Open Post | Weekend, January 29th – 31st
Posted on: January 29, 2021
Transfers, Camar and Medlock
– Super K
***First, wow. The Sooners have been very selective with their moves on the transfer for portal but so far they are paying off in a big way!
Bedenbaugh has likely upgraded the offensive line adding a guy who I’ve been told coach B believes can be a first rounder in Wanya Morris. In fact, Wanya selected Oklahoma because of his and his family’s belief that coach B was the man who could turn him into a first rounder.
Think about that. That’s what proven your ability to develop does.
Bedenbaugh also added Arizona Swiss Army Knife, Robert Congel. He’s played multiple positions and should provide the Sooners with the competition and depth they need to have a championship offensive line.
***Sooners also added a very high upside defensive back in Keshawn Lawrence and have strengthened their ties to the state of Tennessee. Lawrence has the requisite athleticism to play anywhere in the secondary but I believe the Sooners will start him at safety.
Again, they’ve filled and perhaps upgraded another position of need.
***They went looking for a running back and the Sooners once again turned to Tennessee as they pulled in Eric Gray. Gray adds another quality piece to the OU offensive backfield and he looks like he is a very good fit for what the Sooners do offensively.
***They were looking at Big Kat Bryant for a possible defensive end transfer. Communication went cold on that front for a minute, however, if you have been following along the Insider notes on the Donor Board this week, you know that communication has picked up once again.
***Communication continues between the Sooners and Camar Wheaton. Again, it’s not nothing.
I should have more on this later as this is something I believe is very much worth watching.
***Stopped by Manvel yesterday to see 2022 Sooners LB target, Justin Medlock.
Sounds like the Odom and Grinch are recruiting him pretty hard. My sense is OU is pretty high up on his list along with LSU. We’ll see what happens with this new LSU DC.
Medlock did visit OU just before Covid hit, last February.
2022 Garland Safety Chace Biddle “Loves” OU
– CJ Vogel
I caught up with 2022 Garland safety Chace Biddle (6’0″ 190) at the Dallas Pylon event a few weeks back to see just where things were sitting in his recruitment. Biddle has been racking up the offers over the last few weeks and it appears things will turn into a Texas, Texas A&M and Oklahoma battle when it is all said and done.
“(Recruiting) has been great, it’s been real quiet though,” Biddle said, reiterating a common theme from many of the 2022 guys at Pylon.
Biddle, who is high school teammates with Oklahoma commit and 2022 wide receiver Jordan Hudson, said the only school he has virtually visited so far is the Sooners. Biddle said the visit was “great” and that he “loved” his time talking with the Sooners’ staff.
“I love OU,” Biddle said. “Coach (Lincoln) Riley and Coach (Alex) Grinch, I am definitely high on them. They contact me about more than football. About school and life. It’s been great.”
Biddle told me he was able to catch a little bit of the Cotton Bowl matchup between Florida and Oklahoma and added that “it didn’t look too good” for the Gators. “The Sooners were playing together, they wanted to beat them and they did. They came out and played as a team, they did everything the coaches expected them to do.”
When it comes down to it, a family feel will be the ultimate deciding factor for Biddle when he announces his college decision.
“I am a very big dude on family, like I want to be able to be myself whenever I am around them.” Biddle added he wants his coaches to hold education in a very high regard and to be able to push him off the field as well.
With college visits still sidelined, it is unlikely to see much movement in Biddle’s recruitment until he is able to step foot on campuses once again. He said he is hoping to visit schools as soon as possible once the dead period is lifted.
Biddle said the plan is to be committed right around the start of his senior season, and to early enroll in January to the school he commits to.
Camar Wheaton | Trending and Take
– Super K
I’ve spoken to a few sources about where things stand with 5-star Alabama running back commit, Camar Wheaton.
At this point, I am very much under the impression that everyone around Camar believes he should choose Oklahoma. I was told last night that Camar was still torn and unsure of what to do (a single conversation with Nick Saban can leave a lasting impression on kids).
