Open Post | Tuesday, February 23rd
Posted on: February 23, 2021
The Latest | Chace Biddle | Timeline
– Charlie S
K is on the road but he wanted me to pass along a note on Sooners defensive back target Chace Biddle (6’0″ 190) out of Garland, TX.
As you all know, Biddle is a priority target for the Sooners and he is teammates with OU wide receiver commit Jordan Hudson.
Biddle is a guy who initially wanted to see more schools prior to making his commitment. He planned to take some trips in the spring.
Since the NCAA has once again extended the dead period, now through the end of May, spring visits will not be a thing…unless they are self guided tours.
K was in touch with Biddle recently and asked if the extended dead period would have any impact on his timeline. Biddle told K that he would be ‘Moving the timeline up’.
Right now, there is nothing set in stone, and we will bring you a more concrete timeline once things are decided, but it sounds like a decision is approaching and OU is in a good spot.
Latest on Jovantae Barnes & Zion Branch Visit
– Super K
As you know, 2022 RB Jovantae Barnes (Desert Pines) is very high on the Sooners. But the sticking point, right now, is that he really wants to visit OU.
He was planning on being in Norman, along with 2022 4-star DB, Zion Branch (Bishop Gorman), in April.
After the NCAA extended the dead period until the end of May, we were told that Barnes and Branch would still visit Norman in April. I spoke with Barnes’ coach who tells me the plans have changed and the visit has been pushed back to June. They are hoping the NCAA will be allowing visits by then.
This is a critical visit for the Sooners because without it, Barnes told me he’d likely end up at USC because at least he’s had a chance to visit there.
But if the Sooners can continue to recruit him and finally get him on campus, I really like their chances to close. The delay puts them in a bit of a tough spot just because they have to make sure they don’t strike out on backs in this class. Would be good for them if they could close on someone like Sawchuck earlier and then get Barnes on campus in June which would be their chance to close with him.
Catching Up With the Newest Commit | TE Jason Llewellyn
– Charlie S
Late last week, the Sooners received a big verbal commitment from 2022 tight end Jason Llewellyn (6’5″ 240) out of Aledo, TX.
The big tight end was very gracious by taking a few minutes to answer a few questions about his commitment.
I asked him ‘Why OU and why now?’ and he said, “I chose OU because I absolutely love everything about the program and the university. I really like what they have to offer me academically and athletically. The feeling I get from talking with the coaches and staff is amazing and I just knew it was the right fit for me”.
So, earlier in the week, Lincoln Riley sent out this tweet…
That was on Wednesday evening. That tweet, with the ‘eyes’ emoji in it had us on a bit of an alert as typically when Riley sends that emoji out, it signifies a commitment. However, after checking in with our sources, we came to the conclusion that the emoji usage was just to signify the next couple of tweets sent out by Riley which depicted a ‘Snow Day’ with the coaches at OU. K checked again Thursday morning with another source and even reconfirmed that that was the case…it was about the snow day.
However…when Saturday morning rolled around and Llewellyn committed, my wheels got turning and I tweeted the following…
I had a feeling that Llewellyn told the coaches earlier in the week that he was committing (as one would expect). So I asked him when he let the coaches in on his plans. Jason said ‘I told coach Riley and the rest of the staff that I wanted to become part of the Sooner family on Thursday night and they were all extremely hyped about it.”
Thursday night.
Riley tweeted those eyes out Wednesday night. While I was correct in my assumption that Llewellyn had informed the staff prior to Saturday morning, from what he tells me, the eyes were not for him and they were for the snow day. Cannot lie, I was a bit disappointed as I thought I had caught Riley pulling a fast one on us all.
As Jason and I concluded our conversation, I asked him if he considered his recruitment closed at this time or if he may still listen to other programs and he said “I am committed to the University of Oklahoma.”
Boom.
Quick Hitter | Jordan Hudson Has Something to Say
– Charlie S
Super K caught up with Jordan over the weekend out in Nevada.
Hudson is a hot topic for the fan base because he is so social and plays with some Texas commits on his Premium7v7 squad.
For those of you who don’t Twitter, here is what he had to say to K about his level of commitment to Oklahoma.
Have to appreciate the shout out to Coach Cale Gundy as well…doesn’t appear he has lost a step on the recruiting trail!
We will have full coverage of K’s travels in the coming days.
Arizona Visit | Update on Anthony Lucas
– Super K
Last Friday night, I went out to see 2022 DL, Anthony Lucas…
I spoke with him for nearly an hour so there may be a full write up coming but what I wanted to note here is that Lucas clearly has a lot of respect for coach Cain. As I noted, he just started playing football in ninth grade. At the time, Cain was at Arizona State and Lucas was in one of his first camps with Cain. Anthony credited Cain with being one of the first people to recognize his potential.
I get the sense that this one is still early in the process. I also feel like coach Cain is working to get more of the staff involved in this recruitment. I can tell Notre Dame, Texas A&M, USC and others are recruiting him and his family as a staff. OU will need to do that, as well.
This young man has Neville Gallimore qualities right down to the personality and look. Like Neville, he’s abnormally fluid and sudden, though there is a lot more in the tank in terms of his suddenness. He’s also raw and like Gallimore did in high school, Anthony plays out on the edge. I know Anthony wants to stay at defensive end but man, he’d be a problem inside.
The big difference between Lucas and Neville is the size, and it’s a significant difference. Anthony is very close to 6’4 if he isn’t right on it or above. And he’s a pretty lean 290 lbs.
Again, I think Anthony is still in the evaluation process and coach Cain has them in the mix. They’ll need to get him and his family on campus and Anthony noted Oklahoma is one of the schools he wants to visit. Like a lot of players, he’s finding it difficult to really narrow things down because they haven’t had a chance to visit outside of the virtual visits.
