Open Post | Weekend, July 19th – 21st
Posted on: July 19, 2019
Odom’s First Linebacker Class
– Super K
The first class for new hires can often be a bit underwhelming. But I have to say I am very impressed with the wisdom that new linebacker coach, Brian Odom, has demonstrated in how he’s handled recruiting in this class.
Too often what we’ve seen is a new coach gets hired and assume now that they’ve got the OU logo on their chest their going to land who they want.
They don’t.
Then, come October. they’re way down their board.
What Odom did was take his shot at the biggest targets early on but make sure that he had his eyes on talented prospects who he would have a better chance at landing.
He recruited Justin Flowe. He recruited Noah Sewell. He recruited Kourt Williams. He recruited Trenton Simpson. He recruited Josh White.
But he also recruited talented but less heralded guy likes Edgerrin Cooper and Brynden Walker.
Cooper and Walker are in my mind, two great, first-year prospects because they really check a lot of boxes. Both are athletic guys with plenty of room to develop physically. But perhaps as importantly, they don’t have red flags. They’re both strong character guys and strong academic guys. So you aren’t taking a risk in your first class.
You’re getting guys that can run. But, you’re getting guys that you know will know the playbook. And, you’re getting guys that aren’t going to have disciplinary or work ethic issues.
When you have players like that, you can coach a lot of the rest.
Based on my conversations with the sources I’ve spoken to, that’s the mentality of Grinch and Odom and it’s something that’s been missing on the defensive side of the ball.
I’ll explain.
If Riley doesn’t land the 5-star guy, truth be told, from everything I’ve heard, he doesn’t seem overly bothered by it. He believes in his system and his ability to coach. So, in his mind, from everything I’ve heard, he’s going to find a guy who is willing to work and turn him into a playmaker. Obviously, there are special cases where you want guys with a certain type of speed that you just can’t coach and I know that’s something OU generally has and is still trying to find. But in general, how many walk-ons have we seen Riley put in a position to make plays for the Sooners?
Grinch and Odom have a similar mentality, I’ve been told. They believe in their system and their ability to coach. So, while you’d love to have Justin Flowe, if you’ve got a guy who can run, is willing to work, can learn the playbook and represents the university well off the field, they feel they’ve got a guy who can help them.
It’s developing those guys that’s going to land you the Justin Flowe’s in the future.
When you believe that guys should come in already developed and you don’t have a system that can impact the player’s ability to be effective on the field, then it puts you in a really destructive cycle.
You end up trying to get the best recruits and you wait too long to move on from said recruits because you believe that the only way you’re going to be successful is if you get that exact recruit. The problem is, that exact recruit is rarely going to choose a school that isn’t producing NFL talent at their position. So in the chicken or the egg scenario, you’ve got neither.
Odom took the right guys based on where he is in his career and where OU is as a school trying to build a defense. But he also put himself in a position to land a Kourt Williams or a Jordan Banks. And, with a big season, he opened the door for himself to perhaps get a visit out of a Noah Sewell or a Trenton Simpson or a Justin Flowe.
More on Kourt and Banks later by the way.
Quick Hitters | 2020 WR Rome Odunze & 2021 DE David Abiara
– Charlie S
Couple notes related to the Champ U BBQ event which takes place on July 27th…
***Was finally able to get in touch with 2020 wide receiver Rome Odunze (Las Vegas, NV, Bishop Gorman HS) and he confirmed that he is planning on making his way to Norman for the Champ U BBQ.
The 6’2.5″ 200 lb receiver holds over 30 offers from across the country and the fact he will be taking an unofficial visit to Norman speaks volumes about his interest in Oklahoma.
I’m going to include his film below, but one thing of note that really stood out to me was his performance at The Opening. The big fella ran a 4.55 forty, a 4.00 shuttle, and had a vertical jump of 33.80 inches.
That is impressive.
***I also was able to catch up with 2021 Defensive End David Abiara out of Mansfield, TX (Mansfield Legacy) and he confirmed he would be in attendance for the BBQ.
The 6’4″ 245 lb rising junior already holds seven offers including one from Oklahoma.
Abiara is a guy who I believe will see his recruitment take off this fall so it is a great opportunity for the Sooners to make a big impression during the weekend and have a strong standing in his recruitment once it does take off.
Inside the Numbers | Defensive Back
– Charlie S
Earlier this month the Sooners received a big commitment at a position of need from 2020 Safety Bryson Washington out of Houston, TX (6’2″ 200).
‘A position of need.’
Looking at the numbers, that statement is difficult to justify.
All throughout the 2020 cycle, we have been working under the notion that the Sooners would be looking to take at least two safeties in this class.
We are checking if that is still currently the plan as the waters are a bit muddied based in large part on the lack of attrition at the safety spot to this point.