But, since it seems everyone in his camp now favors OU and OU can offer him an easier path on the field and he’s been in communication with Demarco, I continue to believe OU has a real chance here.
I want to say that chance is at least 50/50 but if I had to lean a direction right now, I’d cautiously lean OU.
I’ll update you as I get additional information or if things become clear one way or another.
Sooners Surprise | Billy Bowman Early Enrollee
– Charlie S
Sooners fans got a nice surprise today as 2021 ATH Billy Bowman has officially enrolled early!
The 5’10” super twitched up Bowman was not included on anyone’s list as an early enrollee but he now joins the other nine freshman ( Isaiah Coe, Ethan Downs, Cody Jackson, Latrell McCutchin, Jordan Mukes, Nathan Rawlins-Kibonge, Clayton Smith, Caleb Williams, Mario Williams) who are enrolled for the Spring Semester in Norman!
That is very good news for OU as he will be around for spring ball which will help OU nail down their plans for Bowman!
Follow up on the Gray Commitment
– Super K
Yes, the Sooners have room for another and we do believe they would take Camar.
I will recheck but this was the latest I heard earlier today before Gray announced.
Wanya Morris | Update
– Super K
I believe everything is finally cleared up from Tennessee’s side regarding Wanya Morris’ transfer to Oklahoma.
I’m told he is expected to be in Norman this weekend.
It sounds like Tennessee was intentionally dragging their feet. It’s my understanding that it’s finally taken care of. I get the sense that they were dragging their feet, in part, to give the new coach (Josh Heupel) a chance to convince Wanya to stay.
I’m told Josh did try and I’m told it did not work.
Notebook | Takeaways From Dallas Pylon 7v7
– CJ Vogel
Some of the best athletes in the country gathered in Dallas in early January for the 2021 Dallas Pylon 7 on 7 tournament. I’ll drop some of my biggest takeaways from the weekend as well as providing a number of names that Oklahoma fans should be on the lookout for the future. (Hint: it involves a lot of Houston talent)
With that said, let’s dive into some of the guys that stood out the most.
– 2022 Oklahoma commit and Garland WR Jordan Hudson was superb. I chatted with him once his team concluded play and will have a post this week about it, but it was real easy to see why the Sooners pushed hard for his commitment early. Wherever he plays on the field, he will be a contributor early.
– Hudson’s teammate at Garland safety Chace Biddle stood out as well. As teams begin to sort out their big boards for the 2022 class, I expect Biddle’s phone to start heating up. He told me afterwards that he was hearing a bit from Oklahoma, Texas* and Texas A&M.
– This PPA team had a lot of pass catchers that are going to blow up this spring. Two of which attend Strake Jesuit in Houston. 2022 Tight end Thomas Jewett was a guy that was seemingly unguardable all day. Jewett is hearing mostly from Ivy’s right now but will end up being a dude regional schools will be after soon enough.
The other was 6-foot-4-inch Leland Smith. Smith is listed as a tight end per his profile on 247Sports, however he played mostly at outside receiver today and looked pretty good at the position. He moved quite well and should see a rise in stock this spring.
– One last pass catcher for PPA that really stood out, and it was hard not to notice him, was 2023 Silsbee WR Jayce Jones. At 6-foot-5-inches tall, Jones is clearly an intriguing prospect, add that to the fact that he is just a sophomore and you have the recipe for a recruitment bound to explode. Right now, Jones holds just a Memphis offer, but that will undoubtedly change this calendar year.
– 2023 Cy Woods linebacker Dylan Rogers is going to be one of the state’s best defensive players without a doubt. Rogers is already at 6’3″ and 205 pounds and combines that with supreme athleticism at the linebacker position. He made a number of impressive plays in the middle of the field for All-En 7 on 7 in the lone game I was able to watch.
Rogers told me he already has his sights set on offers as high up as Alabama and Ohio State. To be honest, it’s not a stretch.
