The Football Brainiacs

Image via @ParkerBoudreaux

– Quindon Lewis: Another school we’ve been talking quite a bit about lately has been Southmoore, and 2017 DB Quindon Lewis is one the primary reasons for that talk. Lewis is a long, physical, smart defensive back, who is already receiving a ton of playing time for the Sabercats. His versatility — he also plays quite a bit of WR as well — is what I believe makes him such an intriguing target for OU.

Not coincidentally, Lewis also has plans to be in Norman this weekend for an unofficial visit. The Southmoore product told TFB he is excited to meet Coach Cooks in person and the rest of the OU staff. He has the size (6’2″) and frame that Cooks seems to covet in his DBs. Lewis says he has been getting mail from schools like OU, Ok. State, Florida State, TCU & USC. It’s still very early in the 2017 recruiting cycle, but Lewis definitely has the feel of an OK Preps product who will be drawing significant national attention before it’s all said and done. – (Brandon)

– Maurice Chandler: We’ve had several updates on the 2016 NEO defensive back of late and for good reason, as he’s expected in Norman this weekend for a visit. OU’s Kerry Cooks personally invited Chandler so that he would have an opportunity to take in one of the team’s scrimmages (on Saturday) this spring. The communication between OU and Chandler has continued to increase in recent weeks, so much so in fact there is a good chance an official offer could be extended this weekend.

We had a chance to catch up with Chandler the other night, who said the Sooners are definitely one of his top schools right now. He isn’t set on anything but being that he grew up in Lawton, there is an attraction to Norman for him if for no other reason/s than proximity/familiarity. Another item of note is that Alabama has recently started to express some interest in Chandler as well. Whether or not they eventually offer remains to be seen, but even the fact they have started to put out some feelers gives you a sense of where Chandler’s recruitment could potentially be headed. It’s not likely he’ll be hurting for options is my point.

We’re expecting to speak with Chandler following his OU visit this weekend and should have an even better sense of things with regards to where exactly the Sooners stand at that time. – (Brandon)

– Team Note | Offensive Tackles: We have kind of addressed the OT spots in general with some of our practice notes, but I was able to get some more specifics the other day and wanted to be sure to pass them along to our loyal TFB readers.

Not much of a surprise to hear Josiah St. John has been consistently running with the 1’s at left tackle, however things appear to be little less settled on the right side. Redshirt freshman Kenyon Frison has been getting a number of the first team reps, but Bill Bedenbaugh has also been working in both Orlando Brown and Christian Daimler some as well.

But it’s important to keep in mind, as we’ve mentioned a number of times now, with the new coaches the staff in general has taken more of a ‘clean slate’ approach to things and opened up virtually all spots across the board to competition. – (Super K)

– Parker Boudreaux: To say the immensely talented Orlando (FL) offensive tackle prospect’s offer list is ridiculous would be an incredible understatement. Boudreaux currently holds scholarship offers from upwards of 70 (!!!) schools, and we’re not just talking a bunch of also-rans. We’re talking about schools like OU, Alabama, Auburn, Florida State, Florida, Michigan State, Notre Dame, & Texas just to name a few. All have offered the stud offensive lineman from Orlando, Florida. As a matter of fact, he has more than 70 offers. Most of anyone prospect in the 2016 class, to my knowledge.

As some of you may know by now, Boudreaux is currently in Norman on an unofficial visit arriving yesterday and taking in the campus and football facilities. He also has plans to stick around today and take in a spring practice as well. TFB was fortunate enough to speak with Boudreaux last night to get a first hand take on how his visit is going so far.

Boudreaux said things have been great thus far, and he enjoyed getting a chance to hang out with some of the coaches and players yesterday. He even got to have lunch with his potential future position coach Bill Bedenbaugh, who also brought along the HBC himself, Bob Stoops. But it may have been a prominent Sooners supporter that provided Boudreaux the most excitement of the day when OU super fan Jim Ross retweeted the picture of Boudreaux you see at the top of this post.

By all accounts, things look to be moving in a positive direction with regards to OU and highly sought after OT prospect. Evidenced as much in Boudreaux’s decision to stay that extra day on Friday to take in an OU practice. We asked where the Sooners stand at the moment and Boudreaux said, “they are in my Top 5.”

