Open Post | Weekend, December 11th – 13th
Posted on: December 11, 2020
New College Football Playoff Poll | Week 15
– CJ Vogel
Oklahoma remains at No. 11 for the third consecutive week according to the College Football Playoff Committee. Meanwhile, Iowa State moves up to No. 7, Texas re-enters at No. 20 and Oklahoma State settles in at No. 22.
The Sooners have a meeting with unranked West Virginia this weekend with a Big 12 Championship Game appearance likely to follow on December 19.
Here’s the top 25.
- 1. Alabama
- 2. Notre Dame
- 3. Clemson
- 4. Ohio State
- 5. Texas A&M
- 6. Florida
- 7. Iowa State
- 8. Cincinnati
- 9. Georgia
- 10. Miami
- 11. Oklahoma
- 12. Indiana
- 13. Coastal Carolina
- 14. Northwestern
- 15. USC
- 16. Iowa
- 17. North Carolina
- 18. BYU
- 19. Louisiana
- 20. Texas
- 21. Colorado
- 22. Oklahoma State
- 23. NC State
- 24. Tulsa
- 25. Missouri
Spotlight | 2021 Linebacker Commit Danny Stutsman
– Charlie S
Last week I was able to shine the spotlight on Sooners 2021 linebacker commit Danny Stutsman.
Stutsman was offered by Oklahoma on March 20th and verbally committed to the Sooners on May 4th.
Danny was very accommodating with his schedule and generous with his time as we had a really in depth conversation. Once we got around to the interview, Stutsman told me about his early days in the sport and how he began his journey towards Norman.
When I asked him about his youth and when he was introduced to the gridiron, Stutsman said, “Well, my dad played football (Steve Stutsman, at Baylor) and so I started at an early age, like around five or six. Started with flag football and then around seven or eight I got into the tackle game.”
He continued by saying, “When I was 10 or 12 I started playing quarterback, but I was like ‘eh I don’t really see myself playing this’ and then when I got to high school I made the move to the defensive side of the ball as well as playing some offense.”
Danny was not a football specialist as a kid, he said “Growing up I also played basketball, my mom played basketball, so that was always around. I also played little league baseball like every kid did. Then I did run a little track into my freshman year, so that’s pretty much it. Now I do a little bit of golf too.”
Growing up as the son of a division one football player, one might think he was driven to the sport. However, Danny said that was not necessarily the case. He said, “I’ve always had love for football and my dad always provides me with his insight if I need him there. His dad wasn’t all about sports, so he has made an effort to support me in every aspect. He would always coach me and he’s always been my coach for pretty much everything.”
He added, “He’s always been involved. If there’s ever been a question, like with recruiting. He never really pushed me, but he’s always been there to provide me with insight.”
When I spoke to him last Friday, his high school team was preparing for the state playoffs. I asked him to provide a little insight on how his team was doing. He told me, “I’m really excited about our team. Tonight we have the state semi-finals and it’s the first time our school has made it this far. Hopefully we can leave it all on the field, come out with the win and make it to the state championship. We’re pumped. Just have to execute our game plan and hopefully we will come out on top.”
His team wound up on the losing end of that battle, but he and his teammates can hold their heads high as they elevated that program to heights nor seen prior.
As the conversation carried on, I asked him if he was satisfied with his development. Danny provided an answer you will appreciate as he said, “No, I’m not. I mean I don’t think you can ever be satisfied. I think you have to keep taking steps to get better and better each day. The moment you get satisfied is the moment someone else passes you and gets better.”
When it comes to what his favorite part of football is, he provided another winning answer as he said, “There’s so many things I love about the sport. I think the contact is my favorite part. It’s a physical sport and that’s the reason a lot of kids don’t play it, and that’s the reason I do play it. I love hitting…getting hit…that’s the best part.”
