The Football Brainiacs

Image of Parrish Cobb via wacotrib.com

Krys Barnes: Last week Oklahoma continued to work their California connections with an offer to 2016 LB, Krys Barnes (Bakersfield, CA). Barnes is big a fella, standing 6’2 and already 220 pounds. I caught up with him recently and although he already holds a number of offers, he was really excited about OU entering the mix and the prospect of getting to know Tim Kish. He told me, “Coach Kish is really cool. I’m just really excited to get to know him and build a relationship.”

Barnes commented on OU’s California pipeline saying, “of course it plays a huge part in my interest in OU.” And while some OU fans may be a little down on the program coming off the disappointment that was 2014, the reality is the Sooners brand is still very much alive and well. Barnes went on to say, “I am open-minded to all schools…it’s just a blessing to have such a great offer and to be looked at by a program that is one of a kind.”

Barnes is a kid to watch. Don’t be surprised if OU, at the very least, gets a visit out of him. – (Brandon)

Nigel Knott: The expectation coming in was for Kerry Cooks to be one of the top recruiters on this OU staff, primarily due to his previous track record and ability to pull in top talent from all over the country at a school like Notre Dame. Much like now former OU assistant Jerry Montgomery, Cooks is willing to go anywhere and fight anyone for a player he believes in. And it looks like that includes the state of Mississippi. You’ll recall Montgomery beating out both in-state schools, among others, for Gabriel Cambell, and now it would appear Cooks has found a defensive back from the Magnolia state he is quite high on.

Nigel Knott, a 2016 corner out of Madison Central HS, tells TFB he’s been in regular communication with coach Cooks for some time now. Knott is a long, rangy, fast cornerback, who says that his relationship with Cooks dates back to when the latter was still in South Bend. In fact, Cooks is already building a relationship with Knott’s parents (remind you of anyone?) all of whom are working on a trip to Norman for an unofficial visit.

After having a chance to review his film, we believe it’s simply a matter of ‘when’ not ‘if’ Knott receives an offer from Oklahoma. – (Brandon)

Parrish Cobb and Levonta Taylor: A couple 2016 two defensive back names to keep an eye on. Alex and K have had their eye on Cobb (Waco, TX) for a while, who recently told us coach Cooks has been in contact a short time ago. Meanwhile, Taylor (Virginia Beach, VA) yet another DB — with a very impressive offer list — that Cooks has already been working on as well. – (Brandon)

Jean Delance: The 2016 OU commit has confirmed with TFB that he plans to be in Norman next weekend for OU’s Jr. Day #2. As most of you know by now while Bill Bedenbaugh was in on Delance earlier than most and earned an early commitment from him, neither of those facts have slowed other schools from continuing to pursue the talented offensive tackle prospect. In talking to folks around North Mesquite, we’ve been told Alabama has been in touch with Delance quite a bit lately and an offer could be close to being made. How big of a threat the Tide would be to OU remains to be seen, but we’ll know more if/when that offer comes. – (Brandon)

Diron Reynolds: I’ve talked to some folks close to the program and as of yesterday afternoon, OU’s new defensive line coach had yet to meet with any current players. Based on his tweet last night though, it sounds like that is about to change very quickly.

Just Landed… Wait for it!!!!#BOOM!!!!!!!

— Diron Reynolds (@Coach_Diron) February 24, 2015

As most of you know, I’m a big fan of the defensive side of the ball and particularly DBs and the DL. So I’ll definitely be keeping my ear to the ground and let you know what I hear as far as what kind of initial impression Reynolds makes with the current players and prospective recruits. – (Super K)

Shane Buechele and David Moore: Most of you probably know by now that early OU 2016 quarterback offer Shane Buechele committed to Texas last night. While following up on that, I stumbled across a new quarterback name that OU appears to have been in touch with. Dual-threat David Moore out of Alpharetta, Georgia shared with me that he has been in contact with coach Drew Hill. It’s still pretty early in the whole process of things, so an offer isn’t necessarily imminent or anything. But I wanted to mention him just so those of you who love to review film as much as we do get a chance to take a look. Moore already holds offers from Illinois, Oregon State & Wake Forest among others. – (Super K)

New DB Philosophy: Since returning from my trip, I’ve been looking at some of the 2016 DB prospects Kerry Cooks has offered. I’ve also been reviewing film on a number of prospects we at TFB have been paying attention to that maybe aren’t necessarily on OU’s radar just yet.

