Open Post | Weekend, February 26th – 28th
Posted on: February 26, 2021
Sooners 2022 OL Target Ready to Announce
– Super K
Earlier this week, I spoke with 2021 Sooners offensive lineman target, Demetrius Hunter (Orange, TX).
Hunter is a special young man. As I said, he is really selfless. He’s exactly what you want in a human being and in an offensive lineman – someone who wants to be successful but wants those around him to be successful, as well.
As we’ve previously noted, teams pushing the hardest in this one are OU, Texas A&M and Oklahoma State.
Hunter is an intelligent young man and seems to have a clear vision on the draw to Oklahoma. He talked about how he believes coach Bedenbaugh is one of the best offensive line coaches in the country. He talked about the development of guys like Orlando Brown and Creed Humphrey. He’s had a chance to chat with both of those guys, as well.
Beyond that Hunter said he and his family have a personal relationship coach Bedenbaugh that goes beyond football. The Sooners were one of his first offers and he says coach B and the staff have recruited him relentlessly since then.
Hunter is working on a commitment video and said he is hopeful it will be ready by early next week. So, he’d like to drop it at some point next week.
Sooners are sitting in a pretty good spot for the number one ranked center in the country.
The Latest | 2022 Pilot Point ATH Ish Harris
– CJ Vogel
I made the trip up to Pilot Point earlier this week to see rising 2022 athlete Ish Harris who traded in the hardwood last weekend for the baseball diamond.
In the last two weeks, Harris has picked up offers from Texas (Feb. 12) and Oklahoma (Feb. 17), yet his recruitment was already beginning to pop prior to the Red River rivals jumping into the mix.
“(Recruiting) has been pretty good to me,” said Harris, who was district 4-3A Offensive MVP this past season. “I’m just embracing it. It doesn’t last forever, so I am just not taking the things I have for granted.”
Harris told me there are four teams hot on his tail right now, Texas A&M, Texas, Oklahoma and Baylor. For the time being, there has not been any communication, but Alabama has started following Harris on Twitter and he expects them to get in the mix soon as well.
He added that Texas A&M, Baylor and Texas talk to him every day on the phone. The Texas staff even hosted him for a virtual visit last night as well. Harris said the coach that he has heard the most from so far during his recruitment is A&M’s Terry Price.
While he is listed as an ATH, Harris told me the majority of his offers are coming on the defensive side of the ball. Though, “I feel like wherever you put me, any environment, I feel like I can be a program changer,” Harris said. “I don’t prefer one side or the other, but the side I know I will be the best at is probably outside linebacker because of my size and my build.”
The four aforementioned schools of Texas, A&M, OU and Baylor all offered on the defensive side of the ball. Though, it is worth noting that Texas A&M has pitched using Harris on both sides of the ball for a few series a game. “It is really appealing to me because I love both sides of the ball, but I still want to have a touch on the offensive side just a little bit.”
Harris said the OU staff followed him months ago, though just recently got into contact with him last week when the extended an offer. Insode linebacker Coach Brian Odom has been the leading recruiters for Harris on the OU side.
With OU being his most recent offer, they are a bit behind in terms of relationship status, though Harris said it wasn’t too big of an issue since he “can get to know people pretty easily.”
My Take
Harris told me he hopes to have a top schools released prior to his senior season and commit sometime during the season, so I expect this recruitment to carry out quite a bit. The four-sport athlete hopes to study agricultural engineering at the next level which plays into the favor of Texas A&M.
For the time being, Texas A&M and Texas are both up at the top, though I would probably give the Aggies a slight edge. I am willing to bet Oklahoma makes up ground, but Harris pointed out a loaded depth chart at the LB position as something that is holding back the Sooners right now, but with Odom being the lead, I suspect OU has him targeted inside which could provide him more opportunity. But again, things will change once he is able to visit campuses in person.
Bryan Allen | The Latest
– Charlie S
CJ went by to see 2022 DB, Bryan Allen (Aledo). We wanted to get a sense of Bryan’s decision timeline and where things are with the three schools we feel are the biggest contenders – OU, TAMU and Texas.
CJ got a strong sense that Texas has pulled ahead. I listened to the audio of the interview and I have to say, I concur. Not getting the sense that OU is going to be the choice here.
Defensive Backs Updates | Jared Kerr & Gentry Williams
– Super K
***Earlier this week, I chatted with in-state 2022 5-star DB, Gentry Williams (Booker T. Washington). As you know, Gentry already has a top ten which includes: OU, LSU, Okie State, Nebraska, USC, Missouri, Arkansas, UGA, Florida and Michigan.
