The Football Brainiacs

Image of Caleb Kelly via fresnobee.com

– Reshuffling Of Responsibilities: Yesterday evening probably surprised a lot of you when Bob Stoops announced he was moving Cale Gundy from his long tenured RB coach position coach to inside wide receiver (and tight ends) coach. It certainly took by surprise as well.

Then I (Brandon) got to thinking about how Stoops paired Gundy and Lincoln Riley up on the recruiting trail not too long ago. I also started thinking about how most of the guys they were out recruiting were WRs.  It all kind of makes sense now in hindsight as it was actually right in front of us all along.

Now, I’m not saying I am necessarily 100% on board with the move, but it does make sense on its surface. Jay Boulware is a good recruiter and has also coached running backs at Stanford, Iowa State & Arizona. So it isn’t a stretch for him to move over to RBs.

With Gundy, I was initially a little more perplexed by the decision. I have, however, come to terms with what I believe Stoops was thinking. Gundy is obviously a former quarterback and has also been coaching under some sort of air raid offense, or at least variations of said attack, since he has been at OU. He knows the offense and is clearly a great recruiter. So if you’re going to be throwing the ball presumably over 50% of the time, you better have some talented wide receivers to catch ball. That’s where I believe Gundy will be beneficial.

There is a chance he could be more of a ‘rover’ when it comes to practices, helping out with RBs and WRs, but that is just speculation on my part at the moment. And I’m expecting Joe Mixon will probably line up in the slot/inside receiver spot quite a bit in the new scheme. So, again, this kind of makes sense. Even if we can’t comprehend it right now.

– Caleb Kelly: I (Brandon) was able to catch up with the 2016 Fresno linebacker and although he wouldn’t name a favorite, it has long been my understanding that OU stands for him. It’s also not lost on me that he hails from the same city as Chip Viney, who just so happens is leading OU’s recruitment of Kelly.

In fact, Caleb told us that he talks to Viney and Bob Stoops on nearly a weekly basis and has close relationships with both. He also said that he plans on making a trip up to Norman for OU’s spring game. Sooners continue to be in a good position for one of the top LBs in this 2016 class.

– Spencer Perry: I also caught up with IMG Academy’s, Spencer Perry. The 2016 safety prospect actually spoke with Coach Viney for the first time this past Sunday. Perry said, “Viney relates to me well and I really like OU’s program. Definitely would love to have an offer from them.” The two sides will continue to develop their relationship, but Perry’s film is really good so he’ll definitely be a name to remember going forward.

– Dontavious Jackson: While there may have been grumblings yesterday amongst some OU fans with the confirmation that Tim Kish isn’t going anywhere, it’s never been just lip service that both his players and recruits genuinely like the guy. Case in point, 2016 LB Dontavious Jackson is a big fan of OU’s newly reassigned inside linebackers coach.

As a matter of fact, Kish is one of the main reasons that Jackson is so high on OU. The big Elsik (Houston, TX) LB says that he and Kish have a great bond and talk almost daily. As we’ve talked about previously, Jackson is also very close with current Sooner LB Obo Okoronkwo which is only helping their cause.

Jackson told TFB he plans to be in Norman next month for OU’s March 7th Junior Day.