The Football Brainiacs

– Austin Roberts: NEO has long been a place where schools could go to find football ready players at a position of need, but this year that seems to be even more the case with a trio of players — LB Chris Baccus, CB Maurice Chandler & DE Austin Roberts — starting to draw national attention. Roberts, a June 2015 grad, is someone Diron Reynolds has been talking to quite a bit and working to arrange another Norman visit. Roberts tells TFB the OU staff should be stopping soon relatively soon, especially now that the spring eval period is officially underway.

While OU has yet to offer, Roberts says he has been given the impression it could be simply a matter of time. And even without said offer, when asked where the Sooners stand in his eyes the answer left little room for interpretation. “OU is number one.” – (Brandon)

– Chanse Sylvie & Rodarius Williams: No shame in saying we were just as surprised as many of you when word broke on Saturday that believed OU lean & 2016 CB Rodarius Williams had committed to Oklahoma State. And because the two are teammates, many were quick to ask if Williams’ commitment could affect OU’s chances with 2016 safety Chanse Sylvie.

So we touched base with Sylvie shortly after the Williams news came down and the impression he gave us is that it will have very little, if any, effect on his own recruitment. Sylvie said he still talks to Kerry Cooks on a near daily basis. And while we told you over the weekend he was unable to make the trip to Norman as had been planned, he said he still has plans to get back “very soon.”

With regards to Williams, I spoke with a source close to his recruitment and the feeling is Williams, like most kids, just got enamored with Ok State this past weekend. For whatever it’s worth, most believe his recruitment is still far from over. Time will tell but at this point I’m not expecting OU to just drop him and move on. Having said that, OU did make several new DB offers on Sunday, so they also won’t be simply waiting around for Williams either. Regardless, Williams is a good kid so congrats to him on this commitment. – (Brandon)

– Sione Heimuli-Lund: Last week we caught wind of the 2017 LB making the trip to Norman, and it was a trip looking to kill two birds with one stone. First, to see his family that had moved to Norman two years ago. Second, to visit a school he had long been interested in.

We had a chance to catch up with Heimuli-Lund following his visit and to say the reviews were positive would be an understatement. His exact words were, “ OU was sick!” Now to translate for you old-timers, that means good and/or awesome (sorry, had to crack that joke). He went on to say the visit just really gave him a good feel for everything OU has to offer. He also had a chance hang out with Dennis Simmons, who recruits his area, and QC coach CJ Ah You. Heimuli-Lund said he really enjoyed spending time with them and that OU told him they would be out to see him later this spring. He was not extended an offer while on campus, but this has much more of a ‘when’ than ‘if’ type of situation. – (Brandon)

– Patrick Johnson: Late on Saturday TFB caught word the OU staff had offered 2016 Washington DC defensive back, Patrick Johnson (6’0″ 180). When we spoke with the versatile athlete shortly following the offer, as you might imagine he seemed instantly excited. He said it was a place, “ he had to visit now!”

Johnson admitted he was still getting to know OU as a program, but that he was definitely going to start doing more research.  Johnson holds offers from Michigan State, Wisconsin, Rutgers and Iowa among others. This seems like a player OU has a legit chance to start making in-roads with. – (Brandon)

– Parnell Motley: Evidently the OU staff has had their eye on the D.C. area because they made a second offer on Sunday afternoon to another 2016 DB in Parnell Motley (6’1″ 170). Again, TFB caught up with him shortly after Kerry Cooks extended the offer.

Motley was quick to say he now plans on visiting Norman later this summer. He currently holds 20+ offers but says there are three schools that stand out for him right now. They are Michigan, Michigan State & Miami. He went on to say that although those are his top schools at the moment, it’s early in the whole process and he is still open to everyone. Motley did mention, however, that it was clear the first time he and Cooks spoke that OU’s new defensive backs coach is ‘a very cool dude.’

In speaking with Motley, he came across as a very mature and level-headed young man. He said distance was not going to weigh very heavily in his recruitment, and reiterated he is very much looking forward to visiting Norman. Hard to get a true sense of things so quickly after OU offered and the typical excitement that comes with it, but it does seem like at the very least the Sooners have a puncher’s chance here. – (Brandon)

– Trevon Diggs: Oklahoma was on an offering spree in the D.C./Maryland area this past weekend. Yet another made by Kerry Cooks was that to freak athlete Trevon Diggs (6’0″ 168 – Gaithersburg, MD). The younger brother of former Maryland standout Stefon Diggs, the 2016 athlete was offered Sunday morning before he went out and made the Nike Opening Finals.

We spoke briefly with Diggs following the offer and in a continuing theme, he seemed excited and expressed an immediate interest in getting to Norman for a visit. And it is somewhat interesting to note that while Diggs already holds offers from a number of top schools, most of those are as a wide receiver. Meanwhile, the Sooners have instead offered him as a defensive back. Hard to say at the moment if that will play any type of role with regards to OU’s chances, but I suppose it starts with first getting him on campus and then taking things from there. Regardless, it’s becoming abundantly clear the impact Cooks is already having for the Sooners on the recruiting trail. – (Brandon)

– East Coast Recruiting: Just wanted to quickly address this recent string of offers and that it certainly isn’t a coincidence. Based both on recent events and some of what I’m hearing, I am fully fully expecting more offers to go out in that D.C./MD/VA area. They are talent rich states and the OU staff is looking to establish some connections out east much like they’ve done in the state of California.

It’s never going to be an area where you’re consistently getting five, six, or seven kids out of in a single recruiting class, but you establish enough of a presence in those areas that you set yourself up to have a legit chance with many of the top prospects. Cooks, Bill Bedenbaugh, and Lincoln Riley all have previous experience recruiting that part of the country so it’s certainly not as though the Sooners will be starting from scratch either.

If you looks at guys like Charles Tapper, or recent arrival Will Johnson, or soon to arrive Ricky DeBerry, the first building blocks are already there. It’s a smart move and one that could start to pay off in the very near future if the coaches play their cards right. – (Brandon)

– Tyler Brown: You may have seen some of my tweets from the weekend regarding OU bringing in a very ‘under the radar’ 2016 OK Preps offensive lineman in Tyler Brown (6’5″ 325 – Lexington OK). We spoke with him following the unofficial visit, and Brown spoke very highly of his time in Norman. In fact, he said there are already plans for a return visit this coming Friday at which point he expects to sit down with Bob Stoops. However on this most recent visit he spent most of his time with OL coach Bill Bedenbaugh, who Brown referred to as a ‘really cool and down to earth guy.’

Again, this is a kid that doesn’t seem to be getting nearly the attention he probably deserves. His feet alone on film for a kid his size are a solid indicator of just how much potential he possesses. An OU offer is definitely not out of the question if Bedenbaugh feels as though he has found a local diamond in the rough. – (Brandon)

– UPDATE (1:22 pm): 2016 WR Keith Corbin (6’2″ 175 – Beaumont, TX – VIDEO), first of what we expect to be several new names to emerge in the coming days/weeks now that the spring eval period has officially kicked off.

– UPDATE (2:33 pm): It would appear as though OU defensive end Matt Dimon has rejoined the team.