Open Post | Tuesday, April 7th
Posted on: April 7, 2020
Sourced | Team | Possible Summer Plan
– Super K
Have been in touch with some coaches and discussing a possible plan for the summer for their student-athletes.
***Last week, we noted that the summer official visits were likely to be canceled. One coach I spoke with late last week confirmed that that is indeed the case.
***I asked about the possibility of it being reassessed for a possible opening for OVs in July. This particular person believed that it was highly unlikely.
***With schools beginning to cancel summer classes, I raised the question about student-athletes and summer workouts.
***Was told that there is some discussion about the possibility of only student-athletes being allowed to return in July. At this point, it’s too early to tell but, again, I’ve been told it’s being discussed.
***Campuses would still be empty and workouts would likely be modified, should this occur at all. But at least it would give the players some time to prepare for the upcoming season (which I still believe will happen).
***Was also told that there is a possibility that certain staff members or a limited group of people may be allowed back on campus this summer.
Six Pack of Players Most Affected By Lack of Spring
– James Hale
No spring football hurts a team for obvious reasons but it certainly hurts a few individuals more than others. I mean Creed Humphrey and Kennedy Brooks really aren’t worried about losing their jobs in spring practice, but there are a few players that trained this off-season like they were training for the Super Bowl because they were out to win a job or work their way up the depth chart this spring.
For a few players, they have lost a great opportunity to show they had improved or that they were just as good as the player that played in front of them last year. Now, for a few players, they may have missed out on their opportunity to really make a move up the depth chart or win a starting spot in the fall.
T.J. Pledger: Things were beginning to line up for the junior running back (5’9, 198) to get some playing time this fall and that still might be the case because senior Rhamondre Stevenson (6’0, 229) is likely to be suspended for the first five games of next season. Pledger who has been no better than the third running back thus far in his career at OU was set to go into the spring as no worse than the number two running back if he could hold off redshirt freshman Marcus Major (5’11, 220) and freshman Seth McGowan (5’11, 216).
Thus far Pledger has worked mainly on special teams as a kick returner but when he has been on the field he has played well. Pledger has only 40 attempts for 244 yards at 6.1 yards per carry and only one touchdown thus far in his career, but Coach Riley has always felt he’s a good player. If he would have had a great spring he would have secured the number two back. Now, his situation is not so clear but he still has a good chance to be the number two back.
Isaiah Thomas: There was hope that this spring would have been the coming-out party for the junior defensive end. Thomas (6’5, 260) was going to get a ton of reps with a five-game suspension looming for junior Ronnie Perkins (6’3, 247) Thomas is considered as one of the guys to possibly replace him. Thomas is bigger and faster than Perkins but just now growing into the defensive end position and the 15 practices this spring would have been key for him. As it is he will still be one of the candidates to replace Perkins and how he handles the stay at home order will be key for Thomas once he returns.
Robert Barnes: The junior from Southlake Carroll can’t catch a break at OU and the current home lockdown is a perfect example. Moved to inside linebacker late last season Barnes took the redshirt and the off-season to transform his body and to study a new position. Sooner linebacker Coach Brian Odom loved his natural instincts at linebacker and felt that Barnes was picking up the new position well.
Barnes looked good the first day at camp at 6’2, 215 and looked like he could push for playing time. Barnes so far has handled the stay-at-home order well pushing his weight to 220, but not having a chance to show that he can play linebacker is a big blow for Barnes. Now the same questions remain that were there before spring practice started and that is whether Barnes can even play linebacker? Barnes is a mature athlete and earned Coach Odom’s trust in the off-season but he will need to come back and fire early in camp to earn reps next fall.
