Open Post | Wednesday, Dec. 10th (UPDATE 3:10 pm)
Posted on: December 10, 2014
Image of Kareem Orr & Bobby Jack Wright via @ReemKnows1
– Kareem Orr: As we mentioned yesterday, 2015 CB prospect Kareem Orr was visited by Bobby Jack Wright Tuesday evening. We caught up with him immediately after the visit and it sounds like it went well. Orr said coach Bobby Jack is a “great guy” and that the Oklahoma coaches are pushing the fact he’d potentially “have a spot…immediately.” We asked him if he considered pulling the trigger and he said, “no…not yet but they’re very, very high for me right now.”
Orr said he will visit Clemson soon, so we’ll likely have to wait and see how things go after that visit. But he said he was very aware that the two teams are playing each other in a bowl game this year and it sounds like he’ll be watching.
– Dwaine Thomas: We’ve been high on 2015 linebacker Dwaine Thomas (Boutte, LA) and shortly thereafter TFB brought him to your attention, the Sooners got involved. We caught up with him last night to see how things are going and came across some interesting information.
Apparently Tim Kish went to visit Thomas this week. He told TFB, “Coach Kish told me that they like me a lot, but they’ve got about eight linebackers they had offered and been recruiting and they’re only taking two, or maybe three. So they have to wait and see what happens with them before they offer me.”
Thomas said he is being recruited as an OLB, so we aren’t sure if Kish meant they are taking 2 or 3 OLBs are total linebackers total. And Thomas said he wasn’t sure either. It sounded like, on the one hand, Thomas appreciated Kish being forthright, but he also admitted, “it doesn’t feel good feeling like you’re a back up.”
Thomas said one of the reasons his recruiting has always been slow is because of the number of position changes he’s made throughout his high school career going from running back early on, then to safety, then to defensive end, and finally to linebacker this past season. Thomas feels he is every bit as good as anyone OU has offered or is recruiting and…we can’t say we disagree…the young man looks like a special talent. But it looks like he won’t know whether he’ll have an offer until January. He is expecting an offer from Texas Tech this weekend and TCU has recently been in contact, so his name is getting out there more.
– Anthony Wheeler: Speaking of linebackers, we caught up with Anthony Wheeler yesterday to see how last week’s in-home visit went. As you’ll recall, last week we mentioned that he told us he was expecting the OU coaches to do an in-home visit with him this past Thursday. But apparently that didn’t happen. Wheeler said coach Kish told him “they will try to come another day.”
We found that odd because there didn’t seem to be any definitive plan to visit him. Wheeler said that Texas has already come by to visit. The dead period begins in a few days, so if the Sooners are going to stop by and visit Wheeler it would need to happen soon.
– Maea Teuhema: Our DFW guy, Alex King, caught up with someone close to recent five-star visitor and LSU commit, Maea Teuhema. If you missed it, we mentioned last week before his visit that the stud offensive lineman’s cousin is OU’s Nila Kasitati. The source Alex spoke with said that Maea’s visit went great, but he (the source) seemed to be quite candid in saying the chances of a flip don’t appear to be very good. Which really doesn’t come as much of a surprise and also not really a huge deal per se seeing as Bedenbaugh has a great class already in the fold and will likely add at least one more offensive lineman before NSD.
– Kenyon Frison: Just an interesting little insider note that we wanted to pass along. We’ve heard a few people rave about OU true freshman OT Kenyon Frison’s continued development behind the scenes. It sounds like this young man may be the next great offensive tackle for OU, and there seem to be a lot of folks around the program who share that opinion.
– Jean DeLance: Our guy Brandon Drake spoke with the 2016 OU commit yesterday, who let him know coach Bedenbaugh and coach Gundy dropped by to visit him. Delance said the visit went well and he is “locked in” on the Sooners.
– Chason Virgil: Alex was also able to catch up with Chason Virgil to ask a little more about his timeline for a commitment. Virgil mentioned that he does see the opportunity available at OU in that the quarterback position seems to be very unsettled. Virgil said that after he takes his visit to Fresno State this weekend, he will make his decision but no exact date has been set.
