Open Post | Tuesday, March 28th
Posted on: March 28, 2023
Visitor Notes | Future Freaks | Updated: Sunday, 7:55 pm
– Charlie S – Posted on: March 25, 2023
Let’s get this party started…shall we?
Wanted to pass along some of the notes I picked up from a handful of visitors who were at the Future Freaks event that OU put on.
Once again, I wanted to give you a sampling of kids from guys with offers to guys without offers in both the ’24 and ’25 classes.
*Touched base with ’24 TE Decker DeGraaf who made his way from Glendora, CA to Norman for the unofficial visit despite not holding an OU offer at this point..
DeGraaf said “The visit was great!! My favorite part was meeting all the coaches in person!” He went on to say “The thing that stood out most was how personable the coaches and staff were!” When I asked him to rate the visit on a scale of one to ten, he said “My visit was a 10/10!!”
I asked him about what he saw during the practice viewing session and he said “The use of the tightends definitely stood out!”. Nice that Stogner had a big day, wasn’t it? DeGraaf went on to say “I love how Coach Finely was running the practice with the TEs!”
He went on to say that the Sooners are definitely in consideration for an official visit. My take is…they are locked in for an official after this weekend should they put that offer out there.
*Mykel Patterson McDonald was the next guy who provided some interesting information. As you know he holds an OU offer.
Patterson McDonald is a frequent visitor to campus, so I asked him how this event compared to other trips and he said “The visit went smooth and good.” He added “favorite part was practice…the intensity, everything about the practice was good. That was something I hadn’t gotten to really see yet.”
When I asked him if he would be taking an official to OU, he replied “Yessir I will”.
*Was in touch with ’24 ATH Fatu Mukuba whose family is very familiar with Brent Venables as his brother was recruited by and played for Brent at Clemson
Fatu said “The visit went great, my favorite part was getting to see the practice and how intense practice.” I asked him if anything else stood out to him and he said “yes, that they have 12 former players as Coaches.”
Mukuba told me he has already locked in plans to be at the spring game on April 22nd. OU will continue to monitor him as he hopes to land an OU offer.
*Spoke to instate ’25 running back CJ Simon. Simon does not yet hold an OU offer.
CJ said “The visit was good!” He added, ” My favorite part was watching how competitive everybody was on the practice field.”
Simon was quick to note the atmosphere of the event, despite being so large, was still impressive. He said “What stood out to me was how everyone is like a big family out there.” When I asked him to rate the visit he said “The visit was a 10/10 for sure!!”
CJ already has plans to be back in Norman for the Spring Game.
*Was in contact with ’25 DL Julian Marks out of Overland Park, Kansas who picked up his offer to OU last week.
Marks said “It was a fun visit.” He added “My favorite part was watching them in practice.”
We talked about how many people were there and how crowded things were but he told me “one thing that stood out was how detailed everything was still”. Marks gave the visit a 9 out of 10 and said he will definitely be visiting again.
*’25 DL Landon Rink made his way to Norman from Houston and he really enjoyed the visit.
Rink picked up an OU offer back in January and he said “The visit went great, I had a lot of fun and learned lots of stuff.: He added “My favorite part was meeting with coach Bates and coach Venables. When I asked him what stood out to him he said “The tempo and intensity of practice, the soul program that they have there it is something that I would love to be a part of.”
You can get a sense of the kind of recruiter Bates by Rink adding, unprompted, “I love coach Bates and I had a great meeting with him. He is a great person and coach.
Rink gave the visit a 10 and told me he will “definitely” make it to a game this fall.
*’24 DL Xavier Porter out of Tampa, Florida was a guy I was keeping an eye on as he made the trip to Norman on his own dime. Porter was offered by Bates and OU back in January.
He said “The visit was great” and added “my favorite part of the visit was when coach Bates sat us down, watched film, and really broke it down to us what he was coaching in practice.” He gave the visit a 10 as well.
What caught my eye was when he was talking about practice. Porter said “Practice was most definitely intense! It got me hyped a couple of times but I noticed that when it gets heated the coaches waste no time getting everyone back in line so they can continue practicing.” When I asked him if he would be returning to Norman, Porter said “I definitely see OU as an official visit spot for me.”
