Open Post | Monday Jan. 20th (Updated: 10:35 pm)
Posted on: January 20, 2014
Figured we’d do an open post today as well. If you see anything out there please post it in the comments section. Also, let us know how you feel about us doing these “open post”s more regularly in order to try and catalog the little bits of information that might be floating around.
– Last night Jason Jewell confirmed that OU LB target Ismael Murphy-Richardson has committed to Arizona State.
– Also, wanted to bring to y’alls attention that Louisiana safety Donovan Wilson will be taking a visit to Texas A&M this weekend. Why is this of interest? 1. It’s of interest to me because I know Donovan’s coach and I’ve always been confused by the lack of interest in Donovan so I’m personally glad to see he’s starting to get some attention 2. Donovan actually camped at OU – and had a good camp in fact 3. The fact that TAMU is getting involved with Donovan this late might corroborate what we’ve been saying about Steven Parker, specifically that we will feel very optimistic about where Oklahoma stands. In other words it might indicate that TAMU doesn’t feel good about where they stand with Parker.
– Coach Montgomery is on his way to Hawaii. This is his second time to visit Hawaii in a fairly short period of time so he’s clearly making his recruits down there a priority.
– Talked to Tristan Hill, the OT out of Mustang that we’ve been publicizing and Coach Bedenbaugh called him again yeseterday. Coach Bedenbaugh was up front with him about the current scholarship situation. He let him know that they might not have room but they do like Tristan so there is a chance. Either way we are happy to see him go from being a relatively unknown prospect with only division II offers to a prospect who has received multiple division I offers and is now receiving attention from bigger BCS schools like NC State, Baylor, Washington State and Oklahoma. There is a lot more talent in Oklahoma than people truly realize. It’s not always polished but it’s there.
– UPDATED (1:17 pm): AtlantaSooner below notes that Coach Montgomery is traveling to Hawaii to see Brandon Fehoko and Canton Kaumatule
– UPDATED (1:19 pm): Natrell Curtis confirms that coach Stoops and coach Kish did an in-home visit today.
– UPDATED (1:20 pm): JUCO OT, Dominique Robertson has committed to KSU. If OU really had the choice here, it would seem they made theirs and let him know this morning. Got to wonder what this says about how they feel about their chances with Frison and McNeil
– UPDATED (1:22 pm): Didn’t get a lot of details from McNeil’s coach since they are off for MLK but he confirms that Lukayus had a good visit to Indiana this past weekend.
– UPDATED (9:08 pm): Juwan Dowels commits to Syracuse. Big pick up for them!
– UPDATED (9:40 pm): I know some of y’all are concerned about the tweets that Steven Parker put out earlier. The tweets were: “Makes me so mad when I think I’m close and then something comes up and yet I get farther away from my decision.” and “I have 2 weeks left of this process and man it’s going to come down to the wire…” The TAMU in-home visit was today and that may very well have prompted the tweets. I’ve only had a little communication with his dad today and it was before the visit and we were talking about something unrelated. I’ll catch up with him later. I know I’m not giving y’all much specific info on this front but I’m limited in what I can say. However, we’re still very optimistic. Steven’s father understands this process and is guiding him through the process and trust me that’s a good thing. If I start to sound less optimistic – then you know what’s up.
– UPDATED (10:35 pm): Seminole HS star RB, Papi White has committed to Southern Miss!
85 Comments
Would love to see someone like Tristan Hill get a grayshirt, and commit to next year’s class and get on campus this year. We all agree he is going to need to redshirt and hit the weight program and such, so some families can afford one year of college if it means getting the next 4 free at a nearby football factory, instead of going further away to a lesser school.
Yeah grey shirting isn’t a bad deal for the big guys that need maturity. That is basically what Wade had to do and he’s had a really solid RS FR year.
Wade had to stay home first semester and pass his texas graduation test before he could graduate and come in the spring..a little diff than coming to campus and paying your own way for a year…yeah it did work out well having the extra year for Wade
I have heard since Joe Mixon decided to come OU it’s has helped recruiting alot and probably is the case but I’ve always thought we have recruited well. I thought OU always ends up with a top ten recruiting class? We are projected this year we will end up ranked 13th in nation that’s with mix. Why is that?
