Weekend Open Post | January 30th – February 1st
Posted on: January 30, 2026
Sourced Team Notes | January 26th
– Charlie S – Posted on: January 26, 2026
As I mentioned yesterday, I was in touch with a source who passed along a couple notes about Winter Training…
***The notes I shared yesterday was “Yo, the backers are real”…I asked for clarity. “The kid linebackers, they real”.
***Source specifically mentioned Beau Jandreau, Kristan Moore and Jacob Curry. I did not hear Bathurst’s name, although the source did say “all four of em”.
***Was told Jandreau is as strong as he looks, Moore is as energetic as he was about his commitment, and Curry is another ‘Kanak’ type athletically.
***Was told WR Parker Livingstone will be John Mateer’s best friend when all is said and done. Sounds like Livingstone has spent a lot of time in the film room and staying after workouts with Mateer. Kinda expected that to be honest.
***Source said DT Brian Harris is very much following the lead of David Stone. Very serious about getting his work in, while also smiling a lot and working to be one of the guys.
Thought that would be a nice start to the week.
Sourced Notes | Couple Interesting Transfer Items
– Charlie S – Posted on: January 26, 2026
***Source tells me former UTSA DL Kenny Ozowalu showed up in Norman at around 285 pounds. As we noted when he committed, it sounds like he will factor into the interior DL rotation and likely play on the EDGE in certain packages based on down and distance and Brent being creative.
***Was told TE Hayden Hansen is quite the physical specimen and tested very well. Source said his athleticism won’t be a question when it comes time to hit the field.
***Source said former Georgia State DT Bishop Thomas topped 300 as the winter workouts began. Was told he is quite impressive when it comes to moving weights as well.
***Lastly, source once again mentioned former Michigan LB Cole Sullivan as a guy who is much in the mold of Danny Stutsman…a first-in, last-out kinda guy when it comes to workouts and any extra endeavours. It seems pretty clear that he is serious about why he chose to head to Norman and work under BV and staff instead of staying at Michigan.
Big Board | Tight Ends | 2027
– Charlie S – Posted on: January 27, 2026
Continuing with rolling out the class of ’27 Big Boards.
We will move to the Tight End Board.
You can find the previous Big Boards for 2027 by clicking the links below:
The Sooners have extended 17 offers at this point at Running Back in the ’27 class:
Tight Ends (11)
Titus Hawk – Choctaw (Choctaw, OK) – 6’7 210
Ben Kolar – Norman North (Norman, OK) – 6’3 225
Seneca Driver – Boyle County (Danville, KY) – 6’6 234
Grant Haviland – Milton (Milton, GA) – 6’4 216
Ahmad Hudson – Ruston (Ruston, LA) – 6-6’5 239
Brock Williams – Libertyville (Libertyville, IL) – 6’5 210
Brooks Bakko – Kindred (Kindred, ND) – 6’4 205
Jack Brown – Francis Howell Central (St. Charles, MO) – 6’5 215
Malik Howard – Oak Ridge (Oak Ridge, TN) – 6’4 231
Zac Fares – Arbor View (Las Vegas, NV) – 6’5 220
Jeramie Cooper – North Crowley (Fort Worth, TX) – 6’2 235
Commits at this time: 0
Number of commits OU is looking to take out of high school: 2
The Sooners have a brand-new tight end coach, a brand-new room full of personnel, and a brand-new vision to sell on the recruiting trail at tight end.
Jason Witten is now the man in charge of the room and Jim Nagy completely repopulated the room through the transfer portal and by signing two high school recruits in the 2026 cycle.
Right at the top of the Big Board you will find two tight end prospects from the state of Oklahoma in Titus Hawk and Ben Kolar. While Kolar has a path blazed by his brother elsewhere, expect OU to make Hawk and Kolar priorities. I expect them to both be on campus multiple times in the coming months and at the end of the day, I expect OU to be in their recruitments right up till the decision.
From there, you have Jason Witten…and his name alone can get him in the homes of any and every tight end in the country. The guys I am keeping an eye on outside of the duo from Oklahoma are Seneca Driver, Brooks Bakko, and Zac Fares.
Other names will pop up; just have to see what direction Witten and Nagy push outside of the Oklahoma guys.
