Open Post | Weekend, July 15th – 17th
Posted on: July 15, 2022
Makari Vickers | Trending | Updated: 11:01 am
– Super K – Posted on: July 13, 2022
As you know, 4-star 2023 DB, Makari Vickers (Tallahassee, FL) dropped his top three, yesterday, which included: OU, Michigan and Alabama.
As Charlie noted yesterday, we had been told that Alabama was in a good position for Vickers. However, as of late we’ve heard the Sooners come up more and more.
After doing some checking myself, I think the Sooners are more a threat to Alabama than previously expected.
Source on the Alabama side says that they still feel Alabama leads but noted that “Oklahoma is the second team in the race…the longer he holds off, it helps the Sooners.”
While that is more promising for the Sooners than originally thought, I think I’m ready to take things a step further.
I actually think the Sooners are now trending here. I mean, I’d maybe put this at like 52.5/47.5 for the Sooners/Alabama. I might even be inclined to push the Sooners close to a 55 or so.
Something important to note is that as someone who covers the Sooners and I imagine for you the fans, we aren’t used to the Sooners winning these kinds of battles.
But as we noted earlier this month, the Sooners are the likely winners in the Leblanc sweepstakes. That is an early indication that this staff is different and perhaps our assumptions, based on the results of these kinds of battles under the previous staff, need to be readjusted.
We have heard that Vickers may be returning to OU for yet another visit, later this month. I am awaiting confirmation from Vickers’ camp.
If the visit does happen, that would make it Vickers third visit and would further add fuel to the fire that this one is trending OU.
Another piece of information that may tell us something about OU’s confidence in Vickers is that I was told last night by someone in Jasiah Wagoner’s camp that the Sooners have asked him to take his OV during the season. Now that could simply mean that the Sooners aren’t hosting official visitors (only unofficial visitors) for the end of July event but again, it could say something about their confidence in Vickers and perhaps Jacobe Johnson.
As a side note, we are told that as of late Valai, as opposed to B Hall, has been the point man on recruiting Johnson.
Is it possible Valai can seal up Vickers and Johnson by the time the season gets here?
Wouldn’t be just good, it would be golden.
Updated: 11:01 am
K just let me know he spoke to a source close to Vickers who confirmed our earlier note that he will be visiting Norman at the end of July for the Sooners recruiting event.
This would appear to further the position of things trending towards OU for him.
The Latest | ’23 EDGE Colton Vasek | Sourced
– Charlie S – Posted on: July 12, 2022
The Sooners picked up a big commitment from one of their EDGE targets last week as PJ Adebawore announced his pledge to Miguel Chavis and Oklahoma.
Adebawore was a massive win for the first year OLB/DE coach but he still has some targets on his ‘to-do’ list and Colton Vasek (6’6 230) out of Austin, TX (Westlake) is right near the top of that list.
To this point, Vasek has taken all five of his officials. He has officially visited Clemson, OU, Texas, Oregon, and Texas Tech.
There have been rumblings that Oregon has made a significant move for Vasek following the visits and Super K and I both have been working with our sources to get a clearer picture of where things stand.
***Source I spoke with recently was pretty matter of fact in their opinion that despite the Oregon buzz, OU was currently in the best spot in this recruitment. Source believes you can take NIL out of the equation in this one and mentioned Vasek and his family’s faith as being a draw to OU. They appreciate the culture that Venables is instilling.
***Source also noted to me that Vasek is serious about this recruitment in regard to how he will be developed at the next level and it is not surprising that the majority of the buzz around his recruitment is centered around programs that have a strong defensive draw for the most part. OU has one of the top DCs in recent years as their head coach in Brent Venables. Oregon has a guy in Dan Lanning that was a rising defensive star as the former DC at Georgia. Clemson has a rich recent defensive tradition which Dabo Swinney is trying to keep intact.
***Source went on to indicate that relationships are another very important part of this recruitment and pointed out that Vasek and family feel very comfortable with the culture that is being built in Norman under Venables. They also appreciate the way Oregon is aggressively recruiting him with a complete staff effort (sounds familiar to what K wrote about A’Mauri Washington) and the same can be said for Texas Tech and their efforts.
