Open Post | Weekend, July 28th – 30th | ChampUBBQ Wrap By: The Brainiacs Posted on: July 30, 2017

– Jalen Redmond: It’s crazy how this whole thing played out for Redmond. Before yesterday, he had no plans on announcing. Not until December after his visits. Then, the Sooners ChampUBBQ happened. When I saw Jalen and we started talking after he left the BBQ, you could tell he was relaxed and relieved. There were rumors swirling that Oklahoma had just landed a 2018 defensive lineman. With Daniel Carson, Bobby Brown, and Jalen Redmond being the only ones on campus, I started to reach out to my sources. This was one commitment my sources wouldn’t even confirm. So, K and I asked the kids themselves. Before I could even look at my phone, I saw Jalen. I was just finishing up my interviews with OU’s other two commits: Jase McClellan and Jeffery Carter. Jalen was hesitant to tell me he had committed and I don’t blame him, not one bit. After a couple of guys came over and spoke to us, Jalen felt more comfortable and told me he had committed to OU. We then talked about how he planned on announcing. He was unsure, but eventually decided on a video. It was spur of the moment, so we came up with the gloves idea and ran with it. It was something that had to be done fairly quick, as the odds of it leaking before he announced grew by the minute.

While sitting around waiting for the light to go around the stadium, we talked about why he chose OU. You saw in his tweet he capitalized the whole word “HOME”. That is something Redmond kept referencing in our talks… ”HOME.” Redmond admitted that his mother had wanted him at OU for some time, saying, “she just loves it here. It’s close and we know a ton of people in the program.” Redmond added, “I had no plans on even staying in state. It just happened.” Next, Redmond spoke of his close relationship with several guys, “I am close with Ron Tatum, Patrick Fields, Justin Broiles, and Tramonda Moore. That was a big reason why too.”  We then started talking about the program: a program that has just seen its leader of the last 18 years step down and hand over the reigns to a young rising star in Lincoln Riley. Redmond sees that as well, saying, “Coach Riley is cool. He is young and he relates so well with me.” If you have heard that before, so have I. Riley’s age is becoming a major plus for the Sooners. It’s a plus for Redmond and has been for almost every recruit that has committed since Riley was named head coach back on June 7th.

After we shot the video and were walking back to our cars, you could see the joy and happiness that Redmond had on his face. He added one more time that it was a relief and weight off of his shoulders. But one thing I kept noticing in that peace he felt was that he was…. HOME. Check out our post on Redmond committing here:

NOTE: Redmond is a HUGE get for OU for several reasons.

First, Oklahoma gets one of the top players in the state to stay here. That leaves only Josh Proctor (currently committed to Ohio State) of the top 5 OKPreps defenders leaving the state. The other four are committed to Oklahoma.

Secondly, Redmond is the type of athlete that you don’t see come around often. Heck, the guy had a division 1 offer (Memphis) before he ever took a single game snap at the high school level. He was offered because he was an unreal athlete and the skills he showed on the practice field at the time. That shows you just how high of a ceiling Jalen has. To be honest, I don’t think there is a ceiling for him. I think he could be that good (no hyperbole. Played one year of football, folks).

Finally, you see Jalen’s length, athleticism, frame, and raw skills; that’s a guy that can play with his hand in the ground at the 7-tech or standing up as a jack backer spot. He is the epitome of what you want in a multiple defensive front scheme. Once Redmond gets his technique down, it’s lights out for opposing offensive players. – (Brandon)

– Jase McClellan: I don’t think I can ever remember Oklahoma getting a commitment from a player that still has three years left in high school. Brey Walker came close, as he was in his sophomore season when he committed. That status changed yesterday when rising star 2020 running back, from Aledo (TX), Jase McClellan committed to Oklahoma at their ChampUBBQ. After just his freshman year, Jase picked up offers from OU, UGA, Miami, Michigan, Nebraska, Oregon, TCU, and A&M to name a few. Let me repeat that. AFTER HIS FRESHMAN YEAR! When you turn on his film, you see why he is most likely going to be a high 4 star or 5 star when he gets his rating from the publications that rank in that way. I spoke to McClellan as he left ChampUBBQ and asked why he chose OU. Jase said, “I committed because it’s home and I love the area. I am close with running back coach Jay Boulware and Coach Riley is such a great coach.”

