Open Post | Weekend, February 22nd – 24th
Posted on: February 22, 2019
Notebook | Kelee Ringo, Alec Bryant, DGW, Andrew Raym & a new OV
– Super K
***I am told that 2020 5-star CB Kelee Ringo is expected to take his unofficial visit to Oklahoma in March. I was told he is expected to take the visit sometime over his spring break. Saguaro High School has their spring break from the 11th-15th.
***Also, I checked in with Andrew Raym to see if he plans on being at this weekend’s junior day. He said it depends on whether or not his baseball game gets canceled. So, as of now, he has a conflict with his baseball game but if that get’s canceled then he plans to be there.
***Sooners recently offered 2020 linebacker, Trenton Simpson (Charlotte, NC). Based on a brief text exchange with Simpson, it sounds like he plans on visiting Norman for the OU Spring game in April.
***A little good news on the Alec Bryant front. It appears it’s not too late for the Sooners to get back in it for the 2020 DE out of Shadow Creek who recently committed to LSU.
Bryant told me that he will take an official visit to Oklahoma.
***Keep an eye on Darion Green–Warren possibly picking up an offer from Texas. I’ve been told by folks close to DGW that Texas has been in communication and are trying to get DGW on campus.
The new OU staff really started their communication with DGW after the recent LA Opening. So, hopefully, some continued communication will show DGW and his family that he is a priority to OU and it will calm things down a bit.
Updates | Quentin Johnston, Kendall Milton, Josh White & More
– Super K
***Stopped by Temple High School earlier this week to see 2020 WR, Quentin Johnston.
Elite talent. Big wide receiver that bends and accelerates like a guy much lower to the ground.
Johnston has visited the Sooners before and should be back up this spring.
He and McMillan are probably the top two outside wide receiver prospects on OU’s board.
***2020 linebacker, Josh White (Cy Creek) was hoping to make it up to the JR day this upcoming weekend but won’t be able to make it.
However, he let me know this evening that he will be in Norman in a couple weeks on March 2nd for an unofficial visit to OU.
***5-star running back Kendall Milton arrived in Norman for his unofficial visit late Wednesday evening.
Milton and his mother will be in Norman until Friday. They will head down to Austin for a couple days for an unofficial visit following this OU visit.
Here’s a nice little note you’ll like…
I was texting with Milton’s father about the trip and he said that he won’t be able to make it out due to a work conflict.
But said he will come for, “The official visit when it’s time”.
In other words, it sounds like an OV is pretty much guaranteed.
***Unfortunately, we will need to cross 2020 DB, Bryson Washington (CE King) off this weekend’s visitor list.
Washington has a track meet in Austin this weekend.
He said he plans to reschedule the visit to Norman though.
Roster Management | Potential 2020 Class Size
– Charlie S
Taking a look at the Sooners roster heading into the 2019 season shows they currently have 82 players on scholarship with eligibility (Depending on Nick Basquine’s medical waiver the number could be 81).
There will be 11 players who exhaust their eligibility following the season which would bring the total to 71 (without additional attrition).
That would mean there are 14 projected scholarships available for the 2020 class.
I always add at least four-five players to the further attrition list so that would leave the Sooners with a projected 2020 class of 18 – 19 players.
Right now, the Sooners have Seven current commits in the 2020 class counting Jalen Huff so they are looking for around 11 – 13 additional commits.