Brey Walker: The talented offensive guard (6’6, 352) is physically one of the most talented players on the roster and all he needs are reps. He would have gotten a ton of them in the spring and the more he plays the better off he is going to be. The fact he is missing playing time will be as telling for Walker as any player on the Sooner roster. How he works while at home to learn the playbook and to get his assignments down pat will go along way in telling whether or not he can make a move against more experienced starters junior Marquis Hayes (6’5, 344) and Tyrese Robinson (6’3, 334). You can throw a guy like redshirt freshman E.J. Ndoma-Ogar (6’3, 330) onto that list as well of guys needing reps to prove they belong on the field. The fact the Sooners can’t practice has hurt the development of a number of young offensive linemen
Jordan Kelley: Thus far Kelly (6’3, 293) has been just a word of thought and a guy with promise at OU but with the top three nose tackles graduating heading into the spring, the sophomore was going to get every chance to show that he’s ready to be a prime time payer at OU. Yes OU recruited on top of him with JUCO transfers Perrion Winfrey (6’3, 283) and Josh Ellison (6’2, 279) but in reality, everybody was in the same boat at nose tackle in that all three guys were being counted upon to be the next generation at nose tackle. That will still be the case for Kelly when the team returns to practice but he will still be no better than the third nose tackle going into camp because he missed the opportunity to show Coach Calvin Thibodeaux what he can really do in the spring. Kelly is a good football player and he needs to be ready when the team returns to prove that, but so far he has not had to chance to show the coaches what he can really do.
Jeremiah Criddell: For Criddell (5’11, 198) the spring was going to be a coming-out party of sorts for him. It was going to be time for the coaches to find a position for the redshirt freshman to play and stick him there to let his vast talent take bloom. Going into the spring he worked at nickel back the first day and flash his speed and athleticism at the position but in the back of the coach’s mind, they were still wondering if he would not be better off at corner. Criddell needs to play and flash to the point that instead of the coaches wondering where he should play it’s a sense of urgency that they must get him on the playing field. Now, thanks to the lack of reps he remains a great prospect that the coaches are still wondering about and still wrestling with where they should play him. When the Sooners do resume workouts he will need to flash in a hurry because junior Brendan Radley-Hiles (5’9, 196) has been tough to unseat thus far.
Quick Hitter | Savion Byrd
– Charlie S
*** We are told elite 2021 offensive tackle Savion Byrd (Duncanville, TX) has narrowed his list down to a top five.
*** Sources tell us the Sooners will be included.
*** No surprise there.
Buying Local | Sooners DB Commit Jordan Mukes
– James Hale
I had a chance to talk with the Sooners latest commit three-star safety Jordan Mukes (6’4, 192) out of Choctaw, Oklahoma. Makes has always loved OU and the process got rolling when he was able to come down to Norman for an unofficial visit in early March.
“When I took that visit I wasn’t just going there hoping to get an offer,” said Mukes. “In fact, I wasn’t really thinking about that. I wanted to go up there and hang out with the coaches and stuff and that is what I really enjoyed that day. They didn’t offer me on that visit, but the visit was a great success for me and I got to know Coach Alex Grinch so well and Coach Roy Manning, and we got to spend a great deal of time with Coach Lincoln Riley. We left Norman pretty excited about the possibility of getting an offer and I knew if they did offer I would seriously consider committing to them.”
Mukes had hoped to get back down to Norman for the spring game, and maybe take his official visit then, but with the COVID-19 outbreak, his plans have really changed this spring. Thus, when the offer came a little over a week ago he knew it’s wasn’t going to be long before he committed to the Sooners.
“I was with my uncle at this little car place,” said Mukes. “Coach (Terrance) Carter had been talking to Coach Grinch and Coach Carter told me to stop playing and to go ahead and commit. So, then I just called Coach Grinch and told him and he told me that was great but that I needed to call Coach Riley. Then, Coach Riley wasn’t free so I had to wait until 3:30 to call him so I called Coach Cale Gundy and Coach Roy Manning and then I called Coach Riley after that.”
“They were all really excited when I told them I wanted to be a Sooner. They were screaming at me over the phone and it was a good time. They were all telling me how they see me at OU and how good of a player that they think I can be there and I knew after talking to them that I made the right choice. They told me that there was no entitlement in the secondary that when I came in I would get a fair chance to compete for a starting job, and they convinced me that would truly be the case.”
Mukes has a sense of humor and he played a trick on Coach Gundy when he first called.
“When I called Coach Gundy I was playing around,” said Mukes. “I told him that I was committing to Texas Tech and he got mad and started to asking me why and then I told him I was playing and that I was coming to Oklahoma.”
