Oklahoma three-star QB, Gatorade player of the year, commits to SIU football
Saluki football players celebrate on the sidelines after their 38-31 overtime victory against Youngstown State University at the homecoming game Oct. 24, 2015, at Saluki Stadium. (Jacob Wiegand | @jawiegandphoto)
January 9, 2017
The quarterback room for Saluki football will have some more company this upcoming season.
Brandon George, the Oklahoma Gatorade Player of the Year, announced his commitment to SIU Tuesday on Twitter.
“I feel so confident in my decision because the coaching staff is real with you,” he said during a phone interview Monday. “There is nothing they hide from you. What you see is what you get.”
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George earned the Gatorade Player of the Year award after throwing for 4,035 yards and 44 touchdowns, according to MaxPreps, leading the Jones High School Longhorns to the 3A state championship. He also rushed for 1,305 yards and 21 touchdowns.
The dual-threat quarterback committed after taking an official visit of the campus over the weekend. He is rated as a three-star recruit on both 247sports.com and rivals.com.
“I noticed over the [visit] that something very important to them wasn’t how good I was on the field but what kind of person I was off of the football field,” he said. “They recruit character, and that meant a lot to me because it showed me that they wanted more than just to win football games but to also see me succeed as a person later on in life.”
The Oklahoman also had offers from several Football Bowl Subdivision schools including Hawaii, New Mexico, North Texas, Ohio and Wake Forest, according to 247sports.com.
George said he chose SIU over any larger schools because of his dreams after college.
“I really don’t understand why everyone feels the need to go to a bigger school,” he said. “How many quarterbacks has Alabama put in the [NFL]? Not that they recruited me, but that’s been my goal for a long time — to play on Sundays — and you look at the conference SIU is in and they’re putting people in the NFL.”
SIU returns four quarterbacks from last season, including rising junior Sam Straub, who threw for 1,175 yards and seven touchdowns, starting the final three games of the season.
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Coach Nick Hill and other coaches cannot comment on George’s commitment until he signs a National Letter of Intent per NCAA rules.
Staff writer Sean Carley can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter @SeanMCarley.
To stay up to date with all your SIU basketball news, follow the Daily Egyptian on Facebook and Twitter.
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