Open Post | Tuesday, June 25th
Posted on: June 25, 2019
Update | Josh Eaton
– Super K
*** Joshua Eaton made it to campus last week. I texted him to confirm and he responded, “Yeah turning up” – that’s a good thing.
I followed up by asking him if he was liking the visit so far and he responded with, “Heck yea”.
I’ve been preaching for a while that even though he hadn’t made it to campus until last week, I felt OU still had a chance with him even if they weren’t the favorite.
The reasons…
*I knew he’d get on campus eventually. Eaton has spent a lot of time in the state of Oklahoma. His uncle is there and he’s even spent almost entire summers there. In fact, I believe he’s going to spend a lot of time in July in Oklahoma, this summer.
*His dream schools growing up was LSU but with Ricks in the fold and knowing LSU only wanted one more CB, I knew that would be a tough road.
*Obviously both Texas and TAMU are threats and perhaps even the favorites. But he had yet to pull the trigger despite having visited both schools on multiple occasions.
*I also know that, like Bryson Washington, Eaton loves Grinch. Grinch’s no-nonsense attitude commands a lot of respect from recruits.
Eaton’s original plan was to make a decision late in the process – around signing day. But he is now considering moving the decision timeline up to maybe as early as this summer.
Make no mistake, for OU to have a chance here, they’re going to need to get Eaton on campus more (again, UT and TAMU have had him on campus many times). But, this is the first step.
Updates | Pair of Pledges Visiting Bama
– Charlie S
This past weekend, word got out about Sooners 2020 running back commit Jase McClellan visiting Alabama…
*** While we were looking to confirm that Jase was visiting (which we were able to) we came across another bit of news…
*** Sources also tell us Sooners 2020 DB Commit Ryan Watts was also in Tuscaloosa visiting with the Crimson Tide.
*** As for Jase’s visit, source said that OU isn’t even remotely concerned with the trip. They feel good about Jase.
Will have more on both commits in the near future.
A New Name to Know: Avyonne Jones
– Ryan Lewis
A few weeks ago, James and I attended the Lincoln Riley Elite Camp (June 8th). We both brought you updates that day on a few recruits who stuck out and people we noticed. (James’ Elite Camp Notes) (Ryan’s Elite Camp Notes) One of the names I mentioned was that of 2022 DB Avyonne Jones.
Despite not knowing Jones when arriving at the camp, he stuck out in one-on-one drills. He was aggressive during plays and wasn’t afraid to go up against older players. He also had himself a run, as he mentions in the tweet above. Several current OU players (including Justin Broiles and Bookie) were watching from the sideline; they definitely enjoyed watching him compete and went our of their way to encourage him several times. Avyonne and his father, Derron, were kind enough to speak with me to get to know their family and football journey.
Jones, coming in a 5’11” and 165 pounds, originally lived in New Mexico with his family. His parents, brother, and sister moved to Texas when Avyonne was five years old. Sports have always been big to the Jones family. Growing up, Avyonne’s mother, who is from Oregon, cheered for the University of Oregon. His dad, a Dallas native, was a Cowboys fan. Avyonne comes from a family of athletes; Derron played professional basketball in both Germany and Switzerland. The Jones siblings are athletes too; his sister played college basketball at the University of Missouri-KC, while his brother played college football at both New Mexico State and Texas Tech.
Avyonne attends Southlake Carroll High School (the Dragons) in Dallas, the former home of current OU DB Robert Barnes. He has had plenty of experienced coaches around him over the past several years. Ray Mickens, former Texas A&M and Jets defensive back, has a son at Southlake Carroll and has helped coach Avyonne in 7 on 7. Jones has been part of the Clay Mack skills group for several years, working under one of the best defensive back trainers in the country to improve skills and footwork. It was through the Clay Mack training that he met Justin Broiles. Jones loves being a Dragon and is excited to play for Coach Riley Dodge, who played college football at North Texas.