Coach Carter’s advice paid off. OU is still sending out a ton of offers every day and considering the fact that we really have no idea when recruits are going to get back on campus or when coaches can go and see recruits the thought was to go ahead and take the scholarship.
“I told him why play around with it if you know where you want to be,” said Coach Carter. “OU is not one of those schools that you need to drag your feet with. If they offer you then you have to hop on it. If other schools still want to recruit you then they’re still going to recruit you anyway. You go ahead and solidify your spot and then you are good. Your senior year you can go out and just play. You don’t have to impress anybody or impress other coaches, or anything like that.”
“This will allow Jordan to just focus on his senior year with his teammates and concentrate on winning a championship instead of concentrating on getting a scholarship, and that’s so positive for Jordan at this point in his football career.”
What is amazing about Mukes is at this size he plays corner at Choctaw and that appealed to the OU coaches the fact he can match up with receivers and cover.
“OU is getting a guy that is really raw,” said Coach Carter. “He has only played corner for one season, so they are getting a guy that is very raw but is very athletic. If you coach him hard you are going to get results. I’m sure Coach Manning and Coach Grinch will coach him up and get him where they want him to be.
“The good thing is that he has not played the position (cornerback) long so he doesn’t have a lot of bad habits. He’s very, very green, so he will be fine once he gets down there. He will get bigger, faster, and stronger in their program. I see that some people on these message boards say he’s slow but that’s totally wrong. They will see once he gets down there that he’s not slow.”
“They are looking at track times from his freshman to his sophomore year when he was not even worried about track. He was just doing track, he wasn’t putting much into it basically to get out of school as most kids do. When he really focuses in on what he is doing, like he did this season in football, you’ll see the results.”
Mukes knows he has a lot of work to do to become the players he believes he can be at OU.
“I’m a good athlete,” said Mukes. “I can play any position on defense. I need to get into their strength and conditioning program and also get in their speed program, and I will be fine once I get to OU.”
I don’t get the impression OU is recruiting Mukes to play corner, but Coach Manning was very much involved with his recruitment along with Coach Gundy because it’s Gundy’s recruiting area. A guy with his size normally does not play corner but at Choctaw, the coaches feel this is the best position for him to benefit the team.
“We tried him at several different spots his sophomore year,” said Coach Carer. “When he was young we put him at outside linebacker and speed rusher but he didn’t like those positions too much. We tried him at safety and he looked good there, but this past summer he was playing offense at receiver and looked really good there in 7v7 competition.”
“Once we got back as a staff we knew we had to get all of our best athletes on the field, and Jordan was one of our very best athletes. We moved one of our starting corners to outside backer and moved Jordan to that cornerback spot. That way we could have our best guys out there on the field.”
“We have put in a lot of work to get him where he is. He is a hard worker and we have taken advantage of that. We’re going to stay hungry and we’re going to keep working. We’re going to get him where he needs to be.”
OU hasn’t been real specific with Mukes where they think he will play at OU. He’s being recruited to play safety but they have told him they just want him in the program and then they will see where he will fit.
“I can play free safety for them or any of the three DB positions,” said Mukes. “They said they would move me around because I could fill in at a lot of spots.”
Like all of us Mukes and his teammates are staying at home and for him taking on-line courses and trying to stay in shape is a challenge.
“We have broken things down by positions groups and each coach of that position group sends their guys our workout plan for that week’” said Coach Carter. “We check on their well being and make sure they’re good every day and all times of the day. We have gone to the online stuff academically and a lot of our teachers have not done that before so that has been a big adjustment. We’re still trying to get that stuff together for the kids. For the kids, this won’t be too much of an adjustment because they always have their phone in their hand.”
For Mukes he’s going old school to stay in shape.
“I’m doing pushups, situps, and pull-ups around the house,” laughed Mukes. “I’m running all the time and we still work on things. A few of the DBs still get together and go up to the school and work on things. So, we are getting work in.”
Choctaw is one of the favorites this upcoming season in 6A-II and one of the big reasons why is Mukes who is one of the top five players in the state this season. OU has four commitments towards the 2021 class and they are currently ranked 19th in the 247Sports team recruiting rankings.