*Andrew Babalola, out of Overland Park, KS, is a ’25 OL that I knew nothing about prior to this afternoon. You’ll understand why when you read his review.
Babalola said “The visit was great. My favorite part was talking to coach B and him explaining everything about the program to me.” He added “I’m still new to the game of football because before I was solely just focused on basketball.” He’s been playing football for only 2 years. He is the definition of a project.
Andrew said “What stood out to me was the off the field success…and how when you leave OU they set you up for life. It was a 10/10 visit for me.”
I asked him about practice and he said “Yeah we watched the entire practice. The first half was individuals and then the second half was scrimmages. We got to watch from the sideline the whole time.” He went on to say, “The intensity definitely stood out. Everyone was locked in on what they were supposed to do and if you messed up coach Venables or your position coach would immediately notice it and call you out. You could just tell how high level it was and how serious they take practice.”
*’25 DL Xavier Ukponu out of Denton, TX (Guyer) was in town and got to see his former teammates in Peyton Bowen and Jackson Arnold.
Xavier said, “The visit was good.” He added, ” My favorite part was probably spring practice…what tood out is how intense practice is and the energy they bring.”
Ukponu mentioned he will be up to see his boys multiple times.
*I caught up with ’25 safety prospect Rohon Kazadi who does not hold an OU offer yet, but that did not diminish his enjoyment of the visit.
Rohon said, “The visit was great! I loved how at practice the coaches were constantly giving feedback to the players.” He added I really liked how its a family environment and how the coaches really care about the wellness of the players.”
He continued by saying “I would definitely rate the visit a 10 and I would love to come back during the season for a game.”
When I asked him about the practice he said “the practice was extremely competitive and all the players were trying to make each other better.” He added “something that stood out to me was definitely the drills they were doing and the coaching points on the drills.”
*I was eager to catch up with ’24 LB Khmori House who made the trip out to Norman from California.
House said “The visit was great!! My favorite part was by far watching the guys practice and seeing them get after it.”
He went on to say “What stood out is the kind of relationships the coaches make with their players and how much they care about them off the field.”
Kmori told me “I’m for sure coming back on an official”. He rated the trip a 9.
Now, I have been in touch with a bunch of other guys who were there and I can tell you this…no visitor gave the event anything below a 9. Thats pretty impressive for the size of the event. I’ll continue to gather more information and look for anything interesting to pass along on the coming days. But man, it sounds like the event was really successful and it has kids and families wanting to make return trips…which is what you are looking for.
Update:
Sunday, 9:00 am
*’24 Linebacker Jordan Lockhart picked up his offer the same day that his teammate Khmori House did back on March 6th.
Lockhart, who is really starting to blow up on the recruiting trail said “The visit was great! My favorite part was the people and how much Coach Venables takes a lot of pride in taking care of his players off the field and how much he demands out of his linebackers on the field and coaching them up.”
He added that he really enjoyed the time he got to spend with the linebacker coach. Lockhart said “Coach Venables along with coach Roof, who is awesome…OU is linebacker U!”
OU made a major impression on the west coast standout and he said “I would rate the visit a 10 and I am looking forward to coming back to take my official visit to OU!”
*’25 running back Cameron Settles made his way to Norman from Little Rock Arkansas. He does not hold an offer to this point but he enjoyed his visit.
Settles said “My favorite part was the position meeting. We watched a little film and picked up some knowledge.” He added “Watching the practice was an experience too! College is very fast paced”
Cam said he would like to get back to Norman in the future.
*’24 OL Kaedin Massey made his first trip down to Norman from Lyndon, Kansas.
Massey said, “It was my first time in Norman and it was great to be able to meet all the coaches in person instead of on the phone.” He added, “My favorite part was talking with coach Venables in his office.”
When we were talking about practice, Kaedin said “The aggressiveness of practice was something that stood out”.
Kaedin went on to say “My overall experience was a 7 out of 10. There were a lot of recruits there”. He also mentioned that he would like to have learned more about academics and the engineering building.
