Open Post | Weekend, December 4th – 6th
Posted on: December 4, 2020
Spotlight | 2021 DB Commit Jordan Mukes
– Charlie S
Earlier this week, I caught up with Sooners 2021 defensive back commit Jordan Mukes (6’4″ 195) out of Choctaw, Oklahoma.
Mukes was offered by the Sooners back on March 24th following visiting the OU in February for a couple junior days. He wasted no time in wrapping up his recruitment as he committed to the Sooners six days later on March 30th.
With signing day just under three weeks away, I wanted to bring you all some in depth information on the massive DB so I shined the spotlight on him!
Jordan is an easy going young man and I thoroughly enjoyed getting to learn more about him. The first thing we spoke about was his football history.
I asked him to tell me a little about his football journey, Jordan said ‘I started at a young age, like four or so. I played till I was 11 or 12 and ended up breaking my arm and shifted into basketball. I came back into football my sophomore year in high school.’
He continued by telling me ‘I was a JV guy, didn’t really play varsity as s sophomore, but then my junior year I picked it up and did what I needed to do and played varsity. That’s when I started getting a lot of looks and now, the teams doing good and I’m doing good. Feel like I’m on the right track.’
One of those looks he got was from the OU staff. The Sooners invited Mukes down for their select junior day and he got a good look at the program and OU got to put their eyes on him as well.
While the Sooners initially wanted to see him progress on the field in the spring, due to the COVID situation, they never really got the chance. However, that didn’t slow down OU’s pursuit and they wound up offering in March and less than a week later, Mukes gave the Sooners his verbal pledge.
As he grew up, Mukes was a three sport athlete. While he played basketball throughout, the break he took from football would not last and he returned to the game as a sophomore in highs school while also playing Basketball and Track.
As far as track goes, Mukes said ‘I didn’t really do track seriously until recently. I just kinda liked going to the meets with my friends and getting out of school early and have fun, stuff like that. Now, I feel like it’s an important part of my development and I;m glad I stuck with it.’
When talk turned to football, I asked him what his favorite part of the game is and he immediately responded in a manner which you will all certainly approve of…’Hitting, I like hitting. I like getting physical. It really brings me and my teammates energy up! Our team feeds off of group tackling, like when one guy holds him up and we all jump in!’
As the conversation carried on, I asked him about his relatives and where he got his athleticism from. Jordan told me, ‘We have a lot of athletes in my family, my uncle was a big athlete here in Oklahoma. He played basketball and football. He was real athletic, he had some major hops! We have a lot of dudes in the family who had the opportunity to go to college but something always sidetracked them. One of my family members coaches at TCU (DT Coach Zarnell Fitch).My mom did cheer leading and track, she wasn’t really dedicated to it, but she was out there having fun with her friends’.
Mukes made one thing clear as he said, ‘I’m gonna be one of the first to go to college and finish it’.I’m here to tell you I have no doubts he will do exactly that.
As for his last season at Choctaw, Jordan said, ‘The goal for this season is to get rings of course. To me, we have one of the best teams in Oklahoma. We have some incredible athletes, we are just very athletic as a whole. We really want it bad where a lot of teams, they feel comfortable where they are at. We got something we want to prove every day we practice or play a game.’
He added, ‘In our heads, we know without a doubt, we can get those rings. All we have to do is do our assignments, play fast and play physical. I feel like there aren’t a lot of teams that can compete with us when we are at the top of our game. Especially our defense, I feel like we have the best defense in the state. I still stand on that. I think this year is our year for sure.’
As for his performance, again Jordan gave me an answer you all will approve of. He told me, ‘No, I am not satisfied with my stats. I take pride in my game and early in the season I missed a lot of opportunities. I have some interceptions, forced fumbles, pass break ups, and sacks and stuff, but there is a lot more I can do. I’m not satisfied at all and that’s why I keep my head down and work every day’.
I wanted to know what position he prefers. Mukes was quick to respond by saying, ‘I’ll line up anywhere, but I like being on an island, especially when it’s to the field side. Some guys don’t like being out there, but I feel like that works for me with my length and speed.’
He continued by saying, ‘I like talking, getting into peoples face. To me it’s all about shutting down a whole side of the field, where you can’t use a player’.