– UPDATE (3:10 pm): I (Jordan) posted a tweet in the comments regarding a report that OU commit Jamal Danley would be taking a visit to Louisville this weekend. Danley has since publicly stated that visit will not be happening. Just wanted to get that out there.
158 Comments
In before the meltdown in 3….2….1….
I was having a great day until l read the Thomas update.
Tim Kish can’t get one commit and he’s side stepping Wheeler SMH
That obvious, huh? LoL
Hey, I don’t blame you. Trust me, the text I sent to K as I was reading/editing this was definitely NSFW. So I’m right there w/ y’all.
The updates are great though. Hard to find that anywhere else. And especially for the price of “let’s say…on the house”
The big 12 isn’t doing the schools any favors in recruiting. It’s hard to sell kids when you don’t win your conference. It’s even more difficult when your conference champion is considered the worst of the 5 conferences.
So the biggest need in OU recruiting is kinda being dropped at the moment.
No way does Tim Kish thin he can just ‘we’ll try to come another day’ linebacker recruits…Wheeler is a stud.
I haven’t watched any film on him, and I’m not really sure what I would be looking for anyway as I’m not really a defensive guy. But I’ve read more than one assessment of Wheeler that he is probably a little overrated.
This is my understanding. I too am not a defensive guy so when I watch a defensive player, I want him to jump off the screen otherwise I have no idea about the technique. But I think there are better options. I think it’s fair that they let their current offers shake out but I think jefferson and John Houston are unlikely. McKee and mcguinnis don’t seem as much of locks as they were just last month. Wheeler too. And the no one really knows about deberry but it does look good for ou.
To me it sounds like we are going back to a 4-3. Were trying to load up on dline talent but worried about getting “too” many linebackers.
Please let that comment have been about OLBs…
Also, I’ve kinda felt we were slow-playing Wheeler more than him slow-playing us.
Since we are slow playing all these LB and lack of offers does that mean we have a couple in the fold?
I’m sorry buy 3-4 is all about LBs!!! The 4 part means we need more LBs than DL – I swear…
Kish needs to be replaced immediately. Not after the bowl game, but today.
This all start at the top , when will Joe C do some thing or anything!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
It’s not Joe C’s job. AD’s that meddle in the affairs of assistant coaches are typically not good AD’s. If Kish is the/a issue, Bob will get rid of him.
I’d push all the buttons possible to get something done here. Joe C’s, email, twitter feed, facebook. Its to the point of diminishing the brand of OU football by the buddy system that is allowed.
I just don’t understand kish…..
Would like to believe that the ‘2’ comment was about OLB unless they are truly contemplating going back to a 4 man front. The move to the 30 was a response to the lack of DL. No longer the case with Monty there. But…link that to the ‘8 LBs offered’ comment, McKee’s delayed announcement, slow playing Wheeler… Meltdown delayed until the 19th when DeBerry announces and more info on McGinnis. If they’re only taking 2…those are my 2.
I think if Phillips declares, you’ll see a 4-3 next year.
We’ve just got all kind of good news today.
https://twitter.com/jdemling/status/542695576874135554
I can see why some people don’t visit the doctor annually. Sometimes you just don’t want to know some things. LOL!!
Not too worried about OL as long as we Bedenbaugh.
I support using Bedenbaugh’s name as a verb. He’s definitely Bedenbaughing it out there on the recruiting trail!
We will get DeBerry. Maybe another couple of lbs. This end of the world mentality is so played out.
Def a good shot at DeBerry. Montgomery has done an excellent job with him.
That’s the problem right there! Not picking anything you say K and I do appreciate y’alls work, but the body of work between Kish and Mont is not even comparable.. even to an outsider. This right here pisses the hell out out me… Half of the squad, Cale, Mont, B heck even Chip and Mike hustling relentlessly and then a guy like Kish that seems to be half-assn this aspect of his job.
I don’t think he’s half-arsing it, just the kids don’t relate to him and even though there is clear opportunity to come and play at OU, that doesn’t matter if they aren’t comfortable with their position coach.
I don’t think I’d call it an “end of the world mentality”, it’s just that our LB recruiting has been pretty poor for at least 3 years running now and we’ve consistently had to go after backup plans late just to get some guys. Are there some people acting like it’s just the worse thing ever? Sure, but those are in the minority and most are just frustrated that Tim Kish can’t seem to pull anything near top talent at the position. I don’t think that’s “end of the world mentality”, it’s just wanting each coach to pull his weight and Kish just flat-out isn’t. When the coach from another position group is the one who’s likely to get our best recruit then Kish isn’t doing very well.