The Sooners currently have nine safety’s on the roster with none of them exhausting their eligibility following the upcoming season.
Add Washington to the position group next year and you will have ten safety’s, and this does not even take Bookie, who played a lot of safety last year, into account.
Robert Barnes S 6-2 207 Jr.
Justin Broiles S 5-10 189 RSo.
Jeremiah Criddell S 5-11 198 Fr.
Ty DeArman S 5-11 191 Fr.
Patrick Fields S 5-11 196 So.
Delarrin Turner-Yell S 5-10 193 So.
Chanse Sylvie DB 6-0 192 RJr.
Jordan Parker DB 5-11 180 RJr.
Jamal Morris DB 6-2 192 Fr.
Ten guys at safety represents over 12 percent of the allotted 85 scholarships for the year.
If you add Bookie and one of DJ Graham or Tre Norwood (who played safety late last season) that number jumps to over 14 percent of your scholarships being taken by the safety group.
Those are not kind percentages when one is trying to manage an 85 man roster.
On top of that, both of those percentages are based on OU actually having 85 scholarship players on their roster, which is generally never the case so again, the percentage goes up.
Even if you leave Tre Norwood and Bookie out of the safety discussion, as you look deeper and you add in the other defensive backs the number swells to 17 DBs with only Parnell Motley exhausting his eligibility…
Starrland Baldwin CB 5-11 161 RFr.
Tre Brown CB 5-10 185 Jr.
Jaden Davis CB 5-10 172 Fr.
Miguel Edwards CB 5-11 171 RFr.
Parnell Motley CB 6-0 178 Sr.
Woodi Washington CB 5-11 182 Fr.
Tre Norwood DB 6-0 184 Jr.
Brendan Radley-Hiles DB 5-9 180 So.
Add the three commits…
Ryan Watts
DJ Graham
Bryson Washington
..and you are at 19 defensive backs…
Suddenly you have 23 percent of your roster as defensive backs (again based on the idea that you have a full 85 scholarships which is not typical…so again the percentage rises)
Should no attrition occur…the Sooners may very well be done this cycle at defensive back.
This is when the topic of ‘processing’ comes up.
While processing (basically telling a kid to look elsewhere as there is no room at the inn for them) is a pretty common occurrence at some programs, it has never been widely implemented at OU. Of course there have been cases, but generally speaking, there is usually something aside from on-field performance that triggers OU to take that route with a player.
The Sooners are in a difficult spot here as a program as they have some defensive backs who may not fit the scheme yet thus far they have shown no inclination of leaving on their own volition.
Will we see some of the expected attrition prior to fall camp? Perhaps.
Will we see the attrition take place once camp concludes? Maybe.
Will we see attrition take place following the season? We could.
I know they had Dontae Manning recently committed so I would feel comfortable in saying that they would welcome another corner to the class as DJ Graham is designated as an ‘athlete’ right now and he could go play offense, but all things point to him being a DB still.
The bottom line here is, for the 2020 class, it appears that recruiting is in a holding pattern as things shake out with the players on campus as OU cannot make promises to kids which they cannot keep at this time.
The holding pattern could put OU behind the eight ball so to speak as they walk a fine line of recruiting additional 2020 DBs while not knowing if they will have scholarships available for them.
I am not saying OU is done at DB for certain…but right now, with the numbers situation the way it is, they are walking on a tight-rope.
Sourced | More on DB Numbers
– Super K
Charlie just did a nice breakdown of the defensive back numbers up above.
I have spoken to someone about where things stand and was told that the Sooners would still like to take two more defensive backs.
I don’t know how the numbers work out but I imagine they have their eye on some guys who they expect to transfer at some point.
But the number I was told was two more.
The targets are in flux. And, I’m getting the sense that things aren’t nearly as stable with Ryan Watts as they may have seemed.
I’m not saying it’s certainly going to happen but I just want to warn you all not to be surprised if you see him open things up. At this point, anything seems possible.
Sourced | Team | Trio of Quick-Hitters
– Super K
***Up front, I’m told that Wete, Roberson, and Hicks are picking things up but it is taking time I’m told.
The guy who isn’t taking time to pick things up is, according to my sources, Davis Ugwoegbu. Was told he is the furthest along of the freshmen playing upfront.
Source added, “Just mature, he learns fast and moves well for his size”.
***As I’ve noted before, the inside linebacker room doesn’t seem to be very deep right now. From what I gather, outside of the obvious favorites in Kenneth Murray and DaShaun White, the staff likes Ryan Jones. But I was told, “he has some learning to do”.
***A little note on Marcus Stripling as well. Was told once again that he stands out amongst the others in terms of athleticism. Was also told that he has matured a great deal since arriving at Oklahoma. That isn’t to say he was immature but having seen him in high school a couple of times, I wondered if that fire would be in him. I’m told it definitely is.
