Open Post | Weekend, February 4th – 6th
Posted on: February 4, 2022
Sooners 22 Signing Class and Transfers
– Charlie S – Posted on: February 2, 2022
Oklahoma added 31 new faces to the roster by way of scholarship through High School recruiting and the Transfer Portal.
21 scholarship High School recruits
10 Transfer players
We will dig into our thoughts on the class in the coming days.
Here are your newest scholarship Sooners:
High School Scholarship Signees:
QB Nick Evers
RB Gavin Sawchuk
RB Jovantae Barnes
WR Jayden Gibson
WR Nicholas Anderson
OL Jacob Sexton
OL Jake Taylor
TE Kaden Helms
TE Jason Llewellyn
DL Gracen Halton
DL Cedric Roberts
DL Alton Tarber
EDGE Kevonte Henry
EDGE R Mason Thomas
LB Kip Lewis
LB Jaren Kanak
LB Kobie McKinzie
DB Gentry Williams
DB Jayden Rowe
DB Robert Spears-Jennings
DB Jamarrien Burt
Transfer Additions:
QB Dillon Gabriel
TE Daniel Parker
OL Tyler Guyton
OL McKade Mettauer
DL Jonah La’ulu
DL Jeffery Johnson
LB T.D. Roof
DB Trey Morrison
DB Kani Walker
DB CJ Coldon
VERY impressive ‘Transition Class’ by Brent Venables and the new staff in Norman. Very Impressive.
’22 Incoming Personnel | Position Groups | Offense
– Charlie S – Posted on: February 3, 2022
The ’22 class is in the books.
The Sooners added 21 high school signees and 10 transfers (to this point).
Let’s take a look at how those rooms shook out and I’ll give my grade much the same way as I do the progress reports.
Let’s start with the offensive side of the ball except we will use letter grades as we have not seen them produce on the field in Norman to assign ‘Stars’.
Quarterback: Coach Jeff Lebby
Transfer: Dillon Gabriel
High School: Nick Evers
Grade: A
Rationale: Lebby came into Norman and immediately entered a sticky situation with Caleb Williams looking to explore his options, which eventually led to his transfer.
Lebby went out and secured his priority transfer target in Dillon Gabriel and then turned around and locked up former Florida commit Nick Evers in his high school class. We aren’t even talking about him already locking up his ’23 QB in Jackson Arnold as well.
Really good work in a short period of time. I fully believe Lebby will also keep his eyes open wide for another transfer QB. The days of recruiting a QB every other cycle in Norman are gone and I, personally, love that and think it will only benefit Oklahoma.
Running Back: Coach DeMarco Murray
Transfer: N/A
High School: Jovantae Barnes and Gavin Sawchuk
Grade: A-
Rationale: The A- is sure to set a few of you off, but the minus comes based solely on my personal opinion that OU needed to add another experienced back via the portal as right now you only have Eric Gray and Marcus Major as scholarship backs who have taken snaps.
I think DeMarco pulled in the top High School running back class in the country. I do. However, for the ’22 season, those guys will be true freshmen and if there is an injury or an academic situation (as we saw last season) with Gray or Major, the freshmen will no longer be a luxury, they will be a necessity.
I would not be shocked to see OU look to the portal in the spring, but even if they don’t, DeMarco deserves some high praise for the job he did restocking this room.
Wide Receiver: Coach Cale Gundy
Transfer: N/A
High School: Jayden Gibson and Nic Anderson
Grade: B-
Rationale: Do not get me wrong, I love the potential of Anderson and Gibson. I think Gibson may have been one of the most important adds in this class and for that matter, in any class around the country. Both of these freshmen will have a chance to compete for time in the 2 deep.
That being said, OU lost Mike Woods, Jadon Haselwood and most importantly, Mario Williams. I am surprised that the Sooners were not aggressive in the portal looking for a WR as there were some really strong candidates out there. Gundy got no help from the former guy fleeing west as the room was gutted early on (Hudson/Shettron/Burden/Brown) and it didn’t look like Simmons or Riley even tried to fix things there.
Perhaps they will look for a guy in the spring, but they sure could use an influx of speed which they did not address in my opinion.
Tight Ends: Coach Joe Jon Finley
Transfer: Daniel Parker
High School: Jason Llewellyn and Kaden Helms
Grade: A
Rationale: Joe Jon Finley did a fantastic job navigating the turbulence caused by the former staff packing up and fleeing in the middle of the night and he managed to hold onto both of his high school recruits who were priorities for him from the moment he took the job last year.