Doesn’t help that there isn’t any LB talent coming out of Oklahoma. Look back at some of our recent “great” ones. A lot of those were from Oklahoma. Again, why I say some of this stuff is so cyclical. Tough to pull great LB’s out of Michigan, or the deep south, or Cali.
The one they could have possible had a chance at recently was Gyasi Akem, who ended up at Ok St, but they dropped the ball on him and he never heard from them until nearly his senior year.
It’s only end of the world if Bob and Cale (recruiting Coord) don’t do something about it. From what I can tell Kish is a decent coach and developer of talent. Striker, Shannon, Nelson, and Alexander have all had some good success with his coaching, but if he is not a recruiter then get someone to go be in the room with him to do it! If we are all going to just sit here and say that Kish has recruited well then we are drinking too much OU koolaid and wearing crimson glasses that need to be changed out.
It’s the end of the end of the world. Time to end this…
Right on. People are going crazy here. I know they want a National title, we all do, it’ll get done.
We all do but I will settle for an outright conference championship next year.
1. Jefferson – not coming
2. Kirkland – not coming
3. Josh Smith – Vandy commit, not likely
4. DeBerry – think OU gets
5. McGinnis – good chance
6. Wheeler – wtf
7. McKee – 40-60 OU
8. Peat – good possibility
If we get three of those 8 I think there will be some very happy people. Reality says we have to get 3 of 6, because, as you said, the first two aren’t happening. I think McKee is headed to Mich State, so that makes it 3 of 5. Don’t love those odds, especially when Kish is the LB guy.
I’m also not confident in Peat. I think he stays out west.
Didn’t someone close to Josh Smith say he was already looking to flip to Kentucky and was very interested in the OU offer? That sounds like he’s ready to decommit from Vandy but not until he has something sure somewhere else.
Yes. Seems as though people are saying he may be a battle between OU and UK.
Cale Gundry is the recruiting coordinator. If there is a problem to this point with LB recruiting, we would’ve heard. I think they have it under control. The issue is OU seems to like smaller LB’s who are more like safeties. Where’s a Curtis Lofton or at least a Lehman, Calmus etc…
We want safeties at LB and apparently we like bigger CB/S who can’t cover. I think we might have our thoughts backwards coaching staff. Get them LB’s as big and athletic as you can,and at S and CB just find guys who can cover, and quit worrying about size.
Vandy just lost their LB coach. I don’t know how close Smith was with him, but I think we have a solid shot there.
So I basically read this as, Kish has got to go.
I think that’s what I read also.
He’s obviously trying to screw us before he gets fired. #Wishful
#KishfulThinking
I have my opinion (as you all are probably painfully aware at this point), K has his. But he is not presenting this as anything other than what we’ve been told. Obviously it’s up to all of you, based on the info presented, to form your own opinion.
I’m not suggesting you’re saying otherwise, I just wanted to clarify for the sake of doing so.
Carry on.
Indeed.
I also have an opinion. Whatever Gundy is drinking and eating give it to kish double. ORRRRR just send Gundy. We are good at RB for 5 more years. We need LB’s NOW
I haven’t been on the Kish has to be fired bandwagon, BUT if he doesn’t land 2-3 out of those 8-9 offers we have out, and relatively soon, I might just jump on that train. No excuse, given how long he has been at OU, and the lack of depth which means early playing time, for Kish to not bring in several of our A/B options at that position.
There are 8 LB’s offered who aren’t committed and we’ll throw in Josh Smith to make it 9. Out of all of those, Deberry is the only one I have any confidence in us landing with Josh Smith in a distant 2nd. Pretty sure we don’t have a shot with Jefferson or Houston either. That doesn’t exactly put us in a position strength for LB recruiting. All that said, we got in too late with Caban; don’t make the same mistake with Thomas.
I’m not confident thsthat we’ll get either DeBerry or Smith.