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July Recruiting Rankings Deep Dive
– Ryan Lewis
This has been quite the busy summer for the Sooners in recruiting, with both commitments and decommitments. After the latest flurry of commits, OU has slowly climbed back into the top 10 in a few of the recruiting services.
Charlie provided an excellent breakdown last week for the 2020 class, showing how many targets remain at each position. With around 10 spots left to fill, the class is beginning to take its shape.
Committed Players
The 2020 class currently sits at 15 committed players.
QB: 0
RB: 2
Jase McClellan – Aledo (Aledo, TX) – 5-10 / 201 – (Committed 7/29/2017)
Seth McGowan – Poteet (Mesquite, TX) – 5-11.5 / 215 – (Committed 6/6/2019)
HB:1
Michael Henderson – Ranchview (Carrollton, TX) – 6-1.5 / 234 – (Committed 2/24/2019)
WR: 2
Trevon West – Lamar (Arlington, TX) – 6-0 / 165 – (Committed 2/15/2019)
Brian Darby – A&M Consolidated (College Station, TX – 5-11.5 / 192 – (Committed 6/6/2019)
OL: 3
Nate Anderson – Reedy (Frisco, TX) – 6-5 / 262 – (Committed 5/6/2019)
Andrew Raym – Broken Arrow (Broken Arrow, OK) – 6-5 / 285 – (Committed 7/10/2019)
Noah Nelson – Williams Field (Gilbert, AZ) – 6-8 / 295 – (Committed 5/13/2019)
TE: 1
Jalin Conyers – Gruver (Gruver, TX) – 6-4 / 220 – (Committed 7/12/2019)
DL: 1
Perrion Winfrey – Iowa Western C.C. (Council Bluffs, IA) – 6-4 / 305 – (Committed 6/12/2019)
LB: 2
Edgerrin Cooper – Covington (Covington, LA) – 6-1.5 / 205 (Committed 6/21/2019)
Brynden Walker – Bishop McGuinness (Oklahoma City, OK) – 6-3.5 / 230 (Committed 6/30/2019)
DB: 3
Bryson Washington – C.E. King (Houston, TX) – 6-2 / 196 – (Committed 7/4/2019)
Ryan Watts – Little Elm (Little Elm, TX) – 6-2.5 / 187 – (Committed 4/21/2019)
DJ Graham – Keller Central (Keller, TX) – 5-11.5 / 178 – (Committed 2/5/2019)
Recruiting Progression
Recruiting rankings are certainly not meant as a complete indicator of the level a team or player can rise to. Oklahoma recently had a former walk-on player win the Heisman and get drafted first overall in the NFL draft. The Heisman winner before Mayfield for the Sooners, Sam Bradford, was a former three star. Oklahoma traditionally develops talent extremely well, as seen in both of those players. With that said, neither coaches nor fans are upset when talented prospects choose the Sooners.
Keeping that in mind, the charts below show how the recruiting rankings have changed over the course of this class.
The three major recruiting services each have their own data and respective line, while the red line captures the average of the three.
In a chart like this, it’s easy to see the patterns of recruiting and the periods when the Sooners are the hottest on the trail. However, just because a class ranking rises or drops doesn’t necessarily mean that a team is gaining or losing commits; sometimes, other teams just add more players during a certain stretch. With that in mind, this next chart shows the same lines, but with a little more detail.
The names of players who committed and decommitted are shown on the above chart. It’s quite busy recently with all the commits, but that’s a good problem to have. Commitments are shown with a +, while decomittments are shown with a –.
Thoughts
A few thoughts on the charts:
* Yes, the overall trend over the lifetime of this class is downward. However, when you start at #1… there’s only one direction to go.
* Alex Grinch was hired January 4th, 2019. All six current defensive commits committed after his hire. The two defensive players committed before his hire have since decommitted.
* Comparing the end of April to today:
* Six commits then as opposed to to 15 commits now.
* The average ranking has stayed fairly steady (right around 12).
* What gives? I think this is a simple case of OU not being the only school to have a productive summer.
* Per 247, out of the nine schools with recruiting class ranked higher than OU’s right now, only one of those schools (Georgia) has fewer commits. The average number of commits for those nine schools is just shy of 19, as opposed to OU’s 15.
* Other Big 12 rankings (via 247):
* 31: Texas
* 32: Kansas
* 34: Kansas State
* 37: Iowa State
* 39: Oklahoma State
* 46: TCU
* 48: West Virginia
* 50: Texas Tech
* 53: Baylor
Charlie pointed out in his post that there are still several positions of need for the Sooners. As OU closes out this class, it will be interesting to see how high the rankings can climb and how well those needs can be addressed.
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