Open Post | Weekend, November 15th -17th
Posted on: November 15, 2019
Update | Chandler Morris
– Charlie S
So as I mentioned in chat and on the board, over the past week or so I have been checking in with 2020 QB Chandler Morris. As you know, Morris is the son of now-former Arkansas Heach Coach Chad Morris.
The other night, Chandler publicly decommited from Arkansas, which was not a surprise.
Now…in regards to where things stand between OU and the QB offer…Chandler told me he hasn’t thought too much about where he is going or what his plans are going forward. He did say he loves Coach Riley and the entire staff and they have remained in touch.
On top of that, Super K has been in touch with some sources on the OU side, and it does sound like OU is likely to pursue the quarterback.
As recently as last week I mentioned that I felt OU would stand pat at QB in the 2020 class, while they still may, it looks like the will kick the tires on Morris.
So it looks like OU will revisit that recruitment in the coming days. Something to keep an eye on for certain.
Latrell Neville Nearing a Decision?
– Super K
I checked in with 2021 WR, Latrell Neville (Missouri City, TX) and he gave me a couple of interesting bits of information.
***First, he said that he plans on visiting Oklahoma on November 23rd.
***He then said that in terms of a commitment date, he’s “aiming for the 22nd”. Yes, that is the day before he plans on visiting Oklahoma.
***I didn’t ask him where he’s committing to but I can put two and two together.
***However, I know that some other big WR targets have emerged so I’m still checking to see what OU plans on doing here.
Last Word with Lincoln | Baylor Week
– James Hale
Wednesday night I was able to get the last word from Coach Lincoln Riley before the Sooners head to Waco, Texas to take on the undefeated and 13th ranked Baylor Bears.
JH: All your players told me that they were so disappointed in their play in their 42-41 win over Iowa State that you could hear a pin drop when they went into the locker room after the game. I thought with the great interception at the end sealing the win that they would be more excited than that and be excited about the win. So were they excited about the win or disappointed in the fact it turned out to be such a close game?
LR: “Yeah, they did, they were very appreciative of the win, but also they know what’s ahead and they know we have to play better. There was some disappointment for not playing as good, or not finishing the way we wanted to finish, but we also had some excitement about some of the things that we did.”
“So, yeah it wasn’t the most ruckus locker room that we’ve ever had. That’s not always going to be. No, they were appreciative of the win and hungry and motivated to get to this week.”
MEDIA: Have things changed at all how you simulate stressful environments? Are you still blaring music over loudspeakers trying to get your team to get used to loud noise?
LR: “Yeah that’s still a big part of our practice. I don’t know if stress comes from that. It’s just different situations that you try to put your guys in. You try to simulate you know as close as you can what you feel the game is going to be like, and the different challenges that are going to come up. We try to put the guys in different situations and we get creative with it. We constantly try new things here-and-there and at the end of the day you try to get them as ready as they can be for the environment that they are going to face.”
MEDIA: Do you have a favorite band or recorded environment that you like to listen to?
LR: “We have a couple of different recorded environments and a couple of different school song tracks. We always play the other team’s school song. We have two different music tracks that we scroll through. It gets pretty loud out there. By the end of the year, we know all the songs by heart.”
MEDIA: Do you still look at Tennessee as the most difficult environment that you have ever played in on the road?
LR: Probably! That night it was rocking pretty good. Yeah, probably so!
JH: It was a great thing that you guys did for Rayden Overbay as he was really touched by the attention that you showed him before, during and after the game. How cool is it to be able to use your platform to help somebody like Rayden?
LR: “I still related it back to me, and the closest thing that I can relate for me, was the few times in my life that I got to meet an athlete, or a coach, or a team that I followed or something like that. I mean that was a big moment for me. I can still remember meeting Nolan Ryan when I was ten-years-old and I was just blown away that he would even talk to me.”
“We all remember those moments and I just try to keep them in perspective how I felt about things like that when I was a little kid. Then on top of it for someone like Rayden who has gone through the adversity that he has just to be able to make them smile in any way is great. So, we enjoy being able to do that.”
MEDIA: There have been a couple of stretches where your offense bogged down and didn’t move the ball in critical times. Can you put your finger on what happened during those drives?