Development is Indispensable | Sourced
– Super K – Posted on: January 27, 2026
This is a bit of a follow-up to a post from last week regarding linebacker depth. Charlie and I have both heard that the front line linebacker group should be excellent and perhaps better than last year.
However, the issue across the board and across the country is depth. It used to be that the big boys could pile up depth and players didn’t really have a lot of mobility.
That has, obviously, been turned around and now schools are a revolving door.
Spoke to a source close to the OU program who talked at length about how bad coaches aren’t going to be able to hide, anymore. Across the country, the top programs will continue to have good starters. The question (beyond evaluation) is how well you can get your second and third guys – who will often times be young – up to speed and playing at a level that keeps the drop off at a minimum.
I noted last week that one of the reasons Witten was hired was so that there would be immediate buy-in from the room. But he and everyone else on staff is going to have to build their own depth. You won’t be able to squirrel it away for the winter and you won’t be able to buy it.
A person who came to mind as I’ve thought about this is Jamar Cain. His coaching prowess made such a huge and immediate impact. He took Isaiah Thomas from bench warmer to an NFL draft pick. And he raised the ability of the entire room. It didn’t take a year. It took months.
That’s what they will be looking for in Witten but really across the board, every coach on staff is going to be judged by their back-ups. You can buy your starters but you have to coach their replacements.
Follow Up to Sourced Note From This Morning
– Charlie S – Posted on: January 27, 2026
As a follow up to K’s note from this morning, I wanted to share a couple examples…
One thing worth adding here is that the market is already correcting itself a bit, and we’re seeing tangible examples of players choosing development and fit over simply chasing the biggest NIL number.
Former Michigan linebacker Cole Sullivan landing at Oklahoma is a good example. From what we’ve been told, the appeal wasn’t just opportunity, but a belief in how OU develops linebackers, teaches the position, and gets second- and third-year players ready to play winning football. Sullivan saw a path where coaching, scheme, and day-to-day development mattered as much as anything else, especially in a room where depth is going to be tested. Sullivan believed more in Venables than he did the new staff at Michigan.
You can see the same thing nationally with former LSU wide receiver Kyle Parker choosing Ohio State. That wasn’t about who could write the biggest check (Auburn was offering almost double what Ohio State was). It was about getting into one of the best receiver development pipelines in the country, where the track record of turning talented but unfinished players into NFL-ready contributors speaks for itself. Parker believed in the Ohio State program more than he did the coaching staff at Auburn or LSU.
Both moves reinforce the larger point: you can still buy starters, but you can’t fake development. Players, especially those who see themselves as future pros, are getting smarter about where coaching actually accelerates their growth. In this new era, staffs that can teach, develop, and elevate depth pieces won’t just survive the revolving door, they’ll separate themselves because of it.
Big Board | Offensive Line | 2027
– Charlie S – Posted on: January 29, 2026
Continuing with rolling out the class of ’27 Big Boards.
We will move to the Offensive Line Board.
You can find the previous Big Boards for 2027 by clicking the links below:
The Sooners have extended a solid number of tackle and interior offensive line offers to the ’27 class:
Offensive Tackle
Cooper Hackett – Fort Gibson (Fort Gibson, OK) – 6’6 250 – OU Commit
Kaeden Penny – Bixby (Bixby, OK) – 6’4 280 – OU Commit
Luke Wilson – Southlake Carroll (Southlake, TX) – 6’6 290 – OU Commit
Jackson Roper – Cherry Creek (Englewood, CO) – 6’5 285
Brian Swanson – South Oak Cliff (Dallas, TX) – 6’5 295
Jake Hildebrand – Basha (Chandler, AZ) – 6’5 273
Kennedy Brown – Kingwood (Humble, TX) – 6’4 285
Caden Moss – Jackson Academy (Jackson, MS) – 6’5 311
Maxwell Hiller – Coatesville Area (Coatesville, PA) – 6’5 300
Jimmy Kalis – Central Catholic (Pittsburgh, PA) – 6’6 280
Niko Kampas – NFL Academy (London, EN) – 6’7 279
Carter Jones – Poquoson (Poquoson, VA) – 6’5 291
Lucas Rhoa – Orange Lutheran (Orange, CA) – 6’5 305
Interior Offensive Line
Gus Corsair – Hays (Hays, KS) – 6’2.5 285
Tyson Ross – Andover (Andover, KS) – 6’3.5 285
Peyton Miller – Anna (Anna, TX) – 6’5 290
Ismael Camara – Gilmer (Gilmer, TX) – 6’6 340
Albert Simien – Sam Houston (Lake Charles, LA) – 6’4 280
Reed Ramsier – The First Academy (Orlando, FL) – 6’4 290
Keyon Hemphill-Woods – Columbus (Columbus, TX) – 6’3 275
Tristan Dare – Southlake Carroll (Southlake, TX) – 6’3.5 290 – Michigan Commit
Commits at this time: 3
Cooper Hackett
Kaeden Penny
Luke Wilson
Number of commits OU is looking to take out of high school: 5
How is this for an opening statement to the Big Board…If the Sooners keep the three guys they have verbally committed at this current time, they will sign the number one OL class in the country in the 2027 cycle, even if they just add someone who has a pulse.
