The Football Brainiacs

Greetings all! I’m back in town today before I head out again tomorrow. Hope everyone has been well!

– Alston Orji: I had a chance to speak to the father of 2018 LB, Alston Orji. I’m sure many of you noted that the Sooners offered Alston’s younger brother, Anfernee, last week. Their father tells me that Mike Stoops was in Rockwall last Friday to see the brothers.

It does sound like a decision for Alston could be coming very soon. Alston’s father said that, while the decision is up to Alston, it would be his preference that an announcement would come sometime between Alston’s spring game and the end of school which would put a decision timeframe of around two weeks or so from now.

I also get the sense the primary schools still in the mix are OU, Texas, Texas A&M, and Vanderbilt but Alston’s father would not say whether that is an exhaustive list. He did note that Alston would still like to visit UCLA but that visit would not happen before the projected decision date would come.

Some may see the recent offer to Anfernee as something that will really help OU but their father said, “At one point in time I liked the idea of them playing together but now I don’t think that’s important and I’ve really emphasized to them that they need to make a decision which is best for them individually. If that happens to be the same school then fine but I’d prefer it not be a consideration”.

Alston’s father continued to come back to the subject of depth charts and playing opportunity. That seems to be very important to the family but for reason’s that may not seem as obvious, “I believe that if a player isn’t playing or the team isn’t winning the effect of that spills over into other areas of the players life like academics which is what we emphasize”. I think that works in OU’s favor as they not only have a stable and winning program but also don’t have a linebacker committed in the current class. Alston’s father specifically noted that Texas already has Byron Hobbs committed to Texas.

This is a tough one to call right now but the Sooners are certainly within striking distance. I wouldn’t sleep on Vanderbilt. They are, in my opinion, a dark horse. But if I had to guess, all things considered, I think OU and TAMU may be the teams to beat. – (Super K)