighing the option of playing or cutting their season in entirely due to the pandemic.

"There has been no in-person spring recruiting, no in-person on-campus visits and yet colleges are still recruiting based on everything they know. It’s the guys that were on the bubble or were late developing that I believe are kind of left out,” said Blankenship.

Left out, and still trying to figure out what’s next, the players are waiting to find out if there will even be a season. 

For senior offensive tackle and Air Force commit Dillion Gilbert, he’s passing his knowledge to others that are just beginning their process in college recruitment.

"I was pretty fortunate I got to play the whole season so I had a lot of film, but a lot of guys will have to wait until the season to get that film. Sometimes they ask a question to me because I've been through a lot of it, so if they get a coach talking, they will ask me,” Gilbert said.

Blankenship: "We've got three or four guys that, had we had spring practice, would have had offers right now because they would have been seen. I think at good programs where kids are playing behind really good players, those are the guys that get affected by the recruiting, by sophomore tape or journey tape or whatever,” said Blankenship.

For now, the Owasso football team will try to keep things as normal as possible, even in the midst of this pandemic.