He told me that OU would most likely get an official visit, but he has some obligation to attend in June (a wedding) so the date is up in the air at this time.
*Terrance Edwards, a ’25 DB from Richmond, Virginia picked up his offer from OU last July and he made the long journey from the east coast out to Norman on his own dime for the event.
Edwards told me “The visit was great! I love OU!” He added “What stood out to me was how personal it was, there were a lot of recruits there, but it didn’t feel like it”‘
He went on to say “Coach Valai, Coach Brewer, and Coach Venables really took time with me and made me feel the OU love. They made me feel like I was a top priority for them in ’25!” He added, “I would rate the visit as a 10”.
Based on our conversations, I expect OU to get multiple visits from Edwards going forward. He said he definitely would come back for a game as he wants to experience the atmosphere.
*The Sooners were able to get ’25 DB Devin Sanchez back on campus for the event. Sanchez was offered back in July of ’22 and the Sooners view him as a priority in the class.
Sanchez said the visit went very well. He said “My favorite part was indy (individual drills) at practice and watching how it moves.” He added, “One thing that stood out was watching coach V move around and how he is in the mix with the team.”
Expect Sanchez to make multiple visits to Norman over the course of the coming year.
Update:
Sunday 12:30 pm
*Caught up with ’25 in-state tight end Nate Roberts earlier this morning following his visit to Norman yesterday.
Roberts, who has been to campus numerous times said ‘The visit was great, one of the best yet. I will be back”.
Nate told me he was very pleased to have an opportunity to sit down with the OU staff. He said “Met with Coach Venables the first thing, then I sat in on a team meeting.” He added, “Then, I sat in on the tight end meeting and got to be on the field for practice”.
The Sooners are clearly making Roberts a priority in the ’25 class and the attention he received from the entire staff did not go unnoticed.
Update:
Sunday 12:45 pm
*The Sooners got a visit from ’24 EDGE Wyatt Gilmore who made his way down to Norman from Rogers, Minnesota on his own dime.
Gilmore said he “Loved the energy of the practice and liked the intensity of the 1 on 1’s”.
He said “We expected a lot going into the visit and they delivered a lot more than we expected, I’ll just put it that way”. Gilmore went on to tell me “My favorite part of the visit was probably the practice because I got to see the coaches interact with the players and see the intensity and productivity of the practice”.
Another thing that stood out to Gilmore was SOUL mission. He said “The SOUL mission presentation stood out because I really love how much they put into serving others and helping the community.
Feels like OU made a huge impression on Gilmore who picked up his OU offer in mid-February. I really like his film definitely a dude I will be keeping close tabs on.
Update:
Sunday 1:52 pm
*Another out-of-state visitor who made it to campus yesterday was ’25 ATH offer CJ Jimcoily who made the trip from Nashville, Tennessee (Lipscomb Academy).
CJ said that the visit was ‘Superb’. Jimcoily added “I really enjoyed my time at Oklahoma learning from the coaches and the players and being brought around the facilities.” He went on to say “The vibe that made a big difference for me was the genuineness. I had conversations ranging from football to simple things and that really brought a feeling of affinity.”
CJ added “On top of that, Oklahoma is a sick program with great people and resources. I would definitely like to visit again.”
When I asked him to get specific about his favorite part of the trip, CJ said “My favorite part was actually when we were waiting to talk with Coach Venables. We sat in the lounge chatting with coaches and somehow got into talking about dating advice.” He continued by saying “This in and of itself wasn’t what caught my attention, but the fact was that this one event tipped the vibe and made me feel like I was at home, with family.”
He finished up by saying, “We laughed and joked, but that simple occurrence checked a big box for me”
Jimcoily noted that he will “definitely get down there again.”
Update:
Sunday 3:35 pm
*Touched base with ’24 QB Maj Jones out of Philadelphia, PA (St Joesph’s Prep), and safe to say he came away very impressed.
I asked him how the visit went and he said “It was definitely a 100 out of 10!” He added, “The coaches are amazing from top to bottom. It’s a family environment and the players are as dope as it gets”.
