Weekend Open Post | April 4th – 6th
Posted on: April 4, 2025
Sunday Brunch | Sourced Team Notes | March 30th
– Charlie S – Posted on: March 30, 2025
The Sooners got back to spring practice and they held a couple of extensive ‘live periods’ this past week.
Spoke to a source about the week that was and thought it was a good time to pass along some notes on this fine Sunday morning.
We will start off with a few superlatives that stood out…
***Source said the separation on the field was made clear this week when it comes to the QB room. Source said “Mateer turned it up” this week when it came to practice. Was told one of the more eye catching moments of the week was when Mateer found Zion Kearney with a perfectly placed deep ball on like his ‘3rd or 4th read’ and how quick and efficient he was made it seem like the timing was his first read. Source said “His (Mateers) knowledge of this offense is incredible”.
*** Here’s one I did not expect to hear…Source said Jake Taylor may have had “his best week of practice since he’s been here”. Taylor being healthy is obviously a key, as he has had a myriad of injuries over the years. Source went on to say that if Taylor can win the RT job in fall camp, that makes the OU OL that much better since Derrick Simmons is well-versed at playing multiple positions. That is nice to hear from Taylor; hopefully, he can keep it going.
***Source also pointed to freshmen OL Michael Fasusi and Ryan Fodje as guys who are getting better every day. Source noted that Fodje is still working primarily at guard (RG) and is getting quite a bit of run as Nwaiwu gets some reps at center (love that). Was told Fasusi deposited a couple of established EDGE guys on their backside this week, pancake style, but the old dawgs on defense still have a few tricks they can take advantage of when Fasusi gets overaggressive.
***Was told Deion Burks made his return to contact play and immediately torched the defense for a long touchdown and shortly thereafter, was shut down for the most part by the staff. He was not shut down due to injury or anything, the staff just wanted to keep him as healthy as possible, and once he made his mark, they had seen enough.
***Source said the defensive front seven was the best and ‘most complete’ unit on the field at all times. Was told they made life very difficult for the offense even with Mateer on the field, but made it truly chaotic when any other QB was out there. Source said Danny Okoye had a big day Saturday and PJ Adebawore made some “wow” plays earlier in the week.
***Was told the secondary is still the defensive weak spot comparatively speaking but source did note Courtland Guillory had a couple of picks this week and Trystan Haynes got him one earlier in the week. Source went on to say Guillory is playing and acting like CB1 would with all these other guys out and really taking advantage of his opportunities.
***Source said Gavin Sawchuk and Xavier Robinson got the bulk of the work in the live periods and each of them had a couple of nice runs, but right now, the run game is still a ‘work in progress’ with them learning how to best sync up with the current state of the OL. Still lots of moving pieces (as you would expect) at OL as Bedenbaugh experiments, so the backs are having to adjust their timing a bit and any crack you give that front seven defensively, they will exploit it.
***Was told David Stone has not slowed down and had a really solid couple of practices. Was told he is getting ‘more live reps than anyone’ on the defensive line and he keeps asking for more.
***Source mentioned Jaydan Hardy as a defensive back who stood out. Was told Hardy just ‘Understands football’ and is always in the right spot. Was told he had a forced fumble this week as he met a running back in the hole, and that lit up the defense. I asked who the running back was and the only answer I got was ‘It wasn’t Tatum’.
***Lastly, as has been the case all spring, Javonnie Gibson continues to receive accolades, and he continues just to catch long passes and score touchdowns. Gibson had another big week as his blend of size and speed makes him a mismatch for the young OU secondary. Was told that one of the most surprising things about Javonnie’s spring is the connection he has with Mateer at this point. Source said “It’s like those two been playing together since pee-wee”.
We will have more notes on the live periods as James and K write up what they have heard, but thought this would be a nice Sunday Brunch type of deal.
Bowe Bentley | Quick Update
– Super K – Posted on: April 1, 2025
As you know by now, Sooners 2026 QB target, Bowe Bentley has narrowed things down to three schools – OU, LSU and UGA.
He recently took a number of visits and you’ll recall that I checked in with him before his visits and he was eying a late spring or early summer decision.
Bentley now, reportedly, has three OVs set up to his top three schools. The general sense is that the decision will come after the OVs, however I am checking with Bowe to see if there is a still a possibility of an earlier decision.
But right now we are operating under the assumption that a late June decision is most likely.