It sounds like he’s pretty close to trimming that down quite a bit. This next list may end up being the final list before a commitment is made. I do fully expect the Sooners to make this final cut.
OU is going to have some stiff competition in this but I think wining this one is really going to be about making sure the Sooners recruiting him hard as a staff. They don’t want to leave this in the hands of just one recruiter. Gentry is a highly coveted guy and he’s a sharp young man. So, if he has a number of elite schools who have multiple guys recruiting him (and he does) then you want to make sure you’re matching that.
OU really needs to reverse the trend of top instate defensive backs leaving the state.
***Also, last time CJ went by to see 2022 DB, Jared Kerr, he got the sense that the Sooners were running a bit behind teams like Baylor, Texas and TAMU.
It sounds like that read was accurate. I’m told that at the time, the Sooners had slowed things down a bit.
Keep an eye on Oklahoma turning things back up with Kerr. I don’t know how receptive he will be but I do believe that when OU was pursuing Kerr heavily, they put themselves in a pretty good position. In fact, they may have been the favorite.
Quick Hitter | 2022 OT Dayne Shor
– Charlie S
Sooners offensive tackle target Dayne Shor (6’6″ 295) out of Alpharetta, GA, sent out this tweet…
I caught up with Dayne and he let me know the announcement will be a top schools list.
Shor also confirmed that OU is a top school for him, so I expect them to make the cut. Not sure how low he will be going with the list, but regardless, the Sooners will remain involved.
I asked him what his general timeline was for a commitment and he said he was leaning towards making a fall announcement. He is hoping to be able to get some visits in.
We will have K down that way in the coming weeks and will work on getting out to see the big fella.
Chace Biddle | On the Hourglass
– Super K
Earlier this week, 2022 DB, Chace Biddle (Garland, TX) tweeted the hourglass:
You’ll recall that last week, we reported that Chace told us that due to the extension of the dead period, he would be moving his commitment timeline up.
I checked with a source and was told that the hourglasses are initially going to be for a top five. If I had to guess, I’d say it will be OU, TCU, TAMU, Michigan and Alabama. I could be wrong but I’m very confident that OU and TCU will make the cut.
Either way, I think him cutting things down is the signal that a commitment may come very soon after that.
New #ChampU22 Member Jason Llewellyn Talks Commitment
– CJ Vogel
As y’all know, I was over in Aledo earlier in the week and was able to catch up with the newest Oklahoma commit, TE Jason Llewellyn.
Up until last week, the plan was for Llewellyn to take a trip down to Austin to visit Texas and then this upcoming weekend, he was supposed to make the trip to Norman. Though things changed quickly and the winter storm fell in favor of the Sooners as it cancelled the trip south.
“Obviously, they are a top school in the country,” said Llewellyn, who had just finished discus practice. “I did a virtual tour and I loved everything they had to offer – academically and athletically.
“They are No. 6 right now in the nation, so they obviously have a very good football program. And they are a very high powered offensive football team. Knowing Mark Andrews was there just a few years ago. He was an All American and in the league now, he had a very good career at OU and I am hoping can be – some people said I can be Mark Andrews 2.0 and so I am hoping I can be that and be that guy for them.”
Whether it be Mark Andrews, Grant Calcaterra, Jermaine Gresham and now Austin Stogner, the production at tight end in the Sooners offense is hard to deny. Llewellyn took notice of that and in the end, it paid off greatly for the Sooners.
“First, you want to look at academics and make sure the school you want to go to has your major because that’s Plan A is getting a degree,” Llewellyn said. “But I am going there to play football so you have to look at the offense and see how I am going to be used and what I am going to be doing, and they were exactly that.”
Llewellyn was instrumental in Aledo’s state title run this fall and was named to the 5A-DII All State team by Padilla Poll.
Llewellyn hopes to be an early enrollee too, which will allow him to spend more time learning Lincoln Riley’s offense, something he’s very excited about.
“(Our relationship) is pretty good, I’ve talked with him a few times,” Llewellyn said about Riley. “He’s a great guy I can tell and he’s a great coach. Obviously I am going to keep building and keep talking to him to build that relationship until I get up there.”
Llewellyn said that he has been able to connect with #ChampU22 class members Kobie McKinzie and Raleek Brown so far since he went public with his commitment. While he didn’t drop any names, Llewellyn added he is eager to start recruiting some of the area’s best talent to join him in Norman.
