More On The Du’Vonta Lampkin Decommitment

Image via 247 Sports

Firstly, it’s great to be back home. I had a great trip, but in the immortal words of Dorothy “there’s no place like home.”

I came back to the news that Du’Vonta Lampkin decommitted, but I can tell you that it did not come as a complete surprise. I got wind of this possibility last week just before I left. I’ll let y’all in on what I was told prior to my trip and give a few thoughts on recruiting in general.

Last week I was told by a source that Du’Vonta was planning on going to the Texas spring game, and that he would assess where things stand with his commitment in general after that. I asked Du’Vonta if he was going to go and he didn’t respond, which is unusual because he typically responds to me immediately. That furthered my suspicion that a visit was imminent. I haven’t confirmed whether he made it to the Orange/White game, but as soon as I heard he was going to “assess where things stand” after he saw Texas, I figured there must be some serious interest regardless.

I know Du’Vonta has said that OU still remains number one and that may very well be true, but if I were a betting man my money would be on Texas right now. It really doesn’t seem like a situation where there is much OU could have done differently (and that’s definitely not always the case in my opinion). Du’Vonta has been to OU a number of times. He’s got a great relationship with the coaches. At one time he was even recruiting for OU. And it may very well be just one of those things where he’s itching to be back in the mix of the process, but the decommittment coming so soon after I heard from a source that it was possible makes me feel that his decision was, at least in some part, because of Texas.

You can usually stick with a kid who just wants to look around, and in the end there is a good chance he’ll come back. When a kid loves another school though, that’s tough. Though I will say that based on what I’ve heard about how Texas looked in the spring game, if the Horns face plant next season then I think OU could win him back.

I want to also add that it appears that the mother really wants him at Oklahoma. But it sounds like there are other voices in the family that wanted him to open up his recruiting. I also know there are some folks that think he could quickly recommit to Oklahoma…as in within the next week or two. But again, I don’t have a great feeling about it. I can tell you this, while the Oklahoma coaches would welcome him back they are definitely working on other targets.

But the question I ask myself is…would I take Du’Vonta back if he wanted to recommit?

If I’m being completely honest, I wouldn’t. I think Du’Vonta has a great frame and probably has a decent upside. But at the end of the day, there is nothing I hold in higher regard for a DL, especially a B-gap player (and of course anything further out) than an explosive first step. And that step just isn’t there with Du’Vonta, in my opinion.

Enter Neville Gallimore. We’ll talk more about him later, but for those of you who missed it OU offered Gallimore (a 2015 DE/OLB out of Canada – yes, that Canada) yesterday. You may recall that we talked about Neville a couple months back, but if you missed it you can read our notes about him here (see the second note in the post). Neville was EXTREMELY excited to receive the Oklahoma offer. I know Neville’s coach, and I’ll hit him up later today or tomorrow, but the early impression I get is we could land Neville. He’s exactly the kind of kid I like OU going after. What Oklahoma does best is development, and Neville is a kid that has all the tools but needs coaching and experience playing against elite talent. On a side note, the kid weighs 280+ lbs and Geoff (his coach) told me he can do 10+ wide grip pull ups!

There is no question that Oklahoma isn’t have the best time right now in recruiting, and I know it can be frustrating. But I assure you we are very high up on the list for a number of talented kids. Oklahoma is not a school that pushes for commitments though. OU isn’t the type of school that is going to tell a kid, “hey you better commit because your spot is about to get filled.” That isn’t to say that haven’t done it, because at times they have, but for the most part it’s not part of their DNA as a staff.

I still believe we are going to end up with some tremendous players, especially on the defensive side of the ball. I’ve heard some good news about a few players just in the past day since I’ve been back. Having said that, I can tell you that recruiting isn’t some secret magic formula. It comes down to charisma, sincerity and probably above all else simple hard work.

And while, like every staff, OU has made mistakes in recruiting, these latest two decommitments have nothing to do with a short coming on the part of the OU coaching staff. Josh Wariboko simply wants to see what else is out there, and wants to see if there is a legit chance he could play with his brother. In fact, he asked Oklahoma point blank if they would offer Max, and they answered him truthfully and said not at this time. There isn’t much OU can do about that. With Lampkin, again you have a situation where it seems the young man may have grown up loving another program that’s only 2.5 hours away from home and has some people close to him that encouraged him to open up his recruitment. So while I would argue that our recruiting efforts could use a boost, I also think these latest two decommitments were beyond Oklahoma’s control.

