Open Post |Thursday Jan. 23rd (Update 1:32 pm)
Posted on: January 23, 2014
– Coach Bedenbaugh is putting in more 2015 offensive tackle work. He will be visiting elite 2015 OT George Brown.
– Also, Courtney Garnett tweeted out that coach Stoops will be visiting him Thursday. I checked with him to see if he meant today and he said “next Thursday”. Coach Stoops going down tells you that they don’t want to take any chances. They want to make sure they seal Garnett up.
– UPDATE (7:42 am): LSU will be doing an in-home visit with Deondre Clark today. Also, Clark will take a visit to LSU this weekend. I suspect this visit will be a key point in his recruitment.
– UPDATE (10:10 am): 2015 star safety and Oklahoma offer, Will Sunderland, will be attending K. State’s jr day. He messaged us and confirmed it after he put out a tweet.
– UPDATE (10:22 am): 2014 OU offensive lineman commit, Jonathan Alvarez, tweeted that “Coach Stoops and Coach Gundy stopped by to see me today.”
– UPDATE (10:35 am): Coach Montgomery, Coach Bedenbaugh and Coach Norvell were in Utah earlier this week. I asked 2015 OT Andre James if it was to see him and he said only Coach Bedenbaugh came by. So perhaps the three coaches went there to team up on Kenyon Frison. Coach Montgomery was Frison’s initial recruiter and with Coach Norvell being pretty much done you’ve got think there is a strong possibility all three went to visit him.
– UPDATE (11:01 am): 2014 LSU commit & OU offer/DE target, Deondre Clark – “Asking 4 continued prayers as we are trying to come to a decision which better FITS ME and where I can ADD TOO a program. Not take away from” – @ClarkBoy_2
– UPDATE (11:15 am): 2015 WR Ryan Newsome let me know that Coach Norvell came by to see him this morning and he said Coach Bedenbaugh will be by to see him next week.
– UPDATE (12:58 pm): According to multiple reports, Oklahoma has offered 2015 LB Darrell Williams (Hoover, AL – VIDEO). He has said in interviews that he grew up an Alabama fan, although the Tide have yet to offer, so it remains to be seen just how realistic the Sooners chances might be with the immensely talented backer. But there is no denying the OU coaches intentions of continuing to mine SEC country for talent.
– UPDATE (1:32 pm): Per Greg Biggins of Scout.com, USC is expected to have an in-home visit with Michiah Quick later today. Most haven’t felt USC was much of a player here, but Sark is an outstanding recruiter and the Trojans can obviously offer the appeal of staying out west and close to home. Will be interesting to see what the reports are coming out of this meeting (assuming it does indeed take place).
77 Comments
Hope all doesn’t go well with LSU .We could use Clark.
I agree! Hopefully proximity to home plays a factor in Dre’s final decision. I think the idea of having Dre play a Jack LB might be what wins him over for OU. That and Jerry M. has worked overtime to fix what was once thought a burnt bridge between OU & Clark.
Sure would like Clark to cancel his visit. Parker being so quiet makes me nervous also.
Me too but I think I will be just fine with safeties if he decides OU is not right for him.
Is there a reason that we are no longer going after Cedric Johnson?
Think Courtney Garnett is our target now.
This site was recommended to me a couple of weeks ago. So glad it was. You guys are doing a lot right. Lots of straight up information without the self-created drama to stir up interest. I’m making multiple visits on any given day. Great job. That includes your readers/posters. “You visiting the Brainiacs? All the cool kids are doing it.”
Much appreciated!
Bobby jack wrights in the 832
Houston, TX
Would love to cherry pick Houston since okie lite likes to lay claim to that area!
It took some time but I think I finally have my account on here figured out! This is an awesome site to come to for any Sooners fan! Keep up the great work fellas!
Thank you for the kind words!
Thank you for the info. Any new updates on Quick?
From what I’ve heard/read, it seems to be down to OU & UCLA w/ most feeling like Sooners win out b/c of a variety of reasons, including his connections to Byrd/Moore/Coach Viney.
So not necessarily anything new, which in this case, is probably good news, IMO.
I’m so glad we opened this fresno pipeline. Tony Perry knows how to get his kids ready for the next level. On chip viney the grad assistant…. where does his connection with quick stem from?
Viney is from Fresno as well
Okay thanks bet he’s a boost for recruiting. Is nd not one of his tops? Seems to be tweeting about them lately.
Seems Mixon is recruiting him hard as well.
As much as I’d like OU to land Clark, I’m so impressed with this kid, I really want him to follow his heart. If it’s OU, great. But if he decides to go to LSU, I’ll also be happy for him. Anybody that loves his momma is ok by me.