I have been told that Cooks is planning to bring a new philosophy/approach to the OU secondary and it should more close resemble what we saw during the 2013 season. Specifically, much more of an emphasis on man coverage. And I believe you can expect that coverage to be more of a ‘in your face’, press technique type of coverage.

While it’s certainly important for a DB to be able to play off, press, and the various techniques within those respective alignments, the actual call will often dictate the alignment. But, again, I have been told that tighter alignments are to be expected, which is welcome news considering how soft some of the coverages were at times this past season.

To that point, I wanted to again hit on Parrish Cobb. Alex first brought this young man to my attention, who I believe has three fundamental qualities that you love to see in a press corner: ball skills (ability to get his head turned around and track), physicality & speed…speed…speed. I emphasize speed because as a general matter, it is something OU has been missing recently in the secondary and is something coach Cooks seems hell bent on remedying.

While in the past OU would look for a ‘big’ corner and could live with maybe a little less speed, meanwhile you see a team like TCU take speed over almost anything and everything else. In fact, TCU brought in a 5’11” CB with blazing speed this last recruiting cycle, who they actually plan on converting to a safety. That’s how important speed is to Gary Patterson. TCU was one of KeShawn Somerville’s first offers despite being only about 5’10”. Why? Because he ran a sub 4.4 at their camp. Somerville is still raw and even with his great speed sometimes trails the route, but you just can’t teach that kind of speed.

And Cobb is kid that right away on film you can see has that extra gear. In his film below on the very first play you’ll see some poor form — he lunges on the play, a no-no for a DB — but even on that one play you get a couple clues about Cobb’s mentality and ability.

First, it demonstrates his aggression and desire to get his hands on the wide receiver. Lunging like that in college will get you lit up, but I love to see a high school defensive back that wants to beat up on a receiver. Once the WR gets a release and a step, Cobb shows off his recovery speed by turning and chasing him down. Again, that is the kind of speed you just can’t teach.

You may recall Baylor’s defensive backs draped all over OU’s wide receivers in recent years. And that’s because Coach Buckels and the Baylor staff teach their players to play that type of style are comfortable taking chances with their speed and a physical approach to defending opponents. In fact, that’s exactly why, in my opinion, you’ve seen Baylor improve defensively. Thus it came as very little surprise to me that Baylor was in fact Cobb’s first offer from a Big 12 school.

Cobb is the kind of player who, when taught technique and is cleaner within his overall efficiency of movement, could really develop into a true shutdown corner. I really like that OU and coach Cooks are after this young man. Oh, and a big kudos to Alex for finding Cobb so early. – (Super K)

UPDATE (9:36 am): OU coaches continue to try and make inroads with the hotbed of talent in Louisiana, this time with an offer to 2016 DE/OLB Pernell Jefferson (New Orleans, LA). It is also worth noting that Jefferson is a teammate of 2015 OU signee Arthur McGinnis.

– UPDATE (10:46 am): Kerry Cooks still working, extends offer to one of the top DBs in the 2016 class, Chauncey Gardner (Cocoa, FL).

– UPDATE (11:20 am): Busy day for new OU offers as another one goes out to 2016 ATH David Long (Los Angeles, CA).

– UPDATE (1:09 pm): Continuing the trend of the day, OU has also now offered 2017 OT Wyatt Davis (Bellflower, CA).