from
http://www.espn.com/college-footbal...ries-barry-sanders-record-setting-1988-season
The legendary highlight tape
One of the most puzzling mysteries in college football recruiting history was how both OU and Nebraska -- the bosses of the old Big Eight -- missed on Sanders.
One reason? They never saw his Wichita North High School highlight tape.
Another? Sanders opened his senior season of high school playing wingback.
"That coach that had me at wingback retired after my junior year and goes to athletic director," Sanders recalled. "He hires a new coach and plants the seed to the new coach [Dale Burkholder], 'Don't play Sanders at running back, he's probably not tough enough.' So [Burkholder] keeps me at wingback."
But that hardly slowed down Sanders. In North's opener, he scored four touchdowns from wingback. Two games later, Sanders was finally moved to running back after the starter there aggravated Burkholder by reversing the field -- which, ironically, would become one of Sanders' calling cards at OSU.
"So we put Barry there," Burkholder said. "And the first time he touched the ball, he went like 40 yards for a touchdown. The rest was history."
OU and Nebraska remained oblivious about his existence. But OSU defensive line assistant George Walstad, who had once been a high school coach in Wichita, caught wind of Sanders from an old coaching buddy there.
Walstad went up to watch this diminutive wingback and kick returner while also checking out his North teammate, lineman Joel Fry, whom OSU was recruiting.
"Well, it rained like the dickens," Walstad said. "Barry never got to return a punt or a kickoff, because when the ball hit the ground, it just went plop."
Fortunately for the Pokes, Walstad would circle back to North on the way to OSU's game at Kansas. And that's when he first saw the highlight film that would become legendary.
"I thought [he] looked like [ex-OU great] Joe Washington," Walstad said. "I just asked [Burkholder] if I could take the tape with me and show the coaches here at OSU. But I didn't give it back."
Walstad wanted to keep Sanders a secret. And former OU coach Barry Switzer has always maintained that the Sooners never had a chance to see the tape.
Burkholder, however, tells a different story.
"It's true, George would not return it, because I know he didn't want anybody else to see it," he said. "But I eventually got it back. I had to threaten him. I said, 'If I don't get that video back I'm going to tell Barry not to go to Oklahoma State.' Well, bam. That video came back all of a sudden."
Not long after, top OU assistant Merv Johnson would make a routine recruiting stop by North.
"He just didn't show much interest because they were loaded at running back," Burkholder said. "I know Barry Switzer and Oklahoma was embarrassed they didn't get Barry. They made excuses why they didn't recruit him.
"But Merv Johnson, he just didn't care to watch the video of him."
That tape slipped by Nebraska, as well.
"I loved Nebraska and I was running their offense," Burkholder said. "In the spring when I went up there to the coaching clinic, [Huskers assistant] Frank Solich and I were talking and I said, 'Frank, why you didn't want my little running back?' He said, 'What running back?' I showed him the tape. He watched it for two minutes, then went roaring down to the main secretary to ask who in the world evaluated the Wichita North film. Frank was totally upset.
"Nebraska missed the boat. OU missed the boat. He would've been fabulous in their wishbone."
Instead, Iowa State and Tulsa were the only other schools to seriously recruit Sanders, leaving Walstad with the inside track to the greatest recruiting victory in OSU history.