***Many of you noticed the Sooner commits turn their attention to Vasek over the weekend on social media. I had a different source tell me that the recruits did make an impression on Vasek and his camp. The source said ‘They were not expecting that and the way the kids went after him really juiced him up and got him excited’.
***The common denominators in my discussions with the source in each aspect…OU and Oregon.
***Which brings us to a note that Super K picked up yesterday…
***While both OU and Oregon are having major recruiting events at the end of the month, source tells K that Vasek is expected to be in Lubbock for the Texas Tech event rather than making his way back to Norman or Eugene for their events. Of course, that could change, but those around the TTU program expect Vasek to be at their event.
***As for Texas, CJ has been checking around and in his opinion, it feels like the Longhorns are at the back half of this field at this time. I, personally, still would not close the door on them making a late run on a legacy, but there is not a lot of buzz around Texas and Vasek at this time.
So where does that leave us in regard to our take on where things stand?
We currently have this one at 50/50 between OU and the field.
Right now, on the surface it does look as though this recruitment is another OU vs Oregon battle more than anything else, however, Texas Tech is the interesting wildcard as you can imagine they are looking for a signature recruiting win over some big time players in the recruiting world and Joey McGuire is a tremendous recruiter. Also, you can never really rule Clemson out of a recruitment they are invested in.
As for a timeline for his decision, source tells K that he would like to wrap things up at the end of the summer and prior to his season beginning…which could mean TTU gets the last visit if that trip takes place.
This is a winnable recruitment for OU, but there is still a long way to go in a short period of time to lock it up.
Update: 8:54 am
Just want to be more specific on the timeline…we expect a decision to come right at the end of July or the first few days of August.
Sourced Team Notes | Weight Room Warriors | Standing Out
– The Football Brainiacs – Posted on: July 13, 2022
Wanted to give you all an overview of what we have heard about the work being done in the OU weight room over the summer. We asked our sources to name some of the guys who are standing out in the workouts. Some of the ‘heavy lifters’ may surprise you.
***One of the first surprises comes right at the top. Our sources tell us the strongest QB is Micah Bowen with General Booty right there with him. Dillon Gabriel is a hard worker as well and is putting in good work and he is the leader in the QB workout room. We are told Gabriel has his room stay/show up for his offensive linemen as well in a show of support.
***At running back, sources say Eric Gray and Tawee Walker lead the way in terms of strength. Source said the Freshmen are catching up and they like working out, but right now they are, understandably, still working to shape and build their bodies.
***Here is another eye opening note. Source pointed out a young guy and says Jacob Sexton is ‘Creed Humphrey part two’. Sounds like Sexton moves a lot of weight. Chris Murray is having a super offseason and getting in the best shape of his career as well. Source says they are all working hard and McKade Mettauer is turning some heads as well.
***As you may expect, Daniel Parker and Brayden Willis lead the way in the tight end room as they are just physically more mature and Parker, in particular, is showing big time strength. The freshmen are good and Jason Llewellyn is making gains every day on Parker and Willis.
***Source tells us wide receiver Marvin Mims is ‘working his ass off’. Javian Hester and Theo Wease were also singled out for their work. While wide receiver is not typically a position associated with strength, it sounds like the room is very focused on improving their physiques.
***On the defensive line, it sounds like Ethan Downs is the weight room warrior at DE. Source also noted Reggie Grimes is coming along and Grimes is being challenged by the S&C staff daily because they think his ceiling is quite high and they want to push him to develop into ‘first-round material’.
***On the interior of the defensive line, we are told Isaiah Coe and Jordan Kelley are the heavy lifters. Coe moves the most weight on a daily basis. Source also noted that Kelvin Gilliam is very focused and getting bigger and stronger every day.
***At linebacker, David Ugwoegbu is difficult to beat in terms of sheer strength. Stutsman and Kobie McKinzie are pushing as well and they are standing out.
***At corner, Woodi Washington and DJ Graham are showing off their strength but CJ Coldon and Tre Morrison show their maturity and ‘upper classman strength’ as well according to our sources.
***At safety, source notes that Key Lawrence is the lead man here but Billy Bowman and Jordan Mukes also turn heads. Source went on to say Key Lawrence may be ‘pound for pound’ the strongest guy on the team.
