Image via Scout.com
Kahlil Haughton is one of the best safeties in state of Texas and probably the country. He has a long frame, can cover, and he will strike you in the open field like a man. Off the field, he is a polite young man who does well in school. On the field he plays under control, but with an edge and most definitely has the dog in him!
Last week he announced that he would be making his commitment this Friday, August 8th. But he has now decided to postpone that decision.
We spoke to Kahlil about the reasons and he told us the following:
“I intended on making my commitment Friday, but I decided that I really want to be able to take my official visits. And I felt it would be difficult to do that if I was committed to any school. This will allow me to enjoy a process I only get once, and help me ensure that I am making the right decision.”
As of right now Kahlil has not confirmed his visit schedule, but in talking with him it sounds like Texas Tech and Arkansas could get official visits. He also has plans to use an official visit to visit Norman once again for the Tennessee game.
He has plans on stopping by Baylor later today for an unofficial visit.
110 Comments
Did he give any indication about OU’s chances in landing him?
Been hearing OU has a very good shot at landing him. It was down to OU and BU and heard that OU actually has the lead.
Yeah, that’s what I’ve heard too, but was wondering if that’s still the case.
I’ve been hearing this but I don’t have a good feeling I think this decision to wait is because of partly what I’ve been saying that tech is making an impression on him.
I hate hearing that coming from you, Zack. Because you are usually right.
Well I don’t want to be right but I do base what I believe a kid is going to do based on his twitter page these days. It seems like he has been favoring tech.
But Jordan is the one to listen to. He and K know much more than I will ever know about haughton.
Zack- Do you try to follow a lot of these recruits of their Twitter? I think your right, much can be discerned from their social media.
I try to follow the ones I hear we are close on and the ones that are highly rated that maybe no one really knows what they are leaning towards but that have shown some interest in ou for example from last year joe mixon, adoree Jackson, Dwight Williams and this year Mckenzie, haughton and newsome.
But yeah you get a feel for who they like based on which fans they tweet/retweet.
Speaking of Adoree, do you think we really had a chance with him? Seems like we were courting him pretty good for a while. CA has been good to us lately for a state so far away. And I really hope this Mixon thing blows over. Even if it ends up being a real stiff suspension, I’m afraid it could run him off. Especially considering he wasn’t settling in too good anyway. I’m not getting into the right and wrong discussion, simply speaking towards the value of him as a player. B4 long OU is going to be synonymous with the curse of the 5* plague.
I think we had a shot with adoree but the only way I thought we would get him is if we landed Dwight Williams who I thought was an ou lean. He seemed to really like kish and they both played at junipero Serra. At some point that is the school we have to pull a kid out of and it could happen this year with stanley Norman who transferred in and their qb Caleb? Wilson is an ou legacy from what I’ve read.
But yes 5* curse is real in Norman. Keith ford and Brennan clay both had 5* by a site or 2, so we will have to see if ford can live up to the hype. And this year I think 1 or 2 5* could be possible.
You’re my twitter Zach, leaves me more time for drinking.
Lol thanks have 2 for me. I really wish my phone still took screen shots then I would share even more from twitter like I was before.
That’s not the reason for the delay. Trust me, I know a guy.
Based on your knowledge, is this a hit to OU’s chances?
It didn’t help things, but I also don’t believe it’s anything super damaging. But time will obviously tell.
Hope you are right.
I like his honesty about it. But I’m also tired of hearing about Tex. Tech and Baylor and the love these recruits have for them. It’s amazing what a movie star coach and 1 Big 12 championship can do for a team. OU just needs to hang half a hundred on them and eat hot dogs off our new food truck by half time!
Is it that same guy?
No it’s got to be the other guy.
Here is an appropriate place to post #23 of the countdown since he was a pretty spectacular safety for the Sooners…
23 Days Till Football Time in Oklahoma! Boomer!!
Allen Patrick is another #23 that I think is under appreciated. He was overshadowed by Murray and Peterson but he filled in and carried the team when he was the starter.
I loved that guy… Not bad for a Safety turned Running Back.
I was a huge fan of Allen Patrick and almost went that way. I love a kid that does whatever he can do to help the team and that was definitely AP!
That run that he made against A$m that was called back one of the most amazing runs i have seen
Brodney was an excellent choice.
That flying interception he made in the RRS made me jump out of my chair.