LR: “I think we have set a pretty high standard. Let’s be honest that is a pretty high standard. We have had a couple of weird turnovers the last couple of games and those have been a part of it. We have had a few negative plays but it’s nothing earth-shattering. I don’t look at it and think that hey teams are kicking our tail on it as it’s a couple of mistakes that we haven’t been able to overcome.”
“I do think at times for us we are so used to scoring and the expectations are so high that occasionally sometimes when we don’t that mentally throws us off. I mean you want an offense that thinks they’re going to score on every play and on every derive and you want a defense that thinks that they are never going to give up a point. Then when it happens sometimes that mentality can be dangerous too. It’s a fine line.”
MEDIA: Turnovers have hurt you a little bit the last couple of weeks?
LR: “Yeah, I think offensively we have fought that a little bit. We aren’t getting one and we get a little down or start pressing a little bit. We normally tend to kick it back into gear but we have to do it quicker though.”
MEDIA: The last two games you got out to double-digit leads and then games got close at the end so what do you have to do to get back to keep that big lead?
LR: “Yeah, that has been a hot topic for us in our house here. I think that’s something that we have really challenged our guys to this week. We have started so well and that’s a huge advantage to be able to do that. It’s a great weapon and we want to be able to maintain it so we have talked about the different momentum swings in the game. We were talking this past Monday that you have to be able to handle those, and you have to be able to snap back into it when you don’t have the momentum.”
“It’s been a hot topic for us this week and something that has been on our minds. We will continue to address it and see if we can’t go out there and do it this Saturday. “
MEDIA: At this time of year how much self-scouting do you still do?
LR: “Oh yeah, we do plenty! We keep running tabs on what we are doing and how we are doing it. We try to see what other teams might be seeing when they study us and try to put it in perspective again.”
MEDIA: Do you sometimes get surprised that you are doing some of the things that you are doing?
LR: “I think the most of it you have a decent idea but there are always some things that sometimes you look at a stat or something from a different angle that you didn’t anticipate and occasionally its a surprise at what they come up with. All of a sudden it’s ‘oh, wow somebody might be seeing this’ so maybe we are doing this too much out of this. I wouldn’t say that’s every week but we certainly at times have things come up, and it’s good to know what some of the teams are doing to us and why.”
JH: With the mandate to keep practice down to just two hours a week do teams have time during the week to scheme new defensive schemes to use against you?
LR: “Oh, yeah every week. You would not believe how much new schemes we see every week that as soon as we see them that we go ‘man we have not seen that from them on film’. It happens every week.”
MEDIA: Bill Bedenbaugh was really impressed with the run blocking in the game as he said that the OL did some rare stuff against Iowa State and some great success against them. So you feel the OL was on the cusp of having that good of a day and do you feel like you can continue it the rest of the season?
LR: “I was really good what they did and there were some really encouraging signs. The O-line was kind of like the rest of the team. We did some things as well or maybe better than we have all year so that part was definitely exciting. I mean no doubt especially when we can move the ball like we did in the first half then you are going to have more plays and you’re going to be able to do more things.”
“I think we were able to do that. I think we can maintain it. We’ve had to play with some different lineups through the year and if we have to do it again then that will show up and certainly help.”
MEDIA: CeeDee Lamb has taken his game to another level and he’s so much more physical than he has ever been at OU. Did you see that coming and if so when did you see it coming?
LR: “It was a big emphasis in the off-season. Not that we don’t always talk about it but we did some things differently with our guys in training them to try to prep us to be better after the catch. A lot of guys work hard at it but he’s one that really embraced it through the different things that we had those guys do.”
“He does it all the time. I mean, when he goes and does it during the game it’s not all that surprising. He does it in practice all the time. He practices at game speed and runs hard after the catch and he runs hard after he catches punt returns in practice. He is always working at full speed and it just doesn’t look much different than it does on Saturday. That’s why he has gotten better. He has certainly embraced it and as a receiver, you never know how many chances you are going get. He’s thinking that mindset of making the most out of every one of them.”
MEDIA: Have you gotten to the point where you are ready to take the cuffs on Caleb Kelly yet?
LR: “He’s close. It will definitely be a consideration. He’s to a point where he is definitely physically ready to help us. Like I have said we have been knocking off the rust but I think we are getting to the point where we can seriously start entertaining playing him.”
