Weekend Open Post, December 28th – 30th
Posted on: December 20, 2024
Where to Next? | Terms and Conditions Apply
– Charlie S – Posted on: December 19, 2024
The Sooners have locked up their main priority in this portal cycle as they came to terms with former Washington State QB John Mateer last night.
I say ‘came to terms’ because that is exactly what it was. A contract was offered and agreed upon and now, Mateer is a Sooner.
OU did what they needed to do to secure the Top Transfer Portal Player who was available this cycle, regardless of position.
As we have been saying since the moment Ben Arbuckle was introduced and former QB Jackson Arnold hit the portal, the Sooners had a plan and we all were hopeful that it would work out.
In this case, it did.
So…now what?
Well OU still needs to go out and fill some holes on their roster and now, they know exactly how much money they have to spend on it.
Every program has a budget for each cycle. Some are larger than others, but no team has unlimited spending abilities off the rip. There are programs where it is easier to go outside of your budget, but most have a set salary cap already in place for each cycle.
This is where the GM position needs to work closely with the personnel guys and the coaching staff. Each contract you hand out dictates what the next contract can/will be and the Sooners just ponied up for a substantial contract.
Prior to the cycle beginning, sources told us that the budget for the offensive side of the ball was much larger than the defensive side of the ball this cycle…and a lot of the focus on the defensive side of the ball would initially go toward trying to retain some key players currently on the roster.
We should find out how successful OU was in retaining guys like Damonic Williams, R Mason Thomas and Robert Spears Jennings in the coming days.
What those guys do will also affect the funds available to spend in the second half of this portal.
On offense, OU still needs to come up with a tight end, a couple more receivers, and at least one offensive lineman. As I have noted, I believe they are in position for at least one TE (Nate Boerkircher) at least one more WR (Isaiah Sategna and/or Jerand Bradley), and one more OL (Derek Simmons) and they are still planning on kicking the tires on other targets (Corey Robinson at OL, and Devonte Ross at WR) but a lot of how successful they can be is dependent on the funds available.
On defense OU has an offer out to EDGE Logan George who is wrapping up a visit, they are set to host DL James Thompson today, and they are waiting to find out their fate with CB Ethan O’Connor who is wrapping up his scheduled visits.
We will see how things play out, but the Sooners still have a number of targets they are in a good position with and a couple others they are trying to move on. It will largely come down to how much is left in the piggy bank for this cycle.
News From the Portal | Names of Interest | 12/19
– Charlie S – Posted on: December 19, 2024
The Portal is officially open!
Keeping with how we were doing it before the portal even opened, I just wanted to throw up a post that talks about some names to potentially keep an eye on for the Sooners.
I will update this from time to time and post it as a new thread on days/turn of events when appropriate.
Note: There will be many more names OU works on in the coming days, both known as well as unknown. OU has proven they do very solid work in the dark when it comes to the portal as well. This post is simply some of the names we have uncovered…there will be many more names which we do not uncover.
WR Devonte Ross – Troy – OU has interest – Planning to visit
WR Jordan Dwyer – Idaho – Expressed interest in OU to me
WR Keyon Brown – Iowa Western CC – Has OU interest
WR Jerand Bradley – Boston College – Mutual interest will visit
WR Isaiah Sategna – Arkansas – Mutual interest will visit
OL Fa’alili Fa’amoe – Washington State – I’m told by source there is OU interest
DT Jerry Lawson – Abilene Christian – Has interest in OU
DT David Blay – Louisiana Tech – OU offered (6’4 303)
DL Deshawn McKnight – UT Martin – OU offered 12/18 (recruitment shutdown he says) Has visited Arizona.
DL Jayvair Suggs – LSU – Mutual interest – OU in top schools
DL James Thompson – Wisconsin – OU Offered 12/13 – Visiting 12/19
EDGE Logan George – Idaho State – OU offered 12/17 – Visiting 12/18-19
LB Khmori House – Washington – OU Offered 12/18
CB Ethan O’Connor – Washington State – Mutual interest
CB Tacario Davis – Arizona – OU will have interest
K Lucas Carneiro – Western Kentucky – Visiting OU this week
Incoming Portal Transfers | Updated: 12/20
– Charlie S – Posted on: December 20, 2024
We have a list for outgoing portal transfers (winding down) and a list of OU portal interests for OU which we update daily for you.
Now, we will set up a running list of incoming portal transfers.
Here is a list of players who are heading to Norman:
1st addition…P Jake Ulrich – Kennesaw State (December 13th)
2nd addition…OL Luke Baklenko – Stanford (December 16th)
3rd addition…WR Javonnie Gibson – Arkansas Pine Bluff (December 18th)
4th addition…WR Keontez Lewis – Southern Illinois (December 18th)
5th addition…QB John Mateer – Washington State (December 18th)
6th addition…OL Derek Simmons – Western Carolina (December 19th)
7th addition…WR Isaiah Sategna – Arkansas (December 19th)