Tomorrow is going to be difficult to pick. So many Sooner favorites wore #22…
Can’t go wrong with any of them.
Yea, some good ones but I’ll stick with Q. Helped win the Natti and was a selfless player.
I don’t know if he qualifies as a favorite, although the 30 for 30 film pretty much rehabilitates his image in my mind, but M. Dupree was a pretty impressive 22. Three things stand out to me
1 what Switzer said, “When I saw him in high school, he was better than anyone I’d ever seen, and I’ve seen ’em all. I’d seen the Bo Jacksons, the Herschel Walkers, the Eric Dickersons, Earl Campbells.”
2 the play where he runs past Missouri’s fastest player, a legit 4.3 guy, and leaves him in the dust.
3 the still standing record for yards in the Fiesta Bowl, done while out of shape and only playing half the game.
That 30 for 30 was amazing and it did do a lot to change my opinion on Marcus. After all he was just a kid that was getting bad advice and trusted the wrong people and Coach Switzer even said he wished he would have handled Marcus differently… And man could that dude run!!
oh, yeah. and I forgot my other favorite story was when Scott Hill (who clobbered Tony Dorsette) said he tried to pry the football away from Marcus using one hand on each end and Marcus had one hand in the middle and he couldn’t do it. Even by today’s standards with modern nutrition and everything, a guy that big, that strong, with a few juke moves, a great sense for the hole, and sub 4.4 speed would be a nice addition to most backfields.
But only 1 that scored 7 TDs against teXas!
When I watch the highlights and I hear the late and great Mr. Bob Barry… Man that is OU Football!!
I miss that ol’boy.
Pool wasn’t appreciated enough IMO, he always seemed to know where the ball was going.
He got overlooked a lot because the defense he played on was filled with great players.
Whitfields new number.
Make it so!!
Haughton is the role model type of student athlete we want at OU. He really fits in with the team character and deep desire to be a champion that we have established in our program. Come to OU Kahlil, we’re waiting on you.
yep!
Damn it. I hate it when things like this happen. So close to expecting his commitment; only to have him reconsider and extend his entire recruitment.
I do not begrudge him at all for wanting to take in the full experience of recruiting. I would want to do the same. 5 free, should-be-bad-ass games/environments? Sign me up! It just sucks when a recruit sets your expectations for something and then really changes direction. It’s almost as if someone said I’m going to give you your b-day present this Friday, but then decides instead to wait until Christmas to give it to you. And you don’t even know if it’s a good or bad present!!
Haha that’s a great analogy! But i agree, definitely can’t fault a kid for wanting to take his officials.
Or if they are still going to give you that present after all.
I don’t understand your analogy. My birthday is less than two weeks before Christmas and what you describe was the norm, for me.
One of my sisters has the day after Christmas, everyone forgets.
Uh…no…they don’t. They just say that.
/so sad
Hey, mine’s Dec. 1, so I know the feeling. I was just specifically saying if your birthday is Aug 8th and then being told to wait until Christmas.
Just funnin’ Jim.
Sucks to be us, right?
Sounds like a great young man and athlete. Do we know which way he is leaning then?
Really good kid! OU is still in good shape.
Ok, TTU & Baylor are becoming a pain the arse! OU needs to take these teams to the woodshed this year and kill some of their momentum. At first I was like oh, good for them…they picked up a nice commitment, but now I’m like…. Geez, they picked up a nice commitment.
A mudhole would be nice. I think OU soundly beats both despite both having returning QBs. The one question mark for me is going to be experience in the secondary. If we can get the secondary squared away I think OU has a chance to really beat some teams up.
K, I agree. Honestly, I’m not too worried about Sanchez. However, not knowing what we have at the other corner spot concerns me. That and anytime I see Hayes on the field (see KSU game).
I don’t think the secondary is as unresolved as people think. Great leaders at both corners considering Wilson starts and I am sure he will. Plus Byrd at free and Striker featuring at NB in schemes. Don’t forget about Ahmad as well. Parker will get more involved as the year progresses. Book it. Also, expect Hayes to pick his game up more this year. He is definitely a leader back there.
Kody – I hope you’re that your right on all counts. Man, I can’t wait until the season starts!
Me neither James. Wish it was tomorrow.
Kody – Lol… I just saw for the first time my incoherent scrambled sentence structure on the first response. I love posting on my phone.
