The Football Brainiacs

Image of Cameron Rising via Scout

– Cameron Rising: The Sooners are, presumably, in good hands at the quarterback position for several years to come with the talented group of signal callers already on campus as well as Chris Robison currently in the fold for the 2017 class. Add to the fact you have Lincoln Riley as your offensive coordinator and quarterback coach (at least for now) and things are certainly looking solid at the position.

Still though, the pursuit of QB prospects really never ends as with every class you’re subject to turnover in a variety of different ways. You need look no further than the current situation in Norman having lost two capable backups to transfer/the MLB Draft.

To that point, the Sooners seem to have set their sights on a pair of 2018 quarterbacks as their primary targets in: Cameron Rising (Newbury Park, CA) & OU legacy, Casey Thompson (Southmoore, OK).

And it just so happens Rising was in Norman this past Wednesday with his father. It was their first time being on a college campus in the south(ish), although it’s worth mentioning Rising has some preexisting ties to the state as his great uncle resides in Ada, Oklahoma. With regards to the visit itself, Rising said “It’s different down here. You can tell OU means a lot with the facilities. Everyone is just so nice, too.”

Bob Stoops was doing his ESPN ‘car wash’ the day Rising was on campus, but that didn’t stop them from speaking. “Coach Stoops and I actually got to speak through FaceTime while he was sitting on the set of ESPN. It was crazy,” Rising said.

Rising already holds offers from Alabama, Arizona State (where his older brother is currently an offensive lineman), Michigan & LSU just to name a few. But Rising has recently come to the realization that his decision timeline may need to change as compared to what he was previously thinking. “My decision is going to come a lot quicker than I thought now.”

Rising tells TFB he will take some additional visits and then expects make his decision. Need proof that OU made an impression and will be in the mix with Rising? “I have some visits to take during the season, but we will be back for the Ohio State game at OU.” So the Sooners can already expect to host Rising a second time come mid-September.

And it wasn’t just the younger Rising that enjoyed the trip. TFB spoke with his father as well, who also offered some thoughts on playing somewhere like Norman as compared to the West coast. “You go to games in the Pac 12 and some of the time you will see the stadium half-full. It’s not like that down here in the southern states. I’d like to see Cameron experience that in college. We are coming back for the Ohio State game. They say it will be a fun one.”

Stay tuned OU fans, 2018 quarterback race could very well be a first come, first serve type of deal. – (Brandon)

– Ceedee Lamb: As many of you know, former OU wide receiver commit Ceedee Lamb (Richmond, TX) is set to announce his commitment this coming Monday (July 25th). In recent weeks, most have felt this is an Oklahoma/Texas A&M battle. And our own Brandon Drumm has actually been calling this one for the Sooners for a while now.

And TFB was privy to some chatter earlier this week on the TAMU side of things that backed up Brandon’s confidence in Lamb rejoining the #SoonerSquad17. Only time will tell of course, but the Sooners could once again be on a ‘boom alert’ come Monday. – (Super K)

– Jacob Phillips: Yesterday, 2017 East Nashville (TN) linebacker Jacob Phillips released his Top 5. As expected, the Sooners made the cut. Others in the mix are LSU, Alabama, Notre Dame & Oregon.

Top 5‼️ official visit list🏈🏈 #glorytoGod pic.twitter.com/y1JQNGXExU

— JP (@jacobphillips_1) July 21, 2016

Phillips let us know he will take his official visit to Oklahoma for the September 10th match-up against Louisiana-Monroe. In terms of a commitment timeline, Phillips said he’s planning to announce sometime around mid-October.

Oklahoma has been rumored to be in Phillips’ top one or two schools for some time, so getting him on campus the day the newly renovated stadium opens will be big. – (Brandon)

– Kary Vincent, Kobe Boyce & Jeffrey Okudah: 2017 Port Arthur (TX) defensive back Kary Vincent announced on Twitter that he would be committing this Sunday at 7pm (CT). If you recall, prior to Trajan Bandy’s commitment (who has now since decommitted, but more on that below) the Sooners were pushing hard for Vincent and were very much in the mix. However when Bandy, Tre Brown and Justin Broiles came into the fold, OU slowed their cornerback recruitment.

