Open Post | Weekend, May 31st – June 2nd
Posted on: May 31, 2019
Updates | Kourt Williams & 2020 Linebacker Recruiting
– James Hale
Thus far in the 2020Deep recruiting cycle, OU does not have a linebacker in the group. OU inside linebacker Coach Brian Odom has been all over the country searching for linebackers that fit the Alex Grinch defensive model.
One of the best linebackers that Odom has offered who they brought in for an official visit is four-star Kourt Williams (6’1, 216) of Bellower (St. John Bosco), California. Williams visited OU on May 3rd and came away impressed with the Sooners.
“OU was great,” said Williams. “This was different from when I came in last time with my dad. On the official, I was able to see a lot more of the surrounding city. I got a chance to interact with the players more and I got to see more of the academic side of everything in what I want to major in (education).”
After the second time in Norman, Williams is feeling pretty good about the Sooners.
“I have a good feel about OU and feel good about where I would fit in with OU,” said Williams. “I was able to talk to some of the players and what they think of the future of the program and the defense. I really felt at home in Norman and I liked OU a lot.”
Williams realizes OU has not offered a ton of linebackers and they are not looking to sign but one or two in this class, and he is developing a good relationship with Coach Odom.
“I like Coach Odom a lot,” said Williams. “I have fun talking to him, Coach (Roy) Manning and Coach (Alex) Grinch. Coach Odom is always explaining to me the position that he wants me to play. He likes me at the WILL linebacker because I’m fast and I can cover sideline-to-sideline, and he likes all that.”
“Coach Odom and all the coaches really tell me that with my skill set and the way I can run that I would have a chance to play early. That is important to me. I know at OU they have great players, but I believe in myself and if I go to OU I want the chance to prove that I can play right away.”
“I talk to Coach Odom the most and we talk about twice a week. He came to my spring showcase two weeks ago as he and Coach Grinch came up. It was great to see them then.”
OU wants Williams as a linebacker but he runs well enough that has a lot of people thinking about where he would best fit on a collegiate defense.
“At my school, I’m used kind of in a hybrid position because they kind of use me in as a safety and a linebacker. I’m kind of the nickel overhang and I cover in the slot but on third down, they put in the box and I rush from there. OU wants me to play the WILL where I can really run and they like the fact that I can cover well.”
“I do have some schools that are talking to me about playing safety. I have some schools that are recruiting me at linebacker both inside and outside. It really does not matter to me as it is just whatever position I can play. I just want to play a position where I can get on the field the quickest.”
The only other school that Williams has officially visited thus far is Texas A&M.
“College Station is a great city as it is a real football oriented city,” said Williams. “They breathe football over there all the time. Football is everything and it is SEC Football. I have been able to grow my relationship with their coaches and some of their players. Oklahoma and Texas A&M are like even with me. That is how much I like both schools.”
It is not lost on Williams that if he comes to OU he will be part of a new defense at OU.
“Yeah, they have always talked to me about that and how they want to make the OU defense great again,” said Williams. “I know a lot of people do not look at OU as a defensive type school because they are so good and so heavy on their offense, but the fact that they have a new defensive coaching staff that’s very intriguing to me, and makes it very interesting.”
Williams has one more visit with Ohio State on June 21st and he hopes to have all his official visits done by the time the summer is over.
“Taking visits in the spring and summer has been a lot of fun,” said Williams. “I have seen a lot of new things and I want to take all my official visits before our season starts. It’s not like I don’t want to go to a game, but I know during the season the coaching staffs at this schools are focused more on the game, and I would not be able to that interaction with them that I’m looking for.
“The other two schools that I want to visit are Penn State and Tennessee and I’m working on dates to set up those visits right now.”
Without question, Williams wants to take his five visits and then decide so he still has some research to do.
“I am willing to go anywhere in the country so location really doesn’t matter to me,” said Williams. “Of course it has to be a football powerhouse and the academic degree I can get at that school is important to me. The reason why I really want to spend some quality time with the coaches ao that I have a great feel how I fit into the offense. I have to understand their schemes to see how I fit in.”
It is a benefit for Williams to play at one of the best football high schools in the country.
