Open Post | Tuesday, May 16 (UPDATED – 6:00 PM) By: The Brainiacs Posted on: May 16, 2017

– Offensive Line Recruiting: The Sooners offensive line coach, Bill Bedenbaugh, is one of the hardest working assistant coaches around. Oklahoma constantly lands top recruiting classes at the offensive line position, and that doesn’t seem to be changing in 2018. With the Sooners already having the longstanding commitment of 2018 Southmoore offensive tackle Brey Walker, Coach Bedenbaugh has set the foundation for the offensive line class.

Two names that keep popping up that OU is in a good position with are Montgomery (AL) offensive guard Tank Jenkins and Northwest HS (Justin, TX) offensive tackle Darrell Simpson. Both seem to fit the bill in what Coach Bedenbaugh has recruited on the offensive line: maulers with good feet. TFB has spoken with several sources that have stated that OU is the leader for Simpson. At one time, it was thought that he would pull the trigger some time around Memorial Day. That may not be the case anymore, but we are checking on that currently.

When it comes to Tank Jenkins and the Sooners, it’s kind of new territory; not many people are talking about Jenkins and Oklahoma. Most have Jenkins headed to Auburn, but one source that speaks to Jenkins several times a week said Jenkins has told him that OU is the leader and that a decision could come within the next month. Now, we advise everyone to not get too happy about that statement; we are talking about 17 to 18 year old high school kids and things change every day with them.

With that in mind, I will say that I have long felt confident that Oklahoma ends up with Simpson. There are just too many connections there, but then again things happen that can change everything.

One thing I will say is that the offensive line is one of the last positions Sooners fans usually worry about when it comes to recruiting, and for good reason: Bill Bedenbaugh does that good of a job. – (Brandon)

– Casey Thompson: Last night, TFB was calling around trying to get a feel for where OU stands with 2018 QB targets. One name that came up, on multiple occasions, was 2018 Texas commit Casey Thompson. That name got me intrigued, so I checked with some sources and found out that Oklahoma is still in constant communication with the Sooners legacy. One source went as far to say, “Yes, OU wants him.” With offers handed out to Tanner Mordecai and to new Tennessee commit, Adrian Martinez, most had thought that the ship had sailed with Thompson and Oklahoma. If you add in the fact that Thompson is a Texas commit, and actively recruiting for UT, it really didn’t seem possible, but we were obviously wrong there.

Having said all of that, I spoke with Thompson last night and he told me that, “I talk or text every other day with Coach Gundy or Coach Riley.” It is usually somewhat of a good sign when a player is, at the very least, willing to converse with the staff. Oklahoma’s search for a 2018 QB will be very interesting to follow. We hope to have more as we continue to check around. – (Brandon)

– Jaqualyn Crawford: Last week our own Andrew King spoke with Rockdale (TX) wide receiver Jaquayln Crawford about visits happening this summer. One school that he mentioned being close to setting up a visit with was Oklahoma. Yesterday, TFB spoke with two sources with knowledge on Crawford’s recruitment and both told us that Crawford is set to be in Norman this weekend for an unofficial visit to OU. Oklahoma wide receiver coach, Dennis Simmons, stopped by to see Crawford recently. We plan on catching up with Crawford after his OU visit to see how it went. – (Brandon)

– UPDATE: 6:00 PM

Starrland Baldwin will be an early enrollee next year.

I touched base to confirm, and he said he will indeed be on campus in Norman in January. It’s great for any player to get a head start if possible, so this is good news for OU. – (Ryan)