The Football Brainiacs

Image of Shemar Coleman via southlakestyle.com

– North Texas HC Job: You may or may not have been aware, but there has been some chatter this week about Lincoln Riley and the North Texas head coach opening. There was a lot about it that, frankly, didn’t make a ton of sense for any number of reasons, but for the sake of due diligence I reached out to a source that would have a pretty good idea as to who North Texas may be looking at.

My source shared some of the names currently under consideration and those names were: Major Applewhite (Houston OC), Kendall Briles (Baylor OC) & Sonny Cumbie (TCU OC). My source had not heard Riley’s name as one of those being discussed for the job, but also spoke with a staffer over at FootballScoop.com and was told they will be looking into the matter this weekend and hope to have an update next week. So keep an eye out for that. – (Super K)

– Parrish Cobb: I have been able to confirm that OU 2016 commit Parrish Cobb did recently visit TCU. I am told Cobb is being recruited by TCU as a safety, while the Sooners prefer Cobb at corner. No word at this point on whether he has a preference or to what degree, if at all, he is interested in TCU. – (Super K)

– Brandon Stephens: 2016 Stanford RB commit Brandon Stephens (Plano, TX) has flirted with the idea of visiting OU ever since his offer, and it sounds as though that visit will indeed happen. Stephens tells told TFB that he is planning to be in Norman for the weekend of the TCU game. – (Alex King)

– Shemar Coleman | Running Backs: If you’ve already checked out TFB’s visitor list for this weekend, you know the Sooners are expected to host a very talented and very under-the-radar running back by the name of Shemar Coleman.

Coleman is teammates with OU commit Robert Barnes and Texas commit Obi Eboh at Southlake Carroll, both of whom are also expected to be in Norman weekend. In talking to people around Southlake, I’ve been told that Coleman has been a big reason for Carroll’s offensive success this year. Coleman is a smaller, explosive back who fits the type of zone running scheme and philosophy the Sooners are currently running. Coleman has gone under the radar thus far largely due to the fact he didn’t play his junior year. He transferred to Carroll from another program and therefore was not permitted to play last season.

Coleman is a name to watch but, OU is very much in the mix with a number of other running backs at the moment as well. So I don’t expect an offer to go out immediately, unless they’re looking to take two RBs and feel Coleman is a good fit.

And speaking of those other targets, now seems as good a time as any to check in and see where things currently stand:

Devwah Whaley – A number of people believe Whaley is currently a silent commit to Georgia (a source told us that as well a while back). Whether that’s true or not, it is widely accepted that UGA leads. However, we’ve always been under the impression that outside of the Bulldogs, OU was a favorite for Whaley. And with all the turmoil surrounding the Georgia program right now and possible staff shakeups, OU may be able to get right back in the thick of things with Whaley. It is also worth noting that Whaley still has a visit to Norman scheduled, at least for now, for the TCU game.

Trevor Speights – Visited OU recently and told us that the trip couldn’t have gone better. Assuming nothing changes with Whaley, Speights figures to be the name at the top of OU’s board.

Brandon Stephens – As mentioned above, Stephens is planning to visit for the TCU game.

Abdul Adams – Long-time OU offer still committed to Michigan State, although there has been some talk about a potential future visit. – (Super K & Brandon)

– UPDATE (Fri., 2:45 pm): So this is certainly interesting. While our source, as referenced above, had not heard Lincoln Riley’s name in connection with the HC opening at North Texas, John Henry of the Star-Telegram is reporting that Riley interviewed for the job earlier this week.

If we are operating under the assumption that report is accurate, then there are a couple natural questions that come to mind. (1) Was it simply an interview on Riley’s part for the experience of doing so in preparation for a seemingly inevitable HC gig in the (near?) future, or (2) is there possibly genuine interest — even for a job many might believe he could do much better than a year or two from now — on Riley’s part?

I guess for now we’ll just have to wait to find out.

– UPDATE (Fri., 3:34 pm): Offered without comment.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mvCs-EFOoiE&feature=youtu.be

– UPDATE (Fri., 5:41 pm): Well, that was addressed rather quickly.

Statement from OU offensive coordinator @LincolnRiley. #Sooners pic.twitter.com/voOYyCogEP

— Oklahoma Football (@OU_Football) November 6, 2015

It is interesting the almost complete 180 OU has taken in addressing things like this (or, for example, TFB reporting) publicly which something they almost never did (if memory serves) prior to this year.

Regardless, it would appear as though OU fans can now breathe a sigh of relief.

– UPDATE (Sat., 4:52 pm): Pretty damn cool. (If you need reference re: McKinney, Brandon had a really nice story on him earlier this week.)

Marshall McKinney is a guest w/ @OU_Football today. Battling spinal cancer. Story here: https://t.co/IOXdWTeiU6 pic.twitter.com/kUeuK1s9i3

— Brandon Drumm (@Bdrumm_Rivals) November 7, 2015

– UPDATE (Sun., 1:08 pm): Another OL target off the board, although this one felt like it had probably been coming for a while.

Committed to Texas A&M! Gig'em 👍😉

— Kellen Diesch (@_kell89) November 8, 2015