Open Post | Wednesday, July 25th By: The Brainiacs Posted on: July 25, 2018

Wide Receivers | Borrowing Bakers Chip
– Michael Kinney

Oklahoma receivers are playing the respect card

During Big 12 Media Days last week, Riley said the receivers needed to step up this season as a group. That seems to be the sentiment going around the entire group.

“I feel like we have a lot to prove this year,” Cedarian Lamb said. “A lot of people are doubting us right now. We don’t need all the praises right now. We just need to come out and show everybody what we can do as a group.”

For junior Marquise Brown, he already knew that a lot was riding on the shoulders of the receivers before Riley told the media.

“I expect a lot out of me and all the receivers also,” Brown said. “I tell them every day that I want us to be that group. No doubt about, when something needs to be done, I want us to make it happen.”

If you would like to read Charlie’s “My Take” on the WR’s, please click the donor link!

 

 

Cam’Ron Kelly Back on the Market | Bullet Point Breakdown
– Super

As many of you know by now, 2019 DB Cam’Ron Kelly (Chesapeake, VA) is back on the market. He announced his decommitment from Virginia Tech, this past weekend.

Here’s what I’m hearing on the Kelly front…

*First, Kelly is a big corner who plays both ways. Sooners prefer players with diverse skill sets. I’m told Kelly is someone that can play multiple positions but the Sooners like him as an inside guy. So, a possible safety if cornerback doesn’t work out.

*Sooners are recruiting him but it’s still a numbers game and there are multiple talented DBs that Oklahoma leads for and could press for a commitment if they wanted.

*I am told that Kelly would prefer to leave the east coast and play somewhere in the middle of the country or on the west coast. Schools that have been mentioned as programs he’s focused on are OU, Washington, Cal and Washington State.

*It doesn’t sound like a recommitment back to VT is likely.

*I think if the Sooners want to push here, they’re in a good spot.

 

 

QB Competition | Fact or Fiction? 
– Michael Kinney

The Sooners insist that the QB competition is close.

Both Austin Kendall and Kyler Murray were among the 15 players on hand for media day. Having both quarterbacks take part in the event helps reinforce Lincoln Riley’s assertion that neither has won the starting quarterback spot yet.

Their teammates also added credence to that theory.

“For people to just cancel Austin out, it’s pretty crazy because they don’t know what’s happening, what we’ve been doing or how the battle is going,” sophomore receiver CeeDee Lamb said. “From the outside looking in, it’s easy to tell, but you never know what’s going on behind the scenes. The battle is going good.”

Junior linebacker Caleb Kelly has had to go against both quarterbacks in practice. He says their unique skill sets have made this a difficult race to see who will be named the starter.

“It’s a really good competition,” Caleb Kelly said. “Everyone wants to just name it right now, just name who the starter is, but it really is a competition. We aren’t just saying that for the media. Both of those guys can start at the Division I level.”

No matter who wins the job, Murray insists the quarterback room will be drama free.

“There is no beef in the quarterback room,” Murray said. “It’s all competition. Everyone comes in ready to work, not being mad at one another when he gets more reps. This game is not friendly to everyone. At the end of the day, somebody is going to win the job, somebody is going to be the starter. You are a competitor, you play football, obviously, you want to be the guy. There’s going to be a little feelings at the end of the deal. But we’re friends at the end of the day.”

For Super K’s “Insider Note”, check out the Donor Board link.

 

 

Shammond Cooper Visiting OU for the BBQ
– Super K

It looks like the Sooners and 2019 LB, Shammond Cooper are back in business. Cooper’s father recently confirmed that they will be in Norman this Friday for the BBQ.

Communication between the Sooners and Cooper had slowed. It appeared there was a numbers crunch and Oklahoma was only going to have room for one linebacker in Jonathan Perkins.

The BBQ is an exclusive event only for OU’s top targets (you’d be surprised by the names of guys that want to come but aren’t being invited). So, this is a clear sign that things are back on track with Cooper and the Sooners.

 

 

New Staff Hire | Timeline Update
– Super K

We are still waiting on the announcement for the new staff hire who will replace Eric Striker, though I suspect most of you have figured it out by now.

The latest we’ve been told is that things “should be official by Thursday”.

Does that mean an announcement will be made? Not necessarily. Dealing with administrators is about like dealing with recruits, things can change pretty quickly. But, it’s my understanding the job posting will have run it’s course by then and the hire can be made official.

It doesn’t look like we will know if the new hire can make it in for the BBQ or not. I don’t anticipate that being known till the last minute.

 

 

Quick Hitter | 2020 DT Marcus Dumervil | Offer
– Charlie S

– Sooners extended an offer to elite 2020 defensive tackle Marcus Dumervil out of St Thomas Aquinas (Fort Lauderdale, FL)

Dumervil is teammates with Sooners 2018 defensive back verbal commit Jaden Davis and also played with current OU outside linebacker, Nik Bonitto at St. Thomas. While he is obviously an elite player who holds offers from across the country, his recruitment by the Sooners is a clear sign that OU will continue to try to capitalize on the momentum they have built in South Florida. The Sooners have landed commitments from the powerhouse program in back-to-back years and Dumervil represents an opportunity for a three-peat.

