Open Post | Weekend, April 26th – 28th
Posted on: April 26, 2019
Quick Hitter | Sooners Offer 2020 JUCO DL Ali Gaye
– Charlie S
*** Earlier this week the Sooners extended an offer to 2020 JUCO Ali Gaye out of Garden City Community College in Kansas.
I was able to catch up with the 6’6″ 270 lb Defensive End and we exchanged some messages in regards to the OU offer.
Ali let me know that Coach Thibbs and he had been in contact for “a little bit” and Thibodeaux went by the school yesterday to check him out at practice and an offer followed shortly thereafter.
He added, “I wasn’t able to speak with him (Thibbs) in person, but we’ve been speaking over the phone and I’ve caught a pretty good vibe from him”.
Gaye does have one other connection to OU as the Edmonds, Washington, native let me know “I was committed to UW out of high school, and I’ve known Coach Grinch since then as he was at Washington State”.
He currently holds offers from Iowa State, Nebraska, and Kansas State.
As far as plans for a visit to Norman go, Ali is hoping to get to Norman following the semester to check things out.
*** Ali Gaye is the third JUCO DL that the Sooners have offered thus far in the 2020 cycle as he joins Perrion Winfrey (Iowa Western) and Alex Lemon (San Diego Mesa).
The Sooners defensive line recruiting continues to evolve for this cycle as OU is looking for some pieces that will give them some immediate impact next year for what will be a young position group.
Big Board | 2020 Defensive Line
– Charlie S
The Sooners will look to add three or four defensive linemen in the 2020 class. The numbers are pretty straight forward, however, the targets appear to be the moving pieces thus far.
Below is our latest big board for the defensive line. It has a lot of question marks and names which seem to change from month to month. Right now, this is what we are working with:
Perrion Winfrey – DT – 6’5″ 290 lbs. – JUCO Iowa Western – Winfrey already holds offers from several other big programs such as Mississippi State, Tennessee, Nebraska, Miami, and West Virginia. His offer list will likely expand and it was wise of OU to get in on him early as he will be a hot commodity.
Alex Lemon – DE – 6’4″ 275 lbs. – JUCO San Diego Mesa – ASU Commit – Lemon is an Arizona State commit. James is under the impression that while he plays his JUCO ball in Cali, he does have family in Arizona and by all accounts he seems happy under Herm Edwards at this time. OU is already playing from behind here but if they push, as it appears they will, they could get a visit and then things could bet interesting.
Ali Gaye – DE – 6’6″ 270 lbs. – JUCO Garden City CC – The Sooners most recent JUCO offer let me know earlier in the week that Coach Thibbs came through and saw him earlier this week and that is when the offer was extended. He mentioned he plans on getting to Norman once school gets out. He holds offers from Minnesota, Nebraska, Kansas State, and Iowa State.
All three of the JUCO offers have been visited by Coach Thibodeaux this week. Each of them has told us that they plan on visiting Norman following their semester’s end. The Sooners have been recruiting Winfrey the longest followed by Lemon and then Gaye who was just offered earlier this week.
Princely Umanmielen – DE – 6’4″ 260 lbs – Mano, TX – Princely is the one constant on this list. He has been a target for the Sooners since he appeared on the scene, regardless of who was on staff in Norman. He has visited Norman multiple times and the Sooners recently hosted Umanmielen again and he gave them rave reviews. Geography is stacked against OU however as he is in Texas’ backyard. OU will need to continue to work here to maintain their position in his top group and try to get him back on campus a few more times before he makes his decision.
Alex Huntley – DT – 6’4″ 295 lbs. – Columbia, SC – Huntley is one of those riddles. He came out to Norman for an unofficial visit earlier in the spring and really enjoyed his time. He was scheduled to officially visit for the Spring Game, however, that visit got pushed off. There is some talk about scheduling another date, and should one come up, we will let you know.
Tyler Baron – DE – 6’4.5″ 255 lbs – Knoxville, TN – Our OU sources tell us Baron is a target and while we have made contact with him, he hasn’t had a tremendous amount to say about the Sooners. He has made some unofficial visits to other schools this spring and should something come up in regards to an OU visit, we will let you know. At this point, he appears to be just a name that the Sooners are interested in and until he visits, he will remain as such.