With all of his experience, he has worked at both corner and nickel. Jones is a sharp young man; when I asked him which he preferred, he revealed good insight into both positions. When playing nickel, he gets to show off his football knowledge by knowing his opponent’s routes and what’s happening on the play. At corner, he can let his athleticism shine. One player Jones has really enjoyed watching and learning from is Richard Sherman. “Although he isn’t always the fastest on the field, he breaks down offenses and knows the game really well.” Again, it’s easy to see that Avyonne is a sharp football player.
As Jones is just now coming off his freshman season, he is still getting into the recruiting scene. He has attended several camps this spring; TCU, SMU, OU, Rice, Arkansas, and Rutgers have played host to the DB. Although Rutgers may seem outside of the box, Coach Jay Valai (Rutgers CB coach) was with the Grindhouse 7 on 7 group, led by former Atlanta Falcon Kevin Mathis, that Jones played with for several years. At that camp last week, he received that elusive first offer.
Outside of the Elite Camp, Jones hasn’t had much interaction with OU, partially due to stricter communication rules for 2022 recruits at this point. However, he knows that, with almost three years to signing day, there is plenty of time to keep growing, improving, and showing what he can do. If Avyonne can keep playing like he did at the Elite Camp, the offers will be rolling in over the next few years. Avyonne Jones is one to watch for the future.
To further show how talented the young man is, he received an invite to the 2019 Prime 21 Camp today.
TFB Q & A | Andrew Raym
– Charlie S
Ok, so I know I didn’t put up an actual dropbox, that will come tomorrow for James, but a lot of you have questions about Sooners 2020 offer Andrew Raym following his visits to Georgia and Michigan and I figured I would share the answers we have.
Here is the latest on our end…
***I touched base with Andrew to get his reaction to the visits and a more precise timeline for his announcement to the school of his choosing. He told me he would be back in touch in a few days to elaborate on that which is understandable as I am sure he is tired of answering that question.
***Touched base with an OU source and from their standpoint, nothing has changed as to how they feel about where they stand with Raym and if something has changed in that regards, they are not aware of it.
***Raym still has his OU official left to take and he has previously told us he planned on using that.
Once we hear back from Raym we should be able to give you all a more accurate timeline for his announcement, but I do not see it dragging out too awfully long here now that his visits are completed.
Hale Yes OU Is QBU
– James Hale
Quarterback U Strikes Again
*** Right now it is safe to say if you are a quarterback that thinks you are pretty good and eventually you will play in the NFL then you are going to consider playing for Lincoln Riley and OU, that is if you get the chance to play for Lincoln Riley and OU.
*** That’s always the rub when it comes to Coach Riley and OU and their quarterbacks is that you are personally hand selected by Coach Riley and if the ball coach likes you and feels you are the guy then you’re going to be the only guy that he recruits.
*** The fact that Coach Riley only recruited one quarterback in the 2021 class and never wavered and never indicated that he even liked any other quarterback in the 2021 class played a big role in the nations top player for 2021 quarterback Brock Vandagriff (6’2 1/2, 199) of Bogart (Prince Avenue Christian School), Georgia committing to the Sooners.
*** “I think the biggest reason we picked Oklahoma was because of Lincoln Riley,” said Brock’s father and coach Greg Vandagriff at Prince Avenue Christian School. “It’s hard to explain but dealing with Lincoln was different than dealing with all the other coaches at any other schools. I’m not saying he was better because we have dealt with a lot of great coaches, but he just has this aura about him when it comes to quarterbacks and you get the feeling you are pretty good or special when he tells you that you are his guy and the guy he wants to be his quarterback at OU.”
*** “That is what he told Brock when he first offered him and he never deviated from that. I mean when he first offered he told us Brock was the quarterback that he wanted in the 2021 class. Then we watched it a little bit over the next couple of months because you hear all kinds of things in recruiting and this is OU that gets the very best quarterbacks in the country, and we are thinking he’s not going to offer just one guy.”