The 2020 class looks like it will be heavily focused on the offensive side of the ball based on the numbers below:
34 offensive players (Losing 3 following the season)
46 defensive players (Losing 8 following the season)
2 Special Teams
Here is a look at how the current roster shakes out:
Quarterbacks (3)
Spencer Rattler (F), Tanner Mordecai (RSF), Jalen Hurts (S)
Running Backs (6)
Marcus Major (F), Rhamondre Stevenson (JR), Kennedy Brooks (RSS), Jeremiah Hall (RSS), T.J. Pledger (S), Trey Sermon (JR)
Wide Receivers (9*)
Trejan Bridges (F), Jaquayln Crawford (RSF), Jadon Haselwood (F), Theo Wease (F), Charleston Rambo (RSS), Mykel Jones (RSJ), Cedarian Lamb (JR), Nick Basquine* (RSSR if he gets medical waiver), Lee Morris (RSSR)
Tight Ends (3)
Austin Stogner (F), Brayden Willis (S), Grant Calcaterra (JR)
Offensive Line (13)
Marcus Alexander (F), EJ Ndoma-Ogar (F), Stacey Wilkins (F), Marquis Hayes (RSS), Creed Humphrey (RSS), Tyrese Robinson (RSS), Finley Felix (JR), Darrell Simpson (RSF), Brey Walker (RSF), Adrian Ealy (RSS), David Swaby (RSS), Erik Swenson (RSJ), Michael Thompson (RSF)
Defensive Tackle (5)
Jordan Kelley (RSF), Troy James (RSS), Dillon Faamatau (RSSR), Neville Gallimore (RSSR), Marquise Overton (RSSR)
Defensive End (10)
Marcus Hicks (F), Kori Roberson (F), Marcus Stripling (F), Zack McKinney (RSS), Ronnie Perkins (S), Isaiah Thomas (RSS), Tyreece Lott (JR), Laron Stokes (JR), Kenneth Mann (RSSR), Arthur McGinnis (RSSR)
Rush/Edge (5)
David Ugwoegbu (F), Joseph Wete (F), Jalen Redmond (RSF), K’Jakyre Daley (RSS), Mark Jackson (SR)
Linebacker (9)
Brian Asamoah (RSF), Nikolas Bonitto (RSF), Jonathan Perkins (F), Levi Draper (RSS)
Ryan Jones (RSS), DaShaun White (S), Kenneth Murray (JR), Jon-Michael Terry (RSJ), Caleb Kelly (SR)
Cornerback (8)
Jaden Davis (F), Woodi Washington (F), Starrland Baldwin Jr. (RSF), Miguel Edwards (RSF), Brendan Radley-Hiles (S), Tre Brown (JR), Tre Norwood (JR), Parnell Motley (SR)
Safety (9)
Jeremiah Criddell (F), Ty DeArman (F), Jamal Morris (F), Justin Broiles (RSS), Patrick Fields (S), Delarrin Turner-Yell (S), Robert Barnes (JR), Jordan Parker (RSJR), Chanse Sylvie (RSJR)
Special Teams (2)
Gabe Brkic (RSF), Reeves Mundschau (RSS)
Alex Huntley is Coming to Town + Insider Notes
– Super K
It’s no secret that many of the most talented defensive linemen are in the Deep South. As mentioned earlier in the month, the Sooners will host 2020 defensive tackle, Alex Hunley out of the Hammond School in Columbia, South Carolina.
Huntley isn’t a native South Carolinian though. He’s quick to let you know that while he loves the hospitality in the South he hasn’t forgotten his beginnings in Maryland and doesn’t want you to forget it either.
”Not many people acknowledge that I’m from Maryland but I’m going to be from Maryland for life. I moved down here when I was 13”.
Alex describes the transition from Maryland to South Carolina, “It was a culture shock down here. The biggest thing I had to learn down here was saying, yes sir and no sir…”
But despite how young Alex was and still is, he was able to see the wisdom in the move.
”Leaving my friends in Maryland was one of the hardest parts. Change is hard but it really does help us grow.”
At nearly 6’4 295 lbs, Alex certainly has the build of a division one defensive lineman and it sounds like he has the genetics of both size and agility. So where did the athleticism come from?
”My mom would say her side and my dad would say his side”, Jonah joked. “I have a lot of basketball players in my family. I have a cousin that’s like 6’9. My grandfather was a boxer and my father was a boxer”.
Being from Maryland, Lacrosse was a big sport in Alex’s life. In fact, his brother played lacrosse at the collegiate level. But for Alex, football ultimately won out.
”At four I started football and at five I started basketball and lacrosse. I was playing those every year but eventually, I dropped basketball. And being from Maryland, lacrosse is a huge thing. I was raised on that but moving down here it wasn’t that big. I ended up dropping lacrosse as well for track…I miss it but I really want to get faster so I think track is going to help with that”.
One of the things that doesn’t get measured enough is how much a player actually loves playing football. There are a lot of talented players even in college that don’t pan out because they just don’t love it. Being good at it and enjoying it doesn’t always go hand in hand. The fact that, at such a young age, Alex is willing to give up Lacrosse to do something that serves his football development, speaks volumes to me. It tells you he is dedicated and that dedication often comes from a passion for something.