Not sure there’s a program Clark could “take away from”.
Wondered about that too. Hopefully that means he realizes he’d be a better OLB than a 4-3 DE 🙂
I interpreted that as if he goes to LSU he isn’t taking anything away from OU by taking Oklahoma talent out of state, he’s going for what he considers the best fit for him. And vice versa if he flips to OU, the Sooners aren’t “taking him away” from LSU. But who knows? They are tweets from teenagers 🙂
Not sure I saw this anywhere. Read that Kendal Randolph committed to Kentucky. Iam happy for the young man even though it does suck it couldn’t work out here
He did and by most accounts it was really more a case of OU having to move on b/c of a limited number of remaining spots than anything else.
Is the consensus the coaches preferred Thomas over Randolph?
From what I’ve heard, yes. At one time, Randolph was considered to be somewhat of a grade risk so that didn’t help his chances. Though I believe K has said he’s since cleared that up, but he’s also not committed to Kentucky. So there’s that.
I don’t believe I’ve heard officially unless I missed something (which is entirely possible but is Tee Shepard a grade casualty as well? I know we were high on him for a while.
Yeah, he has to do another semester at a JUCO so he’s now a 2015 recruit. And as far as I know OU is still expected to pursue him for next year’s class.
I think he’s 20 hours short right now so it would take a full spring semester and a full summer…there’s a chance he could qualify but he would be crammin and still wouldn’t know until after summer so schools prob backed off…I’m hoping there a chance they he does grad this summer and we have room somehow
Juwan Dowels was highest on the board last I heard but he wasn’t qualified. Randolph didnt grade out as well as either Thomas or Dowels was what gathered but Randolph didnt have any grade risks
I think in some cases, unless there is a huge difference in talent, you’re better off taking the good student for a couple reasons. First: if you’re system is complicated the book student will pick up assignments quicker, second: if a kid has to put in a lot of extra time working on class work to make the grade, that takes away from time in the workout room or film study.
Yea. Also, Jordan is a Safety while Kendal is a Corner so am not sure if there were really competing against each other per-say. Hard to turn away 4* talent unless you have some reason to back up this decision.
Both of these in-state recruits would be great to have, but if they decided to go elsewhere, it would not be because the coaches gave up.
They deserve a lot of credit for how they’ve handled things this year. The in-home visits with lower ranked kids just shows you effort that has been missing for a while.
So the rest of the recruits are after, are they waiting until nsd to commit?
Not necessarily. Garnett, Frison, and Parker could all announce prior to NSD.
Oh ok. What about somewhat like Quick?
I believe he and Clark have both said they’re waiting until NSD.
Gotcha. Thanks for the info. Are there any under the radar guys we might nab? Or is it all in on Clarke,Parker,Quick,and Frison? I know maybe Hill, but anyone else?
Haven’t really heard of anyone, but I have to suspect they’ve got at least a guy or two up their sleeves just in case something happens here real late.
That makes sense. Thanks for the info as always Jordan.
I hope Parker & Clark both decide to play for o.u it would be great
Yes. Yes, it would.
getting parker and clark would make a big statement to all future Oklahoma recruits that O.U wants home talent and is at the top of the list for the program
That Darrell Williams out of Alabama is a monster stud. Good nose for the ball, good angles, good hands, he looks like the real deal and has another year to improve, wow. Odds of landing him would be slim but I think he’s worth investing some time on.
Jordan, non-recruiting related but I know Charles Walker was listed as a monster of the redshirted underclassmen. Can you shed some light on who else might burst on the scene next year or in the spring game?
By the way, you guys rock. Great site and resource.
Appreciate you saying that.
In terms of guys who could “burst on the scene” – I know the coaches were really high on WR Jordan Smallwood before he got hurt and redshirted. He’s a big(ish) guy, possession type receiver who uses his body really well to create separation and could play on the outside where OU needs a guy.
I know a bunch of people who are really excited about what WR KJ Young can do.
You mentioned Walker. Stanvon Taylor/Dakota Austin could force their way into that starting CB spot opposite Sanchez if Cortez Johnson can’t win that job like he failed to do this past spring/summer.
And personally, I’m ‘all-in’ on the Hatari Byrd bandwagon.
Thanks…do you think Derrick Woods plays a key role in spelling Shep or do we go four wide and slot both sides?
I think Woods & Neal are your two most likely starters on the outside (w/ Shep in the slot obviously), simply b/c of their experience. Now that’s not taking Trey Franks into the equation who, if they keep at WR (which I think is likely at this point), could also be another guy w/ those two.
And this is purely a guess on my part, but I think you see much less 4 WR looks next year compared to what we saw this past season.