Stutsman will not be an early enrollee. However, if he could go back in time, things may have shaken out differently as he said, “I’m not an early enrollee. At this point, I wish I was. With all the COVID stuff, it’s not like I’ll have a normal senior spring here at home. Back when I had to make the decision, I wasn’t really comfortable with the thought of enrolling early, but back when we had the Sooner Summit, I really started regretting not making that decision. At that point, it was really too late to make the call unfortunately. If I could go back, that’s one thing I would change and I would have taken those summer classes which would have made it possible.”
Danny is one of a number of commits who gave their pledge to OU without ever having physically been on campus. When I asked him what exactly led to him pulling the trigger when he did, he said, “The coaching staff at OU. They just really separated themselves from all the other staff. Me and coach Odom just really connected with each other. I mean I put my trust in him and he put his trust in me. Even coach Grinch, we all just created that relationship where I was like ‘man I haven’t even seen the school but I trust these guys’ and I saw the virtual visits and I decided I just want to be a part of this because in a few years we will be great. The program they are building up there, I just wanted to be part of it.”
He added, “When I made it out there finally, I was like, wow this is home. It was more than I even imagined it would be. I felt like it was perfect and definitely where I see myself.”
When he does finally get to Norman, I wanted to know what his goals were for his freshman year. Danny said, “Do whatever I can to see the field. That’s the goal. I’m going to go as hard as I can every day this off season with that in my head. I just want to make it on the field however I can. Whether it’s starting, playing special teams, whatever I can do to get out there.”
As for comparisons to former players, Danny said, “I don’t really model my game after anyone, but I do see the comparisons to Teddy Lehman. But I want to be my own player. I do watch videos of him (Lehman) and I see where the bar is set to live up to those comparisons. It does give me something to reach for.”
As the conversation was winding down, I asked him to share one thing about himself that he is proud of. Danny thought about it for a moment and then responded by saying, “That’s a tough question. I think I’m most proud of the deep love I have for my family and friends. I think family is the number one thing for me. I don’t know what I would do without my family and friends, they mean the world to me. I know I can’t do anything without them and I try to treat them as best as I can every day. I’m very proud of that.”
My Takeaway from the conversation:
Someone asked me last week in chat who my favorite recruit this cycle was to interact with and I mentioned that Stutsman was making a real push for that spot.
After listening to our conversation again as I wrote this, I can definitely say he was right up there at the top.
I also mentioned that OU just really did a great job of recruiting some high character kids, and I think you can see what I mean after reading this article.
Stutsman is a kid who has been all in since OU offered basically. The relationships he has with the staff obviously played a huge role in him winding up in Norman and you can see the value he places in relationships based on his comments about his family.
On the field, I think OU really got a steal. I have maintained that since it became obvious that he was priority numero uno for linebacker coach Brian Odom. Stutsman is a kid who is a true inside linebacker, he’s not an athlete who will have to be molded into a linebacker. He is very instinctual, knows his roles and assignments, and hilds himself accountable on each and every play.
Those traits are often found in coaches kids. The fact that his coach throughout his life was a division one football player is an added bonus.
I would not be at all surprised to see him push for early play time and end up being a 2-3 year starter for the Sooners.
Emeka Egbuka | What We’re Hearing
– Super K Posted on: December 9, 2020
As you know by now, 5-star WR, Emeka Egbuka will announce his decision this Friday. It has come down to OU, Ohio State and his in-state program, Washington.
Egbuka had long promised the Sooners he would visit. The Covid situation delayed those plans and for a while even the Sooners staff was unsure the visit would materialize. But, it did this past weekend. And OU had commits, including star recruiter and QB, Caleb Williams, in attendance, as well.
As I said before the visit, we were told Emeka has filled out applications to both OU and Ohio State (I would imagine to Washington, as well). So, going into we felt like the Sooners were in it and a visit not only corroborated that but could help their chances.
But, also going into it, I had Ohio State as the leader.
I’ll spare you the dramatics and tell you, I do not have a final pick on this one. Here is why I’m torn.
