The Football Brainiacs

– Jaylon Johnson: Prior to the start of the dead period, Oklahoma hosted star 2017 CB and Utah commit, Jaylon Johnson (Fresno, CA).

Johnson said, generally, about the trip to OU, “(the trip) met my expectations…OU is a big time prestigious university and they have a winning history and a great program.” However, there was one area where the Sooners did not meet Johnson expectations, “the skill of the dbs didn’t meet my expectations”.

I asked Johnson how his impression of the defensive backs at OU affects things for him and it sounds like it works in Oklahoma’s favor, “that’s what gives me the confidence that I can start there.”

Johnson added that the visit ultimately, “helped OU out a lot”. As far as where things stand with his commitment to Utah Johnson didn’t exactly sound firm, “my options are still open until February 2nd”.

In January Johnson plans to take a couple final official visits to Arizona State and either USC or Georgia.

In speaking to a source on the OU side of this, I’m told there is some confidence that should the Sooners push for Johnson they’ve got a good chance of landing him. I am also told that Johnson’s father was extremely impressed by the trip which gives the Sooners even more confidence.

Again, this one is going to come down to how much OU wants Johnson. Given the Fresno connections, should Bob and co. put the full court press on him, the Sooners will be tough to beat. – (Super K)

– K’Jakyre Daley: 2017 OLB/DE OU commit, K’Jakyre Daley (West Palm Beach, FL) let us know last week after he was offered by Florida State that he will take an official visit to Tallahassee to get a closer look at the Seminoles.

I spoke to a source close to Daley and was told that while Daley is currently solid, the possibility of a flip is certainly there. Despite what Daley may say publicly, it’s probably no surprise to anyone that the threat of a flip is there given the proximity of Florida State to Daley and his family. The source said, “his family will be able to make it to his games there (at FSU), they’re not going to be able to do that if he goes to Oklahoma”.

We should know more after the trip but if I’m the Sooners, I’m probably at least beginning to eye a few back up options just in case. – (Super K)

– K’Lavon Chaisson: One of those options could be a bit of a blast from the past in Houston area star OLB, K’Lavon Chaisson. You may recall Chaisson was once a heavy Oklahoma lean. In fact we’ve mentioned before that back in the summer Chaisson wanted to commit to the Sooners under condition that he could take visits. The Sooner staff did not accept those conditions. It is a long standing general policy that Oklahoma does not permit committed prospects to take visits.

I don’t yet know how much contact there has been between Oklahoma and Chaisson but I spoke to a source close to Chaisson and I get the sense that Chaisson is still open in terms of his recruitment. “He doesn’t want to play at a place where he’s just going to be another guy like an Alabama but he cares about the team and wants his team to be successful. He hasn’t been playing football long so he knows he needs development and there aren’t many guys that work as hard as him.” The source also added, “he doesn’t want to put his hand in the ground. He can do so many things and he wants to do those things…like drop in coverage”.

Based on the above, it’s pretty clear why Oklahoma was so initially appealing to Chaisson. If the Sooners start to sense Daley could waiver, I think Chaisson may still be open to their pitch. – (Super K)

– Charleston Rambo: As many of you may know by now, Cedar Hill head coach, Joey McGuire has accepted a position on the new Baylor staff. This has led some to speculate that current OU commit, Charleston Rambo who played for McGuire at Cedar Hill, could look to follow his head coach.

I personally do not buy into that. There’s no doubt there will be an attempt to flip Rambo but I spoke to a source who is very close to Rambo who indicated that Rambo is solid and that the move by McGuire will have very little effect on Rambo’s decision. – (Super K)

– General Recruiting Note: For the past few years, come December and January, the Sooners have had to scramble to fill their class. This typically makes December and January full of recruiting news. This year, that isn’t the case. Oklahoma has done a great job of landing their top prospects at most positions. While there are still a few open spots left, it’s nothing like what we are used to seeing in recent years. For the most parts the Sooners are done.

Expect the next month and a half or so to be more about grabbing a few final prospects and HOLDING on to the current commits. – (Super K)