As far as OU goes, I asked him what his plans were and if he had thought about enrolling early. He told me, ‘That’s like 50/50 with me. I really don’t want to play basketball any more, and I want to go onto college and get in the weight room and get there early. But at the same time my grandma thinks I should experience my last year of high school, but with this COVID situation, it’s not even looking like there will be much to do. So I’m in the process of making a call there, kinda leaning towards enrolling early.’
When the discussion turned to his expectations of himself once he does get to OU, Mukes wasn’t shy. He said, ‘I want to start. If I don’t start, I still want to get some good playing time in. I feel like if I can get in the weight room and put on some good weight, learn the play book so I can do good in practice, I know I can make a good impression and not have to red shirt. I know I can make plays in a game. Any way to get on the field, except playing linebacker! I’m just a big DB, it’s not my fault I’m built like this! But I’m a DB and we have talked about that (he was laughing as he said this).’
I asked him if he modeled his game after anyone. He gave me a couple very good examples as he said, ‘I try to model my game after Sean Taylor. He’s my favorite player of all time. Him and Brian Dawkins, Patrick Willis, they’re all fantastic players.’
As we wrapped up the conversation, I asked Jordan to tell me one thing that he is very proud of in his life that not many people would know about. He said, ‘I’m very proud of my faith. I try to follow the commandments day to day. I try to keep my head on straight and focus on football because there is a lot of evil in this world and I’m not about that.’
I came away from our conversation incredibly impressed with the young man. He was very gracious with his time, very humble with his thoughts, and very sure of his goals and aspirations. For much of the conversation, he was talking about his teammates and how he tries to lead by example and remain team oriented and focused on the group as whole.
Jordan Mukes is exactly the type of player physically and mentally that the Sooners are looking to stockpile. He has the size, length, and speed that every coach on the defense craves. Two things are certain, he knows where he wants to go with his career, and he knows it’s in the defensive backfield, not at linebacker!
Emeka Egbuka | Update
– Super K
As you know by now, the number one rated wide receiver in the country, Emeka Egbuka (Steilacoom, WA) plans to be in Norman this weekend along with his family.
Egbuka has continued to tell the Sooners staff that he would not make a decision until he had a chance to visit Norman. That was originally supposed to happen back in the spring. But the pandemic changed the plans.
It is no small thing that Emeka is not only coming, but he’s bringing his family with him. That’s a big trip to take during a pandemic and certainly not cheap. If you’ve already made up your mind to go elsewhere, you don’t bother expending all that time and resource.
But perhaps an even bigger piece of news is as follows. As you may know, the Buckeyes are seen as the favorite for Emeka. I spoke with a Ohio State source and while the Buckeyes are fairly confident they are obviously not happy about this trip.
Source told me that Emeka has actually already filled out his application to Ohio State. The application process is obviously not a small thing and is typically only done by a student athlete when they have committed to a school or plan on going to that school.
But heres the kicker, the same source told me that in this case, Emeka also filled out his application to…OU. Source said they believe Emeka filled out applications for acceptance to Ohio State, OU and likely Washington.
So, needless to say, the Sooners are in this one.
Spotlight | 2021 DL Commit Kelvin Gilliam
– Charlie S
I caught up with Sooners 2021 defensive line commit Kelvin Gilliam (6’3″ 260) out of Highland Springs, Virginia.
The Sooners offered Gilliam back on February 3rd and once that offer went out, they pretty much stayed at the top of the mountain until August 22nd when he announced his verbal commitment to Oklahoma.
You all know about his relationship with QB commit Caleb Williams and his high school teammate, Damond Harmon, who is also committed to OU. I wanted to let Kelvin give you all a little bit of his background and makeup in order for you all to get a better understanding of the young man you will be cheering on for the next three or four years.
I asked Kelvin about his football history and he said, ‘I started playing football at a young age, probably around 7 or 8, you know, flag football and stuff like everyone else. I started at a lineman position. I was one of those athletic lineman that could play offensive or defensive line but also play a little running back or fullback type deal back then’.
Gilliam was sold on football and I asked him about other sports. He said, ‘The only other sport I played was a little T-Ball, football was really my passion and focus from a young age. It took over a lot of my life. Anytime I couldn’t do something it was because of football, but I loved it. Still do.’
With his passion for the game being obvious, I wanted to know what his favorite thing is about the football is. He told me, ‘Football can teach you life, you know? You get knocked down and you don’t have any choice but to get right back up. Football can teach you leadership, accountability, how to handle your problems and how to build relationships. You know, if you fail on one play, you get another chance to correct that mistake and learn from it and have another shot to be better’.