#notdrinkingenough
The one thing that bothers me is that some of the fans will be impatient and say we look horrible what are they doing out there expecting them to get everything down pat and know what they are doing. I want this team to gradually get better and better as the season goes along. I want them to be playing at their best at the end of the season so we can win #8. BOOMER!!!!!!!!!!
If I remember, we didn’t have a DL last year either.
Excellent point! Do our DB’s really have to be that good this year? I’m being sarcastic but your right, they won’t have to hang onto their man for very long.
JDS, I think they tinker with some of these guys the first two games to see how they play with each other. It will be subtle changes but none the less, I think the secondary will be good this year. I hope Byrd, Thomas and Parker start to really get going. I think they are really good. Just a matter of reps.
Exactly!
True….
If our front is half as good as we think it will be, the cover guys will be fine.
I love it that he wants to enjoy the process. It the start of the college experience and to find his place in the world. I bet some of us wish we had thought things through a little better at that age. Remember! Recruits are kids and it is their decision! We are fans and are lucky to be able to go through the process with them from afar. It is their future not ours!
If they just commit to OU there would be nothing else to think through. I am a homer.
OU recruiting seems to be a sellers’ market right now. The Sunderlands and the Haughtons can wait and take officials, and know that OU will still be buying in December. I certainly wish the situation was reversed, and athletes were committing earlier to be sure to lock up a slot. Not sure how we reverse this, other than to win a few more Nattys. I don’t mind when the Mixons and Quicks and Barnetts wait; yeah, anyone would hold a slot for them. But we’re having trouble getting early commits from guys outside the ESPN300. No real point; just a whine,
Good points though. I think certain positions are filling up though. The dline class is almost full and one more commit for the oline and it will get kinda sketchy for those trying to wait thinking ou will reserve them a spot. I think ou is in great shape recruiting the trenches this year. Everything else is up in the air. But they have taken the one running back and one wide out some think the numbers game means ou is done at those positions but I know norvell will be able to get at least one more WR and if jamabo or gray were wanting to commit then I can’t see Cale having to turn them away.
I agree the trenches are looking great! Permit me to argue with myself: one advantage of having so many holes come December is that OU is in a position to take the late bloomers who have a super senior season. OU has found a ton of great “steals” late in the recruiting year.
Exactly that’s why ou has always closed strong. I would have to go back and look but my guess is we took commitments from about 15 players between beating osu and NSD.
It was 11 including horky who was well after nsd.
That’s a lot. I’m wondering if OU will have that many spots left open by say middle of December. The list of recruits for the Tennessee game is already ridicilous not counting all the in state kids.
I would say probably not as many but maybe 7 or 8 which is still a lot. I think the number we have committed is 10…most are saying right now there are only 22 openings, I think that number will climb to 26-28. So it’s possible we have as many as 20 committed by mid December and that may be the case if ou runs the table that far.
Then there are the picking the hat on a table events we always wind up waiting on.
Was looking at a recent OU roster dated 7-27 out of the Tulsa World and it listed 22 Seniors/Redshirt Seniors( not sure how many were on scholarship). Add in any early declares for NFL, transfers, dismissed from the team, etc and 26-28 could be right on the money.
And that’s what I’m betting on. I think striker, tapper and Phillips could all go if they have great success and get first or 2nd round grades. Smith or ross could leave if they don’t get to play or end up in the dog house. Same with Thomas or Byrd. And then there could be some juniors who are not playing much that decide to not play their senior year if they already graduated.
Why do you think OU typically closes late unlike some of their competitors? I’m afraid they are getting used to relying on this and will end up finishing cold. Hope it never happens.
I think one reason is because ou is currently not the class of college football recruiting. The sec rules recruiting even the bad teams. A lot of them already have 18+ commits. Other reasons is ou has that old fashioned approach where you’re not committed if you’re wanting to visit other schools, I think that is changing to an extent though. Also Norman oklahoma isn’t that great of a campus from March through august (where you see a lot of early commits). And what I mean by great is the night life and stuff that interests 16/17 year olds so you have to ask yourself are those the kids you want? Who base their commitment on what you can do in march as apprised to winning? But also the coaches are patient because they’ve had success late in recruiting.
Very candid. Good stuff.
