Logo with 'TFB' in gray and 'OU' in red within a speech bubble. Open Post | Weekend, August 24th – 26th By: TFB Posted on: August 24, 2018

Quick Hitter | 2020 WR Javian Hester
– Charlie S

– Recently touched base with 2020 OKPreps wide receiver Javian Hester (Tulsa, OK, Booker T Washington) and he let me know that he will be unofficially visiting Norman on September 1st for the FAU game.

Hester has been a frequent visitor to OU over the past couple of years, including for Junior Day and the Spring Game this year.

However, he did not make it to the Champ U BBQ and a couple people had asked if there was some sort of fall off between he and OU. I think the visit for the FAU game can help put that notion to rest as Javion remains very high on the Sooners.

I asked who he would be coming with his family or a friend this time, and he let me know that he would be attending the game with a friend.

I would expect this to be the first of several trips to OU for Hester this season as he is a priority target for the Sooners and he will have an open invitation to attend home games.

 

 

2019 DE David Ugwoegbu to Visit Sooners + Insider Note
– Super K

Earlier this week, I went out to Seven Lakes High School in Katy, TX to get a look at a few of their front seven prospects including 2019 DE/OLB, David Ugwoegbu.

David does hold an Oklahoma offer. I spoke to him after practice and it sounds like Oklahoma and Texas A&M are the two schools really making a push in his recruitment.

David said that he’s being recruited by coach Riley, coach Kish, and coach Thibbs. He took an unofficial visit to Oklahoma for the spring game in April and says he will take an official visit to Oklahoma this season. David added that the Sooners staff would like him to take his official sometime later in the season. So I imagine he’s likely to be on campus sometime around Bedlam.

He is looking to take his official visit to Texas A&M in September but says he will not make a decision until after he’s taken his official to Oklahoma.

What I Saw

Ugwoegbu looks like one of those defensive ends that Chavis used to have at LSU. All of 6’4, long, muscle striation, quick twitch. He’s a prototypical defensive end who happens to be comfortable standing up and dropping in coverage. He has some work to do in smoothing out his drop but the ability is definitely there. He’s very comfortable off the line of scrimmage and in space.

What you really notice is how quickly he changes direction. He can fly downhill, stop, drive back outside and run down a ball carrier.

They hold him up in practice. If they didn’t, they wouldn’t have much of an offense left. He barely touched the kid above and the dude went flying.

I also really liked seeing his leadership qualities. To expound on the story above a little more, a younger player had walked/jogged on the field and David yelled, “Hustle! We hustle!” at the young man. Then, after the play was over, he went over to the younger player and actually talked to him and explained to him the importance of getting on and off the field quickly.

Really complete prospect and an athlete with a frame that would be yet another upgrade at the DE/OLB spot for OU.

To read Super K’s Insider Note on David Ugwoegbu, please click the Donor Board link!

 

 

Peyton Powell Decision Approaching
– Super K

I checked in with Sooners 2019 ATH target, Peyton Powell (Odessa, TX) about his scheduled visits and decision timeline.

Powell had indicated on Twitter that he’d be announcing on September 26th. When I asked him if that is still the plan he said that it’ll either be the 26th or sometime before that.

He also said that he only has one official visit scheduled (September 1st).

To Oklahoma.

Image result for you're saying there's a chance gif

This is one I’m pretty excited about, personally. Powell is a guy I wrote about with some zeal, earlier this summer. He plays multiple positions at his school and checks so many boxes for me. I have a strong feeling he’s going to flourish once he focuses on one. I don’t imagine he’d be an early contributor on the defensive side – just because there’s going to be a learning curve.

But I see a lot of upside – he has great feet, speed, hips, and intelligence. He sees the ball from both sides of the field and I’m a huge fan of safeties who play quarterback, which he does.

 

 

Hale Yeah | Fall Camp Coverage + Sourced Notes | Fast Five
– TheFootballBrainiacs

James Hale has been a fixture on the Sooner beat for over 30 years. It is our pleasure to welcome him as a guest contributor for TFB as fall camp ramps up. James has deep ties to the Sooner football program and he will be providing us with sourced updates from fall camp as we continually seek to provide you with as much information as possible on your Sooners.

You can also catch James Hale’s show “Total Sports” on Monday – Friday 11 am to 2 pm on 99.3 FM, SportsTalk 1400AM or statewide on sportstalk1400.com

*** *** ***

***Source tells me that since Bookie has missed about half of the camp up to this point with a tender hammy. OU DC Mike Stoops and secondary coach Kerry Cooks decided to move him to SS so that they could get redshirt freshman Justin Broiles totally up to speed at the nickel.

Super K: James’ note above about Bookie moving to SS backs up what I reported last week. My sources indicate the move was made in large part to allow the Sooners to get the best group of defensive backs on the field for as many snaps as possible.

***Kahlil Haughton and Robert Barnes are still competing at free safety I’m told. Source tells me that Barnes got the start in the scrimmage and got more reps with the ones in the scrimmage. but since the scrimmage, all the coaches have talked about is how good of a camp Haughton is having.

Super K: Heard similar. Kahlil is finally playing with that sense of urgency. He’s making plays on the ball.

