Open Post | Tuesday, July 30th
Posted on: July 30, 2019
Champ U BBQ (Sunday Updates)| Jackson, Mays, Blackshire & Downs
– Charlie S
Caught up with a few recruits regarding the Champ U BBQ…
*** We will start with a guy who wasn’t actually able to make it up this weekend in Sooners 2021 wide receiver commit Cody Jackson (6’0″ 170, Richmond, TX)
Jackson let me know he was not able to make the trip, but that didn’t stop him from enjoying the event from a distance as he was in touch with guys who were on campus via technology.
While Jackson was hoping to have been at the event, he also let me know he is actively recruiting the wide receiver targets from Florida (Agiye Hall & Mario Williams) as well as a handful of offensive linemen in Texas.
Jackson said he will ‘most definitely’ be in Norman for a few games this fall.
*** Also was in touch with 2020 JUCO DT Quay Mays (6’1″ 290, Northwest Mississippi CC). Mays is currently committed to West Virginia and the Sooners have yet to extend an offer.
That could change in the future as Mays tells me he would be open to taking an official to Norman during the season. He said, “That’s my plan, I definitely want to do that.”
As for the visit itself, when asked what stood out to him on the trip, Mays told me “The family vibes and the competitive spirit in everything they do.”
Will keep you up to date if that official visit gets scheduled.
*** A guy you were all excited about heading to Norman for the BBQ was 2021 linebacker Kendrick Blackshire (6’2″ 250, Duncanville, TX).
Blackshire enjoyed the trip very much, in particular, the family atmosphere as well as the other recruits on campus who he got to bond with during the festivities.
When I asked him what he walks out of Norman with following the trip, Kendrick said “The whole visit was good to me. Had a lot of fun with the water fight”.
The Sooners did what they needed to do here and that was to make a good impression which will lead to increased communication and future visits.
*** Another recruit who was very excited about the BBQ was 2021 defensive lineman Ethan Downs (6’4″ 240, Weatherford, OK).
I was in touch with Ethan both prior to, and following the visit. While some were expecting a commit, Ethan let me know before the BBQ that he was not planning on committing anywhere at this time. I will have a full write up on him this week but I did want to share his reaction to the event.
When asked about the event, Ethan told me “I had an awesome time!” He continued by saying “I did not know what to expect, but after being silly and being myself and opening up and enjoying what was happening, I couldn’t say anything negative about the event!”
Champ U BBQ (Monday Notes) | Leadership Emerging | Nelson & Anderson
– Charlie S
Caught up with Sooners 2020 offensive line commits Noah Nelson (6’8″ 295, Gilbert, AZ) and Nate Anderson (6’5″ 270, Frisco, TX) following the ChampU BBQ
I asked Noah how the trip went and he responded by saying “The visit was awesome! The trip definitely reminded me why I chose OU”.
I mentioned that it must have felt good coming in as a commit as opposed to being a recruit and he said, “I went in with the mindset of building relationships with everyone around me and I didn’t have to focus on making a decision, the BBQ was a lot of fun!”
As for the notion that the OL group is emerging as leaders of this class, Nelson told me “I definitely feel like we are the most bonded group coming in”. He added, “We all have strong leadership quality’s so going in we will lead by example for the other guys and working under Coach B only helps with that”
I then caught up with Nate Anderson.
Anderson, who is another vocal recruit in this class, said “I had a great time on the visit! I really enjoyed how fun and family-oriented the day was at the BBQ.”
As to what stood out to him throughout the visit, Anderson told me “The coaches and current players made a great effort to show what the OU family is all about!”
Both of the commits mentioned that they were working hard on 2020 offensive line target Jonah Monheim (6’5″ 280, Moorpark, CA) who they consider to be part of their unit.
Monheim left Norman without publicly committing to the Sooners and while Nelson, Anderson, and Raym all worked on him, they did not tip their hands as to which way he is leaning.
Nelson only offered “We definitely talk to him a lot about OU and how it would be the best place for him, but we will see soon!”
Champ U BBQ | Some Tasty Leftovers | Snippet From James’ Monday Notebook
– James Hale
*** The OU recruiting BBQ was held Saturday, July 27th, and by all accounts, it was a raging success.
*** Of course, the true success of a recruiting event always comes down to how many of the offered recruits that attend the event commit to the Sooners and at press time that total is Zero.
*** In past years OU has pushed fairly hard for commitments at the BBQ, but this year they’re up against it with numbers and were pretty judicial with the 2020 class.
*** One exception with the coaches, current players, and 2020 commits was with three-star offensive lineman Jonah Monheim (6’5, 280) of Moorpark, California who left thinking very hard about committing to the Sooners. OU is battling distance as he could stay home and play for USC and that has become more of a factor for him the more that he thinks about a decision. Alabama is also pushing him hard. OU got the vibe that he left Norman thinking hard about the Sooners, but he didn’t pull the trigger yet so he left with thoughts still on his mind.
