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December 26, 2008
Inside the Red River Recruiting Rivalry
By THAYER EVANS

LUFKIN, Tex. — This college football season ended with Oklahoma and Texas once again demonstrating the intensity of their rivalry. The teams and their fans lobbied hard for the precious Bowl Championship Series points that would ultimately clear a path for the Sooners to compete for the national title against Florida.

But there is one place where the tension between these programs has long run even deeper: on the recruiting trail. And while the debate unfolded over the teams, another battle quietly raged in this quaint East Texas town.

The fight was over Jamarkus McFarland, a 6-foot-3, 290-pound defensive tackle from Lufkin High School who is considered the state’s best defensive prospect this year and one of the nation’s most promising players. He is also a top student and the president of his class.

The effort to recruit him took a turn at precisely 12:01 a.m. on Christmas, when McFarland, 18, decided to commit to Oklahoma. On Thursday, he called the Sooners’ defensive line coach, Jackie Shipp.

“I want you to coach me for the next four years,” McFarland told him.

“What did you say?” Shipp said.

“I want you to coach me for the next four years,” McFarland repeated. “Isn’t that what you wanted for Christmas?”

Shipp told McFarland to hold on, then he began screaming. McFarland’s decision ended a grueling recruiting process, although he cannot sign a letter of intent with the Sooners until Feb. 4. Coaches from Oklahoma and Texas are not allowed to comment on McFarland until then.

Since July, he and his family have provided a reporter for The New York Times with exclusive access to his recruitment, a journey that often divided McFarland and his mother. They endured frequent telephone calls and e-mail messages from reporters and coaches, tears of frustration, restless nights and Internet rumors suggesting impropriety.

McFarland’s mother, Kashemeyia Adams, said she received numerous offers, including one for an interest-free loan for a former classmate, if her son were to choose Texas. She said she did not believe the offers were affiliated with the Texas football staff.

Along the way, McFarland was wined and dined. He visited the house of the president of Oklahoma, where he was promised a spot in the prestigious President’s Leadership Class. He rode in a Hummer stretch limousine in Los Angeles. He attended parties, including one in Dallas, where he said there was free alcohol, drugs and young women taking off their clothes.

In the end, his decision came down to trusting his mother and his grandmother, Bobbie Jean Adams.

“I’ve followed my mother and grandmother’s advice for all my life,” McFarland said. “I know they don’t want bad for me.”

Mother Knows Best

At the start, Kashemeyia Adams was unimpressed with Oklahoma. As she and her son wrapped up a visit to its campus in April, she departed with terse words for Shipp.

“I am never setting foot in Norman, Oklahoma, again,” she recalled telling him. “I didn’t like it. I’m not going to deal with it.”

Shipp, a former N.F.L. player and one of the country’s top recruiters, appeared unfazed. He smiled, leaned into her tan sport utility vehicle and promised to e-mail her daily, which is allowed under N.C.A.A. rules.

“Give us an opportunity to prove why O.U. is best for your son,” she said Shipp told her. “Let us prove it. Make colleges prove it.”

The proving process for McFarland broke down into three steps, typical of the courtship of a top high school athlete. It started with unofficial visits, like the April trip to Oklahoma, for which recruits and their families pay their own way. Those are followed by official campus visits paid for by universities. Finally, coaches make in-home visits.

Shipp appeared to understand soon after that trip that McFarland’s recruitment would have as much to do with wooing his mother as it would with persuading him to choose Oklahoma.

Adams initially favored Texas because of its prestige and because of what she perceived as its stronger academic offerings. But Shipp delivered on his promise. He sent her e-mail messages every day, building the foundation for what would become a friendship.

When Adams did not reply, Shipp sent follow-up messages. In one, he wrote, “Ms. Adams, Haven’t heard from you in a few days.” She liked his persistence, his no-nonsense attitude and the idea that he could be a black male role model for her son.

Adams, meanwhile, received only occasional letters and e-mail messages from Texas coaches.

“Texas went to sleep in the summertime in recruiting J-Mac,” she said. “When they went to sleep, Oklahoma woke up.”

But as Oklahoma began rising in her mind, her son was not sold. Beyond his athleticism and academic achievement, McFarland also works a part-time job at Kmart. He plans to study kinesiology and hopes to become a physical therapist or a strength coach.

He has an older brother in prison for conspiracy to commit murder and for tampering with evidence in the shooting death of a man in September 2006. Three uncles also spent time in prison. His mother is a follower of the Pentecostal faith who does not attend his football games.

Growing up, McFarland said, he always listened to his mother and his grandmother, an Oklahoma fan. But he initially had his heart set on Texas.

“I’ve been brought up listening to them and obeying by their rules,” McFarland said. “To go against them is hard to do.”