When it comes to his family and athletics, Kelvin told me ‘Everybody on my dads side played basketball, so I come from a basketball family.’ He added, ‘my mom, she’s 100% a nurse. She didn’t do any athletics when she was young, but she was more of a tomboy growing up.’
His schools program did not have a fall season due to the pandemic. However, they are planning on having a spring season so I wanted to find out what his goals were for his final go round in high school. Kelvin was quick to answer as he told me, ‘More than likely we will have a season in the spring. My personal goals, I’m not focused on stats or anything, I have two things on my mind and that’s to get myself college ready and win a state championship with my boys’. He continued by saying, ‘The plan is to have a six game season, then we could have four playoff games, and then it would be the state championship’.
Once his high school career wraps up and he heads out to Norman, he has some big plans. ‘When I get to college, I just want to set the foundation as to how people are going to look at me for the next three or four years. Coming in as a freshman it’s my goal to be a leader for my class in the locker room and on the field. I want to be that guy that everyone can count on, to be the holding piece, or centerpiece of the defense as we grow and impact the program. I want people to say, ‘we can’t run this without Kelvin Gilliam’ because of my mindset and ability.’
We spoke about the guys he hopes to play with and learn from at OU. Kelvin said, ‘All of those guys are guys I model my game after. You know, Isaiah Thomas, Ronnie Perkins, Perrion Winfrey. Hopefully those guys will be there next year to give me the leadership qualities and game knowledge that they have. I look forward them to playing the big brother role to me in showing me around and how things get done the OU way.’
He did not stop there as he added, ‘Imagine all those guys and then adding me and Clayton and Isaiah (Coe), that’s something I’m looking forward to. We will be one of the best lines in the country.’ You have to appreciate that.
As the conversation was winding down, I asked him to fill you all in on something he is very proud of about himself. Without hesitation Gilliam said, ‘My ability to work. It’s my grind. Anything that I want in life, I’m gonna go get and nothing is going to get in my way. No matter who or what is in my way, you’re not going to stop me. You can knock me down, but I’m going to get right back up until I get where I want to be. It’s my resilience and mindset.’
Before we got off the call, I asked him if he had any nicknames he goes by’King, KG, KelG, Gilliam, that’s about it, but maybe the Sooner fans will come up with something new, I’m all for it!’
Kelvin had planned on getting out to Norman this weekend for the Baylor game. Unfortunately, due to the rising cases of COVID, the family decided it would be best to try to schedule their visit for another time.
My biggest takeaway following the conversation was just how full of life and energy he is. He is very passionate about football and is really engaging to speak with about things other than recruiting. I am also here to tell you he is very much locked in with OU and is looking forward to beginning his college career. He was clearly excited about the development of the defensive line and is very in tune with the possibilities that exist with that unit over the course of the next few years.
He is the type of defensive lineman, physically and mentally, that the Sooners need to stack on top of each other to get to that next level consistently. He is the prototype of what should be the norm for OU, rather than the exception.
One on One | Baylor
– Charlie S
The Sooners will be back in action this week following a COVID induced bye week. Oklahoma is on a five game winning streak and look to be playing their best ball of the season at this point.
After destroying Oklahoma State their last time out, OU is in control of their own destiny in regards to reaching the Big 12 conference championship game with Baylor and West Virginia standing between them and the chance to defend their 5 consecutive titles.
Let’s take a look at a couple of match-ups worth paying attention too against Baylor.
One on One number One:
Baylor CB Raleigh Texada vs. Oklahoma WRs Marvin Mims, Theo Wease, and Charleston Rambo in particular
Texada has seemingly been around forever as far as I am concerned. This dude is a baller and has made his presence known each time he steps on the field. Texada did not allow a single touchdown in the 2019 season and graded out as the highest cornerback in the country for week five according to PFF. He is undoubtedly Baylor’s number one cornerback and has a claim for being the best cornerback in the entire conference.
As strange as it may sound to say at this point of the season for an Oklahoma team, no receiver has truly broken out as ‘Wide Receiver One’.
Mims has been outstanding as a true freshman and Wease has really been coming on and you have to believe his two touchdown performance against OkState will only help his confidence. Rambo has been an enigma as he had issues holding onto the ball but he could play a vital role this week in stretching the Bears defense and putting pressure on the corners.
