Open Post | Wednesday, March 22nd
Posted on: March 22, 2023
Working Visitor List | Future Freaks | March 25th
– Charlie S – Posted on: March 20, 2023
The Sooners are set to host a major recruiting event this weekend.
They will also be hosting various recruits throughout the first week of Spring Ball as we have noted previously.
Here is our working list of recruits that are expected to be on campus this weekend.
Remember, this list is not complete and it will undergo changes both in regard to adding visitors as well as some guys not making it in. Will update periodically throughout the week!
‘24 OL Ezra Ballinger – Tulsa, OK (NOAH)
‘24 TE Decker DeGraaf – Glendora, CA
‘24 EDGE Wyatt Gilmore – Rogers, MN (Rogers Senior)
‘24 LB Khmori House – Bellflower, CA (St John Bosco)
‘24 DL Alex January – Duncanville, TX
‘24 QB Samaj Jones – Philadelphia, PA (Saint Joseph Prep)
‘24 LB Jordan Lockhart – Bellflower, CA (St John Bosco)
‘24 OL Kaedin Massey – Lyndon, KS
‘24 OL Evan McClure – Bixby, OK
‘24 DB Mykel Patterson McDonald – Oklahoma City, OK (Westmoore)
‘24 DB Marcelles Williams – Bellflower, CA (St John Bosco)
‘24 WR Kobe Young – New Orleans, LA (Holy Cross)
‘25 WR Phillip Bell III – Mission Hills, CA (Bishop Alemany)
‘25 RB Tory Blaylock – Humble, TX (Atascocita)
‘25 TE DaSaahn Brame – Derby, KS
‘25 DB Terrance Edwards – Richmond, VA (Trinity Episcopal)
‘25 OL Michael Fasusi – Lewisville, TX
‘25 LS Seth Freeman – Moore, OK
‘25 WR Gracen Harris – Ennis, TX
‘25 DB Maliek Hawkins – McKinney, TX (Frisco Emerson)
‘25 RB Ravian Larry – Idabel, OK
‘25 DE/TE Julian Marks – Lenexa, KS (St Thomas Aquinas)
‘25 WR Dakorien Moore – Duncanville, TX
‘25 WR Jaden Nickens – Oklahoma City, OK (Millwood)
‘25 DL Tyler Parker – Irvine, CA (Crean Lutheran)
‘25 LB Weston Port – San Juan Capistrano, CA (San Juan Hills)
‘25 LB Kelvion Riggins – Dallas, TX (South Oak Cliff)
‘25 DL Landon Rink – Cypress, TX (Cy Fair)
‘25 RB Demarius Robinson – Edmond, OK (Santa Fe)
‘25 DB Omarion Robinson – Little Rock, AR (Parkview Magnet)
‘25 DB Devin Sanchez – Houston, TX (North Shore)
‘25 RB Cameron Settles – Little Rock, AR (Parkview)
‘25 OL Maki Stewart – Bishop Hills, CA (Bishop Alemany)
‘25 WR Elijah Thomas – Checotah, OK
‘25 ATH LaMason Waller – Hesperia, CA (Sultana)
Recruiting Update | Kobe Black
– Super K – Posted on: March 20, 2023
***Spoke with a source this past weekend regarding multiple TX based Sooner DB targets, including 5-star DB Kobe Black (Waco, TX).
***As you know, Kobe Black recently visited OU.
***I’m told that the general vibe among a number of OU’s DB targets in TX is a bit of a wait and see how the Sooners do this season.
***With Black in particular, I was told that the Sooners have quite a bit of a ground to make up to schools like TAMU, Oregon, LSU and others.
***We will wait and see if Black makes it back on campus but for now I’d temper expectations a bit.
3 Keys to Spring for Me | What I’ll Be Watching
– James Hale – Posted on: March 21, 2023
What I’ll Be Watching
Going into spring ball, here are the three positions that OU has to find out about going into summer workouts.
1) WIDE RECEIVER: This position has more questions than any otheron the roster. OU lost Marvin Mims to the NFL, and he was easily the top receiver. Theo Wease also didn’t feel like he would become an Alpha at OU in Jeff Lebby’s offense and transferred to Missouri. Throw in senior tight end Brayden Willis, and OU lost most of the receiving production from the 2022 season.