*** “Well, he stuck to his word and as the process went on Brock was his only offer Lincoln sent out for 2021 and because of that, we were developing a great relationship with him because immediately as soon as he told us that, Brock felt a special bond with him. We weren’t quite as loyal because we considered other schools and in the end, we were seriously considering Clemson and Florida, but to be honest Coach Riley and OU was always at the front of our minds because he was so committed to us.”
*** The Vandagriffs spent four days in Norman and for Brock, the fact that he got a chance to throw and work with Coach Riley at the Sooner’s summer camp was the play that closed the deal.
*** “That was really the only thing that we didn’t know about Coach Riley,” said Coach Vandagriff. “We didn’t know what it was really like to be on the field with him and to be coached by him. We had read a ton about it and we had seen all kinds of videos and articles about it, and when you coach the last two Heisman Trophy winners you know he is a great coach, but we had not seen that for ourselves.”
*** “Brock loves competing and he loves throwing so he doesn’t mind throwing at camps, but we knew throwing at OU’s camp was going to be a little different. I mean he was on an unofficial visit so he was not a normal camper but Brock doesn’t want to big-time anybody either. So early in the camp, Brock is talking with Jalen Hurts and he’s a really nice guy and telling us all about his experience at OU and was so positive that Brock was beginning to feel pretty good about OU even before he threw at the camp.”
*** “After he threw at the camp we went to Oklahoma City to watch my daughter Audrey play at Hall of Fame Stadium, and my other daughter Anna Greer was at a volleyball camp at OU. I mean my wife Kelly was the real champ because she was constantly planning on how we were going to get everywhere. So, after softball we came back to Norman Saturday night to have dinner with Lincoln and his family and after that Saturday Brock was pretty much sold on being a Sooner.”
*** “On the way home we decided to get away from it and think about it for a little bit, but all the way home all we talked about was being a Sooner and Brock was ready to do it when he got home. You know in a perfect world he would commit in February after all the coaching changes would take place but in college football, we are not living in a real world all the time. Right now Lincoln is a pretty safe bet to still be at Oklahoma during Brock’s time at OU so he called Lincoln and told him he was his guy and it feels good to get recruiting behind us so he can start working to help OU build that 2021 class and we can start working on the defense of our state championship.”
*** OU’s 2021 class is off to a great start with Vandagriff and four-star wide receiver Cody Jackson (6’0, 169) of Richmond (Foster), Texas. Jackson a dynamic talent that will be a great target for Vandagriff int he future.
*** A big factor in Vandagriff’s decision was the fact that he would be two years separated from Spencer Rattler. That’s important because each one of these quarterbacks feels like they’re the best quarterback on the roster and that they should be the starter as soon as they step on campus, and at OU they get a chance to prove that from the jump.
*** However, Coach Riley always subtly lets them know that while they will get a chance to show they are the best on the roster, that the reality will be that OU will have an established quarterback in place that will be finishing up his eligibility and that a redshirt year would be the best way for each quarterback to come into the program. Coach Riley always believes that if a quarterback can redshirt or sit out a year that would be the best way for him to get to know the OU offense.
*** The way that Vandagriff looks at it he will graduate early in 2021 and go through spring football that year with the Sooners and by then Spencer Rattler will be in his third year at OU and second year as the starter. Since all players plan to be good enough to leave after their junior year, Vandagriff would come in 2021 and redshirt that first year then backup Rattler in 2022 and then be a starter for no less than two years.
*** Of course, Tanner Mordecai would throw a monkey wrench in this whole thing and he is good enough to possibly do that, but most feel things will fall this way and the fact that Vandagriff is coming in two-years after Rattler played a big factor in his decision to commit to OU. As a sophomore Vandagriff threw for 3,180-yards and 28-touchdowns while rushing for another 1,000-yards and 23-touchdowns.
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