I’ll leave you with this little nugget and let you do with it what you will…Maj said, “It just seems like the right fit for me.”
I’ll have more from Maj later this week.
Added: Want to be clear and add that Jones does not plan on making any announcement until July at this time.
Update:
Sunday 7:55 pm
*’24 offensive lineman Isaiah Autry (6’6 280) out of Tupelo, Mississippi made his way to Norman without an OU offer in hand…but he left with an offer as he picked one up while on campus.
Isaiah told me “The visit went very well. My favorite part was watching the practice!” I would have figured picking up the offer would be the first thing he talked about, but that’s how much impact the practice had on these kids.
He continued by saying “What stood out to me was the engagement that they (staff) had with the players on and off the field. I was very impressed.” Isaiah then told me he would rate the visit as a 10. I asked him to share some more thoughts on the practice and he said “It was intense and exciting at the same time.”
As far as the offer goes, Autry is already planning on officially visiting OU, just needs to set a date. He said “Coach Venables offered me in his office. I was very impressed with how he spoke to me about becoming a netter man, a better athlete, and a better person.”
The Sooners have positioned themselves well here, we will see where it goes.
*Touched base with in-state ’24 athlete Kayden McGee who made the trip over to OU from Muskogee. McGee doesn’t currently hold an offer, but he said “The visit was great and I should be hearing back from them in the next couple days.”
Kayden was impressed by how much the coaches care about the players. He also said OU wants to get him back on campus ‘ASAP’ and he loved that. He rated the visit as a nine out of 10.
When I asked him to talk a little about the practice, Kayden said “They are looking like the old OU. Very physical and everybody is very active”.
Would not be shocked to see OU extend an offer here as a true athlete.
*24 DL Peter Pesansky from Tampa, Florida picked up his offer from OU back in January and he made the trip to Norman for the Future Freaks event.
Peasnsky said “The visit went great and I think I’ll be coming back again!” He continued by saying “My favorite part was meeting in coach V’s office with him, coach Bates, and my Dad. It was a great talk.”
Another thing that stood out to him was how efficiently the visit and practice went. Pesansky said “The structure and how well the coaches ran things was impressive.
He rated the visit as a 9 and an official is in the works.
Couple Notes to Keep in Mind | Graham and the Defense
– Super K – Posted on: March 22, 2023
DJ Graham and defense are no longer are a thing but a couple things I wanted to mention related to those two.
***Yesterday James mentioned that DJ Graham looked good in the first day of practice. Graham isn’t a guy who has been talked about a lot but I wanted to note that James did mention him last fall when the transition was made.
I followed up earlier this year and asked about Graham and was told that the staff does see some potential there.
I don’t know what’s going to happen with Graham but a couple things to keep in mind:
He was originally recruited by Lincoln to play WR and…
He has the skill set to be a guy who can go up take the ball from folks. He was doing that moving backwards (as a corner) so it should be even easier moving forward.
If OU could get a guy like Graham to step up and add to what they should be able to get from Farooq and Stog, that would be an excellent start.
Anyways, we shall see…
***Secondly, I want to go back to something we reported recently. Back on February 28th we talked about what sources on the OU side felt about their current roster compared to last year’s roster (HERE).
In the post, we wrote:
When commenting on the overall talent and athleticism of the current group vs. the group BV and company inherited last year…
“This group looks a lot better than last year…a lot better, a lot, a lot.”
Might have actually repeated “a lot” like four or five times.
Obviously, we’re all more cautious this season (as expected) but at least folks in the building have a frame of reference now for the talent – something they didn’t have last year. And, they seem to think it’s dramatically improved.
It’s worth revisiting this because coach Venables seems to have confirmed the above. Venables said they expect the defense to be on “another planet” compared to last year.
That’s a bold statement but you no longer have to take our source’s word for it. Coach Venables has made it crystal clear.
***Lastly, wanted to note, I was out seeing a recruit yesterday. Said recruits high school coach is a twelve year NFL vet. We talked about OU. He didn’t play at OU (played at ND) but has paid attention to OU and has had a lot of interaction with the Sooners staff.
