MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — About six months before he left Oklahoma, Brent Venables secured commitments from Eric Striker and Charles Tapper.
The two players weren’t can’t miss, five-star stud prospects coming out of high school, according to the online recruiting rankings. Now, they’re key pieces to the 30th-best defense in the country.
Striker was the better prospect, according to Rivals. A four-star from Armwood High School in Seffner, Fla., he was ranked as the No. 243 overall player and the No. 18 outside linebacker in the class of 2012. After Oklahoma, his next best offers were West Virginia and Tennessee.