Oklahoma's Top 20 recruiting what-ifs, No. 10: Jameel Owens

Owens was the top player in Oklahoma and one of the best receivers in the country when he signed with OU out of Muskogee

Jameel Owens bio in the 2008 OU media guide

Jameel Owens had plenty of options when he chose to play football at Oklahoma.

Baseball was among them.

But Owens signed to play wide receiver for Bob Stoops and Jay Norvell at OU, choosing the Sooners over scholarship offers from Oklahoma State, Kansas State, Texas Tech and Tennessee.

He spent two years at OU — he played as a true freshman in 2008 and caught four passes for 44 yards, then redshirted in 2009 — before transferring to the University of Tulsa to be closer to his ailing mother.

Owens was a Scout and Rivals 4-star at Muskogee, OK, a Parade All-American, a U.S. Army All-American and one of the top 50 prospects in the nation rated by Sports Illustrated. Rivals and Scout both ranked him as the No. 1 player in the state, and he was ranked as the No. 8 wide receiver in the nation behind names like Julio Jones, A.J. Green, Jonathan Baldwin and Michael Floyd.

As a four-year starter at Muskogee, Owens had 167 receptions for 3,444 yards and 45 touchdowns. During his senior year, he had 59 catches for 994 yards and 10 TDs.

In 2010 at TU, Owens caught 18 passes for 246 yards and six touchdowns. He finished his college career by transferring to NAIA Bacone College in his hometown of Muskogee.

Today Owens is starting his fifth year as owner and operator of Triple J’s Weed Control, a pest control and lawn service in Norman.

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This series

National Signing Day is around the corner, so SI Sooners is examining Oklahoma’s biggest recruiting what-ifs of the last 20 years.

This is about players who arrived (or almost arrived) at Oklahoma but then, for whatever reason, left well before they reached their potential.

This is what college football recruiting is all about: the risk-reward that comes with not knowing a prospect's potential. For every Adrian Peterson, there's a Rhett Bomar. For every Tommie Harris, there's a Moe Dampeer.

The time period is since 2000, when online recruiting services and the current "star" system became prominent.

The rankings were compiled by SI Sooners publisher John Hoover, Sports Animal host Al Eschbach, KREF host James Hale and Sooner Spectator publisher Jay Upchurch.- - - - -

How Hoover voted:

I ranked Jameel Owens No. 15 in my top 20. He came in with Muskogee teammates Stacy McGee, a big-time defensive tackle, and McGee is actually still playing in the NFL. Those who follow Oklahoma high school football figured both guys would hit it big. Owens had the talent and ability to change the OU offense, but that was a period where receiver recruiting, for whatever reason, too often just didn't pay off.

No. 10 on my list was 2002 athlete DaBryan Blanton. I'll admit this is a little bit of a stretch because Blanton apparently never really gave football strong consideration. He earned 4-star recognition because of his blazing speed, and he plied that into a college track career. He was a three-time Big 12 100-meter champion, and as a junior, he tied the American record by running 10.07. He had a great track career, but imagine that speed on the 2004 or 2005 Sooners as a wide receiver.

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Top 20 Oklahoma Recruiting What-Ifs

(since 2000)

• No. 20: LB Mike Reed
• No. 19: LB Ricky DeBerry
• No. 18: CB Parrish Cobb
• No. 17: DB Hatari Byrd
• No. 16: LB Tay Evans
• No. 15: Brandon Williams
• No. 14: Jeff Lebby
• No. 13: Keith Ford
• No. 12: Austin Haywood
• No. 11: Tony Cade