OU has a few very underrated commits this year that announcers will be talking about how good they are in a year or two.
Will Ismael Murphy-Richardson have to choose only one last name since he is not playing in the SEC? ; )
Monty is either making Hawaii recruits a priority or he is maximizing an awesome vacation opportunity! Lol. Love the open post as most everyone involved here has other responsibilities during the day and with information flying around 24/7 this is a nice way for anyone to share what they’ve heard.
Always wondered why we never play a home and home with Hawaii…….if for no other reason than the obvious. I remember going to watch us play a winless Washington team in ’08. We brought over 10K Sooner fans to that game, and it obviously wasn’t because the game was going to be good. I remember Husky fan telling me only Nebraska had ever brought more fans to their stadium(non PAC 12 school).
Does anyone have any idea who is coming to OU’s upcoming Junior Day? I’ve heard there’s gonna be a ton of talent there.
I’ve seen some names/lists, anyone in particular you’re looking for/curious about?
I’m not looking for anyone in particular. I was just curious as to if there are any big names. I’ve heard names like Jalin Barnett, Soso Jamabo and possibly Malik Jefferson are on OU’s radar.
Haven’t seen Barnett’s name mentioned yet as attending, but OU s/b in really good shape w/ him. Have seen both Jamabo & Jefferson mentioned as possible attendees.
https://twitter.com/dwayneorsojr/status/425074023643758592
Love this!! That’s how you close the deal. Feel better about Orso after his NOLA trip and now this, SEC be dammed
K w/b better able to speak to it than myself (b/c he’s the one w/ sources), but I’ve always felt like grades c/b a bigger threat for OU w/ Orso than another school (SEC or other).
Orso has grade problems as well?
To some degree, that has been my understanding. I don’t believe it’s to the point he can’t recover and qualify, but I was under the impression there were some issues.
Heard on a 247 site that Murphy committed to the sun devils on his visit.
He has committed to ASU, but I don’t think OU has been really heavily pursuing him for a while. Still a very talented player, but have to believe OU just likes where they’re at w/ a couple other kids more so than where they were w/ IM-R
Any other LB’s on OU’s radar now that he committed to ASU? I figured not since we’re running out of spots
Sounds like the class is coming together very well. But I am just curious how many scholarships we have left….I saw the post about it before but we have added quite a few people since then and I know we gotta be getting low. Also, with all the rules Charlie Strong is implementing, do you think that is going to help or hinder the program? I like the discipline but it could be hard to get recruits to commit to that when they can have it much easier somewhere else.
IMO, the magic number is still probably 28. So w/ them sitting at 22 right now, that would obviously leave six remaining spots.
Garnett is all but a given, so that’s five left.
Figure they’ll definitely hold spots for Parker & Clark, so that’s three left.
Many feel like OU is the favorite for Quick, so if you assume him as well that’s two spots left.
They absolutely have to get an offensive tackle, w/ the expectation being that guy will be Frison.
Which leaves, theoretically, one spot for someone like Adoree Jackson (not likely, IMO), or Chukwuma Okorafor, or Dominique Robertson, or one of the other DBs they’re still in on, or of course someone else they could get in on late.
Word is we are in good shape for kendall randolph, the CB out of florida. That might be the last scholarship.
It very well could be, but w/ the Thomas commitment this weekend OU could back off a bit on Randolph. Unfortunately, he could just be a victim of OU’s limited number of spots remaining.
Well hes still got a visit scheduled on the 31st, so maybe we can land both =)
OU and Randolph parted ways today.