***There is not one source of mine that does not believe that Creed Humphrey is the most impressive, imposing center to enter the OU program in years. OU has had All-American Gabe Ikard, the talented Ty Darlington, as well as Eric Wren, who was very good last year, so that is saying something about Creed.

***It is my opinion that both coaches dread making this call because they respect senior Jonathan Alvarez so much. Coach Riley has gone out of his way to praise all the seniors at one point or another but he added additional praise for Alvarez. There is not one source of mine that does not believe that Creed Humphrey is the most impressive, imposing center to enter the OU program in years. OU has had All-American Gabe Ikard, the talented Ty Darlington, as well as Eric Wren, who was very good last year, so that is saying something about Creed.

***Coach Beamer said recently that OU is going to be much more aggressive on special teams this year. He said they were going to take kick and punt returns when given a chance to return, and that they would have return men that other teams would respect. Beamer said that OU would also try to block punts and field goals and extra points at times this year and that OU would be much better on their coverage units. Coach Beamer seemed so confident about the OU special teams this year that they have convinced me that they are going to be very much improved on special teams in 2018.

If you would like to read all of this article, please click the Donor Link!

 

 

DaShaun White | The One They Wouldn’t Let Get Away
– Charlie S

Earlier this week, post-practice, the media got to speak with Sooners Inside Linebacker Coach, Tim Kish.

During his time in front of the reporters who had assembled around him, Kish spoke glowingly about freshman DaShaun White.

“I think DaShaun is way ahead of where Kenneth was because DaShaun played four years of linebacker which makes a big difference. He’s got a lot better instincts coming in. I’m impressed with him, I’m impressed with Brian Asamoah as well. I certainly see DaShaun helping out early and bringing Brian along in time.”

“Yeah, he’s as big as Kenneth was a year ago, if not a little bit bigger right now and he’s just gonna be bigger, faster, stronger in coach Wylie’s system, so I’m looking forward to his development.”

If you are a Sooner fan, and obviously you are, this is nothing but music to your ears.

DaShaun White was the one who Lincoln and Tim wouldn’t let get away.

White’s recruitment was a roller coaster for everyone involved. At one point in February of 2017, at OU’s junior day, it appeared as if it was a foregone conclusion that White would be a Sooner. He pretty much made it known that if he received an offer, he would commit on the spot. The offer didn’t come and his recruitment remained open.

In March of 2017, White and his mother visited College Station, at which point he picked up an offer from the Aggies. He picked up additional offers from the likes of Arizona State, Arkansas, Colorado, Missouri, and Baylor between the A&M offer and late April. Then, on April 30th, OU officially offered White, and many assumed the race was over and he would commit to the Sooners in relatively short order.

As it turns out, it was actually around the time of his offer that things started going sideways with White and the Sooners. Looking back, we can now understand exactly why and how things went off the rails a bit. Bob Stoops would retire as Head Coach in June and the communication between the OU staff and White suffered.

As Super K wrote in retrospect, “The gap between Bob Stoops deciding to leave and Lincoln Riley taking over was an extra dead period. This is a period where OU gave up ground to Texas A&M. Though Texas A&M lost their head coach, the Texas A&M class began to come together behind the scenes during this period where certain kids and their families began recruiting other kids and their families in a way similar to Sooner Squad 17.”

In August, White committed to Texas A&M, and while we did the video, we also knew that White was by no means done with his recruitment. OU would remain in the picture but this one seemed personal. It felt like DaShaun had always wanted to be a Sooner, however, with the circumstances being what they were, the Sooners had a lot of catching up to do.

White unofficially visited Norman in September which was followed a few weeks later by consecutive unofficial visits to college station in late September and Early October. Then, Texas enters the picture and offers White. In retrospect, the Texas offer may have actually helped the Sooners by loosening up the family around White in regards to their view of his commitment to A&M.

Meanwhile, the writing was on the wall for Kevin Sumlin and it became clear that he would be fired. This was a big deal as the change would provide an out to DaShaun in regards to his commitment.

Then, Halloween weekend rolls around and DaShaun White quietly takes an official visit to OU for the TTU game. You remember that weekend right? That happened to be the same weekend when Ronnie Perkins committed and a kid named Bookie slipped into town with TJ Pledger and silently committed to the Sooners.

That was also the weekend that DaShaun White told Lincoln Riley he wanted to be a Sooner. Riley dropped four sets of eyes coming out of that weekend. Perkins, Bookie, Rueben Unije, and DaShaun White.

The race was not over for White. The Sooners had to win over Mom, hold off Texas A&M under two different staffs, and keep Texas at a distance as well.

Lincoln Riley and Tim Kish worked together to continue to make up for that communication gap from back in late spring/early summer when White got lost in the shuffle with the coaching change.

On January 6th, 2018, DaShaun White made it official and publicly flipped from Texas A&M to OU. The rest is history in the making.

DaShaun White is poised to make an impact this year. He is climbing the depth chart and is now running in the two-deep. The kid we had been raving about throughout his recruitment and characterizing as a “must get” is showing up on the field and making his presence felt.

You will see why Riley and Kish never gave up and you will all be thankful they didn’t.