TU Football Welcomes 32 Newcomers
Tulsa World, August 4, 2009
By Eric Bailey, World Sports Writer

Tulsa welcomed 32 newcomers to its football program on Tuesday afternoon.

Among those were 23 scholarship players, including Oklahoma City Douglas star Destin Stewart. The versitile Stewart originally had signed a letter of intent with Hawaii, but changed his mind over the weekend to join Tulsa. His immediate status is unknown (Note: Tulsa World later reported that Hawaii gave Stewart a release.) Stewart has 26 catches for 521 yards and nine touchdowns as a receiver, and 76 tackles and five interceptions on defense in 2008 (Tulsa World later reported Stewart would play Safety at TU.)

Two players that signed scholarships with TU but didn't show were defensive backs Antonio Parker and Arthur Render. Parker is attending junior college, while Render, a junior college transfer, is believed to be an academic casualty (Note: Academics causes TU to lose potential athletes. FWIW, Render is a U of Illionois.)

Players joining Stewart as late (2009) scholarship additions include offensive lineman transfers David Lazenby (6-5, 290 pounds) from Fort Scott, Kansas Community Collegfe) and Kody Cooke (6-4, 291 pounds) from U of Oklahoma.

Tulsa will grayshirt five players from its 2009 recruiting class: OL Stephen Burnett, TE Greg Brown, DE Daeshon Bufford, LB Shawn Jackson, and OL Brian Mincher. Players that accept a greyshirt will join TU in January 2010 and not count against the Golden Hurricane's scholarship limit.

Nine walk-ons checked into campus, including Trey Watts. The Oakton, Virginia High School running back is the son of former Oklahoma U quarterback J.C. Watts.

The varsity players will report on Wednesday and TU will hold its media day on Thursday.