Open Post | Tuesday, February 2nd
Posted on: February 2, 2021
Sooners Sunday Brunch | Snacking On The Portal
– Charlie S
Following the conclusion of the regular season, the Sooners were initially big contributors to the NCAA transfer portal. Once the OU players entered the portal and January rolled around, the Sooners staff went to work on making some targeted withdrawals.
Let’s take a look at how things have worked out by position thus far for Oklahoma’s foray into the portal.
QB:
OU puts Chandler Morris and Tanner Mordecai IN the portal and takes Micah Bowens OUT of the portal:
Initial Verdict: No way to portray this as anything but a net loss for Oklahoma, and a pretty substantial loss talent wise, at that.
How much it impacts OU in 2021: While the loss of talent, particularly in respect to Morris, hurts the depth at OU, the Sooners will have the top QB in the 2021 class as their backup to Spencer Rattler. Let’s face it, if Rattler were to be injured for a substantial part of the season, Morris or Mordecai likely would have been his replacement and likely would have fared better initially than Caleb Williams would be likely to if forced into action. However, I don’t see the loss of Morris and Mordecai as something that would keep OU from reaching their season goals should Rattler stay mostly healthy. Morris and Mordecai weren’t going to lead this team to a national championship (IMO) and if OU is forced to go with a backup QB for any length of time, why not have it be the number one freshman QB in the country.
Bowens is a guy who has 4 years of eligibility left and has some real upside, but he is certainly a project at this point and will likely serve as the backup QB for both Rattler and Williams during his time in Norman.
Let’s face it though…neither Mordecai or Morris were ever going to be QB1 in Norman during their tenure.
RB:
OU puts TJ Pledger IN the portal and takes Eric Gray OUT of the portal.
Initial Verdict: This is a win for OU, and based on production and projection, a pretty substantial win in my opinion.
TJ Pledger spent 3 years in Norman and was a good soldier. With Kennedy Brooks opting out, Trey Sermon transferring, and Rhamondre Stevenson suspended to start the 2020 season, Pledger was given the opportunity to claim the RB1 spot at OU. He performed admirably, but gave OU no reason not to plug and play Stevenson once he returned from suspension. He will take his 2 remaining years of eligibility to Utah and I hope the kid does well for himself as he was a team player and solid citizen while in Norman.
Gray has 3 years of eligibility left and he appears to be a perfect fit for Lincoln Riley and the OU offense. Gray led a crappy Vols team in rushing with over 750 yards last year and was second on the team in receptions with 30 catches. I said from the beginning of this pursuit by OU that of all the running backs who entered the portal this cycle (to this point) I believed Gray was the best fit. I believe he will push all the backs currently in Norman for the RB1 spot and in my opinion, he is a tremendous addition to DeMarco Murray’s room.
OL:
OU puts EJ Ndoma-Ogar IN the Portal and takes Wanya Morris and Robert Congel OUT of the Portal.
Initial Verdict: Massive win for OU. No other way to put it.
EJ and Wanya were both in the 2019 class, they both have at least 3 years of eligibility left (EJ still has 4 years). EJ was an interior guy who played in 4 games his freshman year at OU and everyone had high hopes for him heading into the 2020 season. However, COVID hit, EJ had some real concerns about the pandemic and chose to opt out. He also was seemingly passed on the depth chart by some of the younger players following the offseason.
Wanya was an all-SEC freshman player his first year at Tennessee at the tackle spot and played in all of the Vols games in 2020. While he appeared to lose his starting spot at tackle during the season, he was also a guy (much like Tre Norwood at OU) who was bit multiple times by the COVID contact tracing situation and at one point he reportedly only practiced 2 times in a 23 day stretch. Morris gives the Sooners some elite athleticism on the edge of the offensive line and that is something the Sooners were in short supply on. I expect him to start at one of the tackle spots.
Congel is the bonus wild card here. He actually fills EJ’s void on the interior and there is some thought he would allow Coach Bedenbaugh the opportunity to get really creative with the interior guys as his coach in Arizona believes Congel is a guy who has a future in the NFL. Looks like Bedenbaugh has potentially pulled 2 guys from the portal who could be in the 2-deep. Congel is a guy I will be interested in hearing about during the spring and fall camp because if he can push for time at center, that can free up Chris Murray to play guard. I’m not saying Congel is a sure thing, but if he is able to push some guys in the 2-deep, it’s a win regardless for Oklahoma.
