Open Post | Thanksgiving Weekend By: The Brainiacs Posted on: November 22, 2017

Happy Thanksgiving to you and your families! God bless you all!

– Vernon Jackson: 2018 LB/DE Alabama commit, Vernon Jackson (Boling, TX) tells us that he will take a official visit to Oklahoma this weekend.

Jackson is a name that has reemerged. He visited Oklahoma over the summer time and the Sooners were in his final four schools along with TCU, TAMU and Alabama.

The Sooners are recruiting Jackson as an outside linebacker/DE (Obo’s spot). Jackson plays various positions for his team including QB but he’s already around 240 lbs. Alabama also recruited Jackson as a linebacker.

Also, want to note that 2018 LB Chris Oats’ visit has, once again, been pushed back. – (Brandon)

– Abdul Malik-McClain: I know you all eager to received news about OU’s recent Cali (JSerra Catholic) DE/OLB visitor, Abdul-Malik McClain. McClain has the kind of elite pass rushing potential to change a defense, especially in the Big 12.

McClain is currently committed to UCLA. With the coach Mora out at UCLA, K checked with McClain’s coach, coach Harlow, to see if that would trigger a decommittment. To which coach Harlow said, “I don’t think so. As far I know he is still going to take his trip to Ohio State”.

I’ve checked with some sources and here’s what I’ve been told regarding McClain’s current plan.

The first two weeks of December he plans to take a trip to Ohio State and Washington as well. Coach Harlow has mentioned that they have some former JSerra Catholic players currently at Washington. Both Dante Pettis and Nick Harris are JSerra Catholic alum who start for the Huskies. I’m sure Washington will try to use that to their advantage.
After the visits to Ohio State and Washington, we are told that McClain will then make his decision between UCLA, OU, Washington and Ohio State.

I am told by sources on the OU side that the staff continues to feel good about where they stand with McClain. It is worth noting that on McClain’s OU trip he witnessed a actual game with a electric crowd, something he won’t see in December at Ohio State or Washington. – (Brandon)

– Stephon Wright: Oklahoma has long been known as a school that gets a bunch of talent from the Golden State. Oklahoma is looking to land several players from California in 2019 and Los Angeles (CA) defensive lineman Stephon Wright is right at the top of Oklahoma’s list.

Wright visited Oklahoma for the TCU game. I spoke with him after the visit and he said, “The visit was great! That gameday atmosphere was the most hyped thing I’ve seen.” The atmosphere in Norman has won over several Cali kids in the past. The Pac 12 just doesn’t have the same kind of passion southern schools do. That passion really seemed to resonate with Wright.

That passion won Wright over enough that he told me “I plan on taking an official to OU next fall.” Between the atmosphere and his relationship with Sooners defensive end coach, Calvin Thibodeaux, and head coach Lincoln Riley, the Sooners have really placed themselves in a good spot for Wright.

Should Wright return for a official visit that would, by my count, make a second visit…right? Wrong. Stephon actually visited Oklahoma back in June. This most recent visit was his second visit to OU on his own dime. Wright says he doesn’t have any ties to Oklahoma, “just interested in the University”.

Recently posted jr film of Wright:

– Isaiah Spiller: The Sooners picked up a commit from 2019 Klein (TX) running back Isaiah Spiller last night.

If you have watched any of Spiller’s film, you’d think he would be a huge fan of former Sooners star Joe Mixon, due to similar playing styles; however, Spiller has always been a die-hard AD fan. I caught up with Isaiah’s father, Fred Spiller, to talk about their visit to TCU, why Isaiah chose OU, and his admiration for Adrian Peterson.

Fred was a tight end for the GigEm from 1999 to 2002 before having to give up football due to an ongoing back issue. Fred was considered one to the top TE in the country coming out of Houston (Aldine Nimitz) back in 1999, so he was no stranger to the recruiting game. He was very involved in Isaiah’s process, but let Isaiah make his own decision. Fred readily admits that he, with good reason, made Isaiah watch A&M growing up, saying, “He had to watch the Aggies growing up, but he was always watching AD too.” That fondness for AD really played a role in landing Isaiah. Spiller isn’t the first RB to make his way to Norman because of AD. The other was none other than Joe Mixon.

AD isn’t the only thing the Sooners had going for them, though. Fred noted the relationships with staff playing a big role. “The coaches have built a relationship with him from day one. He loves that staff.” The relationship aspect is something that recruits have noted under Riley and it paid off with Spiller. Their last visit went great too. Isaiah and his dad visited for the TCU game and came away in awe of the atmosphere, noting, “The visit was great and that place was electric. The crowd yelling Boomer and Sooner across the stadium was just awesome.”

Oklahoma is getting a good one in Spiller. His versatility out of the backfield fits the OU offense perfectly. Spiller committing to Oklahoma is something that he has been working towards for a long time, according to Fred. “This is everything Isaiah has worked towards and it’s going how we planned when he was 8 years old.” I asked the elder Spiller if it was odd to see his son playing for a different shade of red. His response? “Boomer Sooner”. – (Brandon)

– Sample Quick-Hitters: For those of you that are not on our Donor Board but are considering it, we post “Quick-Hitters” quite a bit. They’re basically short notes, some of which are shareable on a public platform and some we prefer to keep them on the private board. Here are some examples of our “Quick-Hitters” from earlier this week.

– Have been told that Jaiden Woodbey will have to, once again, postpone his visit to OU. Woodbey’s team is still in the playoffs so they play this weekend.

– But the good news is, I’ve been told that Sooners OL target, Tank Jenkins (Montgomery, AL) will take a official visit to OU this upcoming weekend. The Sooners were very close to landing Jenkins earlier in the process. It seems with Unije being out the Sooners are pushing once again for Jenkins.

– Here is perhaps the best piece of news for Sooner fans. I am told that Ronnie Perkins has the credits to graduate early and is very strongly considering electing to be a early enrollee at Oklahoma. With OU losing some defensive ends, this would obviously be optimal to ensure he’s ready to play come next fall.

– Checked in with Bobby Tre Brown and he tells me he does not plan on visiting OU this weekend for the WVU game.

– Am told that Ayodele Adeoye has set up his visit to Texas for December and that things are moving pretty strongly back in Texas direction. Again, Ayodele’s brother believes he would be best suited playing in Todd Orlando’s scheme at Texas.

– Brandon checked in with the father of Josh Proctor who says they don’t anticipate making it to the OU game this weekend. I happened to checking with a source on Proctor and stumbled on some information I did not know though perhaps should have. Apparently Josh Proctor’s maternal uncle is former Sooner running back, Patrick Collins. I am also told that his first cousin is former Sooner running back, De’Mond Parker. If this young man doesn’t end up at OU, I’ll be mildly surprised.