I caught up with him very briefly and when I asked him if he planned to visit Norman, he said: “Yes I do, just not sure when”. So while this won’t get you pumped up for the BBQ, it should be something that you keep an eye on going forward as he also mentioned that having Bonitto and Davis in Norman provides him with a “comfortability factor”.

I plan on speaking to him again in the near future and I will keep you updated.

 

 

Kenny McIntosh Cancels OU Visit But…
– Super K

Last week, 2019 RB, Kenny McIntosh (Fort Lauderdale, FL) confirmed he would be heading to Norman this upcoming weekend for the BBQ. However, he has told us that the visit will no longer happen. I’m told there was trouble with the travel arrangements.

I’ve spoken to a few sources on this including a source inside the building at Miami.

So let’s break this down:

***This is a battle between Miami and OU. You probably figured that by now but want to make sure that’s clear.

***Sources on the OU side feel good about where they stand but obviously, until he gets on campus there is only so much you can know.

***Interestingly, Miami feels really good about where they stand.

***One of the reasons they like their chances is because Kenny’s older brother, RJ McIntosh played on the defensive line at Miami and was just recently drafted in the 5th round. That’s a pretty strong tie to Miami to go along with it being his hometown school.

***So, why hasn’t McIntosh pulled the trigger yet? The answer I was given is that he still wants to see OU and perhaps even more importantly, he sees a logjam at running back at Miami. Source said he’s very cognizant of the fact that there don’t appear to be any spots in the rotation opening up. Whereas Oklahoma’s starting running back, Rodney Anderson, will depart this season and Abdul Adams transferred. In other words the, depth situation is more appealing at OU.

***The fact that McIntosh, despite the ties to Miami and despite the fact that he plays a position that you generally see make early commitments, hasn’t committed would appear to corroborate the hesitations noted above. I did check with my source on the Miami side to see if they’ve been given any indication about when McIntosh may make a decision and was told that they have not received word on that yet.

***So, as of today, I was told that McIntosh still wants to visit OU and a visit is still in the works though it may end up being an early season official visit. We’re working to get additional confirmation on this.

 

 

Getting To Know Sooners JUCO Visitor
– Charlie S

Jacoby Jones, the nation’s number one junior college strongside defensive end will be visiting Norman for the ChampU BBQ on July 28th. I was able to catch up with him this afternoon to dig a little deeper into his recruitment.

Jones was lightly recruited out of high school, which is how he made his way to Butler. I mentioned that I saw him in the Netflix documentary Last Chance U, season three while playing against Independence CC and he proudly noted: “haha yeah I made the game-saving sack in that game to close out the win”.

Jacoby, who will be finishing up his career at Butler CC in Kansas this December, told me that the relationship between him and Coach Thibodeaux has come together quickly. The pair has been talking for “a couple of weeks now” according to Jones.

I asked him to go into detail a bit about his journey in order to give you all some insight into the route he has taken from holding very few division one offers coming out of high school to being the number one defensive end in the country as he is preparing to leave Butler.

He said, “It’s a blessing and I feel like I finally have what I’ve been working for and getting here only makes me want to work harder.” I then asked him to characterize his time spent in JUCO and he replied with a simple, yet very poignant statement,

“Only the strong survive”.

We shifted gears a bit and I asked him about his relationship with Coach Thibbs, he said “Coach Thibbs, he’s a real nice guy. He means business and says it how it is.”. He added, “We talk about life out of football, that means a lot. He’s more than a coach, he’s like a mentor and that’s big”.

As far as his thoughts on the Sooners as a program, Jacoby said “OU is a big-time program. They are right up there next to Bama.”

Jones has taken an official visit to North Carolina State as well as an unofficial to Texas. When we started talking about his upcoming visit to Norman, I asked Jacoby how it all came together so quickly,

“I was supposed to go down to Texas for their event, but then this came up and I wasn’t able to make it down to Texas”.

He will be coming in with his uncle and his uncle’s wife and they will stay the night before driving back on Sunday.

As far as what Jones is most curious about in regards to the visit, he said he is looking to take in the atmosphere of Norman and “see if I’m comfortable”. One thing that could help in regards to being comfortable is that Jones is already familiar with one Sooner, in particular, Ronnie Perkins.

As I mentioned in my previous thread on Jones, he currently does not hold an OU offer, but in speaking with a source on the OU side, that almost seems to be semantics at this point as the Sooners are very interested in him and he has clearly become a priority. It would not surprise me at all to see Jacoby Jones leaves Norman with an offer in hand…the question is, will he leave Norman as a Sooner?

We will have to wait on that!

For Charlie’s Insider Note on Jacoby Jones, please click the Donor Board link!

Also, for our latest Insider Notes on Dax Hill, please click the Donor Link!