OU does return junior Jalil Farooq (6’1, 203), who made several big plays last year and still has a ton of potential. One of the fastest players on the team, a sub 4.4 guy, Farooq, showed off his versatility by playing some running back last year. Farooq caught 37 passes for 466 yards and five touchdowns in 2022. Senior Drake Stoops is also back and provides a steadying influence for the Sooner receiving corps. Stoops caught 38 passes for 393 yards and three touchdowns last season. Both figure to start for OU next fall.
After that, everything is a question mark going into the spring. OU needs sophomore Jayden Gibson (6’5, 195) and redshirt freshman Nic Anderson (6’4, 200) to fire this spring. Gibson played in nine games and caught one pass for 12 yards last year, while Anderson played in two games and caught one for five yards.
Junior D.J. Graham (6’0, 190) switched over from corner to wide receiver around midseason and was banished to the bench and taken off special teams. However, he never quit working and volunteered to work on the scout team beating varsity corners until he was put back on the varsity for the bowl game. Players always know who is good on the team, and a lot of defensive backs were giving high praise to Graham at bowl prep. This spring will be huge for Graham.
After transferring in from Arizona State, LV Bunkley-Shelton (5’11, 193) mainly played on special teams. He had two jet sweeps for five yards and one catch for ten years. He is a player that benefits from new wide receiver Coach Emmett Jones and will try to make his mark this spring. Sophomore Gavin Freeman (5’9, 173) earned a scholarship after an excellent freshman year. Freeman played in all 12 games and scored the first time he touched the football at OU. Freeman also made a nice diving catch against Kansas and finished with three receptions for 46 yards, six rushes for 62 yards, and a touchdown. Freeman is a player and is searching for a more defining role this spring
OU signed speedster Andrel Anthony (6’2, 190) out of the portal, and he may be the fastest Sooner on the squad. Coach Jones’s top goal this spring is to find a way to unlock the potential of Anthony. In two years at Michigan, Anthony didn’t play much or show much, but he had a couple of moments. In 2021, he had a 97-yard touchdown catch against Michigan State and finished that game with six catches for 153 yards and two touchdowns.
2) LINEBACKER: OU has to find two starters this spring, but they know some of the best talent is at this position. Junior Danny Stutsman was the Big 12’s leading tackler (118) last year and returned with a renewed vigor to be great. That can start with great leadership this spring.
There is no better freak athlete on the team than sophomore Jaren Kanak (6’2, 225), who played in 12 games, mostly on special teams. When he did get in a linebacker he made plays as he did against Nebraska when he finished with ten tackles, forced and recovered a fumble, and a quarterback hurry.
There is as much excitement about Indiana transfer Dasan McCullough (6’5, 225) as any other player on the roster after a great freshman year for the Hoosiers. McCullough played in 12 games and got four starts finishing with 49 tackles, four sacks, 6.5 tackles for loss, three QB hurries, and three passes blocked.
Junior Shane Whitter (6’0, 225) is another freak athlete and one of the fastest players on the team. Coming off shoulder surgery, the thought is he will be ready to go when practice starts this week. Whitter has played some and has talent. In the spring, he needs to establish that he has part of the rotation or good enough to start and find a permanent role on the defense.
Coach Venables has raved about redshirt freshman backers Kobie McKinzie (6’2, 238) and Kip Lewis (6’1, 201). McKinzie will battle Kanak for the MIKE, and Lewis will start work at the WILL. The coaches will find out a lot about both players this spring.
Freshman Phill Picciotti (6’3, 237) has MIKE backer writing all over him and has looked good early. The coaches can’t wait to see what he is all about this spring.
We talked about the Cheetah last notebook, but with McCulough, senior Justin Harrington, Bowen, and Reggie Pearson Jr. this position looks loaded and ready to go and find out how it all mixes together.