The real matchup to watch may actually be the wide receivers who are NOT matched up against Texada as he will likely be able to neutralize the guy he is covering on his own. However, Spencer Rattler has matured throughout the season and he has shown the ability to go through his progressions and find the guy who has a chance to get open. If that happens against Texada, he will not hesitate, at least initially, to try him.
All the focus on the outside guys should also allow some opportunities for Jadon Haselwood and Brynden Willis to put some chunk plays on the stat sheet for Oklahoma.
Texada is good. I am excited to watch him play.
One on One number Two:
Baylor QB Charlie Brewer vs Oklahoma’s makeshift secondary
Brewer is a lunch pail kind of quarterback. He is not afraid to put his body in harms way to further his teams cause…which has come back to bite him on occasion as he has a long injury history.
With that being said, Brewer will likely be on his horse early and often as it appears OU will have most of their front seven available and you know how well they have been pressuring the QB. Baylors offensive line is not one which will be spoken of as ‘elite’ at any point right now while the OU defensive line has certainly been putting elite performance after elite performance on the field for the past 5 or 6 weeks.
Brewer is most successful when he improvises and the Sooners defensive backs will likely have to hold their coverage a bit longer than usual as Brewer has shown the ability to escape the initial pass rush.
Once Brewer starts to scramble or tuck and run, the defensive backs will have to be on their toes and be able to break off their coverage and pursue him.
With the amount of guys likely out in the secondary for OU, this will put some stress on their conditioning and strain on their mindset.
Brewers ability to extend plays, coupled with Baylors penchant for using the bubble screens is one reason I think not having Bookie out there is likely the biggest loss for Oklahoma, personnel wise, this week. Bookie is like a coach on the field and his ability to read and execute his assignments in the screen game is about as good as, if not better than, anyone in the country.
Jeremiah Criddell will be one of the guys to take the snaps at nickel for OU and he is about to get a crash course on the screen game. I would not be shocked to see Jaden Davis get some run there should Criddell be a little slow in picking up the assignments initially.
Spotlight | 2021 DL Commit Nathan Rawlins-Kibonge
– Charlie S
I recently touched base with Sooners 2021 defensive line commit Nathan Rawlins-Kibonge (6’7″ 250) out of Portland, Oregon.
The Sooners offered Kibonge back in March and he was one of the first offers for Jamar Cain who came to OU after coaching at Arizona State. Cain had extended an ASU offer to Kibonge back in November of 2019 and did not hesitate to go after him once he got to Norman. Nathan committed to Oklahoma back on June 17th.
I like to start off these spotlight pieces by learning about the commits football history. With Kibonge, it was a very short discussion. He told me, ‘I started playing football my junior year in highs school, which was the year I got offered by Oklahoma’.
That my friends, is pretty amazing.
I asked him why it took him so long to get on the gridiron and he said, ‘My mom never let me play peewee football. She thought I was going to be seven foot, so she wanted me to play basketball’.
So, with him being relatively new to the sport, I asked him what his favorite part about football was. Nathan said, ‘I love the team aspect of football. When it comes to being together and that family atmosphere, I harp on that the most. That’s what got me to love football.’ He then added, ‘It’s one of the reasons I chose Oklahoma. Even though I haven’t been there, it feels like a real family’.
When I asked him about the athletic history of his family, he told me, ‘My mom is 5’5″ and she’s from Idaho, she wasn’t a big sports girl. My dad played soccer over seas, he lives in France, but his dad played soccer with Pele. On the Zaire Leopards.’ Yes, that Pele, the international soccer star. That’s pretty cool.
He went on to tell me about the rest of his family. Nathan said, ‘I have a brother and two sisters, one of my sisters is 6’6″ and my dad is like 6’5″ so height runs on my dads side of our family’.
Due to the pandemic, Kibonge missed his second season on the football field. When I asked him about his high school team and what their plans are going forward, he said, ‘I don’t even know. They just told us you can practice, but you have to wear masks. You can’t do contact, you can’t do one on one’s, can’t do a lot of drills. We’re pretty much just doing workouts. It feels like summer workouts’. He continued, ‘My high school may play in the spring, but I’m looking to leave here in January and get out to OU, so I won’t be playing this season.’
With him being an early enrollee, I asked him what he was most looking forward to about getting to Norman and what his plans were for his freshman semester. He said, ‘To me, getting out to OU is the biggest things because I know it’s just going to be constant food. That’s my biggest thing, I need that energy and I know they’re gonna feed me.’