Demarjhe Lewis – DT – 6’3″ 280 lbs. – Griffin, GA – Auburn Commit – Another name that OU has some interest in, but again, as with Baron, until there is a visit set up, it is difficult to comprehend his true level of interest in OU.
Octavious Oxendine – DT – 6’3″ 210 lbs – Radcliff, KY – Oxendine received his offer while visiting back in early April. He has mentioned that OU will likely get an official visit from him as he thoroughly enjoyed his time in Norman. Should OU choose to push here, they stand a very good chance of being in his top group through the entirety of his recruitment. If that official gets set up, we will let you know.
Jaquelin Roy – DT – 6’3.5″ 290 lbs – Baton Rouge, LA – Roy is a one time LSU commit and the Sooners are showing increased interest in him of late. Roy let me know that he holds OU in high regards and is interested in making a visit to Norman. He is also friends with 2020 DB target Major Burns who is high on the Sooners so that is helpful. He mentioned he would like to visit Norman at some point and it does not feel like he is in a rush to make a decision right now so perhaps OU could get seriously involved here should a visit take place. Getting an elite DL out of the deep south is a daunting task for sure so we will see how far this progresses.
Vernon Broughton – DT – 6’5″ 285 lbs. – Houston, TX – You all know about Broughton. He was a big target for the Sooners early on. However, at this point, while they may be mentioned on occasion, we do not feel that the Sooners are big players here any longer. Broughton has LSU connections and Texas A&m and Texas have most of his attention. Things could change, but right now, the Sooners are playing from way behind and I believe they know it.
Blayne Toll – DE – 6’5″ 245 lbs. – Hazen, AR – Is he an edge? Is he a DE? Is he a TE? I included him on this list because after watching his film, I see him as a DE (a more athletic Kenneth Mann at similar points in their high school careers). Either way, my inclusion of him on this list is a good example of how muddied the DL is in this cycle. Toll visited Norman recently and the Sooners hold all of the momentum in his recruitment right now. He plans on taking some other visits so things may slow down a bit with him but we do like where OU sits here.
Alfred Collins – DE – 6’5″ 250 – Bastrop, TX – Collins is a Texas legacy, let’s get that out of the way off the top. His mom played basketball there. The Sooners hosted him and his family for a practice this spring and they really enjoyed the experience. That being said, once again the Sooners find themselves fighting against the circumstances of a kid who has serious ties to another school. The Sooners could be in line for an official visit here, but Super K will likely be seeing him in the near future which will help us get a clearer picture.
Antwaun Powell – 6’3″ 235 – Portsmouth, VA – Powell took his official visit to Norman for the Spring Game and loved it. The Sooners cemented their position in his top group (may even be at the very top right now) and he has no timeline for a decision right now, but he also has no other visit plans set. I would compare his recruitment to Joseph Wete last year in regards to the Sooners making a huge impact which was clear when Joseph woke up one day and decided it was time to make the call and he chose the Sooners. I am set to speak with Powell again next week to get a full spotlight piece on him, so I will have a better feel for him following the post-visit high.
There are a few other names out there like Jason Harris (Gilbert, AZ), Alec Bryant (Pearland, TX), Jacolbe Cowan (Charlotte, NC), Warren Brinson (IMG), and James Sylvester (Newton, TX) to name a few.
Right now, I would pay attention to what goes on with the JUCO guys as the Sooners are certainly making them a priority. As far as the High School kids go, I think OU is in the best shape with Umanmielen, Powell, and Toll (if he is a DL).
We will continue to dig on the defensive line as right now, as I have mentioned before, it is quite a puzzle.
2020 Quarterback & Running Backs Intel
– Super K
A couple of positions I want to address and I’ll expand on individual players in separate write-ups. But want to make a few notes that may be on some of your minds – as they have been on mine.
***First, with respect to a 2020 QB, I’ve continued to check with sources on this and continue to hear the same thing back – namely that OU hasn’t made a decision about what they are going to do about the 2020 QB situation.
As I’ve previously noted, things could fall apart at USC which would put them back in the mix for Bryce Young. But outside of him, the rest of the names, as far as OU offering, are currently just…names…from what I’m told.
***With respect to running back, this one is interesting because OU has a commitment from an elite back and they are in strong positions with at least…
Kendall Milton
Chris Tyree
Seth McGowan
McGowan will be up in May and I’m told that even though the Sooners are in a good spot for others, the OU staff wants to give Seth a real chance to be a Sooner.