MEDIA: Since you have been the head coach three times teams have scored late in games and decided to go for two and all three times those teams failed on the two-point conversion. In each one of those games, your defense really had not played very well, but when they needed to on the two-point try your defense was able to rise up and make a big play. How do they do that after they had not played well almost the whole game?
LR: “I think it’s the mentality of our team and of our defense. I think it shows a lot that if a game is close at the end regardless of how it got there I mean those are big plays and guys playing for us realize they are destined for those moments. They’re important and our guys have an expectation to win and an expectation to keep playing regardless. I think that probably speaks to the culture here more than anything.”
MEDIA: We talk about what one great play can do for their confidence but what does it do for your confidence?
LR: “It does two things. One, it shows that we are resilient and two, it shows we can do that a lot more. They are going to be in their best call and we are going to be in our best call and to cover that as well as we did and make such an unbelievably competitive play versus so many other plays during that game, I mean you’re not going to make every play, but there were so many more plays in that game that we were not quite as competitive as that.”
“So, if you can do it once you can do it a thousand times!”
MEDIA: Is there still confidence in your defense. I know everybody is killing them but they did come up with big plays in the fourth quarter and that was after a tough stretch of play?
LR: “Oh yeah! That is just the nature of the beast here! We get that! I know we have a quality defense over there. I have zero doubts about that. I have seen way too many positive signs throughout this year.”
“I mean just like right now do the New England Patriots suck just because the (Baltimore) Ravens beat up on them in a game and ran the ball on them so well. The general public and the media all say now they are just terrible? I’m not saying that we played in the first seven games as well as the Patriots did but I’m saying that I get it, you are always judged on your last performance. We get it and that’s what we signed up for. I also remember those first seven and those are the same guys and same coaches and I’m excited how we are going to play during this closing stretch.”
MEDIA: Nick Basquine’s career is winding down so can you talk about what he means to you and the program?
LR: “He’s been extremely resilient. He’s been a real valuable member of this team for a long time. He does so much for us on special teams and he has been a real good offensive player for us for years. He has become a good leader and has helped mentor a lot of the young players and young receivers that have come through here. He is a guy that always shows up on tape doing things that others don’t. He’s made a lot of great plays here but a lot of times he shows up on tape don’t show up all the time on the stat box that helps us win.”
“He has been very unselfish and I will hate it when he’s gone. He’s one of those guys that you probably won’t realize what he’s done or maybe people on the outside may not appreciate all he’s done until he’s gone.”
MEDIA: Can you quantify the trust you have in him because you put the ball in his hands on trick plays and in a lot of different ways?
LR: “Oh yeah, no my confidence in him is extremely high. One, he’s earned it. Two, he’s deserving of it. He works his tail off and there are not things on the football field that I wouldn’t trust him to do.”
MEDIA: What do you remember about the 2015 Baylor game won by OU 44-34? It was a November game and kind of a turning point for your team that year?
LR: “It was a fun game! They were pretty highly ranked (6th) coming in and they had played well the previous years. They were extremely talented. We were trying to kind of reestablish ourselves a little bit so it was a fun game. It was a game we played really well as a team. We really went down there on a mission and just played well on all sides of the ball. We made some huge plays and it was a fun night.”
(Sterling Shepard had a huge game catches 14 cases for 177-yards and two touchdowns and Baker Mayfield went 24-34 for 270-yards and three touchdowns against one interception. Samaje Perine also had a big day with 28-carries for 166-yards and two touchdowns.)
MEDIA: The College Football Playoff committee came out with their latest rankings and Baylor wins and remains undefeated but drop in the polls to 13. Is that kind of screwy world that we are living in where you are better off beating them 24-17 instead of 48-10?
LR: laugher….”Maybe and maybe not. I still think the playoff deal is still new enough I don’t know that we know yet. To me I know why they do it, they do it to build it up on TV and all that. I get it from that perspective but to me, they shouldn’t do the playoff rankings until the very end. They should just show them at the very end and whoever is in the Final Four they are going.”
“I mean, who cares right now? You have all the biggest and best games. You have all the conference championship games and I mean right now nobody knows. That’s how it’s been the last several years as we have lost a game in the middle of the year and everybody has told me that we aren’t going to the playoffs now. All I have said is okay and I’m just going to keep winning.”
