Open Post | Weekend, April 5th – 7th
Posted on: April 5, 2024
Working Visitor List | Heisman Hangout | April 6th
– Charlie S – Posted on: April 4, 2024
The Sooners will host another large recruiting event this weekend.
Below you will find our working list of those OU expects to be on campus.
Right now, our working list will focus on class of ’25 kids, but there will be a bunch of ’26 kids on campus as well.
Just because a name is not on a list, it does not mean they will not be in town and conversely, some of those listed will not make it in for one reason or another.
We will update the list when appropriate!
25 LB Dawson Merritt – Stillwell, KS – Visiting April 4th (Today)
25 DL Christian Evans – Ashburn, VA
25 CB Courtland Guillory – Spring, TX
25 CB Maliek Hawkins – McKinney, TX
25 OL Owen Hollenbeck – OU commit
25 LB Ty Jackson – Loxahatchee, FL
25 OL Antoni Ogumoro – Elgin, OK
25 DL Ryshawn Perry – Covington, GA
25 DL Kade Pietrzak – West Fargo, ND
25 DE Alex Shieldnight – OU commit
25 ATH Seaonta Stewart – Cincinnati, OH
25 S Marcus Wimberly – Bauxite, AR
25 CB Cobey Sellers – Pearland, TX – is still finalizing his plans (as K reported earlier this week) and is not sure if he will be on campus.
Chavis may Decide the Fate of the Defense
– Super K – Posted on: April 2, 2024
Defensive coordinators will tell you, if you’ve got a corner and a defensive end, you can play decent defense.
Essentially meaning, if you have someone that can play man, then you can protect the other side. And if you have someone that can set the edge and rush the passer, you can mask deficiencies in the middle and bring A/B gap pressure to get to the QB.
But if it takes at least those two things to play decent defense, then if you’re missing either one of those things, then you’re in trouble.
This defense certainly has some bright spots. The safety play should be good. The linebacker play should be good. The cornerback play should be good. The DT play is a question mark but they’ve got some talent to work with and Brent can do some things with his talented second and third level guys to help early in the season.
But perhaps the most talented room on the entire team is where you really need it, at defensive end. There are multiple potential early draft pick type guys in that room.
And it struck me that given how consequential that position is and given just how talented that room is, Brent’s fate on defense may come down to a guy he took a chance on in Chavis. Brent gave Chavis his first on the field role and Chavis’ is going to have ample opportunity to show Brent that he made the right decision.
It may seem reductive but I think it’s actually fair to say that Chavis’ ability to get his guys coached up may be the single most important factor in whether or not OU can field a good defense this season.
’25 DT Trenton Wilson Timeline
– Charlie S – Posted on: April 3, 2024
Sooners ’25 priority DT target Trenton Wilson will announce his commitment to the school of his choosing on April 10th. One week from today.
Exactly one month prior to his scheduled announcement date (March 10th), I caught up with a source close to this recruitment who told me “Oklahoma came into the weekend in a good spot with Wilson and source said ‘They may have put themselves in a spot where they can’t be caught’ in reference to the other programs coming for him.”
Yesterday morning before the flurry of predictions for Wilson to OU I noted “I will keep this one trending to OU at a 58.72 clip.”
Move over Banderas, 58.72 rules the day.
Half Way Point of Spring Ball | Standouts, Stepping Up and More
– Charlie S – Posted on: April 4, 2024
The Sooners are about to pass the halfway point of spring ball with practice number eight today and they will be having a scrimmage as they hit and pass the halfway point of their 15 allotted spring practices.
Thought it would be interesting to recap the first half of spring with some accolades based on sourcing and observations.
Not something to read a lot into, and opinions will vary, but it will be fun to see if these trends continue on the backend of spring for the guys who are excelling and if the guys who have been quiet can pick it up a notch.
Offense:
Star of the show – Deion Burks & Bauer Sharp – The two portal additions have been the talk of camp on the offensive side. The additions of Sharp and Burks appear to have been just what the doctor ordered as they both present excellent options for Jackson Arnold in the slots and they have been big play machines throughout spring practice. Hopefully, they are just scratching the surface and will get better and better. As I mentioned in the comment section of a previous thread, had a source tell me “OU ain’t had one like this since Hollywood” in regard to Burks. Sharp is a guy who makes 3-4 big plays every day and is developing a tremendous relationship with Jackson Arnold.
Quietly Making Noise – JJ Hester & Heath Ozaeta – Many of you saw the catch JJ Hester made the other day, was quite an impressive one-hander, but he has not been a one trick pony. Sources have consistently mentioned him as a guy who has been having a good camp. Ozaeta is a guy who isn’t really surprising, but at the same time…is surprising. We heard a lot of noise about him toward the end of last season and throughout winter training, but it looks like the young IOL is going to be a factor in the rotation at the very least if he’s not winning a starting spot outright…which right now he looks to be doing.
Wouldn’t hate to see them pick it up a notch – Josh Bates & Jackson Arnold – With Troy Everett going down for the spring and summer at the very least, until/unless OU makes a move in the portal or a position change from the existing guys, Bates is your center. There is no questioning his grit and drive, dude is a mauler, but he has had some struggles with snaps, and that impacts the entire offense. Hope to hear he cleans that up as spring progresses. As for Jackson Arnold, I know a lot of people will push the panic button on this one…don’t. I am not knocking Jackson and by all accounts, he has been progressing in both a leadership role and as a quarterback. We just have not heard the continuous praise in regard to his play that you become accustomed to from the QB at Oklahoma, so having a little sunshine thrown our way over the back half of the spring would be welcomed. Would like to hear about him ‘going off’ for a couple of practices in a row instead of just “he’s been good”.
