EDMOND (Feb. 6) -- Central Oklahoma stayed completely in-state for head coach Tracy Holland's first recruiting class, with 19 Oklahoma all-stars among the 31 Oklahoma high school standouts who signed with the Bronchos Wednesday on national letter-of-intent day.
UCO's class was highlighted by the addition of 13 offensive and defensive linemen, four all-star wide receivers and two quarterbacks who ranked among the state passing leaders.
"I couldn't be more pleased," said Holland, who took over the UCO reigns on Dec. 27. "When I came on we felt we were running a little behind, but it didn't take long to get caught up and we came up with a great recruiting class. We pretty much got all the kids we wanted and filled some important needs.
"We made a huge emphasis on linemen, both offensively and defensively, and that was a big need for us. The response from coaches and players in the state was awesome. They believe in what we're trying to do and were extremely supportive. I have to give the credit to our coaches -- Steve Patterson, Calvin Miller, Micah Nall and Steve Dunn -- because they really worked their tails off. We went to over 185 schools in the state gathering up tapes and talking to the best prospects and we got the ones we wanted."
Oklahoma Coaches Association class all-stars signing with the Bronchos were defensive backs Anthony Anderson (Western Heights), Dolphin Davis (Tulsa Washington), Giorgio Durham (Western Heights), Derrick Ingram (Hollis) and Joey Fallon (Oklahoma Christian School), wide receivers Tucker Holland (Oklahoma Christian School), Matt Jackson (Edmond Santa Fe), Preston Runyan (Altus) and Torrance McBrayer (Clinton), offensive linemen Curtis Baker (Jones), Cread Helton (Perkins-Tryon), Matt Lantz (Clinton) and Brian McGuire (Broken Arrow), quarterbacks Jason Robison (Tulsa Metro Christian) and Garrett Valdez (Heritage Hall), linebacker/safety Tucker Cason (Heritage Hall), tight end Bryce Davis (Duncan), defensive end Alex Matunas of Glenpool and running back Joey Davidson (Yukon).
Cason, Davis, Durham and Matunas were also named to the OCA All-State team.
A list of UCO's football signings, following by a small bio on each player:
Name Pos. Ht./Wt. City (High School)
Anthony Anderson DB 5-11/200 Oklahoma City (Western Heights)
Colton Archer DE 6-4/220 Muskogee (Muskogee)
Curtis Baker OL 6-3/320 Jones (Jones)
Corbin Burchett OL 6-4/295 Pryor (Pryor)
Herbert Byrd DE 6-6/240 Okmulgee (Okmulgee)
Tucker Cason LB/SS 6-1/200 Oklahoma City (Heritage Hall)
Bryson Crawford LB/SS 6-3/215 Marlow (Marlow)
Joey Davidson RB 6-2/200 Yukon (Yukon)
Bryce Davis TE 6-4/35 Duncan (Duncan)
Dolphin Davis DB 6-2/195 Tulsa (Washington)
Giorgio Durham DB 6-1/190 Oklahoma City (Western Heights)
Cort Edmonds DT 6-3/255 Ardmore (Plainview)
Dominick Gilbert-Phillips DT 6-2/285 Oklahoma City (Putnam City)
Tucker Holland WR 6-1/180 Edmond (Oklahoma Christian School)
Wesley Holloway OL 6-3/270 Oklahoma City (Heritage Hall)
Derrick Ingram ATH 6-5/215 Hollis (Hollis)
Joey Fallon SS 5-10/190 Edmond (Oklahoma Christian School)
Matt Jackson WR 5-11/175 Edmond (Santa Fe)
Matt Lantz OL 6-3/285 Clinton (Clinton)
Alex Matunas DE 6-4/ 215 Glenpool (Glenpool)
Torrance McBrayer WR 5-10/170 Clinton (Clinton)
Brian McGuire OL 6-3/275 Broken Arrow (Broken Arrow)
Justin Pruitt OL 6-3/275 Spencer (Choctaw)
Jason Robison QB 6-0/175 Tulsa (Metro Christian)
Preston Runyan WR 6-2/190 Altus (Altus)
Chris Scott LB 6-1/215 Broken Arrow (Broken Arrow)
Tre Smith DT 6-2/260 Tulsa (Washington)
Laquez Stone LB 6-0/200 Oklahoma City (Del City)
Garrett Valdez QB 5-11/180 Oklahoma City (Heritage Hall)
Evan Wilson OL 6-1/285 Tulsa (Memorial)
Anthony Anderson - Oklahoma Coaches Association Class 5A All-Star . . . Rushed for 663 yards and three touchdowns on 80 carries, averaging 8.3 an attempt . . . Had 64 tackles and two interceptions on defense . . . Led Western Heights to its first playoff appearance in several years.
