Open Post | Weekend, June 30th – July 2nd By: The Brainiacs Posted on: June 30, 2017

– The Lincoln Riley Effect: I’ve been reaching out to folks around the program to get a sense of how things have or are expected to change. Much of what I heard I can’t readily share but I do want to pass on a few general notes.

The word repeated to me over and over by everyone I spoke to is, “accountability”. Bob Stoops did a tremendous job at Oklahoma. He gave his staff and the support staff a lot of leeway and room to be autonomous in their positions. I think Riley will do the same but as a young coach there is no doubt he’s going to put his stamp on things and I’m told as soon as he was hired he made a point to meet with every single person on the staff including all the members of the S&C staff, trainers, etc.

I’m told that Riley had full discussions with every single person about what his expectations are. I am also told he immediately addressed issues that he saw as issues while he was an assistant. Already I’m told there have been changes this summer made within, for example, the S&C program in terms of exercises and practices. And to the credit of the current staff, I was told that everyone is receptive to Riley and eager to make whatever changes necessary to ensure that Oklahoma isn’t just a good or great team, but really gets back to true championship form at every level.

If you’re like me, it’s easy to look at Riley’s polite demeanor and think maybe he doesn’t have the bite to be as demanding as someone like Stoops but I’m told that assumption is completely false. One source said, “Lincoln is straight forward. He’s a nice guy but he’s no nonsense. You have to reflect him and he’s going to demand that if you’re going to be his ambassador then you better do it right”. A source added, “he met with everyone to set the tone. He has things he believes in and a way he wants things done and if you don’t want to do things that way then that’s fine…there’s the door…no hard feelings”.

Again, so much of what I was told was too detailed to share but I have to say, I came away from each conversation feeling more and more like Riley could very well be the guy who takes the great things that Bob Stoops did, makes the necessary tweaks and puts Oklahoma back in that truly elite category. There is no doubt just from things that the average fan doesn’t get to see in recruiting that Lincoln has already changed things in the short time he’s been at OU. He’s involved in recruiting and is holding his staff accountability for their recruiting practices.

If the Sooners have a good year I think the 2018 class will be good. But I think the 2019 class will be truly elite in a way that OU hasn’t seen in a while. Once source I spoke with talked about how the standard at Oklahoma has been trying to get a top ten class but under Riley I get the sense that is not going to be seen as acceptable. OU is driving distance from two of the top five recruiting cities in the country. So, there really isn’t any reason OU shouldn’t be competing at a higher level in recruiting. I’ll grant that schools like Alabama and Ohio State have the advantage of more in state talent but the disparity in recruiting isn’t, in my opinion, in due proportion to the disparity in recruiting results. In other words, there’s more that OU can do and based on what I’ve been told, Lincoln Riley knows it and he’s doing it.

From recruiting to coaching to game planning to S&C, it seems Riley is and is going to continue to evaluate and reevaluate all these areas at OU ensure that they are functioning at a high level and are not just keeping up with the times but are really setting trends. One particular exchange I had with a source really reminded of things I’d heard from folk on the Alabama side of things. Essentially what the source said (and I didn’t write down the exact quote unfortunately) is that changes aren’t simply going to be dictated by wins and losses. If OU wins, the question will be, did they win because of this thing or that person or did OU win in spite of this thing or that person? That is how you keep getting better.

I don’t know what kind of results Riley is going to have but as a guy who knows a lot about how Nick Saban and his staff function in terms of his process and way of looking at things, Riley seems to share some of those same qualities. So my best guess is there are good times ahead for Oklahoma. – (Super K)

– On Stoops Retirement: Just an interesting tidbit I came across as I was speaking with a source here in Texas about coach Stoops’ retirement. I was told that Mack Brown was one of the many voices Bob Stoops listened to as he made his decision. Apparently, Brown impressed upon Bob how happy he is now having stepped away from the intense nature of coaching at that level and how he has still managed to stay close to the game through his work with ESPN. Brown is almost a decade older than Bob but I was told that Bob seeing guys like Brown move away from coaching and finding a way to still stay connected to the game and also encouraging him to do the same made the decision a little easier. – (Super K)

– Jaylen Wadde: Jaylen Waddle appears to be close to narrowing things down…

I spoke to a source close to Waddle and I’m told that the Sooners are expected to make the list. As we’ve previously noted, Waddle is planning on making a trip up to Norman in July.

The Sooners are in an interesting spot because on the one hand I very much believe OU can land Waddle. A few months ago I wouldn’t have said that. But with Riley at the helm and Texas having taken a step back with Waddle I think OU’s chances are better than ever. Having spoken to Waddle myself and having spoken to people close to Waddle, he is very much aware of the fact that you won’t find many, if any, programs that take 5’10 wide receivers and put them in a position to get drafted early. Additionally, OU really doesn’t make a huge issue of size when it comes to playing inside or outside receiver. The Sooners have no problem letting a 5’10 receiver play slot or outside and they have demonstrated that in past.

Here is the issue though. Should the Sooners land Crawford in the coming weeks, that could very easily close the door on things with Waddle. I asked a source whether OU landing Crawford would hurt OU with Waddle to which the source said, “yes it will because they took Jaylon Robinson”.

The staff obviously really likes Crawford but Jaylon Waddle, in my estimation, is unique. I don’t know what OU plans on doing but if I were in their position, given the number of quality WRs OU has on campus and already committed, I’d probably be hoping Waddle gets on campus and they get a chance to really see where they stand before another commitment happens. Just my opinion though… – (Super K)