I think that Adoree is a shot…but a long one, But i think our odds did get a little increase because of Joe Mixon hitting the recruiting hard for us. I like Adoree but he will probably go somewhere else. I think we could use a O/D Lineman more than we could use Adoree.
fwiw, Okorafor may no longer be an option (OT has been unreal — in a bad way — this class)
https://twitter.com/JLMcCuistion/status/425311217649856512
I doubt it will hinder the program. Most Texass HS programs are pretty intense from what I have heard. I would think narrowing the gate so to speak at Texass will attract the type of players a coach can mold. Over at the BON (burnt Orange Nation) you would read several fan posts about the lack of discipline and toughness in the players. The ironic thing is that although they loath all things OU they really admire what Stoops and his staff, past and present, do at OU especially with what they call “lesser talent.”
Be sure to cleanse yourself with bleach if you choose to go visit the BON. If you don’t the stench of baby poop orange will cling to you like dog hair on corduroy.
I think I’d make recruits in Hawaii a priority too. Just proves Montgomery has brains and brawn.
That is a trip I certainly wouldn’t mind making!
Thanks Atlanta. Why am I thinking that OU is about to start a special run? I just see us getting the top players as we are in on them earlier than we’ve ever been. It’s refreshing having new coaches who have areas outside of OU’s norm.
No doubt!
I know we are just joking around, but Monty doesn’t get much, if any, free time on such a trip right? Pretty much lands, goes and meets with the kids, maybe grabs a meal, and heads back to the airport. Is that how it goes, or does he actually get to spend a day at the beach?
I would imagine it’s mostly all business.
Monty’s Hawaii travels are associated with Breiden Fehoko 6-3, 270, 4.8 DL and Canton Kaumatule 6-7, 280, 4.8 DL
These dudes are two of the highest ranking DL prospects in the 2015 class. Would be sweet to get one, getting both would be a coup. Hope it happens. Both of these guys like Coach Mont a lot, so that’s a good sign.
Well Kaumatule’s brother plays for Stanford so I OU probably has a better shot at Fehoko. Either way Monty’s racking up the miles to keep OU in the race.
Hey, getting Fehoko would be great. I’m not greedy. 🙂
Ahhhhh Hawaii, love those islands. I saw some big boys when I was there. I was wondering about how there could be enough schools there to have much competition. However, those big d-linemen would be going up against equally as big o-linemen and it seems most of those bigger Pacific Islander dudes all have some fight in them.
They call em the throwin Somoans. I have uncle who lives there and he said they are laid back but if you piss em off they have no problems throwing down.
We had some Samoans and a few Hawaiians in our company, but not my platoon. Dudes were always mixing it up. That was when tribal tattoos were becoming popular and they took real exception to it. Seems like at least one was in the brig or standing tall before the man at any given time. As mean as they were I heard their wives were meaner!
Oh yeah my aunt is hawaiian and lookout if she is upset. I never met any in the corps , but my uncle did and he said they would throw down with the best of them.
So all that grass skirt dancing is an act? I’m wondering now if my wife has Hawaiian blood!, She ain’t scared! HAHA.
Do we pick up any more commitments before nsd? Or is it just wait and see now? And which one of these guys do you see making an immediate impact? Im hoping some of the safeties do. We definitely need an upgrade at speed and coverage ability there.
This is low hanging fruit, but Garnett will happen before NSD. Don’t believe Parker will wait until NSD, could come at any point after his Auburn trip. If they can land Frison, I’d say that happens for NSD also.
Nice. So do we completely fill this class then?
I’d think so. Now that could depend on Clark’s decision as OU is almost assured to hold a spot for him, unless something drastically changes between now and NSD. But other than that, based on their current board I’d expect them to take as many as the numbers will allow.
Thats what I was wondering. If a few of those guys we are holding spots for go somewhere else, what is plan b? Just under sign, or got after the plan b recruits?
Well, if they’re not announcing until NSD and you (1) think they’re good enough to hold a spot for & (2) feel good enough about your chances to hold said spot, then yeah you pretty much have to undersign.
Unless there is that rare kid who doesn’t sign on NSD (they don’t have to, that’s just the first day they’re allowed to) and/or a JUCO kid that others missed on/didn’t sign. But the odds of success going that route are obviously not high.
I gotcha. Its just been so long since we have had this problem.
Seems like there are few recruits with possible qualifying issues, Orso and the other DL commit out of Texass (Glenn?). Think OU might “over sign”?
