Open Post | Tuesday, January 25th
Posted on: January 25, 2022
Recruiting Weekend
-James Hale – Posted on: January 24, 2022
***OU didn’t have a ton of prospects in this week, but they had a talent-laden weekend of visitors. OU feels they have a shot at all of them, and before he left, safety Jamarrien Burt (6’1 175) of Ocala (Forest), Florida told OU he was committing to them. Then he called them back and said he was going to Missouri this weekend, but he was still committed to OU.
Sounds like Coach Venables doesn’t work that way and feels if a player is committed, he would rather him not be taking any other visits. I know that sounds old school, but Coach Venables is old school to a certain extent and let him know that if he takes that visit to Missouri, OU would not consider him committed and they would keep recruiting safeties.
The rub is that Missouri is telling Burt that they will take his brother, a D-11 at best prospect. OU countered that knowledge by letting him know that Missouri would not take his brother and that OU was not going to take him either unless he wanted to walk on.
It’s is up in the air whether Burt will take that official to Missouri or not.
***OU felt that they had a great weekend with four-star defensive lineman Gracen Halton (6’3, 270) of San Diego (st. Augustine), California, three-star Ahmad Moten (6’3, 290) of Fort Lauderdale (Cardinal Gibbons), Florida, and three-star edge rusher R. Mason Thomas (6’2, 215) of Fort Lauderdale (Cardinal Gibbons) all having a great time. Thomas and Moten still plan to visit Miami, and Halton has already been there. Halton is still committed to Oregon, but he had a great time at OU this weekend and that could change that.
***OU will be in Denton, Texas Monday, to follow up visits this weekend from 2023 four-star quarterback Jackson Arnold (6’1, 195) of Denton (Guyer), Texas, and four-star safety Peyton Bowen (6’0, 185) of the same school. OU is close to getting a verbal from Arnold, and he and Bowen are very good friends and would like to play college ball together. Bowen is currently committed to Notre Dame, but his quarterback is probably going to OU, and Bowen really likes BHall and Jay Valai, and if Arnold commits to OU soon, then Bowen is certainly a possibility to follow.
***OU Defensive Coordinator Ted Roof will be in Denton as well tomorrow to follow 2023 up with top linebacker Anthony Hill (6’2, 225) of Denton (Ryan), Texas, who had a great visit in Norman this weekend. Hill and Coach Roof hit it off, and Coach Venables is a big-time player with Hill as well.
Hill likes Norman as he was there last summer and went to a game last year. Now, he is getting to know the new staff, and by all indications, he hit it off with Roof and Venables. Hill’s father also likes OU, and the new staff is off to a good start with the 2023 top linebacker in the country.
Update on the Locks from January 23rd
– Charlie S – Posted on: January 24, 2022
I don’t expect you will hear anything on either of the 2 locks from last night until signing day on February 2nd when they officially punch in. As we said, both of the players in question are in the class of ’22.
Spoke to one of the commits and he mentioned he will not be going public until signing day and touched base around the other commit and we don’t expect an announcement from him.
Lot’s of speculation on the names, but I hope you all did not miss James’ note this morning about how the New Staff views recruits who say they are committed.
I will clarify this note on our signing day chat for sure, but just saying, the hints are there, and remember, it is a New Staff.
“NIL” Dollars are too big to Ignore | Sourced
– Super K – Posted on: January 24, 2022
***First, let’s be clear, what’s currently happening in CFB recruiting can hardly be called NIL deals. Plain and simple, this is boosters inducing players to go to school. And while some of that stuff happened before, under the table, it was nothing like what it is now.
***I spoke with a coach late last week and he told me that while he’s been on the road, he has high school coaches now asking for a share of “NIL” money.
***I spoke with a source with some direct knowledge of NIL deals and I wanted to pass some of that along to you.
***Was told that a particular transfer QB from a P5 program had a multiple P5 transfer opportunities. He ended up at a G5 program. Source told me said QB was offered close to seven figures after a booster or two from said G5 got involved. The family simply couldn’t turn that kind of money down.
***There are high school players being offered 400K plus.
***I was told that Texas outbid Tennessee for Wyoming WR transfer, Isaiah Neyor. I don’t know exactly what was offered but was told by a solid source on this that Tennessee had offered him a deal worth 250K and whatever Texas offered couldn’t be countered by Tennessee.
***Now, I do believe that there are major regulations coming. The sense I’m getting is that a federal bill is in the works. But…
***For now, I bring this up to say that you have to suspend some of your previous understanding of recruitment, especially as it relates to transfers.
***The reality is, you can have a player trending in your direction but you have no idea what’s going to be offered the next day. One coach told me, “I can recruit a kid and land him, wake up in the morning and find out I lost him to the money”.
***We don’t know who is being offered what at all times and that is the point.
***And I will add that it does sound like OU is playing the game but they’re a lot more discreet with it and it’s happening a lot less. In other words, I don’t get the feeling OU has a couple of guys coming in and saying, “you want that kid? Here’s a half a million bucks”. But it does sound like that is very much happening elsewhere.