“It is great because the competition that we play here is very good,” said Williams. “Heck, at my practices I go against great competition every day. That makes me and my team better. I have really grown here at John Bosco and all the students at the school are my brothers and my sisters. It is going to be tough to leave but I’m fortunate that I’m going to get a chance to play college football and go to college for free, and not everybody gets that opportunity.”
*** It looks like OU is going to take one inside backer and one outside and they could end up taking two inside backers in the 2020Deep class.
*** Four-star Antonio Doyle (6’4, 230) of Hazelwood (Lutheran North), Missouri had a great visit to OU recently and that visit put the Sooners in the mix for his signature. Doyle is great friends with the Sooners Ronnie Perkins and that’s going to be important moving forward. Doyle will be busy this June with official visits on the 7th to Missouri and 21st to Texas A&M. He has not set an official date with OU yet but says he will and it will probably be during the season. That way he would get a chance to see Ronnie play in person.
*** Four-star OLB Jordan Banks (6’1, 228) of Harbor City (Narbonne), California has already taken his official to OU and had a great time. Banks has not taken any other visits but he had indicated that OU was in the mix with Alabama and Washington at this point in recruiting.
*** Rodney Groce, OLB, (6’2 1/2, 237) of Pleasant Grove, Alabama, is a 3-star that OU has offered recently and he had told Charlie that he has an interest in OU. He is currently still very much involved with OU, LSU, Nebraska, Mississippi State, Alabama, and Auburn.
*** Three-star Edgerrin Cooper (6’1 1/2, 205) of Covington, Louisiana, is another that OU has offered recently. Cooper was pumped about the offer and we will see where it goes from here. Right now Cooper appears to be a lean to Mississippi State.
*** 3-star Brynden Walker (6’2, 220) of Oklahoma City (Bishop McGuinness) Oklahoma has a recent offer and he has been to OU twice unofficially. He is committed to OSU but grew up an OU fan and I feel OU is close to flipping Walker. It would not surprise me if he doesn’t announce something like that soon.
Riley Eyes | Accounting & Notes
– Super K
Hope everyone enjoyed their Memorial Day weekend!
We now have five sets of eyes that are unaccounted for. So, I thought this would be a good time to account for them and discuss what we can.
***First set of eyes were on March 28th. Who these eyes depend on who you ask. There are some people that believe these eyes are for the same player as the eyes posted on April 13th (the second set of unaccounted eyes).
We do not believe that to be the case. We believe these eyes were for another player.
First of all, Riley has yet to post two sets of eyes for the same player. Recall last year when he posted the eyes for Marcus Stripling very early in the process. Then, it seemed for a while Stripling was headed elsewhere. Once Stripling did finally commit to OU, Riley did not tweet a second set of eyes.
Secondly, we received that information from a source close to the player. We will have to leave the details of this discussion for closer to signing day. But the bottom line is, we aren’t convinced that these first eyes are the same as the second set of unaccounted eyes.
***Second set of unaccounted eyes were as mentioned above tweeted on April 13th. We believe this was for a defensive player who will announce a decision this summer.
***Third set of unaccounted eyes were on May 23rd. This was for a 2020 offensive player who will also announce this summer. Most of you guessed who this was.
***Fourth set of unaccounted eyes were also on May 23rd. This was also for an offensive player who we believe will announce sometime in the middle of the summer. This is not a regional player.
***The fifth set of unaccounted eyes were posted by Riley on May 25th. This one was a bit tricky. We are confident it is a 2020 offensive player that is a big-time guy. While we expected him, the timing of the eyes was a bit of a surprise as the recruit has some visits he is expected to take, thus the public announcement will still be a bit down the road.
OU Focused on Vandagriff | Upcoming Visit
– Super K
Lincoln Riley knows exactly what he wants in a quarterback. It seems he has found whatever that is in 2021 QB, Brock Vandagriff (Bogart, GA).
We have been told that Brock is Riley’s top guy in the 2021 class. He’s a coaches son, has great size and had quite a showing even as a pure athlete at the regional Opening…
Vandagriff visited Oklahoma back in April. He tells me he is set to be back in Norman for one of the upcoming OU camps.
