Audio By Carbonatix
Texas Tech supposedly has the most money in college football right now— oil money. However, Cooper Hackett would rather take a pay cut to play at Oklahoma.
He flipped his commitment from the Red Raiders to the Sooners less than one month after committing to the former over the latter.
This could mark the beginning of an interesting trend within college football. The pendulum might start to swing back toward development instead of finances.
Who is Cooper Hackett?
At 6-foot-6, 250 pounds, Cooper Hackett ranks as one of the 10 best players in the college football recruiting Class of 2027. He is the No. 2-ranked offensive tackle and the top-ranked player in the state of Oklahoma.
The five-star prospect has 13 scholarship offers from programs like Auburn, Notre Dame, Florida, Ohio State and Arkansas. That list will only continue to grow over the next 12 months. There is still a very long way to go in his recruitment. Hackett will not have to sign until at least December of next year.
Thus, his current commitment does not really mean anything.
It is very possible that he could stay true to his word. It is just as possible that he could change his mind 10+ times before the Early Signing Period and/or National Signing Day. We’ll see.
Either way, Hackett made a big statement on Thursday.
Oklahoma did NOT out-bid Texas Tech.
It is not a secret that money is the biggest driving force in this modern era of recruiting.
College football programs that can offer the most zeros on a check typically land the most commitments. The first thing a recruit wants to know is how much he is going to make at a specific program.
That is the reality, whether you like it or not.
Cooper Hackett is bucking that trend. He flipped his commitment from Texas Tech to Oklahoma and it was not because the Sooners offered him more money. Rather, the opposite.
The Red Raiders actually offered him a “good chunk” more money but development was more important.
“If I’m in the NFL which is what I want to do overall, that money is not going to matter and I’m going to bet on myself a good amount of the time and that’s what I’m doing,” Hackett told Steve Wiltfong.
Oklahoma offensive line coach Bill Bedenbaugh produced three different tackles who are currently making seven figures in the NFL: Orlando Brown Jr., Tyler Guyton and Anton Harrison. Soon to be four with Michael Fasusi.
Hackett chose his future over the present… for now. We’ll see if he sticks.