Right now, the Sooners have three very good and very versatile linemen committed in Hackett, Penny, and Wilson. All three are position versatile and all three are highly coveted around the country.
At this time, the biggest issue for the 2027 OL class could be having to make difficult decisions on who they have to pass on.
With the three in the boat, and OU looking to take a full sleeve (five) linemen in the class, the Sooners are absolutely going to have to pass on a very talented guy or two who they currently are in a good position for. It’s not that OU will stop recruiting them; it’s that they will run out of room, as it is difficult to sell a guy on being the sixth OL in a class.
As for the names of who OU is in good position for aside from their commits, start with Gus Corsair, Tyson Ross, and Jackson Roper. Corsair will be in Norman this weekend (January 31st) for junior day and I would not be shocked to see OU move into an even stronger position with him. I feel like Ross is a guy who could be OL number five, but Roper is also a candidate for that spot right now.
Any way you slice it, this is shaping up to be an outstanding offensive line class and, as I said, even if OU adds big-time projects (which Corsair, Ross, and Roper would NOT be considered) they will likely land the best OL class in the country.
Brent’s Development
– Super K – Posted on: January 29, 2026
Experience can be the best teacher and BV came to OU with a ton of experience but no actual head coaching experience.
Earlier this week, Charlie and I reflected on how he has had to (and has) grown as a coach.
***I recently noted that the Sooners will be pulling back a bit on some of the extreme measures they once deployed at practice.
I have been told that this is due to the new world of college football and the need to keep guys as healthy as possible without sacrificing development. But, in truth, BV had already started to rein things in a bit over the past season or so.
For a guy like BV who wants to go 100% all the time, this is coaching development that goes against everything he is about. It demonstrates BV’s own growth as a head coach.
***Taking a step forward and a step back…
***Although he was sort of forced into the situation, he could’ve settled on the DC spot, but he finally took the reins himself. He was always heavily involved, but for some reason didn’t want to take complete control. He shifted on that, and it has paid off.
***But he’s also taken a step back where he needed to. Hiring Nagy and allowing a team of guys to have autonomy over recruiting isn’t easy for someone obsessed with detail. It’s about understanding your bandwidth and knowing where you are most valuable. Early on in BV’s tenure, we got the sense that his hands were in the cookie jar a little too often. You get the sense that he’s following Bob’s example – trusting that you made good hires and letting those guys do what they do best.
***Making hires that may not seem obvious. Whether this will pay off or not, we don’t know. But he started out by bringing or retaining guys he knew or had a connection to – JJF, Bates, Roof, Schmitty, Lebby, Litrell, etc.
Some of those worked out. Some didn’t. But his last two hires have been Jim Nagy and Jason Witten – somewhat unorthodox hires. The point isn’t to be creative when you hire. The point is to get the right hire. But demonstrating that you’re not limiting your hiring circle is growth.
Sourced Quick Hitter | Safety Jaylen Scott
– Charlie S – Posted on: January 29, 2026
Just a quick note, I wanted to get out there since I have not posted the 2027 safety Big Board yet…
***Source tells me that things between OU and 2027 safety Jaylen Scott (6’0 165) out of Mobile, Alabama, continue to heat up, and something could come together here in the near future.
***I know you all have seen some public predictions for him to land at OU, and I currently agree with those predictions after speaking with a source this morning.
***OU is looking to add a couple more pieces from Alabama to the class, in Scott and QB Jamison Roberts, who would join WR Tra’Von Hall.
