Open Post | Tuesday, June 22nd
Posted on: June 22, 2021
Thursday Evening Visit Note | Jamel Johnson
– CJ Vogel – Posted on: June 17, 2021
The Sooners hosted 2023 cornerback Jamel Johnson (6’1 175) out of Arlington, TX for an unofficial visit today.
Earlier in the week, I mentioned to K and Charlie that he was heading to town and following the visit I was able to briefly catch up with him
Johnson told me he loved the visit. He said, “The OU visit went well. I loved every part of it”.
Johnson spent a lot of time with corners coach Roy Manning and was encouraged to be able to build on that relationship.
He is one of the most sought-after players in the 2023 class and he already holds offers from all the major regional schools as well as Bama, LSU, and Michigan to name a few.
Being able to get him on campus this early on is a good sign for the Sooners as they will look to continue to build the relationship as his recruitment progresses. I hope to get by to see him in the near future to get a more in-depth update.
Derrick Moore | What We’re Hearing
– Super K – Posted on: June 18, 2021
As you know, 2022 4-star DE, Derrick Moore out of Maryland (St. Frances Academy) took set to take his unofficial visit to Oklahoma this weekend.
Moore, along with Kenyatta Jackson and Omari Abor are Cain’s big three DE targets.
There has been a lot of buzz lately with Moore and Oklahoma ahead of his visit. Spoke with a source who said, “he’s all but in…assuming the visit goes good”.
Should the Sooners land Moore, I’m told they would still take Jackson or Abor. Those are the type of players you have to take and figure the numbers out later.
All three were on campus this weekend.
Malachi and Makai | Is OU Passing the Test?
– Charlie S – Posted on: June 19, 2021
As you know, we have noted that the Sooners are in a good spot with 2023 QB Malachi Nelson and his WR teammate Maki Lemon out of California.
However, with visits having been shut down, neither Malachi or Makai had been able to get to Norman.
So, there has been this sort of nagging question as to whether these Cali Boys would vibe with OU and Norman, and whether the in-person experience would meet the expectations set by the thus far virtual recruitment.
As you could imagine, the boys had been anxious to get out there and see it in person.
K has been chatting with the father of Malachi Nelson and he said ‘They absolutely LOVE it.”
Just like that, it sounds like the Sooners are passing the visit test with flying colors.
ChampU BBQ Initial Take | Update: Sunday 10:22 am
– Charlie S – Posted on: June 19, 2021
As I mentioned in the comment section of the previous thread, the Sooners appear to have knocked the main event of this massive visit weekend out of the park.
The 2021 ChampU BBQ had an insane visitor list that included over 50 recruits and their families.
Going into the event, some people were wondering if the Sooners bit off more than they could chew…by all accounts to this point, that was certainly not the case.
I have spoken/shared messages with quite a few recruits/parents to this point and I could write basically the same reaction response for all of them:
“Loved it”, “Was incredible”, “Like nothing I’ve seen before on any visit”, “Unbelievable experience”.
I’ll share some specifics…
I was able to get in touch with Sooners 2022 TE commit Jason Llewellyn. Jason was up for an unofficial and he will take his official in the season as we have already reported. Llewellyn said, “Man it was awesome! The thing that really stood out to me was all the NFL guys who came back to talk to us and hang out with us. There was a real family feel throughout the whole day, It really felt like we were at a big family reunion.” Llewellyn continued by saying “It was definitely a great time to bond with my future teammates in the ’22 class and guys already at OU as well as doing some recruiting for my class and others. It just really was unbelievable”.
As you may have been able to tell, Mike Montgomery, the father of 2023 OL Luke Montgomery had been talking with me throughout the day about the event. He was really excited all day. It was like one surprise after another for him and Luke and it culminated at the BBQ. I asked Mike what really stood out for him. He said, “The culture is special…it was truly a family feel. Bringing all those NFL guys back says it all. They love the place. It was so impressive and family was the primary focus of the day”.
I also caught up with highly regarded 2023 DB Peyton Bowen. To nobody’s surprise, Bowen was pretty blown away by the event as he told me “The atmosphere was amazing! From the former players to the coaches…it was just everything and more than I expected”.
Cayden Green, the 2023 lineman from Missouri made his way back to Norman. Green was very taken by all the returning former Sooner players but what really stood out to him was the atmosphere. Green said “I really enjoyed the winning atmosphere of the place. Today was really special and different from anywhere I’ve been”.
You’ve seen some of the pictures the kids sent us and we got a lot of all the superlatives I mentioned above as well as a lot of fire emoji’s.
You already got one of the more important notes from the weekend in K’s post about Malachi and Makai.
There will be a lot to unpack over the coming days, especially with most of the official visits extending into tomorrow (some guys like Fitzpatrick and Sawchuk will be ending their officials tonight as they came in early) but if you do not see any public signs of commitments tonight or even into tomorrow, do not panic. The Sooners killed it this weekend and laid a terrific foundation for both the remaining parts of the ’22 class and the beginning parts of the ’23 class.