***On the OU side, there is confidence but my sense is that confidence is coming from the recruits who were around Emeka. The folks in the building are giving us the “it went really well”. As Charlie noted, the OU commits are getting the vibe that he’s headed to Oklahoma. And that can certainly be telling. But it makes me wonder if the Sooners staff is deriving their confidence from the players who were around them or if Lincoln has had that “O” style conversation and has received the nod from Emeka, himself. I’m ever so slightly leaning towards the former. But I’ll say, there is no way Lincoln would put out the bat signal on Emeka. He’d know it would alert Ohio State and cause them to pressure Emeka. That’s what happened to the Sooners on Jantzen Dunn.
***But I spoke with my Ohio State contact and expected there to be some concern about where things stand with them and Emeka given the recent visit. I know there was concern before the visit. Last night however, I don’t get the sense that they are worried. So, if Emeka had given them a sense they were going into it and they aren’t worried, currently, then leads me to believe that perhaps he’s given them some assurances post visit. I do know that they spoke with him this week.
So, again, I’m torn here. Maybe 50/50 or if I absolutely had to pick a direction it’d be 51/49 Ohio State just given the amount of time they’ve been his leader and then adding in the academics at Ohio State which I know is important to Emeka’s father.
I’ll update when I get a stronger direction on this one.
Updates | More on Emeka Decision & Remington Strickland
– Super K Posted on: December 10, 2020
***So for my third, and likely final, update on Emeka Egbuka’s Friday decision, despite it being the Christmas season, I do not come bearing gifts.
Unless something drastic changes from now until tomorrow, we do not see this one going the Sooners way.
On the visit, Emeka had a chance to throw around with Caleb Williams and we had heard that was a big deal for Emeka. I’d even heard he and his father felt like Williams is a generational type talent and playing with him would be ideal.
But Ohio State was running ahead going into the visit and perhaps it was just too much to overcome.
***2021 OL, Remington Strickland announced that he will commit tomorrow (Friday).
Strickland took a self guided tour, recently, to both OU and TAMU and the decision is expected to come down to one of those two.
I had heard things were trending TAMU earlier this week but Bill Bedenbaugh did speak with Strickland on Wednesday night. I don’t know how that went or if that conversation was connected to his decision to announce Friday.
I don’t have a solid pick for you right now but if I was forced to pick, it would be TAMU for proximity. If I get a stronger sense of this one way or another, I’ll let you know.
OU vs WVU Game Canceled
– Charlie S
Earlier this morning (Thursday), James mentioned to K and I that OU was beginning to get the feel that this weekends game was in some jeopardy of being played due to COVID issues at West Virginia.
A few minutes ago on Twitter, the official announcement came.
This is a bummer on several fronts…
*** OU really wanted to play this game to sharpen up following a less than stellar outing against Baylor ahead of taking on Iowa State in the Big 12 Conference Championship game.
*** The loss of the WVU game will also put a halt to the Sooners streak of 10 wins seasons which currently sits at 5 consecutive.
*** With the loss of the WVU game, the Sooners would have to make, and win, the College Football playoffs to reach the 10 win mark as they currently are 7-2 on the season.
Quick Hitter | Cross Ra’Shaad Samples off the List
– Charlie S
With the departure of Sooners tight end/special teams coach Shane Beamer to South Carolina as their new head coach, OU will be looking for an offensive replacement on the coaching staff.
One name that we had speculated which could be someone Oklahoma would consider was SMU’s Ra’Shaad Samples who is the running back coach and recruiting coordinator down in Dallas.
Samples signed a new three year deal with SMU, so it looks like we can cross his name off the list of candidates.
Very good keep there for SMU.
Quick-Update | Savion Byrd
– Super K
***Also, as Charlie noted, Rashaad Samples has agreed to terms to stay at SMU. I was told he was offered a deal that was hard to turn down.
The issue that does bring up though is Savion Byrd’s recruitment. I’ve long brushed off the talk of SMU landing him. But I do get the sense that SMU is very confident. And, I have been told by folks close to the OU program that they know SMU is a real threat. So, while I’m still not ready to give this one to SMU, if OU sees them as a real threat, then they very well may be.
I know the Samples name holds a lot of weight in Dallas and especially with Duncanville players and their families.