I think a lot of people are sleeping on Jason Llewellyn. CJ has been out to see him live on numerous occasions and every time he has seen him, Llewellyn has shown out with some circus catches and a sincere willingness to block, which is something that has been missing in Norman for a minute from the TE room. (Yes, Willis really seemed to step up his blocking game as last year went on).
Helms is more of a big WR right now, but he has a high ceiling and looks to be bought into what Finley is selling.
Parker is a guy who loves to block and has some decent athletic ability as he was originally a DL before switching sides of the ball. I can see him taking over the ‘dirty work’ role that Jeremiah Hall held down in Norman for the last 3 years.
Job well done by Finley and I am excited to see these guys in action.
Offensive Line: Coach Bill Bedenbaugh
Transfer: Tyler Guyton and McKade Mettauer
High School: Jake Taylor and Jacob Sexton
Grade: B-
Rationale: This grade will get a lot of reaction from many in the community. I understand the optics. I get the desire to recruit 5* OL. Trust me, I hear you.
But put it this way…if Bedenbaugh had gotten either Campbell (he got did dirty there and wasted a lot of time, unfortunately) or Conerly (yes OU is still in it, but it’s still a tough pull) this class would be in the ‘A’ range because Jake Taylor and Jacob Sexton are that good.
Taylor is a guy who I believe will push for a spot in the 2 deep. He may not crack the rotation, but he will be a guy that works hard and is physically closer to being ready than previous highly rated guys who came to Norman. I could see him making his way into consideration at the very least.
Sexton is another guy who has a very high ceiling and was coveted by many programs around the country. He likely will need some more time to shape his body and build strength, but he absolutely has the potential to be a 2-3 year starter.
Then he grabbed Mettauer who will immediately push for a starting job from Cal and brought in a high ceiling guy in Guyton. Mettauer will make the most impact next year, but if Schmidty and Bedenbaugh can get Guyton to buy in and work hard and take football seriously, the kid has all the tools to be an early-round draft choice. He’s that athletic.
So yeah, while the class isn’t flashy, it’s not nearly as bad as people want to believe and as I said, if you added Campbell or Conerly to this group, the optics would be a helluva lot better.
With that said, OU needs to have a 5-6 man, high quality, OL group out of high school in the ’23 cycle for sure.
’22 Incoming Personnel | Position Groups | Defense
– Charlie S – Posted on: February 3, 2022
The ’22 class is in the books.
The Sooners added 21 high school signees and 10 transfers (to this point).
Let’s take a look at how those rooms shook out and I’ll give my grade much the same way as I do the progress reports.
Let’s get to the defensive side of the ball except we will use letter grades as we have not seen them produce on the field in Norman to assign ‘Stars’.
Defensive Line: Coach Todd Bates
Transfer: Jeffery Johnson
High School: Gracen Halton, Cedric Roberts, Alton Tarber
Grade: B
Rationale: Bates came in late as he stayed with Clemson through the duration of their season. While he was ‘with’ OU from the get go, he completed his full duties at Clemson and Miguel Chavis got the ball rolling (with input from Bates I am sure) and locked up Tarber quickly.
Bates held onto Cedric Roberts and was a major factor in flipping Gracen Halton from Oregon.
Jeffery Johnson will be the guy with the largest impact on the field in ’22 as I think he will actually prove to be a statistical upgrade to Perrion Winfrey for Oklahoma.
I could include transfer Jonah La’ulu inside as well as I have a feeling he will have a role similar to what Isaiah Thomas had for OU (playing inside and out) in different situations, but I will leave him with the ends right now.
Moten would have pushed them to a B+ or A- but Miami played the hometown card and locked him up.
Nice job rebounding after losing Dindy and Moore during the coaching change.
OLB/EDGE: Coach Miguel Chavis
Transfer: Jonah La’ulu
High School: R Mason Thomas and Kevonte Henry
Grade: B+
Chavis, as a coach, gets into the A range because of the work he put in early on all these guys plus Alton Tarber at DL.
The immediate impact guy is the transfer, La’ulu and I expect him to play multiple positions with the hope that he uses his size and speed on the end in clear passing situations. He is big enough to be able to stand up against the run as well.