Do you really see that many midgets on the field at once?
I really see more Cavil, Smallwood, and/or one of the new guys filling the outside and Woods and Neal being interchangeable parts in all of those positions.
Saunders had wicked speed. Shep is nearly untouchable at times. They actually complemented each other. However, without Saunders’ speed I think it would have been difficult to play them together so much.
Ideally, we will have one of those long guys stretch the field while Shep, Woods, Neal, and the running game kidney punch the defense. But we need someone that is big and fast to run down the field and be able to body the defensive back. Saunders had the speed to get the separation, Reynolds should have been that guy, and Bester was at times that guy, but it would be nice to have a John Taylor/Alvin Harper type of guy to open the field.
Speaking of Hatari, I was at church and met Mike Stoops. You could tell he was high on Hatari and also Gary Simon
I was wondering how much are tight ends going to be use in 2014
Hard to say at this point. As blockers, I think just based on the style of offense we can expect them to run you’ll continue to see them. Obviously you saw guys like McNamara and Green (who is now gone) each catch a pass, but I’m not sure that’s really a sign of things to come per se.
The signed a JUCO TE for a reason, so we’ll just have to wait and see how Ijalana develops thru spring ball and if McNamara can finally become the player so many expected him to be when he signed.
What about Sam Grant? I havent’ heard much from him
thanks for the info on the tight end position
I wish NSD would hurry up and get here so we know what we got! That being said, the talent they are in on is better than it’s seemed to be in a while.
I’m with you Pit, time is draggin. Hell, I’m ready for the Oklahoma drill. Strap it on and Get it on! Talent looks real good right now, our only enemy is academic issues and max. roster numbers.
There is a few more things to worry about than that, after all they are 18-22 year old kids. But, I’m already ready for some Sooner football. I’ve never watched too much nfl.
Seems like the national recruiting sites won’t drop the “How solid is Joe Mixon?” stories.
http://247sports.com/Article/Insider-Recruiting-Notes-on-5-star-RB-Joe-Mixon-173120
Dang Leroy, I had to go look and now I feel like I need a shower! Lot’s of hate getting thrown around over there. Think it’s an example of what pay sites have to do to drum up business. I think I’ll just hang out here.
Forums like that makes me even more grateful for this site. Not only does that story reek of sour grapes, the comments section is nauseating. You’re right, they only want to drum up business. The national sites rarely discuss anything related to OU…ever. It’s mostly Bama, Auburn, FSU, Florida, USC, Ohio State, UCLA, & TAMU. I might be missing a couple schools, but it’s like those 7-10 schools are the only schools worth mentioning nationally.
Anyone else feel that way, or is it just me?
You’re not alone in how you feel and I think everyone here has an appreciation for what we have going on here at this site. I don’t really care what the national people say or don’t say about OU because I don’t spend time reading them and they don’t get my money. We’ll let our record speak for itself!!
They need a name change…Are “As the world turns” or “All my children” already taken?
Those may be taken but “Pass a wet wipe cause someone in here may have a dirty a$$” might still be available.
Is there a surprise “elite” visitor this weekend or just a tease for subscribers?
I agree I don’t like espn anymore they’re way to east coast for me we’ll be ok with fox
Is it Feb 5th yet?
Did you make that yourself?
No, it was passed on to me. Lol
Heard Quick is all but a Sooner. Guess he has 1 more OV, but unless they completely wow him in someway he will be wearing Crimson and Cream.
Many believe OU is the favorite, yes. But keep an eye on UCLA.
Can anyone shed some light on Cody Thomas? Is he a dual threat? Wasn’t he getting drafted for baseball? and if so what are the chances of that taking place?
You may want to know more than I can tell you but basically he passed on the draft to play at OU. He will play Sooner baseball in the spring and hopefully make some football practices when he can. I’ve heard he may have the best arm of all Qb’s and can also run well but I haven’t seen it myself. I wondered if his ability played a role in KT’s decision.
Just to piggyback what Ray has said, I’m not entirely sure it’s accurate to say he passed on the draft. He was expected to be drafted, but not high enough in the first round (primarily b/c he’s not a pitcher, he’s an outfielder) for the bonus money to trump his college intentions.
He is a dual-threat in some semblance of the word, but more like somewhere in the middle between Bell and Knight. Meaning he’s not as quick as Knight. Though, not surprisingly given his baseball background, many believe he has the strongest arm on the team. He can fling it.
In terms of baseball, now that he’s enrolled at OU he has to stay for three years. So he’ll be here a while before either the MLB or NFL (whose has the same three year rule) drafts come into play.
Absolutely loving this site guy’s!!! Telling everyone about it!
That’s awesome, thank you!!!