The Football Brainiacs

– Team Note | Devante Bond: I’ve spoken to a couple sources regarding the status of Devante Bond and was told the standout LB has not practiced all week. In his place, Ogbonnia Okoronkwo, PL Lindley & Ricky DeBerry have taken the majority of the reps (obviously this is contingent on the personnel grouping, against bigger sets, Striker plays the boundary and Bond to the field while  against smaller sets, only one of the stand-up DEs is on the field).

I can’t say definitively whether Bond will or won’t play, they may let him go through warmups to see how things feel. But having not practiced, again as I confirmed through a couple different sources, one would have to think the odds are not great of seeing him out there on Saturday. – (Super K)

– Team Note | Du’Vonta Lampkin: A while back I spoke to one of Lampkin’s family members, who told me the one request the family made to Bob Stoops was that Lampkin would get to play in the Red River Shootout.

Several things to discuss here. (1) It’s beyond obvious that any kid would want to play in this game, be it freshman or otherwise, let alone a kid coming from the situation Lampkin came from and his history with the Texas program. (2) It might not be the best thing to burn his redshirt by playing in this game after we’ve heard Stoops just this week discuss Lampkin specifically and saying he’s immensely talented, but because he arrived so late understandably further behind his fellow classmates/defensive linemen. (3) We have 17 years of history to the contrary of Stoops making promises to any recruit with regards to playing time.

Who knows, maybe the game gets out of hand and for whatever reasons only Stoops would know they throw Lampkin out there. Evidently he and the family have made it clear Lampkin would very much like to be out there, but from an outsider’s perspective it doesn’t quite jive with coach Stoops style. But in talking to folks this week, Lampkin is definitely hoping to see the field. – (Super K)

– Weekend Visitors: As many of you are already aware, this year the Red River Shootout is being hosted by Texas. As such, the Sooners cannot invite recruits to attend the game. However there will be quite a few recruits in attendance that OU is targeting and/or have offered and no doubt hoping to impress. TFB’s Andrew King put together a good list of prospect he’s been able to confirm so far expected to be in attendance. I’ll highlight a few of the Oklahoma targets:

Obi Eboh – Eboh is currently committed to Texas, but a source has told us that he’s still open to Oklahoma. The Sooners is still considering the possibility taking one more DB, even after the recent commitment of Jordan Parker, but it sounds like they are looking for a guy that can bump over to play a cover safety position. Eboh and Baylen Buchanan both fit that bill.

Jean Delance – As you all know Delance was an Oklahoma commit at one time. Though he has not talked about it publicly, we’ve been told that Delance still has interest in the Sooners. He always had (and still does have) a good relationship with Bill Bedenbaugh.

DeMarkus Acy – Acy held an OU offer at one time as a safety prospect, however I’m not sure that offer still stands. He is currently committed to Missouri.

Brandon Stephens – Stephens is committed to Stanford, but Oklahoma has been in touch with the talented running back for a while. Stephens picked up his Oklahoma offer just last month, and the family is considering a visit to Norman at some point this season. With Oklahoma falling behind Georgia for Devwah Whaley, this is an important prospect to impress.

Robert Barnes – The 2017 safety & OU commit will be in attendance. His father played in these games for the Sooners.

Tyrese Robinson – Oklahoma was one of the first offers for 2017 offensive lineman, Tyrese Robinson.

Brey Walker – The top 2018 prospect in the state of Oklahoma and possibly the top offensive line prospect in the country, Brey Walker, will be in the house.