The folks at Oklahoma State did not roll out the red carpet when Justin Gilbert and a few of his Huntsville football teammates visited late last month. But the Cowboys did show the Hornets around Stillwater and made them feel welcome.
That warm greeting was enough to sway Gilbert to make a verbal commitment to Oklahoma State. Last week, Gilbert told Oklahoma State coach Mike Gundy he would accept his scholarship offer.
Gilbert wants to be a Cowboy after his senior season at HHS.
“It all started with playing time and how they made me feel. Stillwater felt like a home away from home,” Gilbert said Tuesday. “Our visit to Stillwater helped me out a lot.
“Oklahoma State was not really one of my top schools, so I’m glad I took that visit.”
Along with Huntsville coaches David Cooper and Joseph Granville, plus Hornet teammates Joseph Maxey, Shaquille Ross and Tremaine Ashley, Gilbert made an unofficial visit to Oklahoma State before school let out for the summer. He also made earlier visits to Oklahoma and Baylor.
“I talked to some of the players and I talked to coach Gundy,” Gilbert said of his trip to Oklahoma State. “He told me they had a scholarship for me even if I get hurt or something. Oklahoma State also has the nicest facilities I’ve ever seen.
“I just felt at home there. I could see myself living there even after I get done with school. I can see myself staying there.”
The Hornets’ starting quarterback, who also plays basketball and runs track, chose Oklahoma State over Oklahoma, Miami, Colorado, Texas A&M;, Baylor, SMU, TCU, Houston, Nebraska, Mississippi and North Texas. All of those schools had offered the talented Hornet a football scholarship.
Gilbert said Oklahoma State has left the door open for him to play cornerback, receiver possibly, and also return punts.
It was not easy making a decision, Gilbert admitted, but the talented senior-to-be said he feels pretty solid about his commitment to Oklahoma State, even though letters and e-mails keep coming.
“Oklahoma State and Oklahoma were in the top two, and it really came down to which one made me feel at home,” Gilbert said. “I’m not saying Oklahoma treated me bad, but Oklahoma State was really nice. I think I’m pretty much done with the recruiting business, but you never know what might happen. I’m still getting mail and e-mails from schools showing an interest in me.”
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A verbal commit
With senior year looming, Huntsville football standout accepts offer from Oklahoma State
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Back to work
Tick tick tick. Tick tick tick tick.
It won’t be long until the alarm goes off early Monday morning, signaling the start of high school football practice in Huntsville.
Freshmen hit the field at 8 a.m. Monday and Hornets head coach Shane Martin can’t wait. Huntsville’s defensive coordinator the past two years, Martin has been waiting seven long months for the first day of serious summer workouts. -
Huntsville ISD hires new volleyball coach
On paper and in her head, Stephanie Branch quietly took notes while sitting in the stands at Bryan High School on Thursday night. She paid particular attention to the team from Huntsville, because in a little more than a month that bunch will be her’s.
The daughter of a teaching and coaching couple, Branch, 31, was hired this week as the Lady Hornets’ new head volleyball coach. She replaces Brittany Brumbelow, who stepped down from her position at the end of the school year to spend more time with her family. -
High school notebook: Brenham boys edge Hornets at state track meet
Round one went to the Brenham boys. The Cubs won the District 18-4A boys track and field title last month in Willis.
The Huntsville boys took round two. Led by state qualifiers Justin Gilbert, Brodrick Hadnot, Henry Ford, Dimitri Collier and Cameron Simmons, the Hornets evened the score by outscoring the Cubs at the Region III track meet in Huntsville early this month.
In Austin last weekend, the Cubs edged the Hornets in the unofficial battle for track and field supremacy in District 18-4A. -
Going for gold
It wasn’t that long ago. RaKira Turner stood in the shot put ring and with all of her might, flat-footed she heaved the heavy ball forward.
Her first throws from the discus ring were even more memorable. With no idea about how to hold the strangely shaped disc, Turner did her best but the results were far from pretty. -
Hornets finish strong
They easily could have gone through the motions.
Sitting eighth in the team standings after a miserable first day at the UIL Boys Golf State Championships, the Hornets could have trudged around the Jimmy Clay Golf Course without a care.
They could have turned in another big score, gotten back on the bus and hit the highway headed home to Huntsville.
These Hornets had too much pride to mail in the second round of the tournament. On Tuesday, the Huntsville boys made a huge turnaround, shooting a team score of 307, which moved them up to sixth in the team standings. -
Difficult district
The Lady Hornets played their best round of golf Monday at Raven Nest Golf Club. Unfortunately for the Huntsville girls, they are stuck in District 18-4A with two, and probably three, of the top teams in the state.
Led by junior Madison Ward, who shot a solid 79, Huntsville’s varsity team posted a 349 team score during the first round of the District 18-4A tournament. That total puts the Lady Hornets in fourth place behind Montgomery Gold (310), Montgomery Purple (313) and Magnolia A (319) heading into today’s final round. -
Hornets finish first at Dayton track meet
The track teams from Huntsville High School did exactly what their head coach wanted them to do last week in the final tune-up before the all-important District 18-4A meet.
The Hornets finished first and the Lady Hornets placed third in the team standings at the Bronco Relays in Dayton. -
Gilbert advances to 100-meter finals at Texas Relays
Huntsville senior Justin Gilbert booked a spot in the main event. With a sizzling showing in the prelims for the 100-meter dash, Gilbert earned a place in the finals of the Texas Relays this afternoon in Austin.
Hopefully, he will have some company as some of his teammates try this morning to advance to the finals at Mike Myers Stadium at the University of Texas. -
‘I’m going to be nervous’
Austin’s Mike Myers Stadium is the place to be this weekend. The top track and field athletes not only in Texas, but from across the United States, will be competing inside a stadium full with the sport’s most passionate fans.
As a reward for weeks of hard work, and also to act as a possible tune-up for next month’s season-ending state meet, Huntsville High School is sending its best athletes to Austin, too. -
Top-ranked Cubs bring big bats to Huntsville
On a night when Brenham’s Chase Wellbrock nearly threw a no-hitter, Huntsville head coach Jeff Brumbelow shook his head more about the Cubs’ impressive hit parade.
Brenham came to Kate Barr Ross Park on Wednesday and quickly took control on the District 18-4A baseball game against the Hornets. The top-ranked Cubs banged out 16 hits in the first three innings and scored 13 runs on their way to a commanding 18-1 win over Huntsville. - More Hornet Sports Headlines
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