July 31, 2012

Tulsa, Oklahoma - It is believed to be the earliest reporting date in school history for The University of Tulsa football team as 31 student-athletes officially reported for preseason camp today. Among the newcomers are 19 scholarship players, including 16 true freshmen, one senior transfer and two gray-shirts, as well as 12 walk-ons. The two gray-shirt players enrolled last January and participated in spring drills, but reported with the newcomers today, as did freshman quarterback Dane Evans, who also came to TU in January.

Tulsa newcomers will undergo a series of compliance, academic and other administrative meetings on Wednesday before hitting the field for the first practice of preseason camp on Thursday morning.

Practice will begin on Thursday morning for all the players, returnees and newcomers with a 7:30 a.m. workout on Harwell Field.

"We're excited about the group of newcomers and this entire football team. This is the time of year that we look forward to as coaches and players," said Blankenship.

"This is especially fun for me because now we get to start being around these players consistently," said Head Coach Bill Blankenship. "I know they've been here working this summer, but the way the NCAA rules fall we're not able to be a part of that. So we're anxious to see the results of their hard work and see what kind of condition they're in. They've had a good sparkle in their eye. I'm excited to officially get started. Getting all the rookies in will add a little adrenaline to what we're doing."

Blankenship hopes to get a quick appraisal on the incoming class as to "who's ready both physically and emotionally."

"The first 10 practices are devoted to trying to see who's ready to play and who's not. When we get closer to practices 12-14 and that's when we'll decide to set-up our scout teams and get ready for Iowa State. The first two weeks we're trying to evaluate and see who can help us," said Blankenship.

Rob Riederer, Craig Suits, Johnell Celistan and Garrett McGrady are expected to gray-shirt this season and join the squad in January.

The returning players report on Wednesday with the first practice scheduled for Thursday morning. Tulsa's Annual Media Day will take place on Friday.

Scholarship Newcomers
Name	        Pos.	Ht.	Wt.	Cl-Exp	Hometown	Previous School
Josh Atkinson	WR	6-2	185	Fr-HS	Carrollton, Texas The Oakridge School
Blake Belcher	OT	6-5	285	Fr-HS	Guthrie, Okla.	Guthrie
Adam Boyd	WR	6-1	195	Fr-HS	McAlester, Okla. McAlester
Jeremy Brady	DB	5-11	185	Fr-HS	North Little Rock, Ark.	Pulaski Academy
Khiry Cooper	WR	6-3	205	Sr-TR	Shreveport, La.	Nebraska
*Dane Evans	QB	6-2	200	Fr-HS	Sanger, Texas	Sanger
James Flanders	RB	5-11	186	Fr-HS	Midwest City, Okla. Midwest City
Dylan Foxworth	C	6-2	265	Fr-HS	Claremore, Okla. Claremore
Damian Gibson	DE	6-4	235	Fr-HS	Tulsa, Okla.	East Central
Cory Rahmings	DE	6-3	255	Fr-HS	Broken Bow, Okla. Broken Bow
Daniel Schwarz	PK	6-3	189	Fr-HS	Lawton, Okla.	MacArthur
Conner Sherwood	LB	6-2	218	Fr-HS	Tulsa, Okla.	Cascia Hall
Micheal Thomas	DB	6-0	200	Fr-HS	Lawton, Okla.	MacArthur
Jerry Uwaezuoke	DT	6-3	270	Fr-HS	Houston, Texas	Westbury
Darnell Walker Jr. CB	5-11	165	Fr-HS	Bolivar, Mo.	Bolivar
Chris Wallace	OG	6-5	310	Fr-HS	Sperry, Okla.	Sperry
Tyler Wilson	TE	6-7	260	Fr-HS	Ponca City, Okla. Ponca City

Grayshirts (participated in spring drill, but reported today)
Name	        Pos.	Ht.	Wt.	Cl-Exp	Hometown	Previous School
James Floyd	OG	6-2	301	Fr-GS	Fort Worth, Texas Paschal
Michael Sorrells HB	6-2	193	Fr-GS	Austin, Texas	McCallum

Incoming Walk-ons
No.	Name	        Pos.
95	Hayden Carmen	DE
52	Matthew Cegielski LB
19	Jake Compton	DS
11	Brock Dowling	WR
35	Matthew Hickman	LB
18	Reymundo HigueraDS
89	Patrick Jansen	TE
28	Matthew LinscottDB
40	Matthew Luetjen	RB
42	Sam Retzky	P
89	Thomas Shamet	DE
	Brad Valentino	QB