62 Comments

  • territorysooner says:

    Thanks K!

  • kt-raida says:

    I believe Oklahoma does not need commitments this early. We are along kids to commit to their future two years in advance, give me the November through February commits. The guys who’ve seen what we put on the field and can better assess there situation.

  • OUZach says:

    Who are the players you heard the good news on?

    • Adrian says:

      Most likely Will Sunderland and Jalin Barnett or maybe even Khalil. I know the first two are high on OU though and we could use an Oline commit

    • Zack says:

      Well we made the top 20 for settle…after 2 or 3 unofficial visits. Lol

  • Doobie74OU says:

    Sanity has came back across the pond!!! Reading yesterday you would have thought we might be closing down the OU Football program in the next couple years to focus on our badminton squad! I know it is hard to keep from getting frustrated with recruiting because I have at times but it is still 8 months away from time to start getting worried about recruiting! Glad you back K!

  • John Garner says:

    Awesome read and insights K. Much appreciates as always. Have you heard anything about where Settles’ heads at? He seemed to really like OU this past week.

    • Super K says:

      Haven’t had a lengthy convo with him yet but I do know that he told Oklahoma he would be taking one of his official visits to OU.

  • OU_Sooners says:

    Gonna be honest guys, definitely feels like we fell to the ground flat on our face after that Sugar Bowl high. Two 4* decommits after Bama signs 4-5 5* dudes after a spring game. Nothing quite like a punch to the balls right before May.

    • Chase Korenek says:

      Dude???? Signing day is almost a FULL YEAR away…what are you people worried about?? Losing these commits happen in recruiting. OU is fine.

      • OU_Sooners says:

        just alarming to see A&M and Bama rake in 5*’s while we lose them. I understand that NSD is about a FULL YEAR away, but that’s not how OU used to operate. In my opinion, hoping and wishing a 3* OT will commit on NSD because you desperately need one is not a good technique to have.

        But! The season is also a few months away. So we’ll definitely see some upside in recruiting once we start knocking around teams like Texas, Baylor, Tech, Tennessee, and OSU. Or at least we hopefully knock those teams around.

        • Billy Jackson says:

          Well, the good thing is we can get 3 stars that can beat Bama’s 5 stars, so at the end of the day, all I care about are wins.

          • OU_Sooners says:

            it’s no coincidence that Bama gets guys and they play/win in National Titles.

          • Billy Jackson says:

            Except last year, when they didn’t win the National Title and OU beat their asses.

            OU won a National Title with a lot of Juco guys and guys that were overlooked. OU lost title games with loaded rosters full of 5 star guys.

            Not going argue with you, because that will make me mad. And, I agree, having the studs you want commit and stay committed is better than getting them and losing them.

            At the same time, I refuse to roll around on the floor feeling sorry for myself, when we’ve got a pretty damn good football program and team.

          • OU_Sooners says:

            I’m not rolling on the floor as much as I’m just being subjective. There’s no mystery who puts more people in the NFL draft. I agree with you, it’s about development and unity and OU has plenty of that. It’s the reason why we’ve been knocking around Texas for a while. However, a 5th gear always helps.

        • kt-raida says:

          Stars Are a fairly new concept. You could replace stars for farts and they’d mean the same

          • OU_Sooners says:

            We weren’t saying this when OU was reaping the benefits when we got guys like Peterson & Bomar (even though only 1 panned out). To say that something is “new” when it’s actually over 10 years old is interesting. Like I said, it’s no coincidence that OU hasn’t been recruiting as they once were and they’re not competing for titles like they were in the 2000’s. Another strong year could put us on the up-swing, though.

          • kt-raida says:

            10yrs isn’t that long. And tell me how Bomars 5 star status is working for him. It’s all about development if you hold those stars so near and dear to your heart you must hate tapper, sanchez, Colvin, Bradford and a bunch of other 3 star guys.Peterspon was alluring not because of his star’s but his ability.

          • OU_Sooners says:

            In a time where we went from dial up internet, no texting, and data plans for phones; Yeah, 10 years is a lot.