The effort of the entire group is very good, tons of positivity from the staff and the entire team. One other note we have picked up is it seems like Schmidty has evolved a bit in the way he motivates and it is not just ‘fear based’ but more positivity and encouragement. Do not be fooled though, a slightly different approach does not mean a different result as the goals remain the same.
One thing that should be noted…we have yet to hear about guys who just aren’t cutting it and we believe you can directly attribute that to the culture and accountability that is being installed throughout the program. The guys we noted are the guys that are at the very top of their rooms and just because you didn’t hear a name, it does not mean they are not making gains. Right now, it sounds like camp is going about as well as one could possibly have hoped and sources continue to rave about the ‘buy in’ of the team.
Updated Trending | Leblanc and Vickers
– Super K – Posted on: July 14, 2022
***As you’ll recall, a couple weeks ago, I bumped my trending numbers up on 4-star DL, Derrick Leblanc from 55/45 OU to 75/25 OU (link here).
As LeBlanc’s announcement date approaches (we’re two weeks out), I’m going to bump my trending number a bit more.
80/20 Sooners.
***Yesterday, I gave the Sooners a slight trending lead over the field of Alabama and Michigan for 4-star DB, Makari Vickers (link here):
I actually think the Sooners are now trending here. I mean, I’d maybe put this at like 52.5/47.5 for the Sooners/Alabama. I might even be inclined to push the Sooners close to a 55 or so.
As we updated yesterday, I did confirm that Makari is visiting OU for the Party at the Palace event at the end of this month. He’s expected to make a decision towards the end of the summer. So, the Sooners are going to have a chance to close. But Alabama isn’t backing off.
I did speak with someone close to Vickers and I can tell you the family takes Makari’s development as a young man very seriously. I get the sense they feel they’ve have found something unique in Venables and Valai in terms of that off the field development.
Although Sooners are not used to beating Nick Saban head to head on recruiting battles, I’ll remind you that Dabo Swinney just took, Peter Woods, one of the top DL out of the state of Alabama. He was highly coveted by Alabama. Woods’ father even attended Alabama.
But Woods’ father is also a pastor and clearly, Peter and his family found something a little unique about Dabo and Clemson.
And perhaps on a related note, that Clemson staff is the only staff to really put pressure on Saban beating him twice for national championships.
Venables was very clearly a big part of that and perhaps you’re beginning to see the possibilities. I’m not saying OU has sealed Vickers up yet but after a couple more conversations after my initial post from yesterday, I’m going to be a little bolder with my trending numbers.
I’ll go from 52.5/47.5 OU to 60/40 OU.
Can’t go much higher than that right now as a) I don’t believe a decision has been finalized and b) it’s still Nick Saban.
But I can tell you the previous staff likely would have had no chance in this battle, especially given the proximity of Norman vs. Tuscaloosa.
Also, an additional note, it does sound like the Sooners see Vickers as a CB.
Jasiah Wagoner & A’mauri Washington | Updates | Priorities
– Super K – Posted on: July 14, 2022
A few quick notes here on Sooners 4-star DB target, Jasiah Wagoner.
***He is a priority for the Sooners. I’m told that the reason they’ve asked Wagoner to take his OV during the season is because the late July event isn’t for official visits. It’ll be strictly for unofficials.
***I don’t know yet what that might mean for Jasiah making a late summer decision – which I was told was his original plan.
***Source tells me that the Sooners are a real contender in this one. I can’t get a read just yet if they’re on top or second but I do believe they’re in the top two.
***OU is hoping to get Jasiah down for an unofficial this month. I think if that happens, it will say a lot because OU and Oregon are both hosting events the same day.
On Sooners 4-star DL target, A’mauri Washington (Chandler, AZ)…
***I am told that Washington is a priority for the Sooners. As of now he’s supposed to visit Oregon at the end of the month and a source close to him tells me that Oregon could possibly close the deal.
***But I was also told that Washington is still very interested in Oklahoma. I think the Sooners may be turning up the heat here so I’ll keep my ears to the ground on this to see if they can close the gap. Team to beat, as you imagine, is Oregon.