Now, however, we expect (as do many others) Vincent will commit to LSU when he announces on Sunday. And while it appears too little late to get back in with Vincent, the Sooners may still have a shot with 2017 Texas CB commit, Kobe Boyce. Who, it just so happens, is expected to be in attendance for OU’s recruiting BBQ next weekend (July 29th).

It is also possible the Sooners will be hosting elite South Grand Prairie DB Jeffrey Okudah that same day as well. Speaking recently with a couple of sources TFB has been given the distinct impression Oklahoma would like to close out their 2017 DB class with Boyce and/or Okudah.

If the OU coaches were to some how flip Boyce AND land Okudah, it could very well go down as the best defensive back recruiting class in the Bob Stoops era. – (Brandon)

– Trajan Bandy: After Bandy decommitted earlier in the week, TFB had a chance to follow up with his father regarding the decision. And among other things that were discussed, Bandy’s father told TFB they still intend to take an official visit to Oklahoma for the Ohio State game.

Bandy also plans on visiting South Carolina this weekend. And while he did release a Top 6 at the time of his decommitment, we get the sense this is primarily an Oklahoma/South Carolina/Miami battle.

In talking to Bandy’s father it was clear that OU’s pursuit of five-star DB Jeffrey Okudah, and the Sooners’ perceived success of said pursuit to date, has made an impact on some others. Okudah is the type of prospect who has the ability to come in a play from Day 1, especially given the fact he is expected to be an early enrollee. And that is simply something the OU coaches will have to contend with as they continue to recruit the position.

But at the same time, that’s kind of one of those ‘good problems’ to have if you know what we mean. – (Super K)

– Tre Brown: 2017 CB commit Tre Bown let TFB know that he will be visiting Florida and Florida State sometime in early August. – (Super K)

– Team Note | Parnell Motley: Today will start the team’s summer break until they return for the start of fall camp on Aug. 4th. But before they break, we wanted to pass along a quick note on true freshman CB Parnell Motley.

One source we spoke to said, “he (Motley) is going to be good. He’s a quick learner.” For an incoming freshmen, one of the most difficult things at the CB position is picking up the plays and the techniques within the calls while also being able to execute those techniques in game-time speed. We also saw last year during the Tulsa game how then freshman corner PJ Mbanasor got caught chasing receivers inside on ‘Cloud’ calls with a back set to his side. The fact that Motley is at least demonstrating early on that he can pick things up quickly is encouraging news.

And for whatever it’s worth, TFB was also told that the other two freshmen cornerbacks, Parrish Cobb and Jordan Parker, did not participate in 7-on-7’s this week. – (Super K)

– UPDATE (Fri., 8:32 pm): 2017 LB Kenneth Murray, who will be in Norman next weekend for the BBQ.

https://twitter.com/murrayyy_2/status/756647778143444993

– UPDATE (Fri., 8:36 pm): 2017 DE decommits a week prior to a trip to Norman for the BBQ.

https://twitter.com/hunter_tyb/status/756644307189190659?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw

– UPDATE (Fri., 10:10 pm): Interesting bit of a news that Brandon was tipped off to by a source out in Georgia. It seems Oklahoma will be hosting a 2016 defensive prospect this Sunday.

2016 GA defensive end Mykelle McDaniel (@MykelleMcDaniel) will officially visit #OU this Sunday. #Sooners @TheFbBrainiacs

— Brandon Drumm (@Bdrumm_Rivals) July 23, 2016

– UPDATE (Sat., 2:07 pm): Welp.

And just like that McDaniel signs with #Vols. Was set to visit #Sooners this weekens. Obviously will not happen. https://t.co/rTx6sY8zbT

— Brandon Drumm (@Bdrumm_Rivals) July 23, 2016

Spoke to a source on McDaniel signing w/#Vols, " Proximity to his mom & sister, along with playing in #SEC." #Sooners

— Brandon Drumm (@Bdrumm_Rivals) July 23, 2016

– UPDATE (Sun., 2:52 pm): Just an FYI on 2017 WR Ceedee Lamb.

Committing tomorrow at 6:30 CT! 👀

— CeeDee Lamb (@_CeeDeeThree) July 24, 2016

– UPDATE (Sun., 3:28 pm):

Sooner Nation get ready for a BOOM tomorrow⭕️🙌🏽 we got a surprise for y'all #SoonerSquad17

— Robert Barnes (@r0bertbarnes) July 24, 2016