            I agree with you guys about OUs staff developing guys. Stoops and Co. do the best job of that. I like that OU goes and gets guys that fit their system (not what Mack Brown has been doing… or did). Your comment about the other 3* players is funny to me, OH YEAH, I HATE ‘EM!

            Recruiting is tougher than it used to be with the emergence of A&M and Baylor. Stoops used to get whoever he wanted in Texas, now we’re shifting focus to Florida and Cali (thank God). ps, I talked about how Bomar didn’t pan out. It certainly wasn’t lack of talent, he made it to the NFL with Sam Houston. It was his lack of maturity/intelligence that got him where he his–nowhere.

          • Sonny Schovanec says:

            Or Striker, Evans, Dom Alexander etc. etc. etc.

  • thegoodmagneto(CJ) says:

    Great post..Love the board..We need to have about 10 more articles from you guys a day :)..

  • Ash Jones says:

    Keep this info on this board: OU lost Lampkin to a big butt and a smile. Coach Strong wagged his money maker all up in Du’Vonta’s face and he was hooked. 🙂

  • Travis Coyle says:

    Nothing like these articles. Thanks for everything you do.

  • Paul Warfield says:

    There is a certain well known blowhard poster on the Scoop, sooner55, who is beating the war drums for Gagriel Campbell, Jason Scrempos & Noah Jefferson to be recruited by Oklahoma as 3-4 defensive linemen. I am just interested to hear what you all know of these kids and OU’s involvement with them?

    • Super K says:

      If you mean Gabriel Campbell…he is phenomenal. And yes OU is looking to get involved with him. I’ll have to check on the other two.

  • James D-Space says:

    Great article Super K!
    Welcome home btw……

  • RETIEF18 says:

    2 decommits in April? Ehhhhh
    2 decommits in Jan? Ouuuch

  • hOUligan says:

    Spot on, Special K. How many commits did OU have at this time last year? Wait for it …… four as in 4, 2 4* and 2 3*. OU was off to a fast start this cycle, in part, with the SB momentum they closed the last recruiting cycle with. They finished with a flourish but the bloom has faded for this cycle. They are still getting more looks from top rated players and, with some wins, will close on some of those guys, many of whom are not planning to commit until after their senior season, as it should be.

  • Sooner Ray says:

    All is calm right now in my mind. 🙂

  • SamSooner says:

    Folks, I’ll say this again: you can’t have a strong hero with a weak villain. I’m originally from a small town in South Georgia. In 1983 we won the 4A Sate Championship. The highest division int he state. That year every team on our schedule was good. That schedule included our annual foe, the Valdosta Wilccats. No matter where you live in this country, you should have heard about Valdosta High. My point is: because everyone was good that year, we beat them all, elevating our state championship.

  • Steve Johns says:

    If OU ends up with the 3 or 4th ranked B-12 recruiting class, I’ll agree there’s a problem. There’s no need to hit the panic button, right now.

    • DCinAZ says:

      I’m not so much worried about the decommits as I am the lack of any momentum. We closed strong at the end of last season and I think many of us expected a momentum surge going into the 2015 class given the late surge last year, the reputation of our new coaches as great recruiters, and our recent junior days and spring game, which we apparently got nothing out of compared to other major programs. It just seems a program like ours shouldn’t be moving backwards or losing recruits to shitty teams like Baylor and Taco tech. I’m no expert, but it seems we should be further along than we are.

    • wolfbuilder says:

      I don’t care where they end up ranked as long as we get the guys that fit what we want, we always find guys we can shape into one of the best teams in the nation

  • Fear The Magic says:

    I wasn’t going to respond to this thread but I heard there was a prize for the one Millionth person to say you guys knock it out of the park. So whats my prize?
    Great write up K….thanks

  • Super Keith says:

    Good to have a voice of reason! Couldn’t agree more SK.

    If a kid is “committed”, and still interested in looking around, then he was never truly “committed”. I wish the best for Lampkin, but I want guys that want to be Sooners!

  • DCinAZ says:

    Just a question to the guys at TFB: Does is seem to you like we’re getting shoved around down in Texas by just about everybody in terms of recruiting? I have to admit, the recruiting by the texas schools against us is both impressive, and disturbing. I could be off base, but it seems like they’ve found a magic bullet?

  • KellyB says:

    Do you think Toby Weathersby’s recent UT commitment played a role in Lampkin’s Texas
    visit and subsequent decommitment?

