The Football Brainiacs

– Team Note | Cornerback Rotation: I know many of you continue to be curious about which direction the Sooners will go in next with the cornerback situation.

I was told the rotation in Tuesday’s practice remained much the same as it was on Monday: Jordan Thomas and Michiah Quick with the first team, Parrish Cobb and Parnell Motley behind them. Again, barring injuries, I’ll be surprised if we see Dakota Austin much on Saturday. – (Super K)

– Team Note | Jordan Parker: I know many of you have been asking about true freshman CB, Jordan Parker. I checked on his situation and found out he is currently practicing with the team. However because of the minor surgery Parker had after arriving in Norman, he was unable to do much in the summer and missed a good part of fall camp. As such, he is expected to redshirt. – (Super K)

– Marvin Wilson: Spoke to a source close to five-star 2017 DT Marvin Wilson yesterday, who tells TFB that Wilson’s trip to Norman for the OU/Ohio State game will be an unofficial visit (this was also confirmed by Wilson directly to Brandon). Apparently Wilson plans to take his official visit to Oklahoma for the Bedlam game.

So it appears the Sooners are expected to host the stud defensive tackle for two games. Can’t ask for much more than that. – (Super K, Brandon)

– Anthony Hines: In yesterday’s TFB Town Hall, we were asked if Oklahoma has slipped some with Anthony Hines. The response to which was essentially that it was more about other schools like Texas and Texas A&M surging.

I went ahead and checked on this with someone close to Hines. Was told that Oklahoma is very much running behind Texas and Texas A&M now. The primary reason for that is the number of linebackers the Sooners currently have committed.

I was able to confirm that Hines still plans on taking a visit to OU for the Ohio State game. At that time the staff will have a chance to show Hines how they plan on using the other LB commits and how he fits in which may assuage concerns about the other backers committed. But again, at this point, Oklahoma has dropped a little behind the in-state programs. – (Super K)

– Union/Southlake Take: A little over a week ago, Sooner commits, Tre Brown and Robert Barnes faced off with Tulsa Union played Southlake Carroll. Our Alex King was there to cover the game. In addition to the OU commits, he had a chance to see OU DB offer, Patrick Fields. While it may be a little delayed, we wanted to pass along his notes.

Robert Barnes – I’ve seen him in person at summer camps but man on Friday nights he really stands out in the defensive backfield at 6’3” and 200-pounds.  One thing I really like about Barnes is how smooth he is in his movement. Got the chance to see him flip his hips a few times and get down field in coverage and didn’t see any choppiness from him despite his long frame. He looked like he was gliding and always looked under control. Runs really well and looks effortless.

As most of you probably already know, Robert’s father, Reggie Barnes played LB at OU and you can see that LB mentality in Reggie when he’s playing the run. He was lined up in the box often on Friday night and had multiple nice hits. I tweeted out a video when he saw Shamari Brooks break free out of the trash up the middle, squared him up, got low and exploded through Brooks. You could hear the hit through the stadium.

#Sooners S commit @r0bertbarnes w/nice stick here on #Tulsa RB commit Shamari Brooks. Explodes through ball carrier. pic.twitter.com/vvXvHiPLiH

— Alex King (@AKing_Evals) August 27, 2016

A little bit later in the game, Union WR Kyre Richardson caught a ball down the sideline but was in the air. Before he could get a foot down, Barnes closed and laid into him with his shoulder which knocked Richardson out of bounds resulting in an incompletion.

Barnes is an all-around safety prospect who has the ability to play deep safety with the range, ball skills he displays and also in the box with his physicality to help stop the run. Sooners got a good one here.

Tre Brown – Brown isn’t the biggest cornerback at 5’11” and 180-pounds but plays bigger than he is. Watched him repeatedly this night play with impressive technique jamming receivers at the line and then over powered them out of bounds on numerous occasions. On one occasion he did so with a one arm jam which de-cleated the receiver about 2-3 yards out of bounds.

Southlake’s receivers weren’t on the same talent level as Brown and it was obvious the Dragon’s knew this as the Sooners commit wasn’t challenged once in the passing game. He showed nice awareness one play where he peeled off a deep route to help on an underneath route on his side of the field. On this night he played about 85% of the snaps on both sides of the ball as he also played wide receiver that night. I didn’t see him once show fatigue while he was on the field which was impressive.

The effort he gives on the field is fun to watch. After making one catch out of the slot he broke 3-4 tackles and then fought through 2-3 more defenders for a 1^st down. Then back at corner a little later he mirrored a drag route all the way across the field staying in his receivers pocket before making a tackle on another receiver on the other sideline.

Sooners are getting a talented CB with big time speed, who I wouldn’t be surprised to see play as a true freshman as a nickel corner over the slot next year.  

Patrick Fields – This was my first time getting a glimpse of the 2018 Sooners safety offer. He is currently about 6-Foot and 185-pounds but you can tell a college weight room will definitely change him physically. You could see Fields loves coming down hill and throwing his weight around. Saw him in on multiple tackles on the night. It was Fields that closed the gap in a hurry on a fake FG up the middle, coming down hill and delivering a nice hit through the ball carriers hips stopping him at the 2-yard line. Like Barnes, Fields isn’t diving at ankles when playing the run game.  

But what really stood out to me was Fields ability to play man coverage when Brown would sit out at times. The first time I saw Fields in man coverage he showed nice hips transitioning really well, showed good speed sticking with the receiver on a go route. Then he did a nice job getting his head around to find the ball at the same time that he extended his outside arm to locate the receiver running him out of bounds for an incompletion. He couldn’t have played it any better. It was obvious to see why the Sooners have already offered.

Speaking with him after the game, Fields made a comment to me that really stood out as he asked me what I saw that he did wrong that he could improve on. Not often do you hear that and speaks to the type of mentality Fields has. Another thing Sooner fans will be glad to hear is that he informed me he will be at the Ohio State game in a few weeks in Norman. – (Alex King)