If (and I don’t know how likely it is) that were to happen, I’m told it wouldn’t necessarily close to door on Tyree given how different Tyree is as a player. He’s probably the fastest back in the country and brings a different skill set in terms of his ability to play in the backfield and line up in the slot. Tyree has told me on multiple occasions that OU likens him in some ways to Joe Mixon, though obviously Tyree isn’t as big but is certainly faster.
You also have Bijan Robinson still out there who is an elite back out of AZ that has long said he wants to OV to OU before he makes a decision. His family tells me that he will make his decision in the summer.
At defensive back and the running back position, Oklahoma has the good kind of problems.
Name To Know | 2020 JUCO Offensive Tackle Kilian Zierer
– Charlie S
Earlier this week, Sooners Defensive Back Coach Roy Manning visited Hollywood Browns old stomping grounds, the College of the Canyons in Santa Clarita, California.
While the obvious reaction to that news would be “They stopped by to check on wide receiver Brandon Pierce”, it turns out he actually stopped by to check out a number of prospects including 2020 offensive tackle Kilian Zierer.
I reached out to Zierer who let me know he is currently 6’7″ and 295 lbs. That is a massive human being who actually came out of high school as a Tight End Prospect.
On that note, Lane Johnson’s path to the NFL is obviously well known as Kilian mentioned that he knew that Johnson was a QB and Tight End at one point prior to moving positions at OU and then going on to have a long and successful NFL career.
Zierer also let me know that he is a December graduate and will be enrolling early wherever he goes which would fit in very nicely with the Sooners needs at offensive line.
It is very early in the relationship between OU and Zierer but the magnitude of the Sooners showing interest is not lost on him as he said, “That would be the opportunity of a lifetime.”
As I said, just a name to know and should any other developments arise between him and OU, we will let you know!
Akinola Ogunbiyi | Thoughts
– Super K
You all know that I’ve been saying since last summer that OU had a very good chance of landing 2020 OL, Akinola Ogunbiyi. When he was committed to Texas A&M, I still held that belief.
I held that belief because I’ve spoken to Akinola face to face and on the phone on numerous occasions, and he was very open with his feelings about Oklahoma even though much of it was off the record.
In fact, he told me as far back as last fall that he would eventually decommit from Texas A&M.
One of the reasons he remained committed to Texas A&M so long was in order to be close to his mother. Aki’s mother has some health issues (not our place to comment on) and I know that being close to her was a priority for him.
Before his Oklahoma trip, he told me that the trip was about making sure mother felt comfortable at OU. After the trip he said she loved it. I spoke to sources inside the building and was told that Annie Hanson personally wheeled Aki’s mother around the whole weekend. In fact, I spoke to someone who was on the visit who randomly commented on that and said…
”Annie Hanson was pushing the mom around (in a wheelchair) the whole time. It was amazing. The way they treated his mom was incredible and you could tell they loved it”.
We had this one covered from every angle.
In fact, before Aki even took his unofficial visit to Georgia, he had told me was only going because of how much pressure they were putting on him. And when he came back from that first visit, it didn’t seem like they even made a dent in Oklahoma’s lead.
Oklahoma is producing NFL offensive linemen at a ridiculous clip right now and they’re not doing it with 5-star players. Cody Ford’s biggest offer was TCU. Powers was a JUCO guy.
Oklahoma is coming off another Big 12 title and another playoff appearance.
OU had proximity on Georgia. They had the relationships. The player and his mother loved OU. Aki had been to OU on multiple occasions from as far back as last year’s BBQ. He had told me as far back as last year’s BBQ that he’d likely end up at OU.
I say all that (and I could say more) to say that Bill Bedenbaugh and Oklahoma won this recruitment and somehow ended up losing.
Everything in recruiting logic told you Aki ends up at Oklahoma.
But he’s committed to Georgia.
2019 NFL Draft Discussion
– Charlie S
Kyler Murray was the first pick in the 2019 NFL Draft and Marquise Brown was the 25th pick which gave the Sooners two first round draft choices last night.
Murray followed Baker Mayfield from last year to become the first pair of quarterbacks to be taken number one overall in back to back years to come out of the same school. That is just unreal production from OU.
The Draft continues later today and concludes later this weekend and there are 6-8 additional Sooners who may have the chance to hear their name called!
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