Open Post | Weekend, March 30th – April 1st By: The Brainiacs Posted on: March 30, 2018

– This past weekend, Sooners 2019 RB target, Marcus Major visited Texas. Majors plan has been to make a decision this summer. His father mentioned early in the process that they would take some time and take some visits.

The story line that has been intriguing to me on this front is that Major’s teammate, WR Demariyon Houston mentioned in a conversation with me that he had Marcus would like to play together. That is something that that a lot of folks talk about, but it rarely materializes.

I spoke with the head coach, Coach Franklin, over at Millwood.

“I haven’t talked with them in detail about it (the trip to Texas) but they definitely enjoyed it”. I asked if, as players from Oklahoma, a school like Texas is a bit off limits, “no, we’ve had kids from here go to Texas. In the end we tell these guys to choose the school that when it’s all said and done and football is over you can take care of your family. Where can you go and put yourself in a position to be able to take care of your family? Football doesn’t last forever”.

I asked coach Franklin the idea of Major and Houston playing together and just how real of a possibility that is and how close the two are, “It’s definitely something they’d like to do. They’re like family. It’s not a best friend situations. It’s a brotherhood. They do everything together and they hold each other accountable in school and in football. They make each other better”.

Brandon was able to catch up with Marcus’ father, more on that below. – (Super K)

 

 

– 2019 Millwood (OKC) running back, Marcus Major Jr, has seen his recruitment sky rocket this off season. He is one of the hottest recruits in the region, seemingly picking up big time offers daily.

This past week, Major took visits to Texas and TCU. He plans to visit Oklahoma as early as this weekend if things work out. I spoke to Major’s father, Marcus Major Sr, earlier this week and he talked about their plans going forward. as well as how the visits went with Texas and TCU.

Marcus Major Jr went down to Texas and TCU with his teammate and best friend, Demaryion Houston. Houston has an offer from Texas and was offered by TCU when they took their unofficial visit to the Horned Frogs. I asked Marcus Sr how the visits went and he said, “I didn’t get to go with him on the  visits to TCU and Texas, but according to him, they both had nice campuses and competitive practices.”

When asked about their intentions with Oklahoma, Major Sr said they had plans to visit the Sooners, possibly as soon as this weekend. “We spoke to Coach Jay (Boulware) yesterday. We definitely plan on getting back down to Norman. We may be getting down there as early as this weekend, we’ll see” Major Sr told me. He went on about the OU visit plans and the hold up, saying “It’s just been so hectic. We have had plans for weeks to return, but between ACT preps and track practices, it has been really hard to do.”

The Major’s have a strong relationship with the OU staff and that relationship is paying off for the Sooners. Major Sr and I spoke at length about their timeline and it has still remained the same, with a decision expected by late July-early August. Major Sr told me that they are planning their officials in the near future and OU would be one of those visits with Arkansas, Florida, Texas and USC likely to receive the others.

Major has a ton of track meets coming up with his first being this Friday. Most meets are on the weekends, so I asked his father if the Sooners spring game was still a go for them and he stated, “Oh yeah! The Sooners spring game is a must for us. We definitely have to get down there for that!” Major Sr added that, “OU will always be in the mix and we will make it down there again one way or another. Officially for sure.” – (Brandon)

 

 

– Had heard that Sooners RB commit, Isaiah Spiller, may be visiting Texas A&M this week. Shot him a text message to confirm. He said he may indeed be visiting. But, said he is 100% solid to OU and also added that he will be at the OU Spring Game.

– Also, checked in with 2019 DB, Isaiah Rutherford out of California. You’ll recall we had a full write up about Rutherford after his offer where we quoted him mentioning that his uncle (father’s best friend) is a die hard Sooner fan and graduated from OU.  Rutherford tells me he still plans to make it out to OU this spring but still no date has been set.

I’ll be in LA next weekend to see some of the OU targets at the Adidas tournament. So, I’ll try to have more with him at that time.

– Another DB to keep an eye for the spring game is Jaden Davis (Fort Lauderdale, FL). I checked in with Davis recently and he’s still set to visit for the spring game. Davis is friends with Sooner signee Nik Bonitto and Sooners current DB, Miguel Edwards. I don’t have a great feel here but I’d keep an eye on Davis. So far he hasn’t mentioned any other official visits to me. – (Super K)

 

 

– The Sooners will play host to 2019 Wide Receiver Jacoby Pinckney, Roebuck, SC, this weekend. Pinckney will be making the trip out to Norman with his family for an unofficial visit.

