The Football Brainiacs

Image of Jeffrey Okudah via scout.com

Hope everyone had a great weekend and for those of you on spring break…enjoy! As most of you know OU is also on spring break, so many of the coaches are traveling personally. Thus, we don’t expect to have a ton of information throughout the week.

However, we do have one nice little tidbit you might find interesting…

– Darius Hammond: If you love football, you likely won’t see many more exciting or explosive football players in the country than Louisiana native, Darius Hammond (Livonia, LA). Hammond is a 2015 cornerback prospect who had some academic hurdles to overcome and, as such, has yet to actually sign with a school. I spoke to a source, though, recently who told me it appears Hammond is now qualified and looking for a landing spot. I don’t know whether he has been cleared academically by the NCAA Clearinghouse yet, but what I do know is this young man is a special athlete. I’ve been told there are a number of schools quietly looking to find a spot for Hammond, and if you take a look at his film you’ll see why.

Hammond played at Livonia high school in Louisiana, a school that actually has a few nice prospects including 2016 stud defensive end Willie Baker. Hammond isn’t the tallest guy at around 5’10” but to be perfectly frank, I really don’t care. He has next level speed coupled with great instincts and play-making ability. He’s one of the few prospects you’ll watch and find the tape only getting better and better as it goes on. Hammond could be an asset to Oklahoma as a punt returner, a slot wide receiver, or as a cornerback. People talk about 4.4 speed but very, very, very few players actually have it. Hammond is one of those select few. If this young man develops from a technical perspective, you could be looking at the next Jason Verrett.

We have been told that Oklahoma is looking at Hammond as a cornerback prospect. We’ve also been told that TCU, Michigan, Texas, Louisville, Tennessee and others are looking at Hammond as well. I’ll continue to follow Hammond if for no other reason than I just believe he has the ability to be a tremendous player at the next level. In my mind, he’s a unique talent that anyone passionate about football would love to watch – (Super K)

– Dontavious Jackson: I had a chance to catch up with 2016 OU offer and Alief Elsik linebacker Dontavious Jackson over the weekend while in Dallas for The Opening regional event. Jackson was one of several in attendance who earned an invite to The Opening national event that will be held in Oregon later this summer.

Nothing earth shattering to report necessarily, but Jackson did confirm that his interest in Oklahoma remains strong. He said the SAE video had absolutely no effect on his recruiting. Jackson also said he will be announcing a Top 10 on July 4th, and we have every reason to believe OU will be among those ten schools. Jackson is being recruited by both Tim Kish and Bob Stoops, has already been to Norman twice, and hopes to make a return trip again at some point. – (Brandon)

– Jeffrey Okudah: Yesterday while at The Opening regional event in Dallas, Brandon shot a clip of 2017 OU DB offer Jeffrey Okudah (Grand Prairie, TX) that I just had to share.

https://vine.co/v/OVAVibxK2UV

Okudah is, in my estimation, one of the most special DB prospects in the country. I truly believe this young man has the mental fortitude, work ethic, size & athleticism to one day become a first round draft pick. And I don’t say something like that lightly.

He just turned 16 years old and already measures in at a grown man 6’2″ 199-pounds. That’s linebacker size (and a pretty big one) for a kid his age, yet he’s a defensive back and definitely moves like one. Okudah is being trained by coach Clay Mack in Dallas, and you can already see Mack’s signature written all over the efficiency within Okudah’s movement. His back pedal is very clean, he gets out of break beautifully, and as far as I can tell only makes one false step throughout.

Okudah has already visited Oklahoma once and I suspect he will be back again, but he is being courted by a number of programs including Florida State, Michigan and several others. – (Super K, video from Brandon)