Open Post | Weekend, Apr. 1st – 3rd (UPDATE Sat., 2:37 pm) By: The Brainiacs Posted on: April 1, 2016

– Jeffrey Okudah: Earlier this week I spoke with everyone’s top 2017 defensive back target, Jeffrey Okudah (Grand Praire, TX). And I came away from that conversation with a few thoughts related to Oklahoma which I’ll summarize below:

Two or three months ago Okudah released a Top 10, and now I get the feeling he’s narrowed that list down a little further. To the point that one or two schools who weren’t on that list previously now likely are, Texas being one of those schools.

Meanwhile, Oklahoma still remains in that list of top schools. Right now I get the sense that Okudah has probably narrowed his list down to somewhere between 5 and 8 schools and I think Oklahoma is comfortably in that Top 5. In fact at one point Okudah talked quite a bit about how “comfortable” he feels with Oklahoma. It sounds like he’s being recruited by multiple people on the staff and having visited OU on multiple occasions, he continues to develop a sense of connection to the Sooners.

Kerry Cooks is one of his favorite defensive backs coach, and Okudah told TFB that one of his highest priorities is finding a technically sound coach who can really teach him the finer points of technique at the DB position. Okudah is also close to a number of OU’s other 2017 commits, but admitted that Justin Broiles recruits him the hardest of anyone right now.

I know there has been a lot made of Okudah saying Ohio State is his top school, but he told TFB more is being made of that then he ever intended. The interest Okudah has in the Buckeyes stems partly from his childhood, having grown up in New Jersey and followed the Ohio State program. Additionally, academics are very important to his family and he sees schools like Ohio State and Michigan as programs that provide large football fan bases along with some academic notoriety.

Okudah wants to plays for championships, that much he has made clear in conversations we’ve had with him. Therefore, I think the on-field results this coming season of those teams he’s considering will very likely play a role in his final decision. To that point, I’d probably keep my eye on that OU/Ohio State game, one it sounds like Okudah plans on attending.

To bottom line this, the two regional schools I think have the strongest shot at Okudah right now are Oklahoma and Texas. Though it’s also worth pointing out both Okudah and Baron Browning are expected to be in Baton Rouge this weekend for an LSU visit. – (Super K)

– Isaiah Thomas: As we mentioned yesterday, in-state DE/OLB, Isaiah Thomas will make his third trip to Norman this weekend followed by his first visit to Oklahoma State. I chatted with Thomas yesterday and he said that this will be the first time his mother visits OU with him. She will also accompany him to Oklahoma State.

While there has been a sense by many, including some around Thomas that he would commit soon, Isaiah maintains that he’d like to see other schools. It’ll be interesting to see if these two visits with his mother changes that decision. Having spoken to him on multiple occasions I get the sense he’s not the type that will make an emotional decision. Seems to be a very level headed young man so I suspect if a decision is made, it will stick. – (Super K)

– Myles Jones: The Sooners hosted 2017 DB Myles Jones (Magnolia, TX) yesterday, who is generally a quiet guy but TFB was able to get him to open up a bit with regards to the visit. Jones said the trip was “really good” overall and, in fact, said it was “better than expected.”

In addition to OU, Jones also made it over to Stillwater to check out Oklahoma State as well. He’s also visited TCU and Texas A&M somewhat recently, and when we asked how he felt about each Jones said, “really felt good at all the places, but I probably connected with the OSU coaches the best.”

I spoke to a source with knowledge of Jones recruiting to try to get a little more. That person said, “he liked both visits, really enjoyed OU and OSU, but didn’t give a leader.” – (Super K)

– Addison Gumbs: As we’ve reported previously, 2017 OLB Addison Gumbs (Hayward, CA) will visit the Sooners this coming Monday. I spoke with a source close to Gumbs, who let me know the interest that Gumbs and his family have in Oklahoma is very real. In fact, the source went so far as to say “if OU knocks it out of the park with him, he’s very likely to end up at Oklahoma.” – (Super K)

– Wide Receiver Situation: After a WR have week — see the Tuesday & Thursday Open Posts — I was able to get a little more clarity on what’s going on with recruiting at that position. Arguably the most notable development of late was TFB’s first reporting of the news 2017 WR & NFL legacy Hunter Rison was no longer planning to be in Norman this weekend as previously expected.

That came about, in part, because the OU staff was actually a little surprised, according to a source, when Jalen Reagor and Charleston Rambo both committed to the Sooners this past Sunday. Prior to that, the plan all along had been to take Rison should he choose to commit. So the numbers essentially forced their hand and it became a ‘first come, first served’ type of situation.

We will of course continue to monitor the situation, as is always the case with recruiting things are fluid, but right now it seems a lot moving forward at WR will depend on what 2017 TE Grant Calcaterra — who also recently visited Norman — decides to do.

Alex recently caught up with someone close to 2017 WR Omar Manning (Lancaster, TX) and while it sounds like Manning is still very high on OU, again because of the numbers he and OU are in a bit of a holding pattern at the moment.

Manning is cousins with Houston Texans safety Danieal Manning and, according to Alex, the two are planning to take a spring tour to get out and visit some of Manning’s top schools. – (Alex & Super K)

– Second Scrimmage: The Sooners will hold their second scrimmage of the spring tomorrow and, as always, we’ll be working to track down any and all information we can to relay back to all of you fine folks.

– UPDATE (Fri., 2:53 pm): Had to figure this was coming. Congrats to the young man.

https://twitter.com/hunterrison/status/715989466398265344

– UPDATE (Fri., 7:30 am): From last night…

– UPDATE (Sat., 11:17 am):

– UPDATE (Sat., 11:21 am): Another OU defensive lineman out following a surgery. We’re working to try and get more info.

https://twitter.com/C_Walk97/status/716282211490619392

– UPDATE (Sat., 11:26 am): Good to hear.

https://twitter.com/C_Walk97/status/716299705601236992

– UPDATE (Sat., 2:37 pm):

695 Comments