Young guys (underclassmen) stepping up – Jaquaizie Pettaway & Ivan Carreon – Last season Pettaway had Drake Stoops solidly in front of him and Gavin Freeman picked up most of the scraps that were left over. However, he had one game (one half really) where he got the opportunity and made the most of it with a 9 catch performance against Arkansas State. Pettaway finds himself once again behind a stud in Deion Burks, but it sounds like he has firmly established himself as a guy in the rotation and he has been consistent and explosive throughout the spring. Ivan Carreon, a freshman, has come in and made some big plays in the pass game as he provides a mismatch with his size whenever he is on the field. He has been excelling in the red zone work by high-pointing the ball. He has even been a guy working at punt return, so he is displaying some versatility there.
Defense
Star of the show – Danny Stutsman & Dasan McCullough – “Danny is the glue’ is a phrase that is used on almost a daily basis. Stutsman came back to Norman and put off the NFL dreams for one last season and by all accounts, he is working hard to make that pay off. Stutsman is the leader on the field and the emotional leader of the entire team off the field and he is having another strong spring. Dasan McCullough, despite missing a day here and there, has been a wrecking crew, particularly in the live drills. He has caused multiple fumbles and has been incredibly effective in rushing the passer. He has even gotten his hands on a few balls. It’s kind of wild that he is a man without a dedicated position really as he has been working at both Cheetah and WILL. Very interested in seeing how he is used when the ball is kicked off in the fall.
Quietly Making Noise – Davon Sears & Lewis Carter – Yeah, Davon Sears, you remember him right? Sears has quietly been having a good spring and has shown development in regard to understanding his assignments. Sears is very quick off the ball, very strong, and if things continue to click for him on the mental side, he has a chance to alleviate some of the angst that the loss of Jacob Lacey created. Lewis Carter is a guy who has been making plays all spring. Carter has been playing Cheetah and WILL and you know how stacked those rooms are, so he is just going out there and forcing his way into the rotation. The OU LB/Cheetah room is a luxury not many teams have in regard to high end talent and Carter is out here standing out through the first half of the spring.
Wouldn’t hate to see them pick it up – Peyton Bowen & PJ Adebawore – Again, do not push any panic buttons as this is just something that is on the ‘wish list’. Peyton Bowen missed a significant portion of the first half of spring ball, so naturally, it would be nice to see him pick it up over the course of the second half of the spring. As for PJ Adebawore, again, he is another guy who by all accounts is doing what is asked of him and really working hard. He has had a few moments in camp where his freakish athletic attributes have had a chance to shine, but much like in the same vein as with Jackson Arnold, it would be nice to hear about him taking over for a couple practices and imposing his will on the field. Hope to hear more about both of these guys as we finish off spring ball.
Young guys (underclassmen) stepping up – Jaydan Hardy & Jayden Jackson – Jaydan Hardy was one of the guys we pointed out after the first day in pads. Hardy has really adapted well to big time football and he came in ready to fight for playing time whether it be on defense or on all the special teams. Hardy has been really solid and is a high football IQ guy and came out of high school well-prepared. Jayden Jackson has been all the rage for some who cover the team and he has indeed had a solid start to his career at OU. The fact of the matter was, that Jackson was going to get a chance no matter what in the rotation simply due to numbers, but hearing that he is effective, is a hard worker, and is continuously open to being coached up is exactly what you want to hear about a young guy who has been thrown into the fire. I expect him to continue to develop and earn himself some playing time in the rotation at nose.
The spring game is a little more than two weeks away and we will all get our first looks at team 130. Hopefully, the injuries going forward are minimal and the development ratchets up a notch over the back half of spring ball. We know the intensity will be elevated over these last eight practices.
Updates | Courtland Guillory, Wilson and Sellers
– Super K – Posted on: April 4, 2024
***Sooners top 2025 CB target, Courtland Guillory (Spring, TX) is set to visit Oklahoma this weekend.
***This visit comes after a few reporters in the Texas market have Guillory leaning Texas.
***I am doing some digging here. It’s safe to say this one is going to be a Red River battle.
***You’ll recall I recently noted (HERE), “I got wind through the grapevine that he’s begun shooting parts of what I believe will be a commitment video. I don’t know yet when a commitment will happen.”
***I started checking around a bit yesterday and I’m not ready to trend this one yet which means I’m not yet sold on the Texas narrative, yet.
***Also, want to chime in on 2025 DL Trenton Wilson. Charlie has been all over this one and has it trending Sooners. You’ll recall that prior to him dropping his top four, I noted (HERE) that the schools to keep an eye on that pose a threat to OU are TAMU and Penn State…
***Since then, Wilson has visited Ohio State and included them along with OU, TAMU and Penn State in his top four. I did some checking and told that Ohio State is not truly in contention. So, it remains, as I said before a battle between OU, TAMU and Penn State.
***I am going to join Charlie in trending this one to OU. I’m going 60/40 Sooners. I am waiting on a bit of information from a source close to Wilson to decide whether I want to bump that number up or down.
***Lastly, I checked in with Sooners 2025 target, Cobey Sellers (Pearland, TX) on his visit schedule and he said he may in Norman this weekend but says he will know by Friday whether that will be the case.
***Something to keep in mind here is that Sellers was once a teammate of Max Granville who we have trending OU. Sooners do have to stiff competition for Sellers but they’ve got some advantages in this one. Not trending this one yet.