Poor Dwaine Thomas. Kish is keeping it real and honoring the offers to current players. Thomas looks really good. I’d offer and let the other LBs sort themselves out. It’s a game, but whatevs.
I left out Houston, but he ain’t comin’ either. I agree. Willing to wait till DeBerry announces then if he’s OU, say 1 more…if he’s not, take Thomas and say ‘1 more’. McKee delaying doesn’t help. Haven’t watched any of Josh Smith’s film but I’m no coach/recruiter. As said, some guys just jump off the film at you.
Smith looks good on tape but I don’t know what kind of competition he was up against.
Speaking of OLBs, whatever happened with Curtis Bolton?
Redshirt.
Thanks, that’s what I was assuming happened. Hopefully he’s development is coming along nicely!
I believe he is ILB
Saw where Colin Samuel committed to UCLA yesterday.
this is accurate
I am less worried about LBs more so S and CB we need more JCs.. The more experience back there the better..
If they’re going to continue to run a 3-4 and w/ as little depth/talent as they already have at LB and if they’re really only taking 2-3 guys this year (which I feel had to be about OLBs only), then IMO we should be very, very worried about LB.
Back to running 3-8 , don’t need LBs
I remember a time when someone would mention the Half-Dollar and all of Sooner Nation wouldn’t shudder.
Depth, yes as with every position but LB both inside and outside were OU’s strength this year could be next year as well. But with secondary talent and inexperience we should expect the same kind of season next year.
Lets see. Striker and bond (both seniors) the starters and obo behind them. 3 guys to play 2 position is not depth. You have Alexander and Evans as the starters at ILB with Bolton and t evans as backups (two unproven and very raw ILB redshirt freshman). Any injuries to the starters will be a disaster.
Neither Striker or Bond are SRs both JRs although Striker could leave wouldn’t be wise but could.
Next year randy
And/or a 3-4 secondary coach…
Baltimore/Maryland area I believe.
https://twitter.com/OU_CoachWright/status/542706460535562240
Gotta hand it to BJW using twitter. He uses all the tools to maximize his efficiency. So what recruit is in that ac?
Isn’t JP Urquidez from there?
You’re right, Hyattsville, MD. Checked 247 and interestingly played for Copperas Cove as a soph. Also interested in whorns and Baylor.
That’s Baltimore.
Damn, BJW is just down the road from me.
William Johnson and Ezekiel Turner’s parents are in the Baltimore area.
I think with the O-line class this year and already one commit for next year teuhema not flipping wont be a huge miss hopefully, josh smith wheeler and deberry commit to OU we could really use some LB and DB any news on mbansor is he leaning towards another school? Also have a co worker who is close with 2016 OL J.P. Urquidez family after talking to him he said that JP and his family are “strongly leaning towards OU as of right now” so if say OU is at least at the top or in the top 3 he has family semi close to Norman as well
Kish is killing me kindly.
The HBC for Duke, David Cutcliffe, turned the MEEECHAGIN gig? Oh my…then again if he is comfortable good on him
I don’t think anyone wants that job right now. Michigan takes good up and coming coaches, sh*ts on them, and moves on. Granted it’s a nice way to get a buyout check!
Any word on the development of the rest of last years class?
The word is “ongoing.”
Good thing we beat ULM and La Tech the last couple of years to get the inside track on Thomas.
I see what you did there. Unfortunately, Kish does not.
will we get Shannon back for next year?
Nope
I agree with indy. Boren will have the final say in it.
Yep
I tried predicting who will or will not commit to OU, I give up it’s an ongoing trap. I will wait for Dean Blevins to give his % prediction as to how many linebackers OU takes. On a more serious note are the listed linebackers from a July roster. Does OU just replace the 4 leaving? Is Shannon the wild card in this? Outlook for 2015 since we have no lb commits.
1. D. Alexander-Jr.
2. C. Bolton-Rfr.
3. D. Bond-Sr.
4. J. Evans-Jr.
5. T. Evans-Rfr.
6. R. Favors-gone (1)
7. A. Franklin-gone (2)
8. C. Gastelum-gone (3)
9. G. Grissom-gone (4)
10. R. Hunter-Jr.
11. P.L. Lindley-Rsr.
12. O Okoronkwo-Rso.
13. C. Parker-So.
14. F. Shannon-R. Sr. (?)
15. E. Striker-Sr.
16. L. Taylor-R.sr.
Slim pickens. Only 1 OLB that is an underclassmen, that’s pathetic.
