The Football Brainiacs

Dwight Williams (LB) – I posted notes on Dwight last week after I spoke to a source and to his coach and it became clear that OU was a real player. Everything we’ve heard this week only corroborates that. So it looks like this one is going to go OU’s way.

Juwan Dowels (CB) – Just wanted to make a note, Juwan hit me up two nights ago and let me know that he’s changed his OU visit date from Jan. 17th to Jan. 31st. He also let me know that he decommitted from Northern Illinois. And something OU fans will love…he hit me up last night during the OU game and said “Boomer!” Can’t be a bad thing. I love Juwan and his ability.

Courtney Garnett (DT) – Courtney has been tweeting out Oklahoma-centric type things the last couple nights. Privately he did tell me that he loves the Oklahoma fan base and Coach Montgomery has continued to recruit him for a while. He did make it by a Sugar Bowl practice earlier this which he said he enjoyed. It’s also clear that while coach Montgomery is the person he has the closest relationship with, HC Bob Stoops himself is directly involved in Garnett’s recruiting. Courtney let me know that he’s still planning on taking his visit to Oklahoma on Jan. 17th but he’s also scheduling a visit to Tennessee on Jan. 24th. Also wanted to note that Garnett is not being recruited as an NG. He’s being recruited as a 4i DE. Obviously he could grow into an NG but just wanted to let y’all know what OU’s initial intent is with him.

Natrell Curtis (OG) – It’s no secret now that Oklahoma is the favorite for Natrell Curtis. I did ask Natrell if he had any issues with Oklahoma; in other words if there was anything keeping him from committing and he said “Honestly there’s really no concerns”. I asked if he was going to commit this weekend and he said “I don’t know yet”.

Lukayas McNeil (OT) – I talked to Lukayas’ coach and he told me that Lukyas really loved his visit to Oklahoma. The plan right now is he will take an official visit to Louisville and Indiana in January and after the visits he will make his decision. Picking up an athletic offensive tackle would be big for Oklahoma and it sounds like we are right in the mix for McNeil’s service right now. Obviously Louisville and Indiana are much closer to home but hopefully the OU appeal and coaches can win him over.

Steven Parker (DB) – I spoke to Steven Parker’s father at length this past week. I’m limited in what I can say but I will say that I feel very good about where Oklahoma stands right now. TAMU losing Marcel Yates helped a lot. But Mr. Parker emphasized to me that the involvement of head coach Bob Stoops in Parker’s recruitment has been big. He said Oklahoma recruited Steven better than anyone. He also said Steven loves the locker room feel at Oklahoma. I’m optimistic. Getting a big athletic in-state safety like Steven would be huge on so many levels. We need safety help. And we need to continue bringing in team-first minded players that are good student athletes.

Joe Mixon (RB) – So for the longest time I’ve been under the impression that Joe Mixon was going to stay in California. But when he eliminated Cal that definitely made me second guess things. Even my source that knows Joe that has been adamant about Joe not ending up at Oklahoma has softened a lot. With the Oklahoma players tweeting at Joe and with Natrell and others spending time with him it makes it hard to take a bold stance on way or another. Natrell told me that he felt OU was going to land Joe. Obviously he doesnt know for sure but take it FWIW. Joe Mixon’s intent was clearly to throw people off and he’s certainly done that. My gut feeling is Joe is the kind of guy that wants to make a splash and frankly Cal/UCLA don’t make a splash like a commitment to OU. At the same time I do believe he has a better relationship with UCLA coaches and probably feels more comfortable being close to home. In my mind it comes down to what is more important to Joe. The big win certainly didn’t hurt OUs cause.

Miciah Quick (WR/CB) – I asked around about Quick and I was met with a lot of confidence that OU would land Quick. In the past when I’ve asked around about him I certainly got the impression that OU was the leader. But this time it felt like OU was far and away the leader.

Jordan Sims (OG) – Last we heard Jordan still hasn’t set up an official visit to Oklahoma but he has said that he is still seriously considering it. I did ask a buddy of mine that coaches at Homewood and he said that Orso and Jordan are friends so perhaps that will help. I know Alabama is selling him the idea of grey shirting and he is listening. His family can afford to pay for school and he loves the Crimson Tide. And of course Ole Miss has been recruiting him pretty hard for a while. Coach Freeze visited Homewood and did an in-home visit just before the dead period. But I can’t help but think that if OU could just get him on an official they might be able to sell him on a different shade of Crimson. But until that visit is set up there isnt much to say. Fortunately we’ve already got two great interior linemen signed with another one seemingly on the way. Still Jordan is a big time OG!