Open Post | Monday, August 27th
Posted on: August 27, 2018
Games On & Off the Field | Visitors For FAU
– Charlie S
– The big-ticket item you are all looking for come Saturday, September 1st, is being able to see how the 2018 Oklahoma Sooners football team looks in their opening game. Off the field, recruiting never stops as the dead period ends and there will be some important visitors on campus.
– There will be at least two official visitors on campus for the season opener in JUCO DE Jacoby Jones (Butler C.C.) and 2019 safety target Peyton Powell (Odessa, TX).
These official visits could go a long way in regards to solidifying the 2019 class as both players are targets at a position of need and should the Sooners knock the officials out of the park (as they typically do) there is little doubt that they will create some separation between themselves and some of the players closest pursuers.
While Jones has mentioned he would like to take additional visits, and Powell has a commitment date of September 26th set, it would not be shocking to see Coach Riley flash some eyes at some point this weekend or shortly after. Certainly, something to keep an eye on.
– While closing out NewWave19 is certainly a priority for the Sooners, the staff has also shifted a large part of their focus to the 2020 class (20Deep) and they will host at least two players on unofficial visits. Both players are from in-state Booker T Washington HS in 2020 wide receiver Javian Hester and 2019 running back Thomas Grayson.
Hester has long been a top priority for the Sooners and he has visited Norman multiple times. As we reported last week, Hester let us know he would be in town for the season opener with a friend.
That friend would be 2019 running back, Thomas Grayson who recently decommited from Nebraska. Super K caught up with Grayson recently and he let him know that he would be making the trip to Norman along with Hester. Grayson does not hold an offer from the Sooners at this time but the visit is a welcomed sign in regards to OU further developing their relationship with Booker T Washington.
While these four players are confirmed at this point, we expect there to be more, particularly unofficial visitors, and we will bring you those names when we get confirmation.
Quick Hitters | NewWave19 | Rattler, Morris, & Wilkins
– Charlie S
***Many of you tuned in to the live stream of Spencer Rattler’s game on Friday. The Sooner commit, and number one quarterback in the ’19 class started out hot, going 4-4 early on…then this happened.
Not a good look…Doubtful @GoBigBlue_PHS’s Spencer Rattler will return tonight. Blessings and prayers your way, Spencer! #12Sports. pic.twitter.com/FcgjJNahUD
— Tresa Tudrick (@tresatudrick) August 25, 2018
If you follow recruiting on Twitter, you may have seen that he remained on the bench for the rest of the game, providing his teammates with encouragement.
I caught up with Rattler and exchanged a few messages and he said of the injury: “Just a sprain. I won’t be out long”.
So that is some good news.
***I had a few inquiries regarding 2019 Sooners Safety commit Jamal Morris. Apparently, he removed some OU references from his Twitter bio and replaced it with “Watch This…”
I have a pretty good rapport with Jamal, and I assumed there was nothing to the change in his bio regarding he and OU as, in my opinion, he was (and is) a very solid Sooner commit. Nevertheless, I hit him up and asked Jamal about the concerns of some of his fans and in particular about his status with OU.
Jamal said, “I’m 1000% committed with the Sooners. Just a lot of people doubting me right now, so I’m living by the phrase “Watch This’ because I have a lot of people to prove wrong this season. Big chip on my shoulder right now”.
Love that mentality.
After I spoke to Jamal, he tweeted this out…
https://twitter.com/KinngMorris/status/1033805667184922630
***Caught up with Sooners 2019 OT commit Stacey Wilkins for a second. Being that he is relatively close, I was interested in seeing if he planned on heading up to Norman for either the FAU or UCLA game.
Stacey let me know that there is a chance he will be in Norman for the UCLA game. I will keep you posted on that visit.
Hope You Had A Hale of a Weekend | Fall Camp Weekly Wrap Up | Pick Six
– TheFootballBrainiacs
James Hale has been a fixture on the Sooner beat for over 30 years. It is our pleasure to welcome him as a guest contributor for TFB as fall camp ramps up. James has deep ties to the Sooner football program and he will be providing us with sourced updates from fall camp as we continually seek to provide you with as much information as possible on your Sooners.
You can also catch James Hale’s show “Total Sports” on Monday – Friday 11 am to 2 pm on 99.3 FM, SportsTalk 1400AM or statewide on sportstalk1400.com
– Going into this weekend, now that Kyler Murray has been named the starting quarterback, the Sooners have a couple of positions that are still up for grabs.
***At center Jonathan Alvarez is battling Creed Humphrey, and from all accounts, this position is still too close to call. Coach Lincoln Riley and OL Coach Bill Bedenbaugh have both stated that Alvarez is having his best camp since he has been at OU, but I have heard from a ton of sources that Humphrey is the most talented center prospect OU has had in the Stoops or Riley era. I have been told that Humphrey is the type of talent that becomes a multiple season All-American, contends for Outland Award and has first-round draft choice potential.
***I personally thought they would name Humphrey by now and I am not going to be surprised if he takes the field for the Sooners on that first series against Florida Atlantic, but I just feel that Coach Riley and Coach Bedenbaugh do not want to make that call. They respect Alvarez so much that they have kept this competition going and may keep it going into next week.
***Coach Bedenbaugh has done such a great job recruiting the offensive line that the next generation of offensive lineman, which will be on display no later than the 2019 season, is talented and has the potential to be just as good as the current group.
***Coach B is very high on redshirt freshman Tyrese Robinson and Coach Riley has stated that he can play and help the team right now. Marquis Hayes is an incredibly talented athlete at 6’5 and 351-pounds. Tramonda Moore is a 6’4 and 322-pound talent that will redshirt this year that can play guard or tackle.
***At offensive tackle it sounds like Coach B really likes Erik Swenson and Adrian Ealy who could provide some serious depth at OT. Coach B also has the freshman bookend offensive tackles Brey Walker and Darrell Simpson who have been as good as advertised and will get seasoned this year by redshirting. One of the most intriguing offensive tackle prospects is JUCO transfer David Swaby (6’9, 320).
***Powers and Samia will graduate and if Evans has a good year he may leave as well. I am not sure what Ford is thinking but you can bet if he has a great year he will be thinking about the same thing. Humphrey will be back in 2019 to anchor a young group and that will be a bit scary for you because they are young and inexperienced, but the talent is there for the next great offensive line.