Coach said he really thinks coach Venables and this staff are going to be successful. Might not mean anything but he certainly isn’t your average high school football coach.
Update | Post Visit Note | Vaboue Toure
– Charlie S – Posted on: March 23, 2023
As we reported last week HERE, the Sooners hosted ’24 DB Vaboue Toure for an unofficial visit this week.
Toure made his way to Norman from New Jersey on his own dime for the visit.
K spoke to an OU source who told him that the Sooners felt like they did a good job and put on a good show. OU feels like they are in a good spot with Toure following the visit. I would expect the Sooners to get him back on campus for an official visit.
Big Board | 24K Offensive Line
– Charlie S – Posted on: March 23, 2023
Continuing the roll out the class of ’24 Big Boards.
Today we will take a look at the Offensive Line board.
You can find the Running Back Big Board HERE.
You can find the Wide Receiver Big Board HERE.
At the time I am writing this, Bill Bedenbaugh and the Sooners have extended 26 offers to linemen in the class of ’24. I have broken up the offers into two groups, guys who protect as tackles and guys who project to the interior:
Projected Tackle Offers:
Max Anderson – Reedy (Frisco, TX) – 6’5 300
Brandon Baker – Mater Dei (Santa Ana, CA) – 6’5 285
Grant Brix – Logan-Magnolia (Logan, IA) – 6’6 270
Daniel Calhoun – Walton (Marietta, GA) – 6’6.5 355
Weston Davis – Beaumont United (Beaumont, TX) – 6’4 285
Marques Easley- Kankakee (Kankakee, IL) – 6’7 300
Blake Frazier – Vandegrift (Austin, TX) – 6’5 260
Ashton Funk – Tompkins (Katy, TX) – 6’7 300
Isaiah Garcia – Cyprus (Magna, UT) – 6’5 280
Kaedin Massey – Lyndon (Lyndon, KS) – 6’7 270
Nathan Roy – Mukwonago (Mukwonago, WI) – 6’5 265
Garrett Sexton – Arrowhead (Hartland, WI) – 6’7 240
Andrew Sprague – Rockhurst (Kansas City, MO) – 6’6 290
Josiah Thompson – Dillon (Dillon, SC) – 6’6 280
Michael Uini – Copperas Cove (Copperas Cove, TX) – 6’7 290
Bennett Warren – Fort Bend Christian Academy (Sugar Land, TX) – 6’7 315
Projected Interior Offers:
Liam Andrews – Dexter School (Brookline, MA) – 6’5 260
DeAndre Carter – Mater Dei (Santa Ana, CA) – 6’4 340
Daniel Cruz – Richland (North Richland Hills, TX) – 6’3.5 295
Gage Ginther – Fossil Ridge (Fort Collins, CO) – 6’6 270
Peter Jones – Malvern Preparatory School (Malvern, PA) – 6’5 289
Eddy Pierre-Louis – Tampa Catholic (Tampa, FL) – 6’3 335
Casey Poe – Lindale (Lindale, TX) – 6’5 280
Jordan Seaton – St. John’s (Washington, DC) – 6’5 287
Preston Taumua – Aiea (Aiea, HI) – 6’4 315
Jason Zandamela – Clearwater Academy International (Clearwater, FL) – 6’3 285
You sit here and look at Bedenbaughs and OU’s track record of putting guys in the league and getting them paid and think this process should be as easy as shooting fish in a barrel.
OU will likely have at least two more OL drafted early this year, which could include Bedenbaugh’s first first-round pick in Anton Harrison. Wanya Morris will likely be taken off the board in round 3-5 (he got a 2nd day grade which projected him in the 3rd round). So there will be more buzz coming out of Norman which should resound effectively with the recruits.
If you’re looking for guys that OU has pegged as high priorities, I would start by looking at Casey Poe, Daniel Cruz, Max Anderson, Grant Brix, Jordan Seaton, Bennett Warren and Marques Easly. Most of those guys have been on campus (Easley is currently on Campus) and I would wager that all of them make their way to Norman at some point.