I have a feeling Ahmad Thomas ends up as a LB. He seems much more comfortable close to the LOS where he can play close to the ball and not try to cover WRs
……in his youth, was kish successful with dating?… 1) thomas aka susie………susie, I came all the way here to let you know how much I like you and to let you know that you’re definitely on the short list, only eight ahead of you, I’ll let you know…..2) wheeler aka barbie……..barbie, damn, I’ve been after you forever, I know I didn’t show up like I said I would…….hey, I’ll call you…….
That’s creative and funny.
Lmao
6 Sooners on first Team all conference (coaches)
Nice to see Orr wearing his ND gear during the visit.
That’s where Orr goes to high school.
ND Catholic HS or something like that, can’t recall.
Looked it up, just “Notre Dame High School,” Catholic isn’t in the name.
I had no idea there was a ND HS. Sorry.
There are a LOT of Notre Dame high schools.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Notre_Dame_High_School
I’m a dumb ass sometimes, guess Notre Dame’s are like several other popular named schools, found all over the nation.
well, there’s no Oklahoma HS in Texas
I thought the same thing ray. I was like seriously and were dumb enough to stick around a take a picture. But then I saw the Chattanooga and figured it was HS.
Same school that Adarius Bowman went to.
What on God’s green earth is this staff doing? Is Kish completely insane?
/shakes head mumbling as he walks away
Will sternberger ever get an ou offer?
sorry Zack but who is sternberger?
Athlete out of Kingfisher. One of those kids playing multiple positions who has grown a lot from his JR to SR year. He is 6’4 230 with 4,6 speed. Just an Okie kid who is a good athlete who I hope gets a chance somewhere.
Ok thanks
What boom said. He looks like a good athlete. Last I checked dalton wood is the only TE/hback we’ve got and the only one we have a shot at landing unless I’ve missed something.
Bingo. Dalton is a stud that no one know of at this point. He’s weighing around 260 and runs over or around players all day long. Unreal he can breakoff 95 yard TD runs. I always thought Jace was about the same. My hope is he’s a preferred walk on with OU. I realize he will get some scholly but think he would end up with one at OU if he worked hard.
He got an offer from Kansas today which they already have a solid TE for this class. But I guess we only wanted one TE/FB this year.
Thanks
http://www.hudl.com/athlete/1480681/highlights/86304375
Here’s his highlights.
Cool thanks
Zach, I’m going to watch the highlights this evening but I want your opinion, we both know Kingfisher is a small market. Do you think he’s a big fish in a small pond or is he the real deal on the D1 level?
I’ll watch the whole thing later I only had time to watch a few minutes. He reminds me of the dalton wood kid just like boom said. He’s a little but thinner though but he appears to have a good frame and could develop nice. Scouts aren’t high on him but I always throw this out there…they said there were 28 or so guys from the Super Bowl rosters Seahawks and bronchos that were 2 stars or worse. The best defensive player in the league was a 2 star. So I think jace could be a fantastic player but he needs to get to ou or osu somehow not Kansas.
Ok, I’ve watched his film and my concern still hasn’t changed. This kid is a special athlete with good size and speed but the competition concerns me. Watch closely when they show him at DE, he tears it up but even at my old age I think I could run around some of those guys trying to block him. Tell me what you think after you’ve had a chance to see all of it. I do think he has the athletic ability to be coached into a great player.
I’m with you. However, I look at it this way. Oklahoma is made up of rural areas. There’s talent in those areas but not against good competition. Selmons & Watts Eufaula, Shoat Spiro, Bryan Bros Coweta & I could go on. I’ve wanted Sternberger/Whitfield all year. I feel they would give it the OKIE pride on that field. That’s me but I’m not a talent scout. I understand the system but I would like to see more get a chance.
We’re on the same page. The small towns in Oklahoma produce very good athletes and when they do, they appear to be all world athletes on film because the competition is just not good enough to stop them regardless of the position they are playing. It doesn’t mean they aren’t good enough for the big time programs, it just means they are hard to evaluate unless you have a special eye for talent(which I don’t claim to have). Some of our best players in history, which you pointed out, have come from remote areas and have been discovered by expert eyes.