Dru Samia was at OU today and received an offer . He is a 6-5/295 offensive tackle out of Danville, Ca. Long ways to travel on his own dime. OU keeps them coming and will get the players that fit their needs and want to play at OU.
If he lives in Danville his folks have plenty of dimes to fund his travel…
I feel you Ohio.
You have a valid point. I think I will wait till Aug. 24th when M. Akamnonu makes his choice. He is an OU legacy and Tex. Tech seems to be our main competition.
Will you now admit that Haughton was the secret visitor this past weekend?
I saw an article on ESPN about OU adding a truck to the program. Guess they hadn’t heard that Orlando showed up a couple of weeks ago.
But K told me Orlando was “The Bus!”
/so conufsed
I have never posted here before; however I read everyday it is the greatest OU website ever! I know this has nothing to do with this post but my almost 2 year old granddaughter is trying to learn the alphabet but she is stuck at O because she always says U next. I am sorry but that brought a tear to my eyes. Boomer
I trained my daughter to throw her hands in the air and yell, “TOUCHDOWN, OKLAHOMA!!!” whenever she was particularly pleased with most anything. Great fun for about 3 years.
thanks for posting (and reading)!
Sooner!
May as well start posting here, it’s what all the cool kids do now days.
You been listening to Echosmith again? :}
I give him credit by saying he wants to go visit other schools instead of committing then go visit. I respect that from him. He wants to enjoy the process go see other places and then decide. Good luck to the young man.
“Really good kid! OU is still in good shape.” Super K about Haughton.
Super K- I love it when you open up with your opinions and predictions about recruits and where you think they will end up. I think your reluctant to give more because your afraid people will stick you to the dart board if your wrong. Hope that’s not the case because I love hearing your inner workings. Nobody owns a crystal ball about what these kids are actually going to do. Therefore, no one has the right to admonish you or Jordan for ever being wrong.-TFB members oath.
Agree with what you said. It seems these young athletes have developed a trust with the TFB crew. If I was a betting man ( I once bet $20.00 on 2 birds sitting on a electric line as to which one would fly first), I would say our TFB crew knows a lot more than what they can print.
No doubt. And definitely when it comes to practice reports.
Indeed Gary. Hopefully as the website gets more grounded they will give us more privileged information. I also think there are readers that know a lot about what’s going on in the program and do not share it. Maybe that will change as they get more comfortable with commenting.
Off the wall question.
Can too many ever be a bad thing?
A quick list of athletes I’ve read about or seen posted somewhere since June 14th. They are the kids who have intentions of taking an official visit to OU for the Tennessee game. This is very unofficial and some of these kids may have backed out.
1. Gabriel Campbell
2. Jamal Danley
3. Lio Lafaela
4. P.J. Mbanasor
5. Martinas Rankin
6. Neville Gallimore
7. Keisan Lucier-South
8. Stanley Norman
9. Ykili Ross
10. Rasheem Green
11. Kahlil Haughton
Plus maybe Oklahoma kids like Overton, Barnett, Sunderland, etc
WHEW.
I dunno. It could be a nice experience if a lot of them bond together, especially if some of the ones already committed like PJ convince others on the fence to jump on board.
I like it. They can talk about striping the stadium all they want, I’d rather fill the stadium with all these recruits and put on a good show for them.
I agree. Speaking of recruits does OU have a tight end they are interested in for 2015?
Can’t pull a name out of my head at this time of evening but I’m sure they have their eye on one. I don’t know that it’s extremely high on the list right now.
Maybe they go after an Oklahoma kid like Doobie said. It’s time to hit the sack for me. The wife is still watching her team the KC Chiefs?
The only 2 I can think they have talked about is Josh Moore who just commited to Ohio State and Austin Cantrell who is commited to Arkansa. I do think they have been looking at a couple Oklahoma kids, but I hope they keep recruiting Cantrell!
Thanks.
I have a feeling tight end recruiting will pick up after the season when we show how we will use them…much like the outside backer position did after last year
my thoughts as well
OU might have an edge for Cantrell as AR already has the Henry kid who will be a soph and CJ O’Grady committed. Hope this figures in.
Cantrell will not be leaving Arkansas unless something drastically changes. Oklahoma was too late to that party.
…and Whitfield, please.
Kudos to the kid for doing this. He should “enjoy the process” while he has the opportunity. Good for him.