You continue to see offers go out at the offensive line and I think it is safe to say that there will be additional offers. You very well could see a guy like Harrison Utley (6’4 275, Norman North) pick up an offer here in the spring and the board will continue to evolve.
Guys I would monitor more closely than some on that board are Bennett Warren, Daniel Cruz, Liam Andrews, Max Anderson, Andrew Sprague, Gage Ginther, Casey Poe, Marques Easley, Grant Brix, Kaedin Massey and Weston Davis. Doesn’t mean they will land at OU, but those are guys we have identified as recruits that OU is going full throttle on at this time.
I expect OU to be looking to take a full sleeve of OL, probably 3 interior guys and 2 tackles. I could see them settling for four high school recruits and then hitting the portal as well.
Update | ’24 OT Marques Easley Visit Note
– Charlie S – Posted on: March 23, 2023
As I mentioned last week HERE the Sooners were set to host a big visitor this week in the ’24 class.
Checked in with ’24 OL Marques Easley (6’7 300) throughout the day to get a sense of how things are going on his unofficial visit.
I am happy to report things have gone very, very well according to him. Easley told me that ‘everything is great about this place’ and he mentioned that the living accommodations are something that really impressed him.
The most important note, in my opinion, that I have to pass along is that he has locked in a decision to take an official visit to OU and he and Coach B will finalize that date here in the near future.
I like the way this one is heading at this time, will have more down the line.
Sourced | Team | Quick-Hitter
– Super K – Posted on: March 24, 2023
It’s a little too early in spring ball to know a lot but I did want to pass on a quick note I heard yesterday.
***Was told that the rotations are on a lot of positions right now are just based on tenure.
***I specifically asked about the WRs and the two names I heard were looking good and working with the ones were Farooq (no surpise) and Jayden Gibson (we know Jones likes big WRs).
***However, source cautioned that it’s too early as guys who are just entering the room like DJ Graham and Andrel Anthony are currently working with the 3s. I don’t expect them to remain there but as the source indicated, some of the depth stuff right now is going to change. A good example of that would be Jackson Arnold starting out working behind Beville.
***Once the pads come on we likely get a better sense of things but I did want to ask you all, what kinds of things are y’all interested in us checking on as things get rolling?
Sourced | Team Notes | Spring Ball
– Charlie S – Posted on: March 25, 2023
Just wanted to give y’all a glimpse of what’s taking place during the Sooners ‘Future Freaks’ event and sprinkle in some sourced notes.
***Source tells us that the recruits and their families were on the field for a good chunk of practice. Offensive linemen and their families would be around Bedenbaughs group, wide receivers and their families would be around Emmett Jones, Corners and their families would be on the field around Jay Valai and his group as they went through drills…etc…
***The coaches would field any questions or comments that the recruits and families had, so it was kind of an interactive situation where the recruits and their families got an up close look at how things were/will be done at OU and they got the opportunity to see their prospective position coaches in action with their players. Actually pretty cool.
***While most of the session went as noted above, the Sooners did do some live portion of practice, not an official scrimmage or anything, but they did run offense and defense.
***Source said the offense had the upper hand in part due to the fact that the defense was not tackling to the ground so the defenders were not able to fire off as they would like to.
***Was told Jackson Arnold and Dillon Gabriel threw some really nice balls during the live portion.
***Source singled out Nic Anderson, Jalil Farooq and Austin Stogner as guys that made some big plays in the pass game.
***Was told freshman RB Chapman McKown had a big pass and run play over 50 yards as a highlight during team period.
***Source told me that the defense did look really twitchy and amped up. Was told that the spacing and fits were looking solid but the fact that they weren’t tackling made it hard to judge anything really.
Sounds like it was a pretty cool experience for the recruits and families.
Aaron Flowers | Trending
– Super K – Posted on: March 25, 2023
You’ll recall back in early March we noted that 2024 Sooners safety target, Aaron Flowers (Forney, TX) would be making his decision in April (HERE).
Flowers announced today that he is set to commit on April 7th.
I did check around on this one and I believe this one is trending to the field.
I’d put the Sooners chances on this one as not particularly great at the moment. I’ll give it 25 OU 75 to the field.