Alex realized early on that he wanted to play this sport for a long time.
”In elementary school, I played a type of select football and we actually went third in the nation and it was some of the best times of my life. That’s when I knew what I wanted to do.”
Recruiting
Blessed with the genetics, hard work and a little luck, Alex found out pretty early on that he would be a division one football player. His first offer came from South Carolina. He was fortunate to be discovered early, in part, because of a fortunate connection with a defensive guru and head coach in Will Muschamp.
”So coach Muschamp’s son, Jackson Muschamp, goes to our school. He’s our quarterback. Coach Muschamp actually saw me play lacrosse and I think that showed him my athleticism for how big I am.”
Alex picked up that offer from South Carolina the spring of his freshman year and by sophomore year he had multiple offers including an offer from Georgia and Oklahoma.
It was coach Beamer who first discovered Alex and Alex continues to communicate a lot with coach Beamer and coach Riley. He’s also getting to know coach Thibs.
This upcoming visit to Oklahoma will be his first but likely won’t be his last. In fact, Alex is already talking about making it out for an official visit to OU’s Spring Game.
This past January, Alex had a number of schools come through to see him including Georgia, South Carolina, Florida, Alabama, LSU, Oklahoma (of course), Tennessee, Virginia, Auburn, and others.
He recently took to a visit to Georgia and has, as you might expect, been to South Carolina a good number of times.
So, what is it that Alex is going to be looking for in a program and how will he wade through such a long list of offers?
”First and foremost a great education. In terms of football, my goal is to play in the NFL so I need somebody and some program that can help me get there. Who can prepare me for the next level and if I don’t get there then who can prepare me for a job?”
Distance, Alex says, it isn’t a huge factor, “I don’t need to stay close or go far. Moving from Maryland it showed me that it doesn’t affect me so much. It doesn’t affect me to move.”
One of the things OU does and can sell is their ability to win and compete for championships. Alex’s memories of his elementary school select team having great success on the field have stayed with him. So, while some people may on fixate on their individual goals, Alex wants to go to a place where he can have a championship run.
“What team I go to the goal is a national championship without a doubt. Georgia is already one of those teams who is a contender for a national championship. Oklahoma is one of those teams. For me, I’ve always said as a little kid, the championships in previous years doesn’t matter to me because I wasn’t on that team but I want a team that has the look of a national championship contender.”
Look for Alex to try and make a decision before the fall. We hope to catch up with Alex after his OU visit and bring you more.
If you would like to read Super K’s Insider Note, please check the Donor Board.
Avery Helm | Another Sooner Legacy Set to Visit
– Super K
Avery the Athlete
This weekend the Sooners will host 2020 CB, Avery Helm out of Missouri City, TX (Fort Bend Marshall).
Helm is a highly coveted cornerback with offers from the likes of LSU and Alabama, he’s an elite sprinter and interestingly, he’s a Sooner legacy.
Avery’s father whose name is also Avery tells me that his father, Louis Helm, played wide receiver for Oklahoma back in the 60s. In fact, young Avery has elite athletes on both his mother and father’s side of the family.
As big Avery says about their athleticism background, “It comes from my dad. He had track records at OU as a freshman and played wide receiver at OU”.
It was a different time in the 6os as the school continued to be integrated. Avery’s grandfather played for an all-black high school called Carver. Avery senior tells me that in 1966 his father won a football state championship at Carver.
The next year, in 1966 Sweeny High School was integrated. As big Avery tells it, Sweeny won four games the year before integration. When Louis Helm and other kids from Carver arrived in 1966, Sweeny went on to win a state championship.
Louis had a few options and had hoped to play college ball in Texas but sometimes, at that time, racial factors may have played a role. It ultimately ended up well as Louis went on to play at Oklahoma and ultimately graduated from there.
Avery senior was a great athlete himself. He was a multi-sport guy. He was a two-time All-State defensive back but ultimately decided on playing basketball in college at Stephen F. Austin.
On young Avery’s mother’s side, he also has the pedigree. His mother’s father was a football player at the University of Arizona.