“That’s what you have to do. So, I don’t know if it will be interesting to see how the playoff systems continue to play out. As it gets more years under its belt and we get more time to evaluate it. I do know this you go back and look at where all those playoff rankings were in week seven, eight and nine the last few years and look at how it finished. It’s probably quite a bit different.”
“The challenge for all of us is that you can’t get caught up in it because it doesn’t matter now. You have to just go find a way to win. You just have to find a way. Last year even after we beat Kansas here we didn’t play very good and Kansas wasn’t very good last year and we beat them here and everybody was well you barely beat a Kansas team that had really struggled. Again it plays out.”
“We are in luck. I’m not sure people understand how strong this conference is right now. This conference is as good as it’s been in a long time from top to bottom. I think this conference has beat up a little bit on each other and will continue to. That’s a sign of a really healthy, competitive conference and there’s obviously a lot of big and important games coming.”
MEDIA: So you would be more comfortable to come out of the Big 12 Championship game not having any idea what the committee is thinking?
LR: “It would not change what I do except I would have to answer fewer questions about the rankings each wee (laughter). it would not change anything about what I would do. I literally think about it…. none. I have never watched the show. I know people probably don’t believe me when I say I don’t read the papers or watch the show? I do not care, because we just have to win. We just win and try to win each week and we will look up and see where we are at.”
Berry Tramel: You don’t read the papers?
LR: Laughing “Only your’s’ (but he doesn’t mean it).
Dominick Hill | In-Person | Quick Update
– Super K
Yesterday, I stopped by powerhouse, Jones High School in Orlando Florida to see recent Sooners visitor, 2020 DB Dominick Hill.
As you know, Hill is currently committed to South Carolina.
***First, I have to say, I did not realize just how good Hill was until I saw him in person. I saw some old film on him and was a little underwhelmed. But the progress he has made after his junior transition to DB is fantastic.
***He has great size but it’s not that all arms and legs type DB where the transitions are belabored. He’s big but he plays low.
***Speed, speed, speed. He’s a burner. The school he plays for is loaded with D1 talent. If you’re fast here, you’re fast anywhere. Was told he blew a 4.4 flat laser timed at the UA camp.
***Hill may actually be the best DB in the Orlando area and that’s no small thing given this area is also the home of Ethan Pouncey.
***I’ll have more on his recruitment but the bottom line I see with him right now is trying to decide between OU where he sees tremendous opportunity for himself and stability in the program vs. South Carolina where he has built up a lot of comfort. He’s spent a lot of time in South Carolina.
***Hill would be a big win for OU, in my estimation. Not only would they be getting a big talented defender but he’s also an early enrollee. That might mean that the Sooners wouldn’t have to dig into the JUCO ranks which I typically prefer.
***Hill’s former teammate plays at Texas and he says that his final official visit will likely be to Texas.
***He would technically have one remaining official but he says he doesn’t know if he will use it.
***On a bit of an unrelated note, the more you travel is SEC country, the more you understand why they have so many draft picks. Perhaps thats a topic for another time. But, man, seeing the size and speed of players in Tennessee, Georgia, Florida, the Carolinas…a lot of talent and a lot of upside. Hill is almost a copy of Keshawn Lawrence. Both 6’1+. Both exceedingly fast and explosive. Both already built like college football players.
Oklahoma Offers 2021 LB Terrence Cooks II
– CJ Vogel
Oklahoma recently extended an offer to 2021 LB Terrence Cooks II from Shadow Creek HS.
Cooks is blowing up on the recruiting scene as of late, having received offers from Washington, Illinois, Texas and Kansas. At 6-foot, 2-inches, Cooks is currently being used off the edge at Shadow Creek, but has the size and speed to move to the middle if needed.
The 2021 LB said he’s been in contact with the OU staff for about a month now and has heard from them quite often. He mentioned Coach Odom as the guy he’s been in contact with the most so far and is firmly in the relationship building stage of his recruitment.
One thing to keep in mind Cooks is teammates with 2020 Texas DB commit Xavion Alford, though he said Alford has been encouraging Cooks to do what’s best for him in the recruiting process.
Right now, Cooks is hearing the most from Texas, OU, USC, Washington and TCU. Cooks has yet to visit Norman, however he says he and his family will set up some visits after the season.
