The Football Brainiacs

Image of Christian Wallace via 247 Sports

– Joe Mixon: As many of you know by now, Bob Stoops announced yesterday that Mixon participate in spring practices but will not be allowed to take part in the Red/White game. According to Stoops, this was a stipulation originally agreed to when Mixon was first suspended last year.

But with respect to him finally getting back out on the field, we spoke with a source who says he (Mixon) is (no surprise) ‘absolutely chomping at the bit.’ Much like what we’ve been hearing for a while now and have shared with you, in general Mixon looks pretty good for someone who wasn’t working out with the team last fall. There will certainly be a certain amount of rust to knock off, but he’ll definitely get there. We have also been told that Mixon is running a lot of routes and working through receiving drills quite a bit. Which again shouldn’t come as that much of a surprise given his ability as a pass-catcher and the presumption many of us have had that he’ll be used quite a bit both as a runner and receiver in this Lincoln Riley offense. – (Super K)

– More Alt Unis Talk: The other day we mentioned that Oklahoma was looking at a possible all black alternate uniform. I’ve also been told that there are actually proposals for all black and all white alternate uniforms, and that there are gloss and matte versions of each. – (Super K)

– Isaac Ijalana: If you saw our Spring Roster Updates post yesterday, you already know Isaac Ijalana has been moved from TE to DE. Stoops confirmed the position change during his presser and also announced that redshirt freshman defensive lineman Courtney Garnett tore an ACL during winter workouts.

Much along these same lines, I’d been told by a source that the defensive line as a unit has been pretty banged up just in general this offseason. Not necessarily anything serious, other than Garnett, more like some sprained ankles and your general bumps and bruises.

My initial thinking was that Ijalana was being moved to DE for these reasons, which could still be the case, I was told by a source Ijalana is just exceedingly athletic. Not sure how the transition will go but it sounds like he, at the very least, has the overall athleticism you covet in a defensive end. – (Super K)

– Christian Wallace: I recently had a long conversation with 2016 Houston area DB prospect Christian Wallace, and wanted to share some of what we discussed. While Wallace was at one time committed to TCU, he has since chosen to decommit and reopen things. He is still considering the Horned Frogs, but tells me that Oklahoma, Baylor, Texas. LSU & TAMU are also very much in the running as well.

In terms of OU’s chances, however, to me they really depend on whether or not they’re able to get Wallace on campus. If they are able to do so, then I believe the Sooners will have a real shot here. Wallace says he is being recruited by not only Kerry Cooks, but that Bob Stoops has been personally involved as well (something that continues to be a theme of late, which we plan to address in much more detail next week). In fact, Wallace went so far as to say Bob Stoops has been in touch with him quite regularly, so this doesn’t sound similar to something you might see somebody like Urban Meyer do where he’s in touch with a high profile recruit every two or three weeks. This is a situation where Stoops is regularly in touch with Wallace throughout the week.

Wallace told me he really wants to get up to OU and actually had planned to make Saturday’s Jr. Day but since he had already set up a trip to TAMU’s Friday Night Lights, getting up to Norman by 10 am the following day just wasn’t going to work out. However, he said there was still a chance he could make it up to Norman, but that even if that doesn’t happen he still hopes to make a trip to OU at some point regardless. – (Super K)

– Jr. Day #2: Most of you are probably aware already having kept tabs on our visitor list off-and-on throughout these past two weeks. But for those of you who were maybe waiting until the actual event got a little closer, here is the full list of attendees we’ve been able to gather. While we’re not necessarily expecting a whirlwind of commitments to take place over the two day event, there are definitely some important names on the list with respect to the 2016 class the OU staff is hoping to put together.

And full credit to Alex and Brandon for once again busting their you know whats to put this list together. – (Jordan)

2016

LB Abe Anderson (Tulsa, OK)
DB Chris Brown (Houston, TX)
DE Isaiah Chambers (Houston, TX) – OU offer
CB Parrish Cobb (Waco, TX) – possible – OU offer
OL Jean Delance (Mesquite, TX) – OU commit
WR Tren’Davian Dickson (Navasota, TX) – OU offer
S Marquel Dismuke (Compton, CA)
LB Hunter Donnelly (Burleson, TX)
WR Devin Duvernay (Sachse, TX) – OU offer
OL Rowdy Frederick (Broken Arrow, OK)
QB Chandler Garrett (Mustang, OK)
QB/WR Adrian Hardy (Houston, TX)
CB Isaiah Hayes (Calabasas, CA)
LB Dontavious Jackson (Houston, TX) – OU offer
LB Pernell Jefferson (New Orleans) – OU offer
DE Mark Jackson (Cibolo, TX) – OU offer
WR Jake Koenig (Tulsa, OK)
OL Denzel Okafor (Lewisville, TX) – possible
ATH Michael Pittman Jr. (Westlake Village, CA)
QB Nick Starkel (Argyle, TX)
S Chanse Sylvie (Shreveport, LA) – OU offer
ATH Khalil Tate (Gardena, CA)
OL Jacob Todora (Frisco, TX)
ATH Christian Wallace (Katy, TX) – possible
RB Devwah Whaley (Beaumont, TX) – OU offer – possible
CB Andraez Williams (Shreveport, LA) – OU offer
RB Dae Williams (Sapulpa, OK)
DT Mike Williams (Fort Worth, TX) – OU offer
CB Rodarius Williams (Shreveport, LA) – OU offer
RB Trayveon Williams (Houston, TX) – OU offer