DB:
OU puts Robert Barnes IN the Portal and Takes Key Lawrence OUT of the Portal.
Initial Verdict: Big win for Oklahoma.
Robert Barnes was a guy who gave the Sooners his all. Flip flopping from starting safety down to linebacker and back to safety in a time of need for Oklahoma, he was the ultimate team player. He was a great teammate while in Norman, but following the coaching change, it seemed like he and the new staff never got on the same page. He spent the better part of the last two years as a guy who only saw the field on special teams and during garbage time. Really hoping he finds his footing in Colorado.
Key Lawrence is a guy the new staff wanted very badly during his high school recruitment. They brought him in on an official visit with Reggie Grimes and basically felt they did all they could to entice him to join Grimes in Norman. Lawrence decided to stay close to home and spent his freshman year at Tennessee where he saw limited action at multiple spots in the Vols secondary. Make no mistake about it, this is one of the guys Grinch coveted and is probably doing backflips now that he has him on campus. Expect Lawrence to push for playing time this year wherever he is slotted. I expect him to focus on safety for the most part and I would suspect he begins the year as DTY’s understudy as last year Bryson Washington was being groomed for Pat Fields role. However, I cannot rule out Lawrence getting a legit look at NB as well. The addition of Lawrence along with Justin Harrington being healthy and Bryson Washington a year older gives the Sooners some serious depth at the safety/NB spots for the first time in a long time.
One to keep an eye on:
DL:
OU puts Zach McKinney IN the Portal and potentially takes Big Kat Bryant OUT of the Portal.
Initial Verdict: While not officially done….would obviously be a big win for OU. Will get into it more if/when it goes down officially.
Overall:
Initial Verdicts:
OU wins at RB, OL, DB and potentially at DL.
OU losses at QB in regards to the 2021 season.
Quick Hitter | Raleek Brown
– Charlie S
Major Sooners ’22 target Raleek Brown has tweeted out that he will make his commitment announcement this Friday, February 5th.
As you are all well aware of, Brown is perhaps the top target for Oklahoma on the offensive side of the balll iun the ’22 class and his tight relationship with head coach Lincoln Riley is well documented.
We feel very good about where the Sooners stand in this one.
Team | Sourced | Quick-Hitters
– Super K
***It’s still early. No player 7v7 just yet.
***Was told that, as of now, the Sooners plan on starting Billy Bowman on the defensive side of the ball. They’re looking at giving him reps at nickel.
***I emphasize, “as of now” because given his diverse skill set and ability, it could change depending on need.
***I’m told Justin Harrington is in the cornerback room, right now. Harrington is a big fella. You’re talking around 6’2 or 6’3 and probably 205 to 210. Looks a lot more like a linebacker than a cornerback.
***I’ll be really surprised if this remains the case once spring ball gets going. I’ve never seen him so I can’t say for certain but odds are usually against a guy that big playing CB.
***The good thing is, either way, he’s a big athlete who can run and there is plenty of need for competition in the middle of the field at safety (which is where he played in JUCO).
***Am told Keshawn Lawrence is set to rep on the back end at safety behind DTY, once things get going.
***Also, perhaps we can do a post where we go through each part of the defense in some detail but there is a lot of excitement around the program about the talent level on the defense.
***Source said that the feeling inside the building is that this is the best defensive roster OU has had in a long time.
***Was also told that there is so much depth now that there are ongoing discussions about how to get all these guys enough reps. A good problem to have, no doubt. And, wise that Grinch considers the need to keep guys getting reps. Keeps the competition alive and keeps players engaged.
Quick Hitter | Bear Alexander
– Charlie S
The other night, 2022 DT Bear Alexander put out a tweet that read…
*** At the time we were not even sure it was a commitment to a college, however, we can confirm it will in fact be a commitment.
*** We know a lot of folks are predicting Bear Alexander to choose Georgia on Wednesday and that makes sense after some info that we dug up.
*** We have heard from a source that Bear was down in Athens on a self guided visit recently.
*** On the OU side though, whats interesting is it does not sound like the Sooners were pursuing him very hard so it sounds like they have some other targets they are focusing on.
*** For those of you wondering, this does not appear to be revisionist history on OU’s part as back in the Spring, Bear was very eager to talk about OU, but as time wore on, there was less communication with him on our end as well.
*** One target we know OU will be pursuing aggressively is Gabe Dindy, we will be digging to see who else is a priority for the interior DL spots as Tyson Ford was a prime candidate prior to committing to Notre Dame.