3) OFFENSIVE LINE: This unit has a chance to be good, but we may not know how good until training camp in August. OU must replace starting offensive tackles Anton Harrison and Wanya Morris and guards Chris Murray and Robert Congel. All played significant minutes on a pretty good offensive line unit last year
At offensive tackle, projected starter Walter Rouse (6’6, 318) comes from Stanford, where he was a three-year starter. He considered going pro before entering the portal decommitting from Nebraska, and eventually signing with the Sooners. After Labrum surgery, Rouse will be limited this spring. So will sophomore Jacob Sexton (6’6, 312), who is out with a knee injury. Sexton was a backup offensive tackle all last season and started the bowl game, only to get hurt three plays into the game. Rehab is going well and the future is bright for Sexton.
Junior Tyler Guyton (6’7, 320) will be one of the starting tackles next year, and it’s unclear if he will be the left or right tackle. Guyton played in nine games and started four and has NFL talent written all over him.
Sophomore Aaryn Parks (6’4, 300) is a talented player that has worked as a backup and got into four games last year. In the spring, he and Guyton are expected to be the starting offensive tackles because injury has depleted the depth there. This spring will be a great opportunity for Parks to show that he is ready to play.
Four-star freshman Cayden Green (6’5, 315) could not have come in at a better time. He is no worse than the third tackle this spring and will get all the reps he needs to get up to speed and get ready to play next year.
Sophomore Jake Taylor (6’6, 300) is another promising offensive lineman that played guard last year but, because of depth issues, will work some at tackle this spring.
At center, junior Andrew Raym (6’4, 305) will be available some following shoulder surgery. Raym started ten games last year before missing the final two with injury but is considered an NFL talent. He will work to do what he can this spring.
We have heard nothing but great things about sophomore Nate Anderson (6’4, 292) at center. Anderson played in four games last year and will get a chance to snow what he can do this spring as Raym will be limited some because of the shoulder. Joshua Bates (6’3, 305) is another freshman that is at OU at the right time. A former four-star, Bates signed with OU to develop into a center, and that process will start this spring.
Senior McKade Mettauer (6’4, 310) is back and has been a leader this off-season. He was solid, but not great last season, and will look to become a more physical player this spring.
We have heard nothing but great things about sophomore Savion Byrd (6’5, 310) over the last couple of years. With Murray gone, Byrd goes into the spring battling Mettauer and Miami of Ohio transfer guard Caleb Shaffer (6’5, 323) for playing time. Shaffer has already started 33 games of football and played well for the Redhawks. Taylor will get some reps at guard as well.
Sophomore Cullen Montgomery (6’4, 350) is huge and will get a ton of reps this spring at guard to prove he is going to be a player at OU.
BV Pre-Spring Presser Highlights
– Charlie S – Posted on: March 20, 2023
Venables confirms Seth Littrell has been hired as an offensive analyst.
Officially announces the hire of James Skalski as a defensive assistant.
Confirms our report about Marcus Hicks switching from OL to DL.
Injuries and guys who will miss the spring:
Gentry Williams has checked out, has a cardiac clearance meeting tomorrow. He appears to be out of harms way.
Kaden Helms will miss spring with a knee.
Jason Llewellyn foot (growth plate). Will miss spring.
Megwa and McCarty will also miss spring (ACL).
Walter Rouse shoulder, will miss spring (shoulder).
Jacob Sexton recovering nicely from what Brent characterizes as an ACL, will miss spring.
Trace Ford will be limited.
Kelvin Gilliam, Jayden Rowe, Shane Whitter will be limited (each has a shoulder recovery going on). Will participate in individual drills.
Booty will get some play, he has a finger issue.
In regard to improvement on the field:
Notes that there ain’t a lot of experience at WR, lists the guys that didn’t get much of a shot last year and points to Andrel Anthony and the freshman as guys who could impact the room.
Brent believes the secondary is potentially the most improved unit on the team.
Expects to see improvement from today through the spring game.
Expects OU to be on ‘another planet’ defensively.
Says they weren’t good at the point of attack last year and got bullied around at times. Notes they have to get better. Likes the hunger and focus of the team.