We will have more down the line, but I just wanted to get this out for you all before Fathers Day duties take up some time!
Update: Sunday 10:22 am
2023 DB Javien Toviano got back to me this morning and shared much of the same thoughts that you have already heard. Amazing, great time, unbelievable, etc…
I did want to share something he said which just further indicates the impact that the alumni on campus had on the weekend.
Javien said, “The biggest takeaway was just being in the same spot as the league guys that the Sooners have. Just a visualization that you could make your dreams come true right here in Norman.”
The most impactful thing he added, in my opinion…was when he said “I don’t think you could go anywhere in the country and see that much stardom!”
Update on BBQ Running Back Visitors
– Super K – Posted on: June 21, 2021
It’s been a while since the Sooners have landed a high school running back. Strange, I know. But, DeMarco Murray had the difficult task of coming into a new job in a year when Covid hit and visits were shut down.
But he’s been in strong pursuit of two elite backs in this 2022 class – Jovantae Barnes (Las Vegas, NV) and Gavin Sawchuk (Littleton, CO).
So, let me bottom line this for you…
***Murray and the Sooners knocked both visits out of the park.
***For the Sawchuk family, who I spent an afternoon with earlier this year, they had been very high on Oklahoma. The mother and father mentioned to me just how comfortable they felt when they took their visit to OU pre-Covid.
***They mentioned that it was a more comfortable visit than their pre-Covid visits to schools like Notre Dame, Ohio State, etc.
***However, Gavin still wanted to take official visits and see schools like Stanford and USC and they did. They went back to Ohio State for an official visit, as well.
***What I gather though is that, once again, the Sooners were just a step above the competition.
***Either way, don’t think we will be waiting too long for an announcement on this one following his extended visit to OU.
***For Jovantae Barnes, he has liked Oklahoma for a while but had yet to visit and when I saw him in Vegas earlier this year, he said that the feel of a campus was going to be critical for his decision.
***At the time USC was the school he said he was most comfortable at because it was one of the main schools he had visited.
***But, I could tell the Sooners were only missing the visit. With a good visit, I felt like OU could take that lead.
***Barnes has been on a tour recently taking unofficial visits. In fact, he left Oklahoma yesterday headed for Alabama.
***Like with Sawchuk, OU really impressed Barnes. Barnes told me after the visit, he rated the visit, “a ten for sure” out of ten.
***Unlike, Gavin, Barnes still has some visits and hasn’t taken his officials and again, Bama will be a big test for OU. But the Sooners set the bar high.
***We will get a better sense of his timeline after he’s completed his unofficial visit tour.
***If the Sooners are able to lock Gavin in though, they’ll be in a good position to be patient with Barnes.
CJ’s Notes From the Road | Anthony Hill Visiting & Austin Jordan Post Visit
– Charlie S – Posted on: June 21, 2021
CJ was down in Denton this morning and caught up with 2023 LB Anthony Hill and 2022 DB Austin Jordan. I’m gonna throw up a couple of quick notes before he has a more detailed writeup…
*** 2023 5-star linebacker Anthony Hill (6’2 225) will be in Norman this weekend for an unofficial visit. It will be his first time up there and according to CJ he seems pretty excited about it. Hill as already been to Texas, A&M, TCU and Bama, and OU will get his last visit of the summer. Good chance for the Sooners to insert themselves here.
*** 2022 DB Austin Jordan was at the ChampU BBQ this weekend and he really enjoyed himself. The OU visit was preceded by an official visit to Ohio State and will be followed by an official visit this weekend to Texas. Jordan gave the OU visit high marks as you would expect with most of the same superlatives you have heard, and with his commitment timeline winding down, he is looking forward to the Texas visit to help him come to his decision. CJ came away still feeling that Ohio State really has his attention but both OU and Texas are right there and whoever makes the most impressive final push will likely get his verbal. This one appears to be a bit more open right now than many believe.
*** One name of note to possibly keep an eye on is 2023 RB Kalib Hicks. CJ wasn’t able to speak with Hicks, but the coaches at Denton Ryan could not say enough good things about him. He just picked up a Wisconsin offer and the coaches say he is running a 4.4 forty at 200 pounds.
Update | 2022 LB Ish Harris – Post Visit – Decision Near
– Charlie S – Posted on: June 21, 2021
CJ was out to see 2022 LB offer Ish Harris today following Harris’ visit to Norman for the BBQ.
Harris told him that he will no longer be taking his scheduled official visit to Austin with the Longhorns this weekend and he has made enough trips to know where he wants to go to school.
We expect him to announce his decision in the near future and we do not expect OU to be the choice…as we have maintained since CJ went out to visit him early in the spring.
It will be interesting to see which direction OU goes with the linebacker class should Ish do as we expect as they currently have two very good commits at the position in Kobie McKinzie and Kip Lewis.