Llewellyn told me he hoped to post a top schools list and continue to narrow it down until he knew he wanted to commit. Yet, he committed to OU one day after dropping a Top 15. I asked him about it and he said he just woke up one morning and knew OU was the spot for him.
One more reason to celebrate this addition: Texas finished 2nd.
ChampU22 | Defensive Line Big Board
– Charlie S
Continuing with the roll out of the OU Big Boards.
Currently posting the ’22 recruits who hold Oklahoma offers.
There will be additional names added to most position groups as names of interest as we get deeper into the cycle.
***Defensive End/Edge***
Jeremiah Alexander – Thompson (Alabaster, AL)
Enai White – Imhotep Institute (Philadelphia, PA)
Malick Sylla – Katy (Katy, TX) – Aggie commit
Cyrus Moss – Bishop Gorman (Las Vegas, NV)
Marvin Jones Jr. – American Heritage (Fort Lauderdale, FL)
Kenyatta Jackson – Chaminade-Madonna Prep (Hollywood, FL)
Wilfredo Aybar – Cheshire Academy (Cheshire, CT)
Dante Anderson – Homestead (Homestead, FL)
Tyson Ford – John Burroughs School (Saint Louis, MO) – ND commit
Jihaad Campbell – IMG Academy (Bradenton, FL)
DJ Wesolak – Boonville (Boonville, MO)
Keon Wylie – Imhotep Institute (Philadelphia, PA)
Derrick Brown – Texas High (Texarkana, TX)
Omari Abor – Duncanville (Duncanville, TX)
Derrick Moore – St. Frances Academy (Baltimore, MD)
Dani Dennis-Sutton – McDonogh School (Owings Mills, MD)
Ernest Cooper IV – Martin (Arlington, TX)
Zac Swanson – Brophy College Preparatory (Phoenix, AZ)
***Defensive Tackle/Interior***
Walter Nolen – St. Benedict at Auburndale (Cordova, TN)
Travis Shaw – Grimsley (Greensboro, NC)
Gabriel Brownlow-Dindy – Lakeland (Lakeland, FL)
Bear Alexander – Ryan (Denton, TX) – UGA commit
Anthony Lucas – Chaparral (Scottsdale, AZ)
KJ Miles – St. Peters Prep (Jersey City, NJ)
Daniel Lyons – Homestead (Homestead, FL)
Marquis Gracial – St. Charles (Saint Charles, MO)
Nico Davillier – Maumelle (Maumelle, AR)
Kristopher Ross – North Shore (Houston, TX)
Jaray Bledsoe – Bremond (Bremond, TX)
Defensive Line Bottom Line:
Right now it feels like OU is looking to take a combination of 4 or 5 guys along the defensive line/edge.
The reason I say ‘combination’ is because some of the ‘Edge’ guys for most schools can (and would) play inside for OU. For instance, Tyson Ford would have been an interior guy for OU if he chose Oklahoma and a guy like Anthony Lucas could play a bit on the end.
So it will be important for Cain and Thibbs to be on the same page (along with Grinch) when attacking the recruiting needs for the defensive front.
Guys to keep an eye on at this time would be Dindy, Moss, Wesolak, Lucas (to a degree), Ross, Bledsoe, Dennis-Sutton, Abor, Moore and Brown to name a few (I am sure I missed someone).
Other guys we have mentioned who may pop up are instate guys such as Chris McClellan and DeSean Brown, both of whom have/are hearing from Oklahoma a bit, but have yet to receive offers.
The Ford situation (him committing to ND after being silently committed to OU) was a set back for sure, but it doesn’t have to spell doom for the cycle as there are some really quality options out there for the Sooners.
Malachi Nelson Virtual Visit with the Sooners
– Super K
Yesterday evening, the Sooners did a virtual visit with an incredibly talented 2023 QB and the only OU offer in the 2023 class…
When I saw Malachi recently, I got the vibe that the Sooners stiffest competition in this one would be USC.
I’m told the virtual visit with Lincoln and company went very very well.
I should have more on this soon but the early vibe I got is that Lincoln really knocked this one out of the park.
As Malachi previously told me, Lincoln told Malachi that he only offers quarterbacks that he believes can be first round draft picks and win a Heisman trophy. So, that should tell you how highly Lincoln regards Malachi and from what I saw and what I’ve heard, it is warranted.
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