85 scholarship rule was a killer. if it was back at 95, you would see more of these kids get a shot. It’s a shame.
Yes, Switzer made a living off those hole in the wall kids, he could gamble on some and cash in on the rest.
If these boys were at OU, the loses would go to their cores. They know OU doesn’t lose. They would take it personal, like how it affected Boz.
I remember seeing players ball like babies after a loss, now they just look into the camera and say “we didn’t execute very well”. Makes me sick.
We didn’t lose much but those couple of times we did, I couldn’t take it. Ran right to my locker, didn’t say anything and got home – no party time. If I did sleep, it was light as I would run the game over and over in my head. That’s why I love football, it taught me a lot about the joy of winning and the agony of defeat.
And that would be 10 extra spots paid spots for SEC teams.
I get your concern but his measurables seem pretty good. 4.6 isn’t bad for a guy his size. Blake bell was timed in the 40 at 4.9 this last spring. Now I think he was dealing with a bit of a knee injury and that could have made the time look worse.
I think he’s worth a shot if we were looking to take 2 TE this year since we’ve basically given up on everyone but wood it seems.
Also I just looked up his defensive stats. 80 tackles with 20 sacks! The sacks are ridiculous and you know teams were probably trying to take that away.
He dominated the field no matter where he was. In the film I watched he was completely unblocked or running by linemen who appeared to be wearing concrete shoes. He is, without a doubt, a very good athlete but his stats are likely due to the sub par competition. He would have looked good even at a larger school but his stats may not have been quite as impressive IMO. He has everything you would look for in an athlete and I would hope we keep him away from other programs who will turn him into a star.
Seems like K State has done pretty well with these kids
Snyder would turn this kid into an all American and no one would know where he came from.
Ditto with Whitfield. I’m just pulling for OKIE boys to do good, somewhere.
There are a bunch of quality players in the state this year. It’s too bad we can’t get them all but I was looking at Louisiana’s recruits and Dwaine Thomas isn’t even in the top 40. Like K has said many times that is a state we need to make a priority maybe more so than Cali. Since we haven’t had the best of luck with our Cali recruits.
The craw fish state is loaded, and it’s close enough that recruits/students can drive home on off weeks/holidays so there is a small selling point.
Well, looks like no changes are happening and it will be the same ol crap next year!
7 n c’s ain’t bad.. I mean 7 NC’s ain’t bad.
Yeah, and haven’t won in 15 years! Changes need to be made because OU will become a 2-4 loss team every year!
it was a joke about boobs. boobs are gone..
Welp…. at least you have a nice selfy to look at… not bad after all….. Iif Kish swings and misses again this year, he should be let go….
omg I think Kish is trying to sabotage this team…he’s brain dead.
To say sabotage is too extreme and is more of an attack on his character. Kish is a genuine guy, just not a great coach.
I think I get what he’s saying though. If there are some changes that are coming in the coaching staff and Kish were to be anticipating his termination, this could be the reason why he would be cancelling visits and telling guys that they’re a back up plan. Not saying that’s the case, but I could see someone thinking that.
Welcome back! Where have you been?
Thanks! It’s a combination of school, work, and holiday stuff…throw in a bit of depression from the season we just finished up and that’ll do it!
it was a little bit of tongue in cheek there…I’m sure he’s a great guy, just bad at his job (not tongue in cheek).
Wisconsin had some nice recruits I think they read tfb. But is it time to cherry pick with their coach leaving?
………tfb………gentlemen, lame deletion……..
What?
I think he’s referring to the semi-provactive image removed earlier.
Maybe Danley just saw we had two big 12 first teamers on the OL.
Danley already knows ou does as good of a job as anyone putting olinemen in the league. And bedenbaugh has a really good résumé. He was the oline coach at tech when they had Vasquez and Ramirez now with the bronchos.
If it’s any indictation, and maybe this will be posted somewhere tomorrow, but OU sent the house to see DeBerry. Kish, Monty, and B.Stoops to see one guy.
Maybe his mom is a good cook?
Haha yeah, that’s probably why.
Jordan needs valium for Christmas.