– On to the Fast 7 on 7 squad. It was just another day at the office for Ro Simon Jr.’s squad. Fast went 3-0 and won convincingly in each game. I am beginning to run on of superlatives for Klein Cain RB Jaydon Blue, he is simply incredible. If Blue wasn’t a running back, he would absolutely be able to pass as a slot wide receiver at the next level, his pass catching and route running is that good. He made a leaping catch over a defender in the endzone for one of the best catches of the day. And keep in mind he is only 5-feet-10-inches tall.
– Blue’s teammate on Fast 7v7 and current Texas commit Jaylon Guilbeau was very good in coverage Saturday. Guilbeau played mostly in the slot for Fast which was surprising to me considering his build. But to his credit, Guilbeau played well and in the two games I watched, he allowed just one reception. Guilbeau told me has yet to hear from OU despite the turnover with the Texas coaching staff.
– The more I watch of Brenham’s Eric Hemphill, the more I become a fan. Hemphill is very versatile in the secondary and moves as well as any player on the field. Personally I like him in the slot, but man he can play any of the corner spots.
– Shadow Creek’s Jaiden Scott looked good in coverage once again. I am expecting his offer sheet to expand this offseason once some coaches are able to walk through the doors at Shadow Creek once again.
– For the second straight weekend, 2021 Fort Bend Marshall wide receiver Javion Matthews has been the fastest dude on the field. Matthews is quite undersized, but man with the ball in his hands, it’s hard to find someone more fun to watch on a 7 on 7 field.
I am still waiting for Matthews’ high school teammate Chris Marshall to really break out in one of these tournaments. His junior Hudl film was a blast to watch and the raw talent is absolutely there, while Matthews is entering just his second season as a true football player, it makes sense to not see him on the 7v7 circuit right away but when he puts the pieces together, he will certainly see his name among the likes of Evan Stewart, Caleb Burton, Phaizon Wilson and Armani Winfield. Marshall is the kind of guy that goes to Oklahoma and turns into a 2x All Conference WR.
– One of the new teams to the 7 on 7 circuit is South Texas Elite and it’s filled with some incredible talent. Mostly from Houston, but there are some Georgia fingerprints all over the roster as well.
If you have followed the theme so far today, it is there are some crazy talented tall athletes, and that continues now with 2022 Clear Springs WR Noah Thomas. The offers are just beginning to roll in for Thomas who has earned offers from Arkansas, California, Tennessee, Houston and Colorado so far. That’s a good start, but expect the big dogs from across the region to get involved here. Thomas reminds me a lot of former 4-star WR Johnny Wilson from the 2020 cycle.
– It was good to see 2022 Clear Springs CB Julian Humphrey in action once again, if you remember way back in January of 2020, I posted about Humphrey at the All American Bowl Combine being the best corner at the entire camp and today he proved exactly why there are 23 schools with their hat already in the ring. Oklahoma would be smart to get involved in this recruitment.
- 2022 CB Julian Humphrey (Clear Lake, TX) – Humphrey was the best corner at the camp. The offers are beginning to roll in for him as well, however he has his eyes on a couple schools early on: LSU, TCU and Texas.
– How about a freshman. Yep. 2024 Manvel WR Andre Thompson was very, very impressive. Thompson is on the shorter side of things, at right around 5-foot-10-inches tall, however he is just 14 so it would be foolish to hold that against him. Against some of the best talents two years older than him, Thompson had no issue finding the end zone a couple times and showed nice hands and route running. Store this name away and come back to it. Trust me.
– Pearland safety/outside linebacker Dylan Dixson was out there turning heads as well. The STE member grew up a Florida State fan and with an offer already in the bag, it may be a tough hill to climb. But, Dixson is absolutely worth the watch for the Oklahoma staff.
– A (Boom) midwest kid! How about that. Oklahoma has yet to offer Tyler Morris, but they should at the very least inquire. Morris is a native of Illinois and is currently pegged to go to Michigan by several crystal ball predictions, but he was easily one of the most complete receivers I saw Saturday and is a brilliant student of the game from what I overheard on the sidelines.
