The Football Brainiacs

Josh Wariboko: We had a chance to catch up with Josh Wariboko this past weekend. The more we speak to him, and those folks around him, it seems like this one really is a bit of a three way tie at this point and where he ends up is anyone’s guess.

By now everyone knows Wariboko is a big fan of the Cali life. He’s visited UCLA a couple times, including a brief unofficial in the summer and an official visit this past season. In our estimation, UCLA remains a strong contender. But in truth, UCLA isn’t USC. If Wariboko had a standing USC offer, they’d be hard to beat. Wariboko has friends at USC and it’s our understanding that he’s long had strong interest in the Trojans. So while UCLA gives him a chance to be in California, we are told it doesn’t have quite the same draw that USC would.

Wariboko spoke highly of Ohio State recently and, specifically, talked about how much he likes coach Urban Meyer. While we may have once thought Ohio State was just a placeholder, it’s clear that isn’t the case. At one point Wariboko said, “what is there to not like about Ohio State?”

Josh also talked about his overall comfort with Oklahoma after having spent so much time in Norman during his recruitment. In fact, he was at the Bedlam basketball this past weekend. He said he’s got an incredibly close relationship with Bill Bedenbaugh and Jerry Montgomery. He knows the players, the coaches, and his own family lives nearby. Oklahoma continues to remain an attractive option for Josh.

So, like we said, all three schools appear to be pretty even at the moment.

Du’Vonta Lampkin: A few weeks back we told you, “OU still has a shot at flipping Texas DL commit and former OU commit, Du’Vonta Lampkin (HERE and HERE).” We were expecting this to be a bit of a surprise flip on NSD but in talking to some folks close to the situation, we are told that an actual decommitment could come soon. At which point Lampkin would likey wait until Feb 4th to announce an official decision.

Texas Recruiting: Related to the note above, it’s interesting to note that Texas is really struggling right now with recruiting on the defensive side of the ball. If they do lose Lampkin to the Sooners, they’d be left with zero defensive tackles in this 2015 class.

Additionally, they lost Tim Irvin, their star Florida DB, to Auburn and we’ve been told that Da’Vante Davis may be wavering as well. We’ve also recently heard that Cameron Townsend may be re-thinking things.

In talking to some high schools coaches and trainers in Texas, there seems to be some very unhappy folks about how Charlie Strong has gone about recruiting…not reaching out to some of “the fellas”…passing up kids in Texas to recruit Florida…etc. Justified or not, that sentiment definitely exists. In fact, we talked to one coach who said, “now would be the right time for OU to really reassert themselves in Texas.”

– UPDATE (12:24 pm): New Sooners OC & RBs coach using this sweet ride to check in with 2015 JUCO WR Dominique Reed.

Back in the Ville with @LincolnRiley. About to roll in the Chevy. #wegettinitdone pic.twitter.com/Z70WjQotsH

— Cale Gundy (@calegundy) January 20, 2015

– UPDATE (1:42 pm): 2015 WR, OU target and recent visitor, Van Jefferson tells TFB that he has decommitted from Georgia. Sooners continue to pursue as we head down the home stretch to National Signing Day.

– UPDATE (2:56 pm): I (K) have had a chance to chat a bit with OU WR target, Van Jefferson and at this point it seems pretty clear that OU is the leader. He did not say whether another visit will happen, but it almost feels like more of a “when” not “if” right now. It seems now is making sure the whole family is on board. We’ll keep you updated.