Also, last I checked, the Sooners continue to feel good about this one. I haven’t been told explicitly that Bentley is a silent commit but I do get the sense that he’s given a decent tip of the hand to the OU staff.
Still, if he goes through with OVs, OU will need to remain cautious even if it’s optimistically so.
Leadership Emerging | Sourced
– Charlie S – Posted on: April 1, 2025
Growth as a football player goes beyond just the physical and technical aspects of the game. It’s about developing mental toughness, understanding the importance of discipline, and fostering a culture of accountability both for yourself and your teammates.
Leadership in football, as in any sport, isn’t just about making big plays or scoring touchdowns; it’s about setting an example, making smart decisions, and being someone others can rely on during crucial moments.
Spring ball is the perfect time for players to focus on their development, not just as athletes but as individuals who can contribute to the team’s overall success.
The emphasis on maturity and accountability helps lay the foundation for success in the fall season and for players’ futures on and off the field. It’s great to hear that there are players showing these qualities because, when those leadership qualities start to emerge, it’s a sign of something bigger.
Had a source speak rather passionately about Sooners running back Xavier Robinson recently, and the focus really wasn’t on his play in practice, but more about the maturity that has been on display throughout winter and the first half of spring ball.
One glaring weakness from last season, on the offensive side of the ball, was the lack of any real leadership. You had a lot of veteran guys injured, and your featured quarterback was young and inexperienced. Jackson Arnold was thrown into a leadership role, one which he was not ready for, and aside from that, there were very few leaders who were healthy enough to be on the field for the majority of the games.
Source said that Xavier Robinson is a guy who has earned the respect of his room and the entire team in general, as he has really put his head down and worked relentlessly to make himself a better football player and a better teammate. Remember, this was a guy that some not associated with team questioned if he was bought in as a Sooner just a year ago due to some speculation based on a couple social media posts (never go full social media sleuth…that’s the lesson there).
While Jovantae Barnes and Gavin Sawchuk have received ample praise for their leadership of the running back room, the source said, “There isn’t a guy on this team who serves as a better example of what hard work and doing the right thing over and over again can do”.
Let’s not get ahead of ourselves here and anoint X-Rob as RB1 or the leader of the room or even of the offense halfway through spring ball. However, it is safe to say that his effort and growth, both as a player and as a teammate, have not gone unnoticed, and he is organically becoming a leader…which is something you really want to have happen on your team at as many spots as possible.
This is one of those sourced notes that mean more to me than any notes about how a guy did at one or two practices.
Sourced Thoughts on Nagy
– Super K – Posted on: April 3, 2025
I spoke to a three major D1 personnel guys on their thoughts about BV hiring Jim Nagy.
***First, everyone loves the guy. That might not sound like it means much but I wouldn’t discount that in terms of how that can impact on campus recruiting.
***Second, all of them agreed that there will likely be an adjustment period for Nagy to get used to evaluating high school talent. He’s obviously accustomed to evaluating players at a higher level. I personally think this is the biggest risk to the Nagy hire – how long it takes him to acclimate and how well he does so.
***The big area where I’m told Nagy is an immediate boon is as one source said, “this guy has already probably evaluated like 60% of the current college crop. He’s going to help right away with the portal evals and if you’re trying to win right away then that’s what matters.”
***That final point is the most important. We don’t yet know how much work OU will do in the portal but you can bet Nagy isn’t just evaluating 2026 recruits. He’s out there evaluating the current roster for this upcoming season to figure out what they’ll need in the portal going into the summer.
Sourced Note | Transfer Center Jake Maikkula
– Charlie S – Posted on: April 3, 2025
As we previously noted, the Sooners are hosting Stanford transfer offensive center Jake Maikkula today and tomorrow.
Spoke to a source about the visit and was told, “Everyone is on the same page, they want this to be his only visit”.
So I asked for a little more insight into what constitutes ‘everyone’ and was told the plan is for Maikkula to get face time with everyone from Bedenbaugh to Venables to Nagy and many others in between.
Sounds like the Sooners are going to be all in on Maikkula and put their best foot forward in all areas in an effort to get him to shut things down.
Currently, the plan is for Maikkula to visit Norman and turn around and take a trip to UCLA.
If the Sooners have it their way, the UCLA trip will be scrapped. I like the aggressive nature of this approach, and even if things don’t come together, to me, it is a positive sign that everyone seems to be on the same page to start off the portal season, even before it officially opens.
