Sooners Saturday | Visitors on Campus
– Charlie S
Sooners did not have a big visit weekend, but there were a few recruits who made their way to campus.
*** 2020 QB Signee Chandler Morris (5’11” 178) took his official visit to Norman.
It is not often that a signee takes his official visit to Norman following signing day, but it has happened on occasion. Morris was the only official visitor so I am sure he got the full red carpet treatment.
*** 2023 Running BAck offer Rueben Owens (5’10.5 181) out of El Campo, TX made his way to town.
Owens has been looking forward to this visit since he got that OU offer and as you can see he is quite excited. At the time of his visit, the Sooners did not have a designated running back coach, but I am sure Riley and Gundy, along with the rest of the staff, did just fine here.
We will catch up with him to get his thoughts on the DeMarco Murray Hire.
*** As I have mentioned previously 2021 linebacker Trenilyas Tatum (6’2″ 208) was planning on making the trip from Jonesboro, Georgia to Norman.
Touched base with him and he let me know he was about 20 minutes out at that time. The fact that this unofficial visit is going to come off is in itself a massive pull for the Sooners as Tatum is one of the top linebackers in the 2021 class.
Tatum is visiting with his uncle, two cousins, and his high school coach.
More on how his visit went below.
*** 2021 running back AJ Green (5’11 185) out of Tulsa, OK (Union) made his way to Norman for a track meet, but I am sure he caught up with the football staff and we will check in with him this week.
Green has made it known that he is a running back, not an athlete, and plans on being recruited as such. Will be interesting to see how DeMarco Murray views him and how the OU staff will go forward with his recruitment.
Alfred Collins | Update
– Super K
***One of the Alabama publications is reporting via sources that Collins is down to Texas and Alabama. Based on how tightly lipped Alfred and his camp are on where things are with his recruitment, I have to assume this information was coming from a source on the Alabama side.
***If Collins is indeed telling Alabama that (and I obviously don’t know if he is) then it would probably indicate that Texas is his outright leader.
***I can tell you that I have been told Collins has made a decision. What that decision is, I do not know but as James noted earlier, there is still a fair amount of confidence on the OU side and plenty of confidence on the Texas side.
***But to be clear, no one on either side is certain one way or another. I am quite convinced Collins has a decision so the uncertainty on both sides has more to do with Collins playing things close to the vest and very little, if any, to do with Collins and family not knowing where they want to go.
***In any normal year, I would’ve maintained all along that Collins is going to Texas. It makes too much sense. Mom played there. He lives in the shadow of the stadium. His aunt works in the athletic department. He’s been on campus too many times. And the Sooners have only managed to get him up to campus twice.
***But what gives me pause is if there was ever a year Oklahoma could steal a kid like this, it would be this year. You have a massive overhaul of the defensive staff. Texas had a challenging season. And they even had some of their own players negative recruiting Texas. I know that Princely Umanmielen heard plenty of it and it’s one of the reasons I seriously doubt he ends up at Texas.
***The staff went all in on this one believing that there was/is a real shot here. So, it’s clear they see the possibility as well.
***If Thibs lands this guy, you have to tip your hat. Would be a massive get. Collins isn’t close to a finished product. He has a lot of work to do but he’d be one of the best raw talents OU has landed in a while.
***Also, as James mentioned, OU has not done an in-home visit and will not to do an in-home visit. The family has preferred not to do in-homes, rather opting to meet staffs elsewhere. Some families prefer that.
***I’m told this upcoming Tuesday it will be only Riley and Thibs for the final visit. Last Friday the entire defensive staff was in the house.
***The read I got was still uncertainty mixed with some confidence.
***I don’t anticipate any more twists and turns in this one but the reporting could go back and forth based on the pieces of information we receive.
Post Visit Update | 2021 LB Trenilyas Tatum
– Charlie S
This weekend, the Sooners hosted 2021 linebacker Trenilyas Tatum (6’2″ 208) out of Jonesboro, GA on an unofficial visit.
Tatum made the trip with his uncle, a couple of cousins, and his high school coach and he was not disappointed with what he found in Norman.
I was able to catch up with him following the trip and the first question I asked him was in regard to his overall impression of the visit. Trenilyas was quick to answer by saying “My overall impression was that I was amazed.”
He was obviously coming off a visit high and when I asked him if there was anything in particular that stood out to him he said “Everything really stood out. But if I had to choose one thing, it would be the weight room.”
The Sooners only had a small number of visitors on campus this weekend, and that played well with Tatum. He enjoyed the time he got to spend with all of the staff and was particularly fond of the amount of time he got to spend with Sooners head coach Lincoln Riley. Tatum said, “My favorite part of the experience was being in Coach Riley’s office.”
So while he gave the visit rave reviews, I wanted to know how much of an impact the Sooners made in his recruitment. I asked him if OU had made a move in his process and he confirmed they did by saying “OU will most definitely get an official visit.”
This weekend was a success for OU in regards to doing what they needed to do with an elite recruit out of SEC territory. Sooners linebacker coach Brian Odom and the staff did well in getting him to take a visit on his own. Now it looks like they did a great job with the unofficial and are likely to be rewarded with another opportunity to host Tatum for an official visit.
You know the drill, the more you get them on campus, the more likely your chances are to be real players when it comes down to decision time. Good look for Odom and the rest of the Sooners staff.
Bonus Visitor
Tatum had his teammate, 2021 wide receiver Taariik Brett along with him for the trip.
Brett is a very under the radar type kid who doesn’t have much of a recruiting profile. He made the trip with Tatum without having an OU offer and without much fanfare.
I am not here telling you he will be an offer, but I did want to share his film with you on a Monday morning as it is an indication to me just how deep the recruiting pool is down in Georgia that this young man doesn’t have much in the way of attention.
Yes, he is a bit on the short side at 5’9″ (per Tatum) but man he has some jets and really good hands. Fun to watch him go.
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