I was able to catch up with Pinckney a few minutes after he tweeted out his plans for the visit.

The 6’3″, 192 lbs. receiver was offered on January 30th, 2018. Jacoby told me that his main recruiters are Coach Beamer and Coach Simmons, and he is being recruited as an outside receiver.

I asked him what he will be looking for while on his trip and he said, “I’ll be lookimg to see how they run things at OU. I’m looking to see how comfortable I feel with the area/campus, as well as how comfortable I feel around the players and staff.”

Pinckney also has plans to visit Georgia, Wake Forest, Virginia Tech and Tennesee on his spring break.

I have plans to catch up with Jacoby after his visit to get his thoughts on how things went. – (Charlie)

 

 

– Zachary Evans: The Sooners are working hard on the Houston area in an effort to land more talent from the fertile recruiting ground. Back on January 31st, Oklahoma offered 2020 Houston (TX) North Shore High School running back, Zachary Evans. This weekend Oklahoma is set to host the star running back as he takes an unofficial visit to OU.

Evans isn’t much of a talker, but I spoke with him about his visit to OU and he stated that his relationship with Coach Boulware and Coach Riley is really strong. He went onto say that his main goal was to see how he feels around the campus and “how they take me in”.

Evans has been on unofficials to A&M and Alabama so far, but OU is the only visit he has planned in the near future. He did add that he has no plans for a decision anytime soon and being a 2020 recruit, and he will likely wait until his senior year to decide. – (Brandon)

 

 

– We reported that Lincoln Riley was interviewing former Notre Dame and Nebraska Defensive Coordinator, Bob Diaco, for a defensive analyst position back on March 15th. Bob Diaco

Earlier this week, head coach Lincoln Riley made his hire official.

Diaco also served as The University of Connecticut’s head coach.

Diaco, a former player at Iowa, has several ties to the staff in Norman. Kerry Cooks served as the Defensive Backs coach under Diaco at Notre Dame, and Ruffin McNeil was the Head Coach at ECU while Diaco was the head man at UCONN.

As far as Defensive Analyst hires go, this would appear to be a homerun. Diaco will not be actively coaching players on the field, rather he will help break down film, both OU’s and opponents, for game and practice preparation. Also, it adds another voice to the defensive side of the ball, which as we have mentioned before, is something Lincoln Riley is adament about having as he prepares for his second season as Head Coach. – (Charlie)

 

 

Spring Game:

– Date: Saturday, April 14th

– The dedication of Bob Stoops’ statue will take place at 10 a.m.

– Prior to the game, entertainer Trace Adkins will perform at 12:30 p.m.

– Red-White Spring Game Kickoff will take place at 1:15 p.m.

– Season ticket holders can purchase tickets beginning Wednesday at noon for $5.

– General public tickets go on sale Thursday at noon for $10.

 

We are currently compiling a list of the recruits who will be in attendance on both official and unofficial vists. It’s a large number. Very large. – (Charlie)

 

 

Team Notes:

Mike Stoops has been pleased with what he has seen from DT Neville Gallimore.

– “Neville was kind of in and out all year. He had to sit I think, what, three weeks? He’s battled injuries on and off, and he hasn’t been on the field consistently. Just these five days, you could just see he’s just a much more confident. You’re starting to see his skills show up.”

– “Every down, he’s starting to play more consistently. He’s been probably our most improved player, I would say, that I’ve seen this far, and now he’s showing the player that we thought he would be.”

Former Nebraska defensive coordinator Bob Diaco has just joined the OU staff, but Stoops has been a fan for a while.

– “Well, I’ve known Bobby since back in Iowa when I was a GA and he was there. He’s been a really neat guy to be around. He’s coached defense a long time, and you know, Notre Dame, they’re a little different, but we’re similar in a lot of ways. So he brings a new perspective.”

– “He brings a big picture perspective, and we need that. The more guys that can see things, have eyes with that kind of experience, I think it helps you, obviously for me, just talking, because you’re doing so much. So he’s going to be a valuable asset like all our other guys are.” …

Calvin Thibodeaux said the emergence of DT Marquise Overton has been huge for the defense.

– “It’s a real big deal. Like I said, he’s another guy that has had experience, he’s been in wars,”

– “But like I said, the guys are playing their butt off right now, so he got to give back, because we’ve got some guys playing well right now.”

Stoops says he has watched linebacker Kenneth Murray mature since the end of his first season.

– “Oh, he’s so pleasant to be around, and he gets things. He has a great maturity and a great perspective. He knows what’s good.”