Colton Archer - Ranked fifth in Class 6A in tackles with 132, including six sacks . . . Led the Roughers to the Class 6A playoffs.
Curtis Baker - Offensive lineman who also ranks among the state's best powerlifters . . . Class 2A All-Star selection.
Corbin Burchett - District 4A-3 Offensive Lineman of the Year . . . Selected to play in the Jim Thorpe All-Star Game.
Herbert Byrd - Highly-recruited and one of the premier defensive linemen in the state of Oklahoma . . . All-District and All-Conference selection as a junior and was ranked by Rivals as a top-20 recruit in the state . . . Appeared in one game as a senior before suffering a season-ending injury.
Tucker Cason - Ranked second in Class 2A with 879 receiving yards, averaging 17.6 yards on 50 catches with 11 touchdowns . . . OCA All-Stater . . . Led the Chargers to the 2A state finals.
Bryson Crawford - Defensive standout at Marlow High School, earning District Linebacker of the Year honors.
Joey Davidson - Ranked fourth in Class 6A in both rushing yards (1,601) and touchdowns (18), averaging 7.6 yards a carry as a senior for the Millers . . . Also caught 19 passes for 206 yards and a score and completed a TD pass while making 20 tackles on defense . . . Was a Class 6A All-Star pick.
Bryce Davis - Class 5A All-Star at eight end who caught 20 passes for 356 yards and four touchdowns, averaging 17.8 yards a catch . . . Also an excellent deep snapper.
Dolphin Davis - OCA All-Stater.
Giorgio Durham - Carried 170 times for 1,358 yards and 15 touchdowns as a senior, averaging 8.0 yards a carry, while also completing 46-of-112 passes for 862 yards and nine scores . . . Added 57 tackles and four interceptions on defense and punted for the Jets in earning OCA All-Star honors . . . Led Western Heights to its first playoff berth in several years.
Cort Edmonds - Had 49 tackles with two sacks as a senior and was an All-District pick.
Joey Fallon - OCA Class 2A All-Star who made 109 tackles with one sack as a senior . . . Two-way starter who added 38 catches for 342 yards and three TDs.
Dominick Gilbert-Phillips - All-District selection as a senior after making 60 tackles with six sacks.
Cread Helton - OCA Class 2A All-Star.
Tucker Holland - OCA Class 2A All-Star and district Wide Receiver of the Year after snaring 54 passes for 840 yards and eight TDs, averaging 15.6 yards a catch . . . Also had 108 tackles with six sacks on defense.
Wesley Holloway - Offensive lineman who helped lead Heritage Hall to a Class 2A state runner-up finish.
Derrick Ingram - Two-way standout who made the Class A All-Star list at defensive back . . . District A-2 Most Valuable Player and also an All-Conference performer . . . Also starred in basketball and baseball.
Matt Jackson - Class 6A All-Star for local Santa Fe High School . . . Had 41 receptions for 650 yards and four touchdowns, averaging 15.9 yards a catch.
Matt Lantz - Class 3A All-Star who helped take Clinton to the state championship . . . First-team All-State pick by the Tulsa World and Oklahoma and was named All-District and District 3A-1 Offensive Lineman of the Year.
Alex Matunas - OCA All-State selection after leading Glenpool to the Class 4A state finals . . . Also a Tulsa World All-State pick . . . Had 90 tackles with 10 sacks.
Torrance McBrayer - Helped long-time powerhouse Clinton to the Class 3A state title and was a Class 3A All-Star . . . Also a second-team All-Stater by the Oklahoman . . . Caught 35 passes for 786 yards and 13 TDs, averaging 22.5 yards a catch, and added 28 tackles with six interceptions on defense.
Jason Robison - Threw for a state-high 42 touchdowns last fall while completing 235-of-392 passes for 2,873 yards, which led Class 3A . . . Second-team All-State pick by the Tulsa World and the Oklahoman and an OCA Class 3A All-Star . . . Also rushed for 295 yards and five scores in taking Metro Christian to the state playoffs.
Preston Runyan - Class 5A All-Star . . . Had 47 catches for 708 yards and five touchdowns . . . Cousin (Bear Runyan) played football at UCO in the 1990s.
Chris Scott - All-District selection as a senior.
Tre Smith - Honorable mention All-Stater.
Laquez Stone - Averaged 7.8 yards a carry with 489 yards and three touchdowns in 63 attempts . . . Also had 52 tackles on defense.
Garrett Valdez - Class 3A All-Star after helping the Chargers to a state runner-up finish . . . Completed 165-of-250 passes for a 2A-leading 2,536 yards and 28 touchdowns.
Evan Wilson - All-District pick as a senior.