Sourced | Going Into Spring Staff Wants to See…
– Super K – Posted on: March 21, 2023
Obviously, there are a number of things the staff is looking for this spring but in speaking with sources, my sense is these are some of the most important things they’re looking at…
***Run fits…run fits…run fits. This was a huge problem last season from both the second and third levels of the defense.
Sources have indicated that there has been a lot of emphasis on this in film study, as of late. Coach Venables and company know that if they can resolve this problem, they can resolve a lot of the defensive issues.
***Outside wide receiver threat. I get the sense the staff feels like their inability to be consistently explosive last year was due to the lack of a true outside WR threat.
Sources have said they feel like Farooq will take a next step this season but I think they’re looking for a lot more competition in general on the outside.
Emmett Jones will be tasked with trying to mine and develop this group to get some guys who can make plays downfield. Without that, I think the staff knows that within this scheme, their offensive ceiling isn’t going to be very high.
***When I’ve spoken to sources on the OU side regarding off-season players, there have been comments made on who is standing out in workouts and what not. But the thing I hear over and over is, “we won’t know until spring gets here and the pads come on.”
So I think the third area is a broad area of just seeing who the staff likes and who is going to be what they hope they are once things are full speed.
Three specific prospects to watch…
Jackson Arnold – the staff thinks he was the best player in the country last year. They want to know if he can do what they think he can with a collegiate pass rush in his face.
Rondell Bothroyd – off-season reports about him were very good. The staff wants to see if he’s as good as advertised and can help give OU some added depth and flexibility up front – to overall raise the profile of the front four.
A pass rusher – they were very disappointed in last year’s pass rush. They want to see if a guy like McCullough can fill that role or if R Mason or others can take that next step.
***Obviously there are other questions marks like who is going to step up at running back? How is the offensive line going to look without Wanya and Anton? But based on my conversations with sources, the above three that I listed are the areas the Sooners staff is probably most concerned about. Those areas need significant improvement for the Sooners to make a run at the Big 12 championship.
Spring Practice Number One | Viewing Session Takeaways
– Charlie S – Posted on: March 21, 2023
Just got off the phone with James who was out at the Sooners first spring practice of ’23 and wanted to pass along some of his takeaways:
QB Rotation – Dillon Gabriel, Beville was going second and Arnold was going third, Booty fourth. Gabriel had the most velocity on the balls they were throwing today and he is the unquestioned leader.
RB Room – They all look good, including DeMarco Murray who trimmed up. James noted that Marcus Major is the workout we all should follow, said he looks chiseled. James also mentioned that Jovantae Barnes was indeed noticeably larger as we reported through sourced notes over the winter.
WR – DJ Graham is the guy that stood out to James on day one, said he looked sharp. Farooq is just a gifted athlete and everything looks easy for him. He noted that Nic Anderson looks really good and physically mature while Jayden Gibson appears to look about the same as he did last year.
TE – Austin Stogner is a big son of a gun. James said he looks like a million bucks compared to the last he saw him. Really has filled out. Noted that Blake Smith struggled a bit in some receiving drills, and seemed to be a bit nervous and trying too hard.
OL – Jake Taylor is working at tackle with Guyton, Parks, and Caden Green. Mettauer, Byrd and Shaffer were inside and Raym, Anderson, and Bates were working at center. There were a few others in the group, but thought it was notable that both Taylor and Green are working at tackle right now with Rouse and Sexton out.
DE – Big group. Grimes and Downs were obviously out there but Trace Ford stood out to James, called him a good-looking player. Bothroyd was working with the ends when James was able to see him. Noted that R Mason Thomas also did a lot of work on his physique over the winter.
LB – Another great-looking group…Venables was doing all the coaching…Dasan McCullough is a natural. No matter what they asked of him, or what drill it was, it looked like everything came easy to him. Kanak is a guy they engage with often throughout the practice and he remains very coachable. As soon as they coach him, he does it right. Kobie McKinzie stood out and was getting coached up a lot. James said he looks like a very sleek 243. Kip Lewis is still a bit light. Shane Whitter was out there going through some of the drills.
Danny Stutsman is showing leadership on the field and the rest of the room clearly responds to him.
DB – Billy Bowman continues to build his physique and looks like a physical specimen.
I’ll load up some of the raw video he has sent through and have that for you late tonight or early tomorrow.
