Open Post | Friday, February 9th
Posted on: February 9, 2024
Visitor Notes | February 3rd
– Charlie S – Posted on: February 3, 2024
Oklahoma hosted their final visit weekend before the February dead period sets in and once again they appear to have done a really nice job…which will produce results in the very near future as you know from THIS post. More on that later.
In the meantime, here are some notes from some of the recruits who were in attendance…
***Touched base with ’25 WR Royal Capell out of Cibolo, TX. When asked about what stood out to him, Capell told me “The coach’s relationship and how family-oriented they were stood out the most. That was huge for me and my parents”.
OU made a move here and it feels like they are in as good of a position as they want to be. Cappell said, “I’m definitely taking an ov (official visit) to Norman” and he added, “They are in my top schools right now”.
***The biggest recruit on campus…literally…was offensive lineman Ashdon Wnetrzak who made his way from Chatsworth, California.
Ashdon (6’8 345) made the trip to Norman without an offer in hand, and while he didn’t pick up the offer at this time, he definitely holds a very high opinion of Oklahoma and Bill Bedenbaugh.
Ashdon said “Man, that trip was amazing. The staff at Oklahoma really took the time to show my family and I love everything about their program, from football, and academics to the soul program.” He added, “It really spoke to me, all the support they have for their athletes. I absolutely love the Soul element of their program and how it supports the athletes through everything off the field. They want to make sure that you’re good as a man and that you go through this process and succeed off the field in life as well as your athletic goals.”
Ashdon continued by saying, “One thing I am learning on this recruiting journey is that it’s more than being a great football player, it’s about building relationships with the coaches and I loved the connection I had with Coach B and Coach Woods.” He added, “I feel like every time I go to a new University the bar gets set a little higher and right now I only have a few schools I feel that way about but all of them I could see myself playing for and wanting to commit to. We spent an entire day with them and really got to feel them on a more human level. It was great. It’s the best tour, I’ve had so far.”
Despite not having the offer, Ashdon is very interested in taking an official to OU. He said “Given the opportunity I definitely will. I’m going to keep in touch with Coach B and build our relationship and I’m planning to come back out to watch their spring game.” He concluded by saying “If I’m asked to do an Official visit, I would be honored to.”
***Quickly touched base with ’25 EDGE Smith Orogbo (6’4 220) out of Houston, Texas (Alief Hastings).
I asked him what stood out to him about his time in Norman and he said, “I had a great time on the visit.” He added, “I got to meet the coaching staff and to walk through the facilities and see how they work out, so overall it was a great visit”
He indicated that an OV is very much on the table so he is a guy we will be out to see in the near future.
***’25 safety Marcus Wimberly (6’1 180) out of Bauxite, Arkansas picked up his OU offer back on January 17th and he wasted little time in making his way up to Norman for a visit.
When asked about the visit, Wemberly said “It was absolutely outstanding! The team is truly a family. The S.O.U.L mission stuff is so awesome!” He continued by saying “They really want to yes make you a better football player, but really a better man, son, husband, etc. Just extremely thankful for that awesome opportunity!!”
When I asked if he planned on making a return trip to Norman, he said “Absolutely! I think I’ll be back on April 9th!”
’25 OT Ryan Fodje Breakdown Courtesy of Alex King
– The Football Brainiacs – Posted on: February 4, 2024
I’ve been very high on Ryan Fodje since the time we first really talked about him back in January HERE. I had my own thoughts on him but I wanted to check with Alex King to see if what I was seeing matched up with his thoughts. I found Fodje to be one of the smoothest and natural looking tackles in the class who has an incredibly high ceiling. He has only been a tackle for a little more than a year, and Coach Bedenbaugh was the first to offer him back in August.
Alex was very gracious with his time as he provided an in depth look at what he was seeing as he went over his film. Here is his breakdown:
“First and foremost his frame and what looks to be elite length pop out at you on film. At 6’6” 290 he looks lean and carries the weight really well with plenty of room to pack on more good weight. LOVE the athlete he is especially on the move as a puller/working to 2nd level. Runs extremely easy and is light on his feet. Will be a weapon in this regard at the next level, no doubt. Shows he will block to the whistle tho he isn’t what I would describe as nasty. Shows smooth/quick feet in pass pro with the ability to redirect/mirror rushers. Like most OL in HS his pad level can be inconsistent but when he gets his hands on you it’s all she wrote. See him snatch-trappin rushers multiple times on film which shows an ability to counter at a young age. Will need development with his hands in pass pro and to get stronger in the weight room but again to be expected. Overall this is a really solid pickup for Bedenbaugh and the Sooners as Fodje brings impressive traits that you can’t coach at the pos and plenty of upside to his game once he gets time in a college weight room and added development!”
