SI Sooners Recruiting ROI: No. 18, Mossis Madu
Every Tuesday and Thursday, SI Sooners will unveil a new installment in the Recruiting ROI series. Over the course of 10 weeks, the series will examine 20 Sooners over the last 20 years who dramatically exceeded expectations in the crimson and cream.
It's a good thing Mossis Madu grew up just miles from Owen Field; otherwise, the Sooners might never have discovered their hidden backfield gem of the late 2000's.
The 6-foot-1, 190-pound dynamo wasn't even listed among the state's top 30 prospects coming into his senior year of high school, but exploded onto the scene with a fantastic season that earned him a three-star rating. Madu cracked the national top 500 and earned offers from UCLA, TCU and Tulsa.
But when the Sooners finally came calling, Madu couldn't resist the allure of the crimson and cream.
He redshirted his freshman year in 2006, and entered 2007 fourth on the depth chart behind Allen Patrick, Chris Brown and DeMarco Murray. Patrick would rush for 1,000 yards on the year, while Brown and Murray each eclipsed 600. Nevertheless, in the prolific Sooner offense, Madu clawed his way into a regular snap count. He played in all 14 games, and eventually finished the season with 232 rushing yards and two touchdowns on 40 carries.
Though Madu played second fiddle to Murray for four full years, he proved a reliable weapon as a change-of-pace back and a return man. At the conclusion of his senior season, he'd racked up 1,230 career scrimmage yards and nine touchdowns, as well as 780 yards on kick returns. His most productive season came as a sophomore in 2008, as he rushed for 475 yards and six touchdowns for one of college football's most fabled offenses.
The unquestioned pinnacle of his collegiate career came that very year, in the Big 12 championship against Missouri. Murray left the game with an injury on the opening kickoff and didn't return, leaving Brown and Madu to shoulder the load in the Sooner backfield.
Brown rushed for 122 yards and three touchdowns, and Madu raced for 114 yards and three scores of his own. His 37-yard touchdown run with less than four minutes to play punctuated Oklahoma's 62-21 thrashing of Mizzou.
After going undrafted in 2011, Madu signed with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He notched 55 yards on the ground and added 10 catches for 72 yards in four games as a rookie, but never saw the field in the NFL again. He spent time in training camp with the New York Jets in 2013, but failed to make the Week 1 roster.
However, Madu bounced back and found his calling in the Far North. He spent six seasons in the Canadian Football League with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats and Ottawa Redblacks, winning the Grey Cup with the Redblacks in 2016.
Madu retired after the 2019 season to pursue a career in coaching and fashion, bringing an end to a remarkable journey — one that began in 2006 at the university just two miles from his high school stomping grounds.
It's easy to search a little too hard for the proverbial diamond in the rough, and the world of recruiting is no exception. Sometimes a diamond can be found in the most obvious of places.
In the end, Bob Stoops and Oklahoma didn't have to venture too far from campus to find one in Mossis Madu.
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