Little Avery showed off that DNA early on. He played football at a young age but also ran track. In fact, his father tells me that he was the Junior Olympic national champion in the 100m.
“One day we were out walking by the track and Avery looked at the kids and said, Dad, I can beat them running. So that year we decided he won’t play football and we will just do track. And, I remember Leroy Burrell (former 100m world record holder) came up to me and said, your son has the highest potential of any of the kids out here. Avery was 11. Then, in the national, he won the 100-meter dash”.
Helm’s goal is to break the Texas high school 100m record. Unfortunately, he won’t get a shot at doing this year. He suffered an injury in the second round of the football playoffs that will keep him out of track season.
The Helm’s are going to make a decision about whether Avery will enroll early or not but if he doesn’t then the goal next year will be to make a run at that Texas High School record.
Avery the Country Boy
While young Avery has always been an elite athlete, his father worked hard to keep him well balanced. In Texas you’ll find a lot of kids who spend their free time, year round, playing sports or training at sports.
Not in Avery’s case.
Academics and the family’s legacy of education come first. Big Avery says that young Avery knows this very well.
“Avery says that the legacy he’s gotta keep going now is that his grandparents that are both with us now both have college degrees and both of his parents have college degrees”.
Avery Senior also wanted his son to understand the life that he grew up with. He also wanted to keep young Avery connected to his roots. He’d spend time in the summers in his mother’s hometown of Tuscon, Arizona and in Sweeny, Texas.
”Track took up a lot of time but we wanted him to spent time with grandma and grandpa in Arizona in the summers. So, we stopped doing the track in the summers”
In Sweeny, Texas, Avery learned the country life early on.
“He would spend time in Sweeney and he’d learn how to ride horses, fishing just about every weekend. That was important to me – to get away from up here. You always have to have a different layer to your life. It’s more than just sports. Through hunting and fishing, you learn a lot about yourself. Life lessons. How to care for animals. We aren’t really city people. For us, there’s nothing like sitting on the water and fishing”.
This upbringing shines through Avery off the field, “He’s laid back and quiet. He’s a quiet country young man but when you get him between the lines…he’s different”.
Avery the Recruit
Avery’s recruiting process began the spring of his sophomore year. When you’re a cornerback over six foot tall and you run a 10.5/10.6 100, you’re bound to get some interest.
Syracuse, Texas State, Tulsa, and Arizona were among his first offers and the family, not surprisingly, was excited.
“I was ecstatic”, big Avery said, “I told him, it’s going to come. Just do your work and be prepared and what’s meant for you is going to come.”
This season Helm picked up offers from some high profile programs like LSU and Alabama. In fact, Nick Saban flew in himself to see Avery and make the offer.
When Kerry Cooks was at Oklahoma, the Sooners offered Avery as well.
The new staff has not yet offered but they invited Avery in for the junior day and the family is hoping the offer will come this weekend. But this weekend isn’t just about an offer.
“We hoped for it but if they don’t offer it’s fine because it’s a good thing to let him go up there and show him where his grandfather played. You can only control things you can control. They’ve signaled to him that if he comes then an offer is likely though”.
The family doesn’t have a concrete timeline for a commitment but they’d like to have things done by the time the next season rolls around.
However, big Avery said that a decision really could come at any time. In fact, if his son liked a visit and felt in his gut that it was the right place for him then they’d support an imminent decision but only after a discussion about the family’s expectations.
“If he wanted to do that (commit right away) then I’d sit him down and talk to him about what that means. You ain’t gotta worry about seeing that top ten stuff from Avery Helm. We aren’t going to do that. If he commits then he’s going to shake that man’s hand and that’s going to be it. That’s the decision you make and we’re going to stay behind it but you make sure when you do that, that’s what you mean and stick with it”.
The family plans to arrive in Norman Friday evening and will stay until Sunday.
Late Night Notebook –
– Super K
***Exchanged a few messages with 2020 RB, Kendall Milton. He said he’s having a blast. When I was texting with him he was on his way to meet up with Bookie to hang out.
He’s headed down to Texas tomorrow and he will be there until Saturday.
I’ll catch up with him afterwards. It’ll be interesting to see how he compares to two visits. OU has set the bar pretty high!
