The Football Brainiacs

Image via 247sports.com

It wasn’t a great weekend of the Sooners on the field. As you all know Oklahoma hosting a number of top recruits from Texas and other parts of the country. Over the next few days we will be posting updates on said recruits.

– Sooner Squad 17: Perhaps the first question everyone is asking is how the performance on the field might affect the current crop of talented Sooner commits. Brandon will have more on this which he will post later. I did speak to a source whose message to me was similar to what Brandon seems to be hearing. Namely, that the current commits are extremely close, their families are close and they are seeing these lackluster results on the field a sign that there is an opportunity for them to get on the field and change things.

One source said, “Most of the 2017 kids said it fueled them to stay and make it better. Some of them are going to take visits but as of right now all the commits are solid”. – (Super K)

– Jeffrey Okudah: It’s not a huge secret that going into the Ohio State game, Ohio State and OU were at or near the top and of Okudah’s list. Jeffrey had been saying for a while that this was a game he wanted to attend. He wanted to see two of his top teams play each other. He wanted to watch their secondaries play. It was, unfortunately for Oklahoma, a bit of a one-sided battle.

However, the game environment still made an impression, “The overall environment was crazy! I never realized it could get so crazy at a college football game. My aunt was in awe”. That is glowing praise considering Okudah has been to a game at LSU.

In terms of the loss itself Okudah said, “(it) didn’t necessarily affect my opinion of OU, being that they (Oklahoma) knew they could use the work in the secondary prior to the game”. But clearly the difference in the secondary play was of note, “it was also nice to be able to compare both secondary’s in action. I think the (OU) corners struggled to get their head around from what I saw, could be something else, but just what I thought”.

I certainly don’t want to say the door is closed with Okudah but whatever lead Ohio State had going into the game…got bigger. Having said that, Okudah won’t be deciding anytime soon and there are still plenty of games left to be played. The Sooners will really need to emphasize the opportunity for early playing time, something not nearly as likely at Ohio State. – (Super K)

– Kobe Boyce: Things went really well for Oklahoma with Texas CB commit, Kobe Boyce (Lake Dallas, TX). Boyce has been committed to Texas for a few months but did consider decommitting over the summer. He ultimately decided to stick with his commitment and was given the blessing of coach Strong to take some official visits. This was the first time Boyce had a chance to visit the Sooners and again, things went very well.

“I dig the vibe and I really like the town. It (Norman) has that college town feel and I prefer that. I just really like that.” Boyce actually spoke at length about how much he really likes the fact that Norman is it’s own community built around the university as opposed to being a big city where the university happens to reside.

Boyce also emphasized his connection with Kerry Cooks and his overall sense of HC Stoops, “Me and coach Cooks, we really got close. We just have a strong relationship…I know the game wasn’t what they wanted but I like what Stoops is doing in general.” Boyce spent most of his time with Sooner Squad 17, “Me and Robert (Barnes) got real close. I was hanging out with him most of the time. I was hanging with Broiles as well and Tre…all those guys…we’re just close”.

Boyce made the trip with his mother and said, “my mom loved it. She wants me to come back up with my dad next time”. It’s safe to say that Boyce will make a return trip to Norman. Boyce also added that he will be at the OU vs. UT game in Dallas. In terms of a decision timeline, “I’m going to take an official to Ole Miss, Texas and others and after I take my visits I’ll decide and shut it down…”

Perhaps the best quote from conversation with Boyce came when he talked about a group of Ohio State fans who tried to tell Kobe and some of the other recruits that they sound pick Ohio State. He jokingly responded to the Ohio State fans saying, “I hope Michigan whoop y’all ass”.

This recruitment reminds me a little of Kahlil Haughton’s recruitment in that Boyce, like Haughton, seems to really like the university and Norman. It certainly helps that he has a great relationship with the staff and the other commits but I get the sense that the production on the field isn’t paramount. – (Super K)

– Marvin Wilson: Brandon spoke with Marvin so I suspect he will have a more thorough update on Wilson. I spoke to someone close to Wilson and the vibe I got wasn’t great. I have long felt Wilson would end up at Texas but one of the schools that was considered a team to beat as well for Wilson, FSU, also took a pretty big step back, I’m told, in Wilson’s mind given the beating that took at the hands of the fighting Petrinos.

I am told that Ohio State obviously made an impression on Wilson but I’ve always gotten the vibe Wilson wants to be a little closer to home and I think when it’s all said and done the local schools will maintain an advantage because of that. What is helping OU is that, while they haven’t started the season off very well, the other regional schools are also struggling. Texas lost on Saturday. LSU lost earlier in the year.

The Sooners aren’t in a good spot right now but given Wilson’s talent and the clear need, they have to continue to fight here. But any hopes Sooner fans had, should be tempered. If you’ve been ready my updates on Wilson though, they should have been tempered well before this trip. – (Super K)