When I noted how new he was to the position, Alex said “Hahaha he’s only played OT for 1 season? Didn’t know that. To look as good as he does especially in pass pro already is tremendous. Upside is even higher than I realized, now seeing that. I would add to what I said above, he does flash the ability to play with good bend.”
Alex concluded by saying, “Yeah it’s a great eval man. This dude does stuff as a first year player you wouldn’t expect to see.”
Additional Visitor Notes from February 3rd Junior Day
– Charlie S – Posted on: February 5, 2024
Touched base over the weekend with a few more recruits who were in attendance for the Sooner’s latest Junior Day.
***’25 cornerback Courtland Guillory (6’1 170) made his way to Norman from Spring, Texas where he attends Klein Oak.
Guillory said “The visit was great and the whole thing was a great experience.” He added “I was able to talk to plenty of current OU players and get their thoughts about the program. The vibes were there for sure. Everyone in the OU staff treats everyone like family which definitely stood out to me.”
The Sooners offered Guillory on January 29th which was rapidly followed by offers from Texas (February 1st) and Texas A&M (February 2nd). I think this spring will reveal a lot about this recruitment in regard to visits and positioning going forward, but it sounds like OU did enough this weekend to remain in the picture.
***’26 ATH Jalen Lott (6’0 168) out of Frisco, Texas (Panther Creek) also made the trip up to Norman for the Junior Day. Lott was pretty direct with his review of the visit as he said “Loved it! Great Program with Great Coaches. Very impressive!!”.
Lott was able to spend a lot of time around Jay Valai and early on, it appears that the Sooners envision him as a corner while a host of other programs are recruiting him as a wide receiver. However, the real issue with this one will be the fact that both his parents are Texas athletic alumni (Dad football – Mom track) so you have to wonder if OU will even be in the picture on this one 12 months from now. We will keep tabs on him, but good reviews from recruits are never a bad thing to read about.
Timeline for Sooners 4-star DE Top Target
– Super K – Posted on: February 6, 2024
As you know, 2025 4-star pass rusher, Max Granville is one of the Sooners top DE targets.
I mentioned last week that it feels like things are trending a bit in OU’s direction.
Yesterday, I stopped by to see Max and get a sense of where he’s at in the process following his most recent OU visit. Here’s what I got from him…
***Since January he’s taken a number of visits which include: Baylor, TAMU, OU, SMU and TCU.
***He has a couple of out-of-the-area visits that he’s eying – Penn State and USC.
***However, whether he makes trips to those locations is contingent on when he decides to commit.
***He says he’s trying to decide if he feels like he’s ready to go ahead and announce something in the next few weeks or if he wants to hold off and take those additional visits.
***He did note that if feels ready to go, we could see something this month and that if he decides to commit, he will be shutting things down and won’t be taking any additional visits (sounds like he got the BV speech).
***So, the bottom line is there is a very real chance that this one could pop in the next month. But I want to caution you – and hopefully, y’all have learned this by now – with BV’s policy, sometimes the Sooners end up getting a guy a little later in the process.
***Also, I continue to like where OU is in this one. Not ready to bump by trending way up but I’ll put at 55/45 OU to the field.
Ryan Fodje | In Person
– Super K – Posted on: February 8, 2024
Yesterday, I stopped by Bridgeland high school to see the Sooners newest commit, 2025 OT, Ryan Fodje.
***This is simultaneously a classic Bedenbaugh and a classic Brent guy.
***He’s a big athletic prospect with the right attitude who is coached by some down to earth blue collar Texas guys. Perfect fit for the Sooners program and a perfect canvas for Bill Bedenbaugh to paint on.
***Fodje definitely has prototypical college OT size. He’s still early in his development so there is plenty of room to grow.
***The Sooners and were his first collegiate offer and it’s clear that mattered to him. But, what’s also clear is he had been following the Sooners for a while. He was very familiar with OU offensive linemen in the NFL. Ryan said in watching football he started to notice just how many of the top offensive linemen in the league came from Oklahoma.
***I asked him if it was hard to shut things down knowing he won’t be taking any more visits. He said, he’d already seen schools like Texas, TAMU and others and knew OU was where he wanted to be. So, the decision seemed easy and I think he’s just focused on working to be ready.
***Was also impressed with his overall demeanor and attitude. He wants to play in the NFL but it’s clear education matters. Ryan wants to be a commercial pilot and the Sooners aviation program certainly was a draw.
***Lastly, it certainly can’t hurt that Bridgeland has two stud 2025 tackles – Fodje and his teammate, Jonte Newman. Newman is also considering OU among others.
***Great evaluation and great get both from an athletic and culture standpoint for the Sooners. Just a big athlete with the right attitude.
