North Texas Offers Carthage Receiver O’Keeron Rutherford

The second Division I FBS offer arrived for O'Keeron Rutherford only four days after the best single-game performance of his career.

Carthage's physical, large-framed senior receiver told ETSN.fm just after noon Tuesday that North Texas offered him. The Mean Green join ULM as Rutherford's two offers.

Rutherford, who had a very strong summer during 7-on-7 competition, had a monster game in Carthage's 63-39 loss at Class 4A No. 3 Whitehouse this past Friday. He caught 12 passes for 171 yards and three touchdowns, the third of which gave Carthage a brief 39-20 lead early in the third quarter.

The 181-pound Rutherford, who possesses a legitimate 6-foot-5 frame, has 27 catches for 434 yards and four touchdowns through Carthage's first five games. As a junior, he caught 43 passes for 599 yards and eight scores when Carthage finished 11-3 with a Class 3A Division I state semifinal run.

Size is what stands out with Rutherford. He measured 6-foot-7 in shoes at the ETSN.fm Football Recruiting Combine at APEC training facility in Tyler on May 19. His height and physical nature made him a red-zone nightmare all summer, when he helped Carthage win the Division II consolation championship at the state 7-on-7 tournament in mid-July.

Rutherford and classmate Terian "Tee" Goree, Carthage's leading receiver, each hold a North Texas offer. Goree, who has seven FBS offers, has 37 catches for 776 yards and 13 touchdowns. He ranks second, first, and first, respectively, in East Texas in those categories.

The big receiving duo has helped UTSA-committed senior quarterback Blake Bogenschutz start the 2013 season with a bang. The 6-foot-1, 180-pounder has thrown for 1,682 yards, 20 touchdowns, and only three interceptions during Carthage's 4-1 start. His 380-yard, four-touchdown performance in the loss to Whitehouse gave him Carthage's career passing yardage record and put him within two touchdown passes of the school's career record of 84.

Rutherford is the seventh player in East Texas' 2014 class to receive a North Texas offer. The Mean Green has also offered one of the region's 2015 recruits: Whitehouse cornerback Nate Brooks, who also has a Louisiana Tech offer.

East Texans with North Texas Offers

• 2014 -- Caleb Chumley, QB/ATH, Pine Tree (9 offers)
• 2014 -- Terian "Tee" Goree, WR, Carthage (7 offers)
• 2014 -- Willy Ivery, ATH, Sulphur Springs (5 offers)
• 2014 -- Patrick Mahomes, QB, Whitehouse (committed to Texas Tech)
• 2014 -- O'Keeron Rutherford, WR, Carthage (2 offers)
• 2014 -- D.J. Williams, DT, Lufkin (5 offers)
• 2014 -- Jeffery Wilson, RB, Elkhart (4 offers)
• 2015 -- Nate Brooks, CB, Whitehouse (2 offers)