I suppose it’s a possibility, but never really been their style so I don’t expect them to start now.
Its being said that Glenn will be signing juco & thats the reason we are taking Garnett.
Makes sense. I had not heard about Glenn and the JC route.
I don’t know about everyone else… but I think it’s great news that OU doesn’t have
anyone in this record setting number of underclassmen declaring for the NFL. I’ve wondered how much better off Tom Wort would have been by staying for his SR year.
I agree that it is a good thing. In fact, I wish it wasn’t allowed because I think it really takes away from the college game. I hated to see AD go but I understood because he was a man among boys but many others have left early who could have used one more year.
Any chance Tristan Hill would walk on at Oklahoma and try to earn the scholarship the hard way? Also hearing word that Evitt may walk on. Is there any truth to this?
There is a chance, but with his situation Tristan will go where he has a scholarship offer.
OU might be able to lay a plan in front of him showing how he could greyshirt or something and be on scholarship quickly. I don’t see him just walking on though.
Can Tristan get any sort of academic scholarships Jake? I know he makes good grades. Even on athletic, I think you can use the money from other scholarships too.
So it’s looking like Frison or bust at OT which is scary.
Yes. Yes, it is.
I don’t know guys. Don’t sleep on Tristan Hill. Atlanta, if you haven’t seen his film, you need ot check it out.
Also, don’t forget that Joseph Paul is a right tackle.
Tay Evans tweeted last night that Coach Bob Stoops and crew will be coming on Tuesday.
Any thoughts on a “surprise” commit or two? We seem to get one or two on signing day. Also, do you see any current commits at risk of going somewhere else?
Sure don’t like Parker’s recent tweets.
Wonder what he means by “Makes me so mad when I think I’m close and then something comes up and yet I get farther away from my decision.”
Hope he ends up at OU, would be tough to see him at TAMU or Okie Lite.
Hope K can settle this one down.
added an update. I’ll add more next time I talk to Parker’s daddy
Thanks K, Stay all over this one!
What’s the deal with Mixon? Twitter is blowing up like he’s about to be a UCLA flip.
UCLA RB coach doing a home visit with him tomorrow. I think the rivals turds on the west coast are just trying to drum up some controversy. Just saw a selfie picture of him from yesterday in a car and he was decked out from head to toe in Sooner gear, rockin’ an upside down horn in his selfie. Coach Gundy also cryptically trolled UCLA in his twitter feed with the following:
Cale Gundy @OU_CoachGundy 5m Can somebody say, “He’s All In”!
” @Joe_MainMixon: Stop w/ Rumors Saying I’m Going To UCLA On The 30th. Committed To OU and Nothing gunna change That”
Glad he’s still committed to the good guys.
Way to stay on it Leroy!
http://i.imgur.com/XJyGY.gif
Thanks Leroy!
I’m going to sound like a snob here…. Dowels to Syracuse instead of OU? Would love to hear the logic in that decision.
It’s all about the grades and the number of spots available man.
Dowels to Syracuse, how thought he could not qualify ?
Take a look at my recruiting summary from last Friday and it’ll explain things.
I see A&M going all out after they lost one safety commit to Boise State, so Parker is no longer a luxury for Sumlin (although I never really believed Sumlin felt that way).
I don’t expect Stoops and co. to slow the push, though, so I hope Bob brings videos of A&M’s awesome defense in the Eat More Chicken Bowl.
Hopefully Steven is just emotional because everyone is promising him the moon and putting too much stuff in his head. This process is a lot to deal with for a high school kid. I would like for him to cancel everything left on his plate and just get in the crimson but I am a big kool-aid drinker….Lol!
I am so glad you all are cool headed. I am a member of a recruiting service with a board and man it can get crazy over there with poor information being leaked out through the moderators. Just tonight the fear was Mixon was changing his verbal to UCLA, that is until Mixon got word of it and tweeted that he was a solid OU and was not taking a trip to UCLA. Again thanks for your level heads.
If this ever turned into a pay site I would still choose this site over the rest.
Good for Papi, Hope he can make the best of it down there!