Open Post | Wednesday, June 6th

– Oklahoma has really been working to establish themselves as players in the recruiting game in the DMV area over the last several years. The Sooners have pulled players like Charles Tapper, Abdul Adams, Parnell Motley and Will Johnson out of the region recently. This focus continues to pay off as Oklahoma landed 2019 OLB Joseph Weté out of the region just two days ago.

All of this, coupled with the aggressive nature of the staff in that area, has made it very noticeable that OU is looking to entrench themselves as one of the top college destinations for the elite recruits in the area.

One such player that OU is working hard to land, is 2020 Washington DC defensive back Luke Hill. Hill released a top 10 last night that included OU.

I caught up with Luke after he tweeted out his top list. Hill said that Sooners defensive backs coach, Kerry Cooks, Shane Beamer (who has deeply rooted connections in that area) and head coach, Lincoln Riley, all have a strong relationship with him, and they talk quite a bit with Hill on a regular basis.

Hill said that the relationships were a key reason in the Sooners making the top 10, but he went on and said something even more intriguing that left me, and probably you the reader, wondering exactly what he meant when he stated, “Oklahoma is favored because of the high level that they perform every year. They also have a strong defensive back history. I value that type of stuff.”

With me wondering what he meant, and not really wanting to press him too much, I asked if he was good friends with newly committed OLB Joseph Weté. Hill stated, “We are friends. I don’t know him too him well, but we talk some.” That will probably change over the next few months as I am sure Weté will work on helping OU land others from the DMV (Delaware, Maryland, Virginia since it gets asked about a lot when we post it).

As far as visits go? Well, Hill informed me that he and his five star St. Johns College HS OLB/DE teammate, Mekhail Sherman, will be visiting Oklahoma for the ChampU BBQ in late July. The addition of those two make that day even bigger than it was already turning out to be.

I am working to confirm with Sherman that he will be visiting. Regardless, getting Hill on campus is another big time player that Sooners defensive backs coach, Kerry Cooks, has put himself in position to land. OU fans are hoping he does just that. – (Brandon)

 


 

– Oklahoma is still working on landing a few more defensive lineman. I spoke, briefly, with St Johns Bosco High School DL, Suaava Poti recently. Poti said he is working to schedule an official visit for his bye weekend on September 20th-22nd, and be able to come to the Sooners game versus Army.

Poti is teammates with one of the Sooners top 2019 defensive back targets, Chris Steele. Poti says Steele has done nothing but talk up OU to him saying, “He loved it in Norman. He loves that staff too.” Poti said that he and OU head coach Lincoln Riley “speak often”.

Poti did say that he plans on committing on June 17th, but that won’t hinder his plans to visit OU in September when he gets the visit set up.

My Take: Probably staying on west coast. I don’t know exactly where OU sees Poti in their list of DL they are recruiting, so he may be one that they are letting visit and keeping in contact with in case they want to push him later on. – (Brandon)

 


 

– Sooners offensive line coach, Bill Bedenbaugh, is looking to finalize his 2019 OL class over the next few months. One player Bedenbaugh is working on is 2019 St. Louis (MO) OL Ira Henry.

Henry and I spoke about OU the other day. Henry said that OU is one of his top schools and that he was invited to the ChampU BBQ and is working to make plans so that he can attend the even in late July.

Henry also noted that he would like to narrow his list “way down” before the start of his junior year. He added “OU will be on my narrowed down list.” – (Brandon)

 


 

– Sooners knew, when they offered 2019 Houston (TX) DL, Kori Roberson Jr, that once the world of college football found out about him, they were going to have to hold off a ton of other schools. So far…so good.

Roberson committed to the Sooners in February and has since seen Alabama, Tennessee, Georgia and a host of other schools offer him.

I caught up with Roberson recently and asked if he was solid to OU still. Roberson was quick to answer with “of course”. Roberson then added that he will be visiting OU for their ChampU BBQ in July.

The BBQ will be Roberson’s third visit to Oklahoma in last 4 months. That is quite the jaunt from Houston area on your own dime.

Roberson said official will be taken during the season and that he can’t wait to be a Sooner come December, and so far he has held his end if the deal staying solid to Oklahoma, despite all the national attention. – (Brandon)

 


 

– Oklahoma has hosted 2020 Mater Dei HS quarterback, Bryce Young, on several occasions already. Still, Young and his family are set to visit OU, yet again, for the ChampU BBQ in late July. Young has visited Oklahoma on three other occasions, so this will be more of a comfort thing for Young, according to his father Craig.

Craig also said that Young will announce his commitment in July-Early August, so one last visit to OU is something they are looking forward to, “We aren’t in this for the offers. We want Bryce to be comfortable with his decision and try and find the best situation, both academically and football-wise, for Bryce.” Craig went on to say, “We have things narrowed down pretty well, and we feel like we have a great set of schools he is going to choose between.”

The elder Young ended our conversation saying that, “Bryce making an early decision will allow him to focus on his junior and senior years. No distractions.”

Oklahoma fans will be hoping that the visit in July seals the deal with the elite 2020 QB. Regardless, a decision is coming soon and if OU is to land Young, it will allow Riley to focus in on who he wants in the 2021 class and let OU have the biggest foundational piece you can have set in stone early…the quarterback position. – (Brandon)

 


 

– We have previously reported here, and here that Tramonda Moore was good to go, and it was just a matter of when he would arrive on campus.

That information has now been visually confirmed by Bob Przybylo of Sooner Scoop, as he was able to get a picture of Tramonda at the Lincoln Riley camp yesterday.

The junior offensive lineman (3 years to play 2 seasons) could prove to be an integral part of Coach Bedenbaugh’s Offensive Line rotation almost immediately, as he has the talent and size to play tackle or guard. – (Charlie)

 


 

– As for the remaining two signees (Ron Tatum & Darrell Simpson) we expect to make it in; We will bring you news about when we expect them to arrive as it comes in. To be clear, we do expect both Tatum and Simpson to make it in at this point – (Charlie)

 


 

– Yesterday was a scary day for Sooners fans. One person, however, never wavered in his confidence that Kyler Murray would be playing QB at OU for the 2018 season.

Despite growing talk that Murray would be a first round pick, Riley, as recently as Tulsa Sooners Caravan, spoke about being sure Murray would be playing QB next year and had no worries.

That confidence was proven warranted as Murray announced he would “definitely be playing football this fall”.

Riley put out a statement this evening regarding Murray and the football-baseball situation:

“As Kyler and I discussed prior to the Major League Baseball Draft, we’re excited to have him here with us for this upcoming football season. We’re looking forward to getting him back around our team this summer, and he’s excited to get into workouts and help us continue to pursue another championship. We’re also equally excited for his opportunity with Major League Baseball and being the ninth pick in the draft. It’s a great honor for him and he’s going to have some great options going forward”. – (Brandon)