Aaron Ripkowski already was an OU sophomore, blocking linebackers and majoring in communication, when his mother, back home in Dayton, Texas, was cleaning up around the house.
Marlo Ripkowski had grabbed an old magazine that had come in the mail and been lying around forever. A sealed envelope fell out. Inside was a two-year-old letter from the University of Alabama, inviting Ripkowski and his parents to a dinner for Houston-area recruits who might be interested in playing for Nick Saban.
Good thing for the Sooners, and maybe the Green Bay Packers, that some things get lost in the mail.