Picking up Henry late, so long as he makes it to campus, gives OU a high ceiling EDGE presence and he has the frame to put on some good weight and should be able to play both standing and with his hand in the dirt over time.
R Mason Thomas was an early priority as Chavis wasted little time getting in his ear. Flipping him from Iowa State and pulling him out of Miami was a big win for the Sooners and I see a kid that plays with his hair on fire. While he may not ever make it to a guy who plays with his hand in the dirt, he is going to be a problem for opposing OLs in due time.
Linebacker: Coach Ted Roof
Transfer: T.D. Roof
High School: Kobie McKinzie, Kip Lewis, Jaren Kanak
Grade: A+
Best linebacker room haul in the country. I will stand on that…and would you expect anything less from Ted Roof? ?
T.D. Roof is a guy who will come in and likely serve as a player/coach as he brings energy and experience to the room but the heavy hitters are the trio of elite high school recruits.
I actually cycle between all three of them as to which I am most excited to see over the coming years.
McKinzie is the best MIKE in the country in my opinion. I know some question his size and if he will eventually spin down to DE, but man, his tools and athleticism under Venables is something that has an incredibly high ceiling.
Kanak is a physical freak who not only has great size, he has incredible speed and plays with bad intentions.
Kip Lewis is the one that often gets overlooked and at the end of the day, he may turn out to be the best of the bunch as he is gifted athletically and his frame will allow him to pack on good weight. He is the guy that is your prototypical ‘Big 12’ linebacker from 3 years ago.
Amazing class.
Defensive Back: Coach Brandon Hall and Jay Valai (kept them together until the guys find their spots, otherwise it is speculation)
Transfer: Trey Morrison, Kani Walker, CJ Coldon
High School: Jayden Rowe, Gentry Williams, Robert Spears-Jennings, Jamarrien Burt
Grade: A
I think the rooms will breakdown as such:
CB: Gentry Williams, Kani Walker, CJ Coldon
S: Jayden Rowe, Trey Morrison
Multiple: Robert Spears Jennings, Jamarrien Burt
The late addition of Burt is a steal in my opinion as he is a fast, violent player who has the ability to play either safety or corner. Could see him as a NB type down the line, but I think he turns out to be a kid that you say ‘Man, we got lucky’. I really do,
Gentry will thrive after having a full year removed from his injury and proper S&C training. Having Valai work with him is so much more attractive than having had Roy Manning work with him.
Kani Walker is a guy I have gone into detail about and I believe OU got another gem from the portal there. Coldon is a guy who won’t make it to campus until June, so he will be a bit behind, but he has the potential to crack the rotation.
Robert Spears Jennings is a guy who absolutely blew up his senior year and he brings tremendous measurables to go along with excellent speed. Jayden Rowe is the guy I have the most questions about in regard to remaining in the DB room. Not because he cannot do it, he is an incredible athlete with uber speed, but he may wind up being a terror off the edge for the Sooners or a hybrid NB type of kid. Love the possibilities with him.
Trey Morrison is just a football player with a nose for the ball and what he lacks in measurables he makes up for with instincts and a willingness to hit people.
Really nice job here.
Ashton Cozart | Change Is Good
– Charlie S – Posted on: February 3, 2022
As you may or may not know, ’23 WR Ashton Cozart (6’3 190) out of Flower Mound, TX has an upcoming announcement scheduled for Friday evening…
Cozart, who was set to commit to Oklahoma on the very day the former head coach snuck away to the west coast, recently visited Norman to meet up with the new staff…
That tweet caught my eye so I touched base with him.
I caught up with Cozart and asked him about it.
I asked him if he could explain what he meant by the tweet. Ashton said, “I think the best part of the visit was getting the chance to connect with the new staff and having time to get to know each other. Coach Lebby and I spent time breaking down film and I couldn’t be more excited about where he sees me in his offense”.
When I brought up the part about him saying ‘The change in Norman is good’ he said, “The main difference was how engaged Coach V and all the coaches were during the 8-9 hour day instead of just giving us a conversation and then sitting through presentations the rest of the day. They’re huge on family, and it doesn’t feel like just words”.
He added, “Coach V is about the human first. He wants people with good morals and integrity. His faith is important to him and it is important to me as well. He definitely isn’t just selling a dream”.
I have OU way out front here still. It feels like the staff changes were just a delay.
I’ll share more of our conversation later.