    • Gary Robbins says:

      Didn’t Lampkin say after talking with family and friends. Toby is one of his best friends and at one time was an OU 100% lock to commit to OU. I wonder what Texas is saying to prospects like Weathersby and Lampkin.

  • Josh says:

    During the Stoops era the Sooners have rarely gone into TX and just pulled whomever they wanted, AD and Tommy were the exception not the rule. They always did well but it wasn’t like it was the reincarnation of the Switzer era. With ATMs move to the SEC it has opened the door for more SEC schools to recruit TX much harder. Combined with the emergence of Baylor and Coach McDreamy out in Lubbock, and no BigXII title game in Houston every few years or at all for that matter, TX is much more difficult recruiting these days. That’s why we are seeing the Sooners turn more to a national recruiting philosophy imo. If you’re wanting OU to compete head to head with Bama on the recruiting trail you’re going to remain disappointed. They won the competition that really mattered and to be overly concerned due to some teenagers wavering commitments in April before a down has been played in the 2014 season is being a bit reactionary and short sighted. I am excited about the class coming in and the season ahead of us! In the end, Stoops and company will land a very solid class with 20+ kids that want to be Sooners and that’s what matters. BOOMER!!

    • Zack says:

      Great post. Couldn’t agree more but it’s good that ou is recruiting other areas like California and Arizona. I wish they could pull more out of the Ohio and Pennsylvania area but that’s ok. It would be a different story if the big 12 would have expanded not retract.

      • Josh says:

        Tough to get those kids out of those areas but I completely agree. I know the schools of the BIGXII like splitting the revenues among 10 not 12 teams but I think it does hurt the conference perception. I was not a big fan of WV as an addition but choices are limited. Not sure who would be the best fit to bring in and improve the national image of the conference.

        • Zack says:

          Yeah true but if the thought is that eventually we have 16 team conferences then the big 12 should have considered going to 16. Sounds crazy but they had a chance to get Louisville, uconn and Pitt and Syracuse were up for grabs. That would have been 14 and while it may not bring much to the football aspect it does get you in those markets and it would have made it a really good basketball conference. Plus the acc may not have been able to continue and possibly Florida state and Clemson could have been had. It sounds crazy even to me but it could have happened.

    • Sooner Ray says:

      SOONER!, and it’s also worth mentioning (good post by the way) that we are right on schedule, as far as recruiting numbers go, to where we are every single year. This is and has been our normal pace for years. It has a bad appearance because offers are going out so much earlier now. Times are changing with the kids recruiting each other through social media so our staff may need to make some changes also in the way they approach kids but in the end I think we will do pretty well with the one’s we sign.

      • Josh says:

        Appreciate it Ray! Couldn’t agree more about social media changing recruiting and hopefully the staff can be more proactive than reactive to the changes. Kids these days love the reaction and followers they get via twitter, posting pics of themselves standing next to big name coaches and NC or BCS trophies.

    • Sonny Schovanec says:

      No doubt Josh.

    • Steve Johns says:

      Well said Josh!

  • Cary Newman says:

    K

    Appreciate your assessment of Lampkin’s situation.

  • EasTex says:

    Very nice piece, K.
    For what its worth, this is my 58th year of following Sooner football(HAPPY BIRTHDAY, Coach W).
    I’ve seen them come and go, the greats and the forgotten, great coaches and those we would rather forget. The current Stoops era has not had one losing season, I see no decline and see no reason to get emotional about what a young recruit decides to do.
    I’m always more concerned about losing a young man that is already a contributor than one that has yet to show up on campus.

  • WilliamJack says:

    What a great article! Incredible research. Thank you.

  • soonermusic says:

    How’d you like to have 2 decommits in one week at the end of November…oh, wait, that was Alabama. How’d you like to have a highly ranked tight end and a 4 star safety decommit in the middle of December, oh wait, that was ‘bama as well.

    How’d you like to lose your prize 5 star qb of the future, in January? Also Alabama.

    Not sayin’ they don’t do great, cause they do. But what’s happening at OU is just part of the process, even in the SEC.

  • JJsooner1 says:

    You can’t find this kind of candid reporting ANYWHERE. Great job K.

    I want the kids who want to be here. Holds true for many things in life.