*** Wide receiver Rome Odunze (6’2 1/2, 200) of Las Vegas (Bishop Gorman), Nevada made his first trip to Norman and loved what he saw. Odunze loved the family atmosphere and certainly loved the offense. He had a great chance to talk a lot with Lincoln Riley and he got fired up about what he can do in the Sooner offense. Odunze has now taken several unofficial visits and his family has been with him on every one of his trips. He is getting close to making a decision or at least he would like to and right now OU and Washington appear to be his top two schools. However, he also says he might take an official visit or two so he is still working through some things, but he would like to commit before the start of his senior season.
*** Defensive end Noah Arinze (6’5 1/2, 240) of St. Louis (Webster Grove), Missouri spent a lot of time with Ronnie Perkins who is also a St. Louis native and seems ready to pull the trigger, and the Sooners are right there in front of his recruitment. He has been to OU unofficially twice and officially to Arizona State and Minnesota. OU will get an official visit this fall.
*** Among the 2021 class, no recruit was more important than four-star mike backer Kendrick Blackshiire (6’2, 250) of Duncanville, Texas who took in BBQ’s at both Texas A&M and OU on the same weekend. It was the second year he attended the BBQ in Norman.
“I had a great time, but I always have a great time when I come to Norman,” said Blackshire. “I still have a lot of work to do in recruiting as I’m not finished yet. However, the family atmosphere and how much love OU has shown me is going to play a big part in my commitment. OU is going to among my final schools but like I said I still have work to do.”
Blackshire’s recruitment started off with when Mike Stoops was in charge and Tim Kish was the linebacker coach and now it is Alex Grinch and Brian Odom and the transition has only made his recruitment stronger.
“We are meshing pretty good,” said Blackshire. “We are building a better relationship all the time, and we are starting to talk more all the time. I like Coach Odom a lot. He’s a great coach and a great guy. He tells me what he expects of me and he’s pretty straight forward.”
*** Since Blackshire went to two BBQ’s on the same day it was a good chance for us to find out just how different the two events are.
“They are way different,” said Blackshire. “At Texas A&M it was like a big hang out. We swam and if you wanted to you could play basketball. Mostly, we just hung out and talked to other athletes and players and coaches. It was fun, it was nice.”
“At OU, we had a chance to hang out with some of the players. I was talking to Jalen Hurts quite a bit. I also met him (Hurts) a while back and he’s a petty cool guy. He really likes it at Oklahoma and that means something to me because he has only been there for a short time.”
With the dead period starting in August Blackshire says he and his mom will plan a couple of games where he will get back to Norman during the season. His training camp starts Tuesday with his first game August 30th.
*** Another talented 2021 defensive-rush linebacker athlete that is a high priority for the Sooners is four-star Ethan Downs (6’4, 240) of Weatherford, Oklahoma, who had a fantastic time in Norman on Saturday.
“I really had not idea what was going to happen at the BBQ,” laughed Downs. “We got there and started talking to people and had this huge scavenger hunt that went all over the University. It was like a tour but in a super fun way and it was super competitive and everybody was running around down to the library, and the mac labs and had a blast. We went through the weight room and the locker room and we even went up to Lincoln Riley’s office. We got a chance to take pictures with all the trophies and went down to the Heisman area and struck a pose with the Heisman.”
“We did all these fun things and ate some great food and played games. We had a huge water balloon fight. They tricked the players because we thought we were just going to take a nice picture but they started pelting us with water balloons and I had a great time. I got soaked and I got drenched but I had a fun time. In the end we had a nice talk with Coach Riley and it was all just super fun.”
“Annie Hanson has an arm. She had one of the best arm’s out there. l got picked on by my little brother a couple of times. I did get Lincoln Riley two or three times and he can throw it pretty good too. I did not get into the pie-eating contest because I got to it late because I was talking to Coach Riley in his office. That was not what I expected as I thought they were just going to be eating some pie and it turned into a food fight. They really got Noah Nelson really good as they snuck up behind him and then Seth McGowan got him and it got all in his hair and it was dry, sticky and awful.”
Now that Downs has his offer from OU and he has been to the BBQ and has been to Norman a few times he’s starting to feel very good about OU.
“I think they are starting to develop on defense,” said Downs. “They’re getting ready to take a big step on that defense. I think I fit in really well in what they want from a defensive end, outside linebacker and what they are coaching. After talking to Coach Thibs (Calvin Thibodeaux) he showed me a few things and I got some one-on-one time with him. I really like what they are doing. I am excited about the future, and I’m excited to see how they are going to do this season. I hope to make it up for one or two of their games.”
This summer Downs went to OU, Oklahoma State, and Texas. He also went to LSU, Alabama, and Arkansas, but he is still early in his recruiting process.
“I am a people person so I enjoy making new relationships with players and coaches,” said Downs. “I’m very reserved until I get comfortable but after everybody broke down the water balloon fight I didn’t have a problem going down and talking to some of the new recruits.”
“I am taking it all in when it comes to recruiting. I’m not all over twitter and making top five’s or everything. I’m kind of sitting back and enjoying it. I really like Oklahoma and we will see what happens in the next couple of months.”
Downs training camp gets underway in mid-August.
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