Tulsa's Burns Welcomes 21 Newcomers as Preseason Camp Begins
8/5/2002 12:00:00 AM | Football
Aug. 5, 2002
Tulsa, Oklahoma - The University of Tulsa football newcomers reported to campus today and will begin scheduled practice on Tuesday morning. The list of newcomers includes 18 scholarship players and three walk-on athletes.
Of the newcomers, eight hail from the state of Oklahoma and six come from the state of Texas. Six of the Oklahoma newcomers were named to the Tulsa World all-state team as high school seniors.
Among the newcomers, receiver Jerome Janet, who originally signed with Kansas State before transferring to Tulsa last August, brings the most preseason accolades. Janet was a 2000 Parade Magazine All-American as a senior at Tulsa's Union High School. He caught 125 passes for 2,081 yards and 30 touchdowns in his three seasons. Janet was the nation's fourth rated receiver by Rivals.com and 11th by SuperPrep magazine as a senior.
True freshman tight end Garrett Mills was the Tulsa World Player of the Year in the state of Oklahoma last season while leading Jenks (Okla.) High School to a sixth straight state championship. Mills caught 39 passes for 1,008 yards and eight TDs as a senior.
Junior defensive end Antwan Floyd is expected to make an immediate impact. Floyd was a two-year starter at New Mexico Military where he totaled 90 tackles and 14 stops for lost yardage last season.
Four Texas players -- Kedrick Alexander (FS), Drew Lagow (DE), Robert Latu (LB) and Leroy White (LB) -- were selected to the Dallas Morning News top-100 all-area list as prep seniors. Two players from Alberta, Canada -- John Hameister-Ries (TE) and Jeff Perrett (OT) -- also join the Hurricane newcomers, giving Tulsa three Canadian players on the roster. Two of the newcomers earned all-state mention in Arkansas.
Burns' and his staff are anxious to get underway. "It's fun to see the excitement on their faces when they reported today. This class, over the next four to-five years, has an opportunity to accomplish great things," said Head Coach Keith Burns.
"We concentrated heavily on defensive line help with this class, as well as filling some other needs," said Burns. Six of the scholarship newcomers are defensive linemen. "Over the next two days we'll get a chance to see which of the newcomers have the best opportunity to help our football team this season."
The newcomers underwent physicals on Monday, and will take to the field for two practices each on Tuesday and Wednesday before being joined by the varsity players for Friday's practice sessions. The Tuesday and Wednesday workouts are scheduled for 9:15 am and 3:45 pm.