Brock says he plans on throwing for Lincoln at the camp.
If all goes well, this is one I’d keep a close…close…eye on.
Update | Dontae Manning & LSU Offer
– Charlie S
As you all know, Sooners 2020 Defensive Back commit Dontae Manning received an offer from LSU last night and he set off a few alarms when he tweeted it out as his ‘Childhood Dream School’.
Super K had a brief update on that last night and I was also in touch with Dontae last night around the same time and I wanted to add a few notes…
Manning told me that the LSU offer does interest him and he will be looking deeper into what they have to offer. He reiterated that he was a fan of LSU growing up so this was a feel-good moment for him.
He also reiterated that he is committed to the Sooners and they remain in his top spot alone at this time. Please do not read into my saying ‘at this time’ because those are my words, not his, he said OU is at the top.
The reality of the matter is Dontae got an offer from exactly what he said, ‘Childhood Dream School’ and up to this point there really had been little communication with LSU.
It is our understanding that LSU has limited numbers in their DB class and they already have the nations number one corner in Elias Ricks as well as another good one in Lorando Johnson so fit may be an issue as well.
When you recruit elite players, you have to expect them to be recruited by other schools. We will keep an eye on this obviously but I do not believe anything is imminent as Manning also let me know he plans on getting back to Norman later this summer.
Kitan Crawford Set to Visit Oklahoma
– Super K
As you all know, 2020 DB, Kitan Crawford (Tyler, TX) is one our favorite defensive back prospects in this class.
Darius and I were incredibly impressed with him in camp this past winter/spring.
Crawford recently picked up an Oklahoma offer and almost immediately after told me he would be visiting OU.
It looks like he has his first visit set up. He tells me he will be in Norman this upcoming Sunday.
This will be OU’s chance to insert themselves into this recruitment that currently seems to be trending towards Texas and Baylor.
Tyler Baron Visiting Oklahoma
– Super K
I got word that 2020 4-star defensive lineman out of SEC territory, Tyler Baron (Knoxville, TN) is going to take an official visit to Oklahoma next weekend. That would be the June 7th – 9th weekend.
Oklahoma has been in hot pursuit of Baron for quite some time.
I want to do more digging on this but I’ll mention a couple of quick things.
***I’m told folks on the OU side feel like they are really in this one. In fact they seem to think their biggest threat might be Ohio State. I’m hearing that Baron has given the staff the sense that OU is one of his top schools.
***However, there is just something I can’t get past. I spoke with a connection out in the Tennessee area and I’m told that Tyler Baron’s father is the Director of High School Relations at the University of Tennessee. Assuming there isn’t some NCAA issue with Baron going there (and because he’s a staff hold over from the Butch Jones era I don’t think there will be) it’s hard for me see how he doesn’t end up at Tennessee. The Barons seem to be emphasizing to OU that Tyler is going to go wherever he wants and I want to believe that.
But again, I’m a bit skeptical.
Sooners Heading Back To Norman With A Full Class
– Charlie S
The Sooners players and coaches head back to campus at the end of this week and beginning of next week.
Along with the returning players, there are scheduled to be 16 new faces joining the squad as the rest of the #NewWave19 class are all set to go.
Yes, the entire signing class is expected to be in Norman this weekend…pretty impressive stuff.
QB – Spencer Rattler
DB – Jeremiah Criddell
OL – Stacey Wilkins
DB – Woodi Washington
Edge – Joseph Weté
DB – Jaden Davis
DL – Marcus Stripling
OL – EJ Ndoma-Ogar
RB – Marcus Major
DL – Marcus Hicks
Edge/DL – David Ugwoegbu
OL – Marcus Alexander
DL – Kori Roberson
RB – Rhamondre Stevenson
DB – Ty DeArman
OL – RJ Proctor
The players above represent a big talent influx which will be beneficial when fall camp rolls around as several times this spring the Sooners were practicing with a skeletal crew at a number of positions due to injury and precaution (think DBs and RBs).
Lots of talent on that list of incoming players and I would not be surprised at all to see 4-5 of them make a big impact on the Sooners depth chart this season.
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