100 Days to Football Time in Oklahoma: #44 Brendan Radley-Hiles
Posted on: July 19, 2019
The Path to Norman
Brendan Radley-Hiles, or Bookie, is a California native. An extremely talented player and elite athlete, he played at IMG Academy in Florida for the end of his high school career.
With offers from basically everywhere, he had his pick of school. Bookie was committed to Nebraska for several months, but decommitted a few months before his signing day, feeling strongly pulled toward Oklahoma. He is good friends with OU running back TJ Pledger, his teammate at IMG Academy in Florida and fellow Californian. The two had a strong desire to play together.
There were rumors of Pledger potentially landing at Nebraska for months, in large part due to their connection – instead, Oklahoma ended up with both.
Career so Far
Bookie started out the season strong playing nickel. He averaged just under 5 tackles per game for the first six games and was on pace to average 65 tackles for the season; that would have been third on the team last year behind only Kenneth Murray and Curtis Bolton. He kept picking up steam; then, he was involved in a violent collision during the Kansas State game. Although he still appeared in five more games, it seemed like he never quite got back to form after that hit.
Bookie’s freshman season was a victim of its own hype. It’s hard to remember a defensive freshman coming in more hyped up than he; it was almost impossible to live up to that. Another challenge for Bookie was playing at safety for much of the season, not his most natural fit.
Current Profile
Position: Defensive Back
Height: 5’9”
Weight: 180
Year: Sophomore
Stats
Highlights
2019 Season
With the new defensive staff in place, Bookie has a fresh start and a chance to become one of the premiere defensive backs in the Big 12. TFB has reported all spring that he is back to his natural fit of nickel, with Tre Norwood equipped to back him up if necessary and freshman Jeremiah Criddell learning the spot as well. The Sooners return the three corners who played the most frequently last season (Tre Brown, Parnell Motley, and Norwood), along with Bookie at nickel. That provides lots of experience for the new coaching staff to work with as they bring OU’s defense an aggressive new look. Look for Bookie to come into his sophomore year with more experience and a fire to show he is an elite defensive back.
