Oklahoma football: Jamarkus McFarland wants to leave his mark on Red River Rivalry

Only three or four each year, though, are invited to the big white house on Boyd Street to meet university President David L. Boren. Four years ago, defensive tackle Jamarkus McFarland was one of them.

“I was struck by what a fine person he was,” Boren said. “It was obvious to me that he's highly intelligent and very well motivated.

“He wanted to come here, not just to play football, but to get a good education. His mother really made that point forcefully to us.”

The Lufkin, Texas, native, who was deciding between Red River rivals, sat down with Boren and listened to what he stood to gain at OU — beyond stadiums, crowds and game day glory.

“It was all exciting to me,” McFarland said of the visit, “but meeting the president of the school was big. My mom and I are big on my education, and I knew they were serious about it at that point.”

Saturday, McFarland — who chose Oklahoma over Texas in one of recent history's most highly publicized recruiting battles — will suit up for his final Red River Rivalry tilt, which kicks off at 11 a.m. inside the Cotton Bowl.

The fascinating story of McFarland's intense recruitment was chronicled in a nearly 3,000-word New York Times article, which included excerpts from a comparative English paper he wrote about his OU and Texas experiences.

In the paper, he detailed a wild hotel party in Dallas during the 2008 Red River weekend, hosted by Texas fans. McFarland later said the school paper was “spiced up” and that he didn't know it would be quoted in the Times article.

Still, his life dramatically changed after the article was published. Texas fans ripped him on message boards and in Facebook messages.