***I checked in with Alfred Collin’s mother, Benita, today to make sure they were still taking the visit to Oklahoma for this weekend’s JR day.
Benita said, “we won’t be able to make it to OU this weekend. We will plan another date to visit”.
She reiterated, “We are going to make a visit to OU. I am looking forward to meeting the coaches”.
Sounds like they will be down for a spring practice.
As I said earlier in the week, I think you’re better off getting some the guys in on individual visits when it’s warmer and they’re practicing.
I think a lot of the players, especially quieter guys like Alfred aren’t into big crowds. They prefer that one on one time.
In fact, Alfred was at the Texas A&M Super Bowl party and I spoke with him after that. He said he liked it but admitted that the crowd size and the environment was a little different than what he prefers.
You’re in a tough battle anyway with someone like Collins because of his family ties to UT. So, in my opinion, you’re best shot is to really have a day dedicated to Alfred instead of dividing the time which you have to do on a junior day.
This will also give Thibs more one on one time with Princely.
***That takes me to 2020 ATH Mikey Henderson. I spoke with him a little bit this evening and he said that he’s going to be in Norman on Friday instead of the Junior day (Saturday).
Mikey actually said he really doesn’t want to be around a big crowd. He wants this visit to be about understanding exactly how Oklahoma is going to use him.
This is turning into a Red River battle and Texas apparently put together a full video showing him exactly how they plan to use him.
So, he wants to get up to Oklahoma to get to see on film how they plan to use him.
As you may know, Mikey is a quarterback but he’s being recruited to play TE, H-Back, WR, RB. OU will roll plenty of Dimitri Flowers footage, I’m sure.
Mikey ideally wants to commit in May/June but did say that if he’s on a visit and it feels right, he’s not afraid to pull the trigger and commit.
Some interesting personal tidbits here
***I also spoke with Lisa Huntley, the mother of 2020 DT, Alex Huntley (Hammond School, South Carolina). She tells me that they are scheduled to fly in today (Friday) and will be in Norman till Sunday.
They plan to get to the football facilities early and they should be at the OU vs. Texas basketball game.
She reiterated what Alex said regarding the offical visit saying that if all goes well, they plan to return for an offical visit to the Spring Game.
We talked about their interest in Oklahoma and what is driving it. That revealed some notable things.
1) Lisa said Alex has been doing research on Grinch’s scheme and he loves the idea of being able to get up field. As she put it “he doesn’t want to just plug holes. He wants to be able to use his quickness”.
In fact, Alex even dug into the East Carolina archives and researched some of Ruffin McNeil’s philosophies on defensive linemen. Mom said that he noted that Ruffin similarly emphasized getting off the ball and getting after the ball carrier.
By the way, have to say, I was not only impressed with how thorough Alex is, but also very impressed with mom’s football knowledge!
2) Lisa said that Alex really likes the authenticity he senses in Lincoln Riley. He likes the idea of playing for a young and genuine coach. Riley has made a good early impression and as I mentioned in my full write up on Alex, he has a good relationship with coach Beamer as well.
3) As I also mentioned in my previous write-up, Alex wants to play for a championship and Oklahoma certainly wins and competes for those.
4) Lastly, Lisa tells me that their family knows a young lady who actually worked on the ECU staff when Ruffin and Lincoln were there. And, apparently she spoke very highly of just how genuine they were. That personal recommendation seems to be sitting well with the family.
Sooners have put themselves in real contention here. In fact, Lisa said, “Right now they (OU) are checking all the boxes”.
The visit this weekend will be big.
Speaking of big, check out big Alex Huntley throw down a jam…
***And lastly, the Sooners offered 2020 TX DB, Xavion Alford (Shadow Creek High School).
I’ve seen Alford a multiples times. I’ve seen him in camp settings and in a game.
He’s one of the best cover safeties you’ll find in this class. He could probably play cornerback. I didn’t get to see him really come down hill and smack someone in the game I saw. But when you’ve got six or seven guys in front of you and one of them is Alec Bryant, there aren’t a ton of opportunities for that.
I’ll also note that Xavion is a student of the game. Very high football IQ.
I haven’t spoken with him just yet about any plans on visiting but I imagine he will this spring.