2017

CB Jermani Brown (Calabasas, CA)
WR Terrell Bynum (Anaheim, CA)
CB Chevin Calloway (Dallas, TX)
OL Will Farrar (Richmond, TX)
QB Tristan Gebbia (Calabasas, CA)
ATH Darrion Green (Dallas, TX) – ADDED
CB Darnay Holmes (Newbury Park, CA)
WR Keyshawn Johnson Jr. (Calabasas, CA)
OL Tyrese Robinson (McKinney, TX)
QB Tracin Wallace (Fort Worth, TX)
WR Tylan Wallace (Fort Worth, TX)

– UPDATE (Fri., 10:33 am): Just got word that 2015 OU signee Gabriel Campbell will be in Norman this weekend with his family. It should be his first opportunity to meet with Diron Reynolds, so hopefully we will be able to get some insight as to how that goes with Campbell following the visit. We’ll continue to pass along if we hear of any other 2015 guys being in town in addition to any/all Jr. Day updates.

– UPDATE (Fri., 4:24 pm): Probably going to be easier to just think of this as an Open Post – Part II.

– Tyler Lytle: Keeping with the theme of the week in quarterbacks, there’s a big one coming to town in Tyler Lytle (Anaheim, CA). He’s one of the dozen or so kids coming with none other than former NFL WR Keyshawn Johnson and his Team 19. The 6’4″ 185lb prospect burst on to the scene back February and looks to be one of the top QB’s in the 2017 class. He is genuinely excited about his visit to Oklahoma saying, “I have not spoken to the coaches live yet, but I’m looking forward to meeting them and building a relationship with them.” He doesn’t stop there with his interest in the Sooners, “Oklahoma is definitely enticing. Lots of tradition, strong program, and Coach Riley has a great offense. The coaching staff is good, too.”

We all know OU has an established Cali pipeline, so I had to ask if the strong West Coast vibe in Norman will have any impact on him. Lytle has a good head on his shoulders, so his response was about what you’d expect, “the west coast influence is good, but definitely not necessary.” Lylte says he plans to visit USC and UCLA in the coming weeks, but I get the sense he’s definitely not opposed to leaving the state for the right fit. – (Brandon)

– Nick Starkel: Yet another QB visiting Norman this weekend and another from the 2016 class. You can tell the emphasis being put on that position with the recent number of invites Lincoln Riley has extended for OU’s second Junior Day event. The funny thing is, the 6’4″ 190 pound QB from Argyl, Texas picked up his invite by accident.

The OU staff thought they sent him an invite weeks ago. So when Nick contacted Bill Bedenbaugh to see how things were going, it came as a shock when the OU assistant realized Starkel had never actually received the invitation. However, that has all been remedied now and the 2016 QB prospect and his father will be in Norman this weekend.

Starkel says he has yet to hear from coach Riley, but that he’s looking forward to meeting OU’s new offensive coordinator and quarterback coach. The strong armed QB is very interested in the Sooners saying, “OU is a prestigious school, so it would be an honor to have an offer from them.” – (Brandon)

Starkel is intriguing on film as he shows good feet in the pocket, moves rather well with how long he is, and able to avoid pressure. Has good mechanics with a quick trigger. His release, while quick, could be even quicker, but it’s a bit elongated due to the extension behind his head. Throws a nice, accurate ball. Solid, not great arm strength, but shows he can make all the throws. Love how he keeps his eyes down field as the pocket/play breaks down and creates positive plays with his arm. Not afraid to stand in there and deliver a strike while knowing he is going to get hit. Shows a nice touch on the ball and an ability to make accurate throws on the run. Plays in a spread offense so he would have somewhat of an understanding of the air raid type offense Lincoln Riley wants to run. Would like to see how he does going through his progressions, which you don’t really get to see on this film. – (Alex)

– Mark Jackson: The long and rangy 2016 Cibolo (TX) OLB prospect is one of the best defenders in the state of Texas. His frame reminds me a lot of former Sooner, Geno Grissom. I caught up with Jackson yesterday and it just so happens he had spoken with new OU defensive line coach Diron Reynolds the day before. So, naturally, I wanted to get his thoughts as Reynolds is still somewhat a mystery to OU fans.

“I talked to him last night, and he seems like a cool guy. He told me a little about his background, and what he wants to see his players do. He seemed really down to earth.”

Up until that point, I hadn’t spoken with any OU recruiting target other than Rashard Lawrence who had heard from Reynolds yet. In fact prior to his recent conversation with Reynolds, Jackson had primarily dealing with Bob Stoops. Again, something we’re continuing to hear a lot of.

Jackson went on to say “OU is one of my top schools.” Unfortunately, he said he had a transportation issue which led to his being unable to attend Jr. Day #2 this weekend in Norman. However he was adamant that he plans to make it up to Norman at some point this spring. – (Brandon)

– UPDATE (Sat., 10:41 am): Brandon has been able to track down a couple more names to add to the visitor list, both 2016 LBs – Jordan Carmouche (Manvel, TX) & Carter Nelson (Jenks, OK).