– “He knows what’s acceptable and what isn’t acceptable. Some kids are oblivious, and I think we’d all say that’s pretty much unacceptable in a lot of cases, and we need to take a hard look at ourselves and give back. He’s a guy that, he talks the talk, but he walks the walk too. You don’t want guys just talking about it. He doesn’t talk about it every day. He knows, he focuses on things that are going to help our football team, and that’s working out, being in shape, being a better, smarter, better part, and he will be.” – (Michael Kinney)

 

 

Round Ball | OU Hoops:

The Sooners have been having a rough last week (more like last three months). In the last 5 days, Oklahoma has lost Jordan Shepherd and Kameron McGusty to transfer. I wrote up, and reported, McGusty’s impending transfer on Sunday, along with his reasons why he was looking to leave OU. McGusty

The fact that McGusty is transferring is a tough pill to swallow for Sooners staff.

McGusty had a propensity to look for his own shot, and not defer to others that were more open at times. He ended up with only NINE assists for the whole season. NINE. For a guard, regardless of whether you play the 1, 2 or 3, that is not a good look.

Still, McGusty was a scorer and he was instant offense for OU during his freshman and sophomore seasons. That is going to be hard to replace.

Where is Oklahoma looking now with Ty Lazenby and 2018 signee Jamal Bieniemy as the only viable options at the PG position on the roster? Although by definition, they are both guards, the problem is the fact that both Lazenby and Bieniemy are combo guards. They play more of the two and three than they do the one position. Bieniemy can play the point. But do you want a freshman, not named Trae Young or Jordan Woodard starting at PG as a true freshman, in the toughest league in the nation?

That’s where scouring the nation for grad transfer point guards is essential and, from speaking to sources, that’s exactly what Lon Kruger and his staff seem to be doing. One potential grad transfer guard is Maine point guard, Alex Calixte. Calixte had a great year for the Black Bears in 2018, averaging 16.9 points, 3.2 assists and 3.1 rebounds.

If Oklahoma could land Calixte, it would be huge get for the Sooners, as he would be the instant starter and a crucial piece to Kruger rebuilding the program back to, at the very least, 2014 levels.

Oklahoma joins Missouri, Arizona, Ole Miss and DePaul as programs that have been in pursuit of Calixte services.

Another prospect Oklahoma is really looking to land is 2018 Wabash Valley College power forward, Austin Trice. Trice is ranked the number one PF in JUCO ranks. Trice originally hails from Mount Carmel, Illinois, and has strong interest from the states flagship school, the University of Illinois.

From talking to sources, Trice is expected to visit OU on April 13th, officially. That, obviously, is the big recruiting weekend for the football program because of the spring game. It is also becoming a big weekend for Oklahoma basketball, as well.

There is talk that Oklahoma feels really good about landing Trice. If Oklahoma was to land Trice and Calixte, it would definitely be a turning point for a program that looks to have fallen on hard times since the second the calendar turned to 2018. We will keep you all updated on where Oklahoma goes with the latest developments in their search to fill the roster. – (Brandon)

 

 

– Former CSU Rams junior shooting guard, Kris Martin, announced that he would be transferring on Tuesday, and planned to finish out his college career with Oklahoma. Martin’s desire to transfer comes on the heels of Colorado States decision to fire their coach, Larry Eustachy.

Martin began his career at Oral Roberts, in Tulsa, and started over 30 games during his stint with the Golden Eagles. Martin is known as good scorer, and averaged over 10 points a game in his first two seasons. Following his sophomore season, Martin transferred to CSU and sat out last year. Due to NCAA transfer rules, and his decision to transfer yet again, he never played a game for CSU.

The announcement of Martin’s commitment was welcomed news to Sooner fans after losing sophomore shooting guard Kameron McGusty and junior point guard Jordan Shepherd, to transfer earlier this week.

That good news was short lived however. Yesterday afternoon I was contacted by a source who informed me that Martin’s scholarship offer, and therefore his commitment to OU, wasn’t valid.

Martin would have to graduate, and transfer as a grad transfer, to be eligible for the 2018-2019 basketball season. My source went on to say, “It’s one of the weirdest deals I have seen. The coaches retweeted his announcement, but Martin was never offered by Oklahoma, so there was no transfer opportunity to begin with.”

So, Oklahoma is still out there looking to land a grad transfer guard, and some others to fill the roster. Head Coach Lon Kruger is known as one of the best program rebuilders in the nation. The problem is, this time he is tasked to rebuild a program he had already built up. We will know soon enough if he can be successful at that, too. – (Brandon)