Oklahoma Sooners: Attitude Adjustment Needed in Norman

In the wake of one of the most devastating losses in recent history, losing to Baylor for the first time in 20 attempts and missing a chance for a BCS title, many are calling for sweeping changes in Norman.

"Fire Bob Stoops! Fire Brent Venerables! Fire everyone!" are the rants from fans on the local radio shows.

Those claims may be a bit over the top (as usual), but there is definitely a need for some sort of change in Norman. Baylor was the fourth game this season (Mizzou, Kansas, Texas Tech, Baylor) where the players did not come ready to play and either struggled or lost to a vastly inferior opponent.

These letdowns have been a growing trend over the last few years. Last season, Utah State and Air Force were wins that were much closer than they should have been (combined 10-point margin of victory), while a lack of execution and energy resulted in two losses against A&M and Missouri, games that absolutely should have been won.

What is the problem then, you ask? I believe the issue comes down to the types of players that are being recruiting. 

Stoops' early success (1-for-3 in national championship games in first five years) helped propel a once-dominant program out of the "dark ages" and back into the national spotlight. That kind of exposure for your program garners you the ability to get the best, highest-rated recruits in the country in an attempt to continue that excellence on the field.

Hauling in loads of the most talented players each year seems like a good idea on paper, but with immense amounts of talent comes an even larger amount of ego. Thanks to rating sites and increased national media exposure, these heralded recruits come into college with an overinflated sense of entitlement that, in my opinion, is bringing the program into a recession.

Their athletic abilities allowed them to dominate at the high school level, but the talent gap is much smaller in the upper echelons of college football. It takes a lot more than talent to succeed at this level. Unfortunately, some (not all) of these players on this roster have yet to realize that fact.

This mindset has manifested itself several times this year. When ESPN came to town, the defensive backs nicknamed themselves "The Sharks" before ever even stepping onto the field, simply assuming the logo on the side of the helmet was going to do all the work.

This only added to their already-inflated egos. After being scorched by Missouri, Texas Tech and Baylor (with OSU on the horizon), the nickname needs to be dropped and Travis Lewis needs to stop shaving sharks into the side of his head before games.

If you follow any of the team on Twitter, it only gets worse. Much of the attitude comes from what has become known as the "Cali Trio" of Kenny Stills, Tony Jefferson and Brennan Clay who all came from Southern California. They have combined for over 35,000 tweets, mostly talking about how much "swag" they have, who has the better haircut or re-tweets from adoring fans for everyone to see.

Instead of "I am lucky to be at OU" it was become "OU is lucky to have me," a dangerous change in mentality.

The 2000 national championship team was full of under-the-radar regional recruits that were proud to be at the University of Oklahoma. They played with heart. They played with class. They kept their mouths shut and let their play do the talking, not their Twitter account.

The problem can be summed up by the dying words of Uncle Ben in Spider-Man: "With great power comes great responsibility."

Yes, they have the ability to bring in top recruits from all over the country. But, is that actually what is best for the program? Should they really be relying on recruiting pipelines in Las Vegas and San Diego just because they can?

I say shut down those pipelines and keep their recruiting efforts closer to home, where wearing the crimson and cream actually means something. Think about players like Ronnell Lewis (Dewar, Okla.), Tom Wort (New Braunfels, Texas), Gabe Ikard (Oklahoma City, Okla.), Dominique Whaley (Lawton, Okla.) and Trey Millard (Columbia, Mo.).

Do you think they were tweeting about their hair after the Baylor loss? Or how much "swag" they had?

Take Whaley's post-Baylor tweet as evidence of a true Sooner:

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DOM_IN_8: "Tough times don't build character, it reveals it"

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