That wasn’t the only reason why McClellan chose OU. There was a definite history and tradition factor that played in his decision as well, with Jase saying, “They are RBU. Perine, Mixon, Peterson, Murray are in the league, and OU is notorious for putting good running backs in the league. That is a big factor for me.” The more we got to talking, the more you could tell this was planned, so I asked McClellan just that. Was this commitment planned? His response was, “Ya. I low-key knew what I was gonna do. It was planned.”

When a kid that young, that has visited several other places, comes in knowing they are going to commit before they got to a campus, you have to ask how solid they are, especially with how long it is until 2020 NSD. Jase added, “I am 100%. No plans or want to visit other places.” That’s heady talk for a guy so young, but he was very mature about the whole deal, so I don’t doubt he plans on staying committed the whole time. And that’s just the thing with that word ’time’. We will know in time… A long time… if he stays committed.

Still, right now he is all OU. And with McClellan being the best running back out of Texas in, ironically, a long time, you have to love what Coach Boulware and Riley have done building unreal depth at the running back position. Jase is going to be fun to watch for the next several years in Aledo. – (Brandon)

– Jeffery Carter: Aledo (TX) hasn’t really been good to OU in years past. The majority of the time, players from there (one of the top HS programs in Texas) seem to end up at places like Texas, Baylor, or TCU. Even last year, OU was a finalist for a star offensive lineman that eventually chose Michigan (Chuck Filiaga). That tide seemed to have turned, with a commitment from 2020 Aledo RB, Jase McClellan, and 2019 defensive back, Jeffery Carter, committing to Oklahoma at the ChampUBBQ.

This is good for several reasons.

The first is that Carter is an amazing athlete and has the length (legit 6 foot) to be a really good cornerback in the Big 12. Getting in on him early was crucial for OU, as Carter already held offers from some of the top programs in college football like OU, Georgia, Penn State, Oregon, Oklahoma State, and more.

The second is that Carter’s commitment lays the groundwork for the defensive side of the ball in the 2019 class for OU. Having a highly touted guy like Carter on board so early will help other top defenders gravitate to Norman.

After the BBQ, I spoke to Carter outside Gaylord Memorial Stadium and asked what his reason was for committing to OU. “It felt like home. I literally couldn’t find anything wrong with OU. Just felt so comfortable here.” Carter heard my questions with his teammate and Sooner 2020 commit, Jase McClellan, and his answer about OU being RBU. Carter has a goal of his own though. Carter says, “I’m gonna make Oklahoma DBU. Because I’m going to the league. We (OU) had several good players last year in Steven Parker and Jordan Thomas. I know they have a good commit in Starrland Baldwin too. We are gonna make it DBU.” That is heady talk for the junior in high school to be throwing around, but defensive backs, especially cornerbacks, are out on an island every play. They have to be confident, cocky, and even a little arrogant. The good ones are always cut from that type of cloth.

The other thing I think OU fans will love is the fact that Carter is all OU, saying, “I am 100% down with Oklahoma. Just like Jase, it was planned. This is what I wanted to do before I visited.” Carter spent most of his day with defensive back coach Kerry Cooks and you can tell they have a great relationship and Carter said as much. That’s good because Cooks just landed himself one of the top DB’s in the 2019 class and did it early. – (Brandon)

– Brian Asamoah: With Oklahoma getting the commitment from Jalen Redmond, the Sooners staff are shifting their focus to guys like Raymond Scott, Deshaun White, and Brian Asamoah. Asamoah and I spoke on my podcast before his visit about his expectations and they seemed to be high. So when I asked how this visit went, I was expecting him to say “good,” but I got a lot more. So much more that you Sooners fans need to brace yourself. So, when I asked about the visit Asamoah said, “This visit was amazing! By far the best visit have ever been on!” I told you all to brace yourself. This is really good news for OU, as Asamoah has no plans to take anymore visits. As a matter of fact, Brian reiterated what he said on my podcast, saying, “I will announce whenever I feel comfortable.” Asamoah did say that he would like to announce before the season, but that is contingent on feelings, obviously.

Another interesting note about him is that his favorite part of the day was watching film with Sooners linebacker coach, Tim Kish. I asked Asamoah what he thought about the Sooners coach and he said, “Coach Kish is just a great coach and a better individual.” He considers himself a film junkie, so you know that is something Tim Kish is loving about Asamoah. With Asasmoah heading back to Columbus (OH) tomorrow, a commitment might not happen just yet. The one thing you can guarantee is that Oklahoma and ChampUBBQ put the Sooners in a great position as Asamoah works on deciding where he will play his college ball at. This one, in my opinion, could be over sooner (no pun intended) rather than later. – (Brandon)