Keep in mind that the 2021 LB recruiting is going to be pretty interesting. Unlike years in the past, the state of Texas is going to be rather strong at the position which plays well for the Sooners. Guys like Kendrick Blackshire, Clayton Smith and now Cooks will be hot commodities for local schools. Blackshire has been high on the Sooners for some time now, though it will be tough to keep him out of the grasp of some major SEC schools.
Also worth mentioning that the Sooners have national offers out at LB to Raesjon Davis (Mater Dei), Branden Jennings (Smallwood, FL) and Barrett Carter (North Gwinnett, GA).
One on Ones | Baylor
– Charlie S
The Sooners are back in action on Saturday as they take on Baylor under the lights in Waco!
As usual, during game week, I’ve picked out a couple of ‘One on One’ matchups that interest me.
So here we go:
One on One Number One:
Baylor DT James Lynch vs Oklahoma C Creed Humphrey
This game is going to be won or lost in the trenches.
Baylor has perhaps the best defensive line in the Big 12 and James Lynch is at the center of that. On the year Lynch is credited with 12.5 tackles for loss to go along with 8.5 sacks.
Creed Humphrey will once again have his hands full as Lynch is not the only standout on the Baylor defensive line as James Lockhart (6 TFLs & 3.5 sacks) and Bravvion Roy (7.5 TFLs & 2.5 sacks) are very stong in their respective positions and it would be immensely helpful if Humphrey were able to handle Lynch on his own which would free up the rest of the Sooners offensive line and tight ends to double team and focus on Roy and Lockhart.
Lynch is quick off the ball and he shows a relentless motor. Even when he looks to be taken out of the play, he continues to work towards the QB and he is often in a position to gain a coverage sack. The dude must be accounted for at all times.
Creed is coming off one of his few less than stellar outings of his career against Iowa State and he will be looking to up his game to the level he flashed against Alabama’s Quinnen Williams over the final three-quarters of last years College Football Semi-Final game.
Humphrey is capable of winning this battle, but so is Lynch. The winner will dictate a lot of how the Sooners offense will operate throughout the game. An absolute must-watch matchup here.
One on One Number Two:
Oklahoma Defensive End Ronnie Perkins vs Baylors Offensive Tackles
Again, the game will be won or lost in the trenches in this one and I am anxious to see how the Sooners defensive line responds following the Iowa State game.
Kenneth Mann is out for the Sooners so I would expect to see more of LaRon Stokes and Jalen Redmond in his place, and you know what you are going to get from Neville Gallimore for the most part (if he keeps his motor high) and Que Overton so I am looking at a great opportunity here for Ronnie Perkins to have a big game.
The Baylor offensive line is one of, if not THE, weakness of the team.
They have given up 29 sacks in their 9 games and if the Sooners pin their ears back and play as they did against Texas, the SHOULD have plenty of opportunities to get home and find Charlie Brewer.
Perkins has been very consistent in the run game for most of the year and he is credited with 3 sacks and 8 tackles for loss.
I’m not gonna lie…I was expecting more from him to this point this year. I predicted him to lead the team in sacks once again and I think the last three games of the regular season could offer him up some golden opportunities to build on his season stats.
With Neville/Overton and Stokes/Redmond getting penetration into the Baylor backfield, Perkins will have his chances to show off his athleticism from the edge and get to Brewer.
Again, if the Sooners can get pressure on Brewer from both inside and outside, the Baylor offense will be forced to alter their plan which would obviously favor the Sooners in all facets on defense.
What matchups are you all interested in?
Arian Smith | In-Person | Initial Update
– Super K
Yesterday, I had a chance to see speedy 2020 WR, Arian Smith (Lakeland, FL).
Here are a few initial notes…
***We know he’s fast. I did not know he was that fast. His 100m times are in the 10.2 range. However, I prefer 40 times or 10 splits because what OU is looking for is a guy that can use quickness to move a DB off his spot and speed to run by them.
The 40 range I look for his low 4.3. Not 4.4…not 4.38…low 4.3s. Smith’s coach tells me that Arian ran a 4.29 and a 4.31 at the Tennessee camp.
***Smith took an official visit to Alabama last weekend. I don’t get the sense that the visit did enough to push him in that direction.
***He tells me that he will take an official visit next weekend for OU’s final home game.
***My read is that Georgia is going to be the team to beat.
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