2014 East Texas Football Players With Division I FBS Offers

• Terry Ausborne, S, John Tyler, 5-10, 175 -- offer from SMU (1)
• Blake Bogenschutz, QB, Carthage, 6-1, 175 -- committed to UTSA (1)
• Jacob Bragg, OL, Nacogdoches, 6-4, 310 -- committed to Kansas; additional offers from Louisiana Tech, Oregon State, ULM (4)
• K.D. Cannon, WR, Mount Pleasant, 6-0, 160 — committed to Baylor; additional offers from Arizona, Clemson, Florida State, Houston, Miami, Nebraska, Notre Dame, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Ole Miss, Purdue, SMU, TCU, Texas, Texas A&M, Texas Tech, Utah, Vanderbilt, Virginia, West Virginia (21)
• Caleb Chumley, QB/ATH, Pine Tree, 6-5, 220 -- offers from Houston, Kansas, Louisiana Tech, Memphis, Missouri, New Mexico State, North Texas, Oregon State, Texas State (9)
• Joseph Clark, RB/S, Chapel Hill, 5-9, 175 -- committed to Texas Tech; additional offers from Air Force, Texas State (3)
• Kade Clayton, ATH, Tyler Grace, 6-0, 180 — offer from SMU, Texas State (2); additional offer from Old Dominion (FCS)
• Terrell Cuney, C, Jasper, 6-3, 260 — committed to Texas; additional offers from TCU, Texas Tech (3)
• Devondrick Dixon, ATH, Gilmer, 5-9, 180 -- committed to Texas State (1)
• Adrian Goodacre, OL, Carthage, 6-4, 310 -- committed to ULL; additional offer from Houston (2)
• Terian "Tee" Goree, WR, Carthage, 6-2, 170 -- offers from Colorado State, Louisiana Tech, Memphis, North Texas, ULL, ULM, UTSA (7)
• Davion Hall, ATH, Liberty-Eylau, 6-2, 191 — committed to Baylor; additional offers from Alabama, Arkansas, LSU, SMU, Stanford, Texas, Texas A&M, Texas Tech (9)
• Zaycoven Henderson, DT, Longview, 6-1, 293 — offers from Baylor, Florida, Iowa State, Kansas, Kansas State, Missouri, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Ole Miss, Oregon, SMU, South Carolina, TCU, Texas, Texas Tech, Washington, Washington State (18)
• Willy Ivery, ATH, Sulphur Springs, 5-8, 180 -- offers from Colorado State, New Mexico, North Texas, Texas State, Toledo (5)
• Jamal Jeffery, WR, Lufkin, 5-9, 165 — committed to Texas A&M (1)
• Chris Jefferson, ATH, Athens, 6-2, 200 -- committed to SMU (1)
• Jawuan Johnson, DB, New Boston, 6-0, 195 -- committed to Northern Illinois (1)
• Dorian Leonard, WR, Longview, 6-4, 200 — committed to Texas; offers from Florida State, Oklahoma, Oregon State, San Diego State, Texas Tech (6)
• Reggie Long, LB, Whitehouse, 6-0, 218 -- offers from Army, New Mexico State (2)
• Ben Luckett, RB, Palestine, 6-0, 195 -- offer from ULM (1)
• Patrick Mahomes, QB, Whitehouse, 6-3, 203 — committed to Texas Tech; additional offers from Houston, North Texas, Rice (4); also has Arizona, Arkansas, Houston baseball offers
• Stephan Maxey, DB, Longview, 5-11, 185 -- offer from UTSA (1)
• Jarrell Owens, LB/DE, Palestine, 6-3, 230 -- committed to TCU; additional offers from Texas State, Texas Tech, ULM (4)
• Greg Roberts, DE, Nacogdoches, 6-5, 200 -- committed to Baylor (1)
• Anthony Rhone, LB, Texas High, 6-0, 210 -- committed to SMU (1)
• O'Keeron Rutherford, WR, Carthage, 6-5, 181 -- offer from North Texas, ULM (2)
• Anthony Sanders, ATH, Athens, 5-11, 185 -- offer from ULM (1)
• Kevin Shorter, RB/S, Newton, 6-0, 190 — committed to Texas; additional offers from Arkansas, Army, Baylor, Clemson, Florida State, Georgia Tech, Houston, Kansas, LSU, Maryland, Miami, Mississippi State, Nebraska, Ohio State, Oklahoma, San Diego State, Tennessee, Texas A&M, Texas Tech, UCLA, ULM, Utah (22)
• Brian Thlang, OL, Palestine, 6-2, 290 -- committed ULM (1)
• Josh Walker, RB/LB, Gilmer, 6-1, 220 — committed to Texas A&M; additional offers from Oklahoma, Texas, Texas Tech (4)
• D.J. Williams, DT, Lufkin, 6-4, 293 -- offers from Houston, Miami, Missouri, North Texas, Oklahoma (5)
• Jeffery Wilson, RB, Elkhart, 6-0, 190 -- offers from New Mexico State, North Texas, Texas State, ULM (4)