Open Post | Monday, April 16th
Posted on: April 16, 2018
– Sooners sophomore running back Trey Sermon was injured early in the Spring Game yesterday. After taking a handoff and running to his left, Sermon was tackled and went down rather awkwardly. Sermon laid on the field for several minutes before finally being helped off the field. He needed assistance to the locker room and did not return to action, although he did return to the sidelines in plain clothes eventually.
Lincoln Riley spoke about the injury during his post spring game press conference saying, “I don’t think it’s too serious, but we will get a chance to evaluate him further.”
That further evaluation came with X-rays later on Saturday evening. A source reached out to me and told me that X-rays were negative and that from the looks of it, right now, it appears to be a hyperextension. Source added that Sermon was walking under his own power, so unless something comes up, Sermon should be back very soon.
– (Brandon)
The visits went really well. Lincoln Riley and this staff are on a recruiting level Oklahoma fans just haven’t been accustomed to.
– I know everyone wants to know if there are going to be more commits. It’s very difficult to say. There is a highly rated player who is telling people he may pull the trigger on Monday.
– Spoke with someone about Chris Steele and the feeling people are getting is that while many have thought USC was a foregone conclusion, Steele, as this person said, “likes the south. He likes places like Texas and Oklahoma. He has that dog mentality like players down here”.
– Speaking of Cali DBs, Isaiah Rutherford loved the visit as well. He’s took an unofficial visit and based on my initial text exchanges with him, he’ll be back. He’s said he had a blast and is loved spending time with the other recruits and the players.
– On that note, the current players on this team are incredible recruiters. The current signees are incredible recruiters. Nik Bonitto is up there, DaShaun White is up there…and more. This comes from the head man. This comes from having a players coach who is highly engaged and accessible to his players. His passion for the success of this program is so apparent that everyone feels like they want to be involved and he seems to encourage that. – (Super K)
– Okay, let me preface this by saying that this is the most energetic and optimistic I have ever heard sources around the program be about a weekend in…well, FOREVER. I mean that. No hyperbole. Just straight optimism and swagger.
All of that is a good thing and you’re about to read, in a cryptic way, why this swagger abounds in Norman right now.
– First, I spoke with re-committed DL Derek Green’s father, Arlandis, as well as Derek himself, for a brief moment and asked them why they chose to return and commit, again, to Oklahoma. Arlandis was very candid and to the point with his response, saying “This place, OU, is home for Derek and in the end it is a perfect fit.”
Derek, on the other hand, had previously spoken to me about trying to find that place where he felt at home. So, when I asked Derek why he chose to re-commit to OU he gave an answer that fit that narrative, “When you know, you know. And truly, only I know what I was looking for and I found it. OU is the perfect fit. It’s home.”
With that, they said they were now working on other official visitors to join them in the 2019 class.
– Another big visitor was 2019 Camden (AR) Fairview OL, Stacey Wilkins. I spoke to Wilkins on his way home from his unofficial visit to Norman and he was exhausted, but he did say that the visit was, “unreal and the best visit I have ever been on”. Wilkins noted that he plans on making a decision after his Alabama trip next weekend.
Obviously, that can be troublesome, but this has always felt like an OU and Arkansas battle. I’d say, if I am an OU fan, I’d feel pretty good about where OU stands going into that Bama visit. It is Bama though, so seven days from now it could be a whole diffeent story. Still, Oklahoma is in as good of a spot as they can be at this point. Read into that what you will.
– Quick note on Marcus Major. Major’s favorite player is Adrian Peterson. Well, this weekend he got to meet AD. I spoke with Marcus Major Sr about the visit and it went as well as one would think it would when you meet your childhood idol, “This visit is going great! Much needed with us coming back down here (OU).” As for the visit with AD? Marcus Sr said, “Marcus meeting AD is pretty special. They spoke and exchanged contact info. He is a really good dude.”
As for a change in their decision timeline? Not likely just yet, “We are still set on late July or very early August.” Still, like most of the other visits, Major walked away with a good feeling about OU. With Spiller decommitted, expect OU to really go full steam ahead in their pursuit to land the star okpreps running back.
– Lastly, if things go as planned, you could be looking at four or five of the official visitors, that aren’t already committed, being a part of the Sooners 2019 class. I’m sure that is music to OU fans ears, but one source said something I believe you all will love; “You all saw the last two days, but I’m telling you there’s more to come.”
That caught me off guard, so I spoke with yet another source to get some clarity on the deal and this source added to that by saying, “I don’t think OU gets too many more this weekend. Might get one or two more possibly, but (OU) definitely will get several over the next few weeks.”
Stay tuned Sooners fans. Riley and company have this thing rolling. Enjoy the ride. – (Brandon)
– Seven Cookie Monster eyes with six already public…that’s quite a roll, right? But it doesn’t tell the whole story. Here is what I can tell you…
– There were multiple kids this weekend who reserved their spots but had previously scheduled trips. So, Riley hasn’t tweeted out the eyes for them but their plan is to be Sooners. Those things can change but as of right now, they’re saying they’re coming. It certainly gives you an idea of how much momentum there is, currently.
– Another interesting note, I’m told that there were guys that wanted to commit that the staff realized they had to push back due to numbers. In other words, the number could have been even bigger right now but OU is having a bit of an “Alabama problem”, if you will. – (Super K)
– Some of you may have noticed that scheduled visitors from St. Louis, LB Shammond Cooper and OL Jack Buford weren’t on the updated visit list. I checked with the fathers of both players and they were originally planning to make it, instead, they took the ACT Saturday.
Both fathers said that they will absolutely reschedule.
– Sooners signee Nik Bonitto was on campus for the Spring Game. He is very close to 2019 DB Jaden Davis (Fort Lauderdale, FL). Bonitto is definitely recruiting Davis to OU. I’m told, the Sooners biggest threat here is his in-state school, Florida. – (Super K)