Nathan continued by saying, “Coach Cain, man that’s my guy. We talk about the plans for me when I get out there and we throw around a loose number to get to like 270 or 275. He’s basically told me ‘look, when you get here, I’m going to take everything you know…and change it’”.
I asked him what Coach Cain is saying about his plan for Kibonge, particularly based on the fact he has only played one year of football in his life. Nathan said, “He says we are going to work on what you need to work on to turn you into a monster. Well, he’s got me. That’s why I’m so excited to get out there. I know for sure he’s got me and he’s going to take care of me’.
Wrapping up the conversation, I asked him to tell me one thing he is proud of that not many people may be aware of. He said, ‘I’m loyal to a fault. I have to tell myself at times not to trust people so easily because once I trust someone, they get all of me. So I have to be picky on who I open up to and trust but once I do, I’m gonna have your back till the end. It’s natural to me that I want to give everything I have to everybody’.
As far as his nicknames go, he has a couple and he even acknoledges the OU fan base for adding to his list! Kibonge said, ‘My friends out here call me NateNate. The OU fans been calling me NRK, they’ve given me that! And some people just call me by my last name, Kibonge’.
My biggest takeaway following our conversation is that NRK is a young man who came across the right guy (Jamar Cain) at the right time in his life. He craves the family atmosphere that a football team fosters and Jamar Cain has obviously made a big impression on him as a role model and a sort of ‘head of the family’.
He earned a football scholarship to one of the premiere football programs in the country after playing the sport for one year. Think about that. He never stepped foot on the football field until his junior year of high school…next thing you know, he’s offered a scholarship to play at Oklahoma (among others).
Nathan already held a bunch of basketball scholarships (was committed to play at Washington State) and he and I spoke about his potential on the hardwood, but his passion wasn’t there for hoops and I think it is pretty clear that the larger family unit of a football team is what pushed his focus in that direction.
NRK is truly a blank canvas when it comes to football. Jamar Cain will be the man behind the brush. I expect nothing less than a masterpiece to show up as the end product.
Quick Hitter | New CDC Guidelines & OU Personnel Availability
– Charlie S
Ok, so earlier in the week, we reported that it was likely that Sooners DC Alex Grinch and LB coach Brian Odom would not be able to coach in person this week due to the CDC COVID Protocol Guidelines. We also reported that a number of players would not be able to play this week due to the same protocols.
Today, Sooner AD Joe Castiglione said the new CDC recommendations for contact tracing lasting 7 days for asymptomatic people who test negative 48 hours before the end of the seventh day, are being implemented immediately.
Obviously, that is a positive development for the Sooners both in regards to staff and player availability.
We are checking now on some of the names we had heard in regards to their availability, but it sounds like OU could be in much better shape than they were personnel wise as recently as yesterday.
For instance, if Grinch is asymptomatic, it is very likely that he will be able to ‘test out’ of quarantine and be available for the gaem. That would also be the case for several players.
So, what I am saying is, pretty much disregard the posts about who is in and who is out at this point because of the new COVID protocols. Obviously we will look to provide you all with an updated list of who is potentially out.
Team Notes | Updated
– Super K
***As Charlie noted, Grinch will be at the game. Let’s just say it was a false alarm.
***Also, it sounds like JMT will start in place of Bonitto
***I have to amend my secondary lineup from earlier today…
***Norwood isn’t expected back until tomorrow. So you could see Norwood start at safety or Barnes.
***At corner, Davis is back and he had a good week of practice so it sounds like he will get the nod to start over Graham.
***Criddell still expected to be your nickel but they will have Norwood back and I believe he can play that spot, as well.
***Also, although Asamoah will be back – he just returned. So I’m anticipating we will see White and Ugwoegbu start.
Quick Hitter | Surprise, Surprise, Surprise | Tristan Leigh to Visit After All
– Charlie S
In a terrific turn of events for the Sooners, Elite 2021 OT Tristan Leigh will be heading to Norman this weekend.
Earlier this week, Leighs mother Laura Rigney said she was trying to get someone to step in for her at work. Later, she told James it did not appear likely that she would be able to get a replacement and the trip was not likely to happen.
Surprise!
Looks like it’s the whole family. Aidan Leigh, who is a 2023 OL who was offered while in Norman this summer also tweeted out he will be heading to Norman.
