Tigers Pursuing Brothers

Kentrell Brothers, the 6-foot-1, 215-pound three-star linebacker from Guthrie, Okla., got his first scholarship offer in February from Missouri and since then he’s received another eight additional offers.

Brothers, ranked as the No. 23 outside linebacker in the country by Scout.com, also has offers from Tulsa, Kansas State, Iowa State, Baylor, Washington, Duke, Connecticut and Arizona.

He still denies a leader but has attended junior days at Missouri, Oklahoma and Oklahoma State. Although he grew up following the Sooners and Cowboys, he says he doesn’t believe they will offer.

“They haven’t been recruiting me,” Brothers said. “My coach said they are looking for a linebacker who’ll play safety. I’m not the type of linebacker they need.” 

While Oklahoma and Oklahoma State haven’t offered, another in-state school has – Tulsa. “I was actually born in Tulsa,” he said. “I lived there until like the first grade.”

Brothers now lives about one and half hours from Tulsa but says that distance will not be a factor. “Location won’t play a role,” he said. “My parents will support me anywhere I go.”

Despite Tulsa being so close in proximity to Brothers, he says the school that is recruiting him the hardest is Missouri. “I like that they are honest about what they want to do with me,” he said. “They said that I’d been a great fit and that I’d be able to fight for a spot early. They said they want a linebacker who can play in the open field and that’s exactly what I do.”

Besides being a good fit with the Tigers defense, Brother says he liked the Missouri campus and facilities. “The campus is real pretty,” he said. “I love the recreation center…it’s huge. They also have a real nice indoor practice facility and the stadium is pretty huge too.”

Although Brothers isn’t sure which camps he’ll be attending this summer, he says he hopes to visit Washington sometime soon.

“They’re recruiting me as an athlete,” he said about the Huskies. “They said that I could play offense and defense and that’s kind of cool. I’ve also heard great things about the area over there and the campus too.”

Another Pac-10 school that Brothers is considering is Arizona. “I’ve heard the weather is always great over there,” he said about the Wildcats. “The coaches seem cool too and they’ve already been out to the school.”

The Wildcats were Brothers’ most recent offer about a month ago.

“I think Arkansas and Vanderbilt are close to offering too,” he said. “They’ve been recruiting me hard for a while.”

Brothers says he doesn’t have a timeframe for making a decision but admits he’d rather do it sooner than later. “I’m not sure when it’s gonna be but I know I’d like to do it early,” he said about making a commitment. “I don’t want to be stressed about it during my senior year. But at the same time if I’m not totally sure then I’m not gonna rush it.”

He admits that the coaching staff will be a big factor in his final decision. “I want honesty from the coaches and want to feel they are sincere,” he said. “I need to get a good vibe from them.

“Besides that, I also want to go where they have good facilities and nice dorms and all that,” he said.

Brothers finished his junior season with 95 tackles, 17 sacks and four interceptions. Offensively, he also had 62 catches for 1,122 yards and 12 touchdowns.

“I read the field very well and I’m fundamentally sound,” he said about himself. “I run well and I’m pretty strong too.”

He says he can bench 250-pounds.

“I play smashmouth football,” he said. “That’s how I was taught. I go all out, all the time.”

But Brothers admits he’s not satisfied with his 4.85 forty. “I need to get faster,” he said. “I also want to bulk up and be more physical.”

Brothers reports a 3.4 core GPA and a 20 ACT.