The Football Brainiacs

– Anthony Hines: Earlier this week, Greg Powers of Scout.com reported that Anthony Hines will visit Penn State this weekend. We had recently been told by Hines’ father that they would be in Norman for the OU vs. Ohio State game. We were able to confirm via a source close to the Hines family that those plans have indeed changed and that Anthony is no longer expected to visit OU this weekend.

We were also told that the Sooners are a bit back in the race now. Texas A&M and Texas are currently the two favorites. It seems Hines is a little concerned about the number of linebackers already committed to Oklahoma.

Having said that, the Sooners do feel good about Phillips and we continue to hear that it will likely come down to a battle between OU and Alabama. Phillips feels very comfortable in Norman but obviously Tuscaloosa is significantly closer for the Phillips family which we are told is going to help Alabama. – (Super K & Brandon)

– K’Lavon Chaisson: I checked in again with Chaisson’s coach and the trip this weekend remains a go. I only confirm it because as of a week or so ago, Chaisson had told a number of people including writers that he was no longer interested in Oklahoma. Clearly whatever issues there were, OU has done a good job of clearing it up. – (Super K)

– Team Note | Attitude: Was asked yesterday in the ‘Town Hall’ about the teams attitude this week of practice leading up to the Ohio State game. Nothing earth shattering here or anything unexpected given the magnitude of this game but was told, “There’s a focus. Everyone is locked in and there’s an emphasis on running to the ball on defense and finishing the plays on both sides of the ball”.

There are definitely some positions on the field where the Buckeyes will have talent advantages. Oklahoma will absolutely need to be fully “locked in” this week to ensure that they are prepared to play without hesitation. Beyond that, effort and attitude can mask a plethora of weaknesses. – (Super K)

– Team Note | Parrish Cobb: Have been told, Cobb is having a great week of practice so far. He and whoever else rotates at the cornerback spot are going to be critical in this game. There is little doubt, Meyer is going to test that side early and often. No word on who the starter will be but based on how well I’ve heard Cobb is doing, I’d be a bit surprised if it wasn’t Cobb.

Having said that, I’m told Dakota is back in the rotation in terms of getting reps. He wasn’t getting many at all last week. He’s still not getting a ton but is getting some. – (Super K)

– Team Note | Kyler Murray: Kyler Murray’s chance to get on the field is still a ways away. But given the number of talented running quarterbacks the Sooners have to face this year, Murray has been a more than sufficient decoy. In fact, one could argue that Murray is more athletic than any quarterback the Sooners will face.

I spoke to a couple sources about Murray just to get a feel for how he’s looked against the first team defense. This is the gist of what I was told…

No surprise but there was a lot of talk about his athleticism. He is truly an elite athlete and one person talked about how on multiple occasions he’s made first team linebackers look silly. In fact source particularly mentioned him freezing guys like Obo and Jordan Evans.

“He drops dimes”…a lot was said about his ability to throw the ball as well. One person actually said he’s every bit as accurate as Mayfield. Another person wasn’t prepared to go that far but said he is accurate. One source said that at times he will fit balls into extremely tight windows. The same source mentioned a specific time when Kyler side armed a ball “effortlessly” and squeezed it into a tight window…”everyone was just kind of looking and wondering how he did that”. Apparently he routinely makes throws that have people saying, “wow”.

One source also noted, “he’s a winner”. Everyone knows how much he won in high school. His college career is limited to what we saw at Texas A&M. But what this particular person was talking about is his ability to win in practice…to compete each snap and win more often than not. – (Super K)

– Team Note | Charles Walker: Walker still isn’t full go at practice. I was told he was mostly taken in yesterday to lift weights. He doesn’t seem to be doing any work in team period, etc. We will continue to check on him throughout the week. HC Stoops mentioned in his presser that they expect him to be ready for the game this weekend. – (Super K)