Boudreaux isn’t in a hurry to announce his commitment, so I wouldn’t expect anything crazy to happen in the next day or two. But if there is anything we’ve learned during Bedenbaugh’s first couple of years on staff, it’s his ability to develop strong, genuine relationships with prospects and his refusal to be outworked on the recruiting trail. So we have every reason to believe OU is a real player in this one and will be in it until the end. – (Brandon)

– Jack Anderson: Another big target that will be in Norman this weekend is 2017 offensive lineman Jack Anderson out of Frisco, TX. Anderson is just one of a handful of 2017 kids who was invited to the Nike Opening event in July. – (Brandon)

– Levi Draper: On Tuesday of this week we talked about 2017 LB Levi Draper (Collinsville, OK), his recent TCU visit, and the fact he was close to picking up an offer from Louisville. He wound up receiving that Louisville offer later that same day, in fact. And now Draper has plans to be in Norman this weekend.

In addition to OU, Louisville & TCU, several other schools have picked up their interest in the Northeast Oklahoma product. Alabama, Michigan State, Miami, Ok. State, and Texas Tech have all reached out. – (Brandon)

– Casey Thompson: Yet another visitor expected in Norman this weekend, the 2018 Southmoore QB and OU legacy will be making a second visit in as many weeks. And his relationship with Lincoln Riley is continuing to grow almost by the day.

Thompson also has plans to visit Florida State and TCU at some point this summer, and he will also be taking part in an Elite 11 camp. – (Brandon)

– Caleb Kelly & The Fresno Pipeline: The city of Fresno has been pretty good to the OU program in recent years, and many a Sooner fan is hoping that streak continues in the substantially talented form of 2016 LB Caleb Kelly. As we first reported back in February, Kelly has plans to be in Norman next weekend for the Red/White game. And he won’t be coming alone.

Kelly will be joined by fellow Fresno residents and Edison HS teammates, 2016 OLB David Tate and 2016 DL Leevel Tatum. Kelly’s affinity for the Sooners, in large part due to said Fresno pipeline, hasn’t been much of a secret and one would have to believe if Tate and/or Tatum pick up an OU offer next weekend it could only help the Sooners’ chances with Kelly. – (Brandon)

– Anthony Hines: I had a chance to see the stud 2017 linebacker in-person at the regional Nike Opening event in Dallas a couple weeks ago, and I can assure you all of the hype surrounding Hines is very much warranted. He wound up walking away with the linebacker MVP award for the event, even beating out a number of top 2016 kids at his position also in attendance.

I talked with Hines a couple of days ago, who shared with me he plans to be in Norman next weekend for the OU spring game. We also addressed a recent rumor that had been floating out there regarding a potential Top 3 of his, but he said that’s not entirely true and is very open in his recruitment at the moment. He did, however, say he is very high on the Sooners and loves the coaching staff, in particular Bob Stoops. And as we’ve shared with you many times now, Stoops has been much more hands on when it comes to recruiting than he’s been in years past. Clearly, it’s making an impact with kids.

Still a long ways to go, especially for a 2017 kid, but as it stands today the Sooners are in good shape with Hines. – (Brandon)

– UPDATE (Fri., 11:08 am): Add another visitor for this weekend as TFB has learned 2016 NEO linebacker Chris Baccus will be joining his teammate Maurice Chandler in Norman.

– UPDATE (Fri., 2:06 pm): 2017 QB Caleb Taylor (Plain City, UT) is currently on campus for an unofficial visit.

– UPDATE (Fri., 2:33 pm): Add a third NEO standout to the visitor list for this weekend as Chandler says he and Baccus will be joined by teammate & 2015 DE Austin Roberts.

– UPDATE (Fri., 7:47 pm): 2015 OU WR signee A.D. Miller was also apparently on campus today.

– UPDATE (Sat., 1:00 pm): Per Brandon, 2018 OL Brey Walker from Southmoore was offered.

2018 @GoSouthmooreFB OL Brey Walker(@BreyWalker)has been offered by #Sooners today. Congrats!! @TheFbBrainiacs @OUnation @LandThieves

— Brandon Drumm (@Bdrumm_Rivals) April 4, 2015