The Football Brainiacs

– Andrew Chatfield: I was able to speak with coach Patrick Surtain. Surtain is the head coach at American Heritage High School in Plantation, FL where recent 2018 OLB/DE visitor, Andrew Chatfield plays and goes to school.

By The Numbers

Coach Surtain tells me that Chatfield currently stands a little over 6’2 and weighs around 220 lbs. American Heritage has used him more and more as a stand-up outside linebacker as opposed to a defensive end which he used to play. To my eyes, and coach Surtain confirmed, Chatfield actually looks more comfortable and more explosive coming off the edge in a two-point stance as opposed to having his hand in the dirt.

Coach Surtain did say Chatfield can absolutely drop in coverage if need be. I know Brandon mentioned that the OU staff felt it was a bit hard to read Chatfield because he was so quiet. But his coach tells me that he is an outgoing kid on the football field, “he’s one of our leaders. He’s vocal. You know, an alpha”.

Recruiting

Chatfield was originally committed to Ohio State but backed off that commitment this past summer. Although we hadn’t really heard much about Oklahoma and Chatfield until recently, the Sooners have actually been pursuing Chatfield for a while. Coach Surtain tells me that coach Mike Stoops came by to see Chatfield in the spring and then visited again earlier this fall.

In terms of how the visit went coach says, “oh he really really enjoyed it there. He came back pretty excited about it. You know, he and my son spend a lot of time together. He’s at the house a lot so I can get a good read on him and he definitely liked the atmosphere. He liked the town Norman and just the environment out there”.

I asked him if the visit exceeded his expectations, “yeah, the kids think one thing about a school or a town, like when they hear Norman they think one thing and then go out there and it’s a lot more exciting than they pictured”.

We’ve certainly heard that before. On a related note, feels like Riley should start doing some promo videos around the town of Norman because the perception of it outside the state always seems off. I digress.

Coach Surtain tells me that Chatfield is unlikely to make a decision anytime soon, “I think he’ll end up signing in February. He’s got some visits he still wants to take”.

What schools are in the mix? “I’d say the main schools Oklahoma is competing with are Miami, Florida and LSU but he’s the type of kid that’ll get away for school”.

My Take

Really tough read here. It surprised me to know that Mike had been recruiting the kid for a while. And the fact that he was and then the young man took one of his first official visits to OU has to at least say something. Will it be enough? Hard to tell. We’ll need to follow up and see what the communication is like between OU and the staff over the next week or so. If the contact remains strong between the two parties then there is some reason to be optimistic. If it fades then it may be that the trip was a one and done. I’m also interested in seeing how the numbers shake out at a place like Miami and LSU. They generally don’t have trouble finding pass rushers and Chatfield wants to wait. Although this year, perhaps OU may be the school that fills up. – (Super K)

– Ronnie Perkins: K had been hearing that Perkins was considering a visit to Texas with teammates on Thanksgiving weekend. I asked Perkins about it and he gave an emphatic “NO” to it happening. That should bring a sigh of relief for OU fans there but I don’t expect Texas to stop trying to make it happen.

Also, if you’re on twitter you saw a ton of OU commits tweeting out that they will be signing with the Sooners on December 20th. A source on the OU side told me that they expect Perkins to sign with Oklahoma on the 20th as well. I asked Perkins just that and he says he isn’t quite sure yet, but definitely didn’t rule it out. – (Brandon)

– DaShaun White: Dashaun White tells me he will take an official to Oklahoma State next week. Although White and his family have a strong relationship with the OSU staff, we do not believe they are a significant threat to Oklahoma.

I will be at White’s playoff game this Friday at The Star in Frisco (TX). His Richland football team will be taking on Boswell at 8pm. – (Brandon)

– Derek Green: Lincoln Riley and Ruffin McNeil have deep roots and connection in the state of North Carolina. It has helped OU land players like Austin Kendall, Jeremiah Hall, Ryan Jones and Marcellius Sutton in the last several years. The 2019 class will be no different with Oklahoma already recruiting and landing one of the top defensive lineman Derek Green ( Jacksonville, NC).

I caught up with Green’s father, Arlandis, and spoke to him a little bit about, not only the visit to Norman, but Derek as a player. The one thing that really struck me was that OU offered Green back in August, but the visit for Green was very much something he wanted to do so that he could get confirmation on the offer and see OU all at once. Green’s lead recruiter is Ruffin McNeil and Arlandis said, ” Derek has had a great relationship with the staff for sometime. On the visit everyone knew his name and were very excited that he could make it down.”

The staff has become somewhat of a recruiting machine under Riley and they put great emphasis on making everyone feel comfortable. The staff has also been noted as being one of the more genuine staffs, when talking with recruits. Green’s visit seemed no different with Arlandis saying, ” You know when a school has a genuine interest in you and that is how we felt about the OU staff.”

When talking with Arlandis, who is the JV coach at Derek’s high school,  about Derek’s game the word “twitchy” and “very athletic” were brought up. The younger Green just turned 16 years old, too. Arlandis noted that Derek ” is very athletic for a 300 pound guy.” He also believes that Arlandis can play the 1 or 3 tech at next level. A source on the OU side, though, we are told that Green is being recruited as a nose tackle. K and I talked at length about Green being a replica of current Sooners NG Du’Vonta Lampkin. Their games are very similar and OU intends on using Green just like Lampkin.

With Green on board I asked what it was that sold them on Oklahoma. His answer will make you all smile, ” We have traveled as far as Miami (FL) t0 Blacksburg (VA) and OU is the best place for Derek. Family just means a lot to us.”  Riley continues his hot, hot start as head coach on the recruiting trail. One thing OU was known for under Bob Stoops was family atmosphere. Riley seems to carving his niche in recruiting, but one thing is for sure, he has kept the “family” aspect in tact that Stoops preached for over 18 years. – (Brandon)