One of the most bizarre recruiting stories this season has taken another strange turn.
David Oku, the nation's No. 1 all-purpose running back, confirmed to Rivals.com via text message Monday he is moving from Carl Albert (Midwest City, Okla.) and has now enrolled at East (Lincoln, Neb.).
"I'm moving to Nebraska," Oku said. "Go ahead can write a story about it. My parents are the ones that let me do this and they're behind me 100 percent." Deb Wilkins, the district registrar for Lincoln public schools, confirmed Oku has indeed enrolled at East.
Oku said he made the move for a number of reasons and he doesn't anticipate it will have a dramatic impact on his recruiting. "It's a better school, and it's a better situation for me personally," Oku said. "This won't affect my recruiting at all. Nebraska has been a school I looked at before I moved. It doesn't mean since I moved up here I'll be going to Nebraska. I still got all of the other schools that I'm looking at."
Oku strongly denied he was moving to Nebraska because his girlfriend, who he reportedly met on an official visit to Nebraska, was pregnant. "I honestly moved because at this school I'm given more classes and will better help me prepare for college," Oku said.
On Sunday, Oku told AuburnSports.com, a Rivals.com Web site, he was still torn between Auburn, Tennessee, Syracuse and new entry Ole Miss.
Despite rumors, sources indicated Nebraska wasn't actively recruiting Oku over the last several months. Oku also recently told Rivals the Huskers weren't on his list of choices. After taking official visits to Tennessee, Nebraska and Louisville, Oku committed to the Vols in early October. And even with the coaching change in Knoxville, Oku stuck with his pledge for most of the football season. However, he then backed away from that commitment after Tennessee started to pursue other running back targets, and he later took his final two official visits to Syracuse and Auburn.
The connection to Syracuse is that Stan Drayton is now an assistant there and he was recruiting him for the Vols when he was in Knoxville. Curtis Luper, who is now at Auburn, had been recruiting Oku for Oklahoma State when he was an assistant on the Cowboys staff earlier this fall. Then, in the last week, other schools have tried to enter the picture, but the newest school to interest Oku appears to be Ole Miss.
"This decision is very hard," Oku said Sunday. "It's very hard. I'm taking my time to make sure I make the right decision. It's very hard. There are both pros and cons to all of the schools," he said. "One minute I feel like I can commit to a school, and the next minute, I can't.
"That's why I'm taking my time. I want to make sure I make the right decision."
