Weekend Open Post | March 14th – 16th
Posted on: March 14, 2025
Quick Weekend Sourced Visit Notes
– Charlie S – Posted on: March 8, 2025
Just wanted to drop a couple quick notes from the recruiting event that the Sooners had today…
***First…the ‘vibe’ and ‘energy’ are the buzzwords coming out of the mouths of visitors. Every recruit I have spoken to at this point has basically said either the ‘vibe’ is tremendous, or the ‘energy’ is real. So the Sooners once again look to have put on a stellar display.
***On QB Bowe Bentley…source says it is obvious that he is a priority for Arbuckle and company as there is always someone associated with OU attached to his hip. I was told Bentley looks to be having a great time and he will be doing the whole dinner things and staying the night.
***Source said they believe OU made a strong move with DL Tavian Branch. Branch was really impressed with the way Todd Bates coaches his guys and that relationship really benefitted this weekend as Branch got a clear picture of what it would be like to be a player under Bates. Source said Branch was ‘super attentive’ when Bates was talking and spent a lot of time watching the drills and movement of the OU DL.
***Source passed along that former RB commit Jonathan Hatton not only made it to Norman, but he is also doing dinner and staying in town longer than anticipated. Was told it looked like being around Demarco the staff and seeing the new offense really did nice work for the Sooners and OU appears to have found some solid footing in this recruitment that many chalked up as dead following the decommitment.
***Was told Pupungatoa Katoa is among the guys sticking around Norman this evening. While many have Katoa as a guy who will likely end up at Texas, source said that their impression is that Katoa and his family have a similar outlook on his recruiting process as Michael Fasusi and his family had last year and that they have a lot of faith and belief in Bill Bedenbaugh. Source said Katoa will OV to OU and the Sooners may be in a real position of power in regard to his recruitment.
***Lastly, was told recent DL Offer Brian Harris is another guy that Todd Bates really made a big move for. Harris is a guy who is seeing his recruitment really pick up, but the Sooners look like they may be right up at the top of the list at this point.
Update: 8:40
***On Brian Harris…he just let me know that he has also extended his stay and will be in Norman through tomorrow.
Quick Note From This Past Weekend
– Super K – Posted on: March 10, 2025
From what I’m hearing the weekend was a successful one in terms of advancing relationships with key recruits.
But, I did want to pass on something I was told just to keep everything in proper perspective.
One source mentioned that this event isn’t about landing a bunch of commitments, right now. With BV’s visit policy, that usually doesn’t happen. What this event about is moving the recruiting ball forward and ensuring that they get the key players back on campus for OVs in the late spring and early summer period and then landing them in June or July.
You’ll recall that that has been the general way things have played out under BV for the past few years and it has worked really well both in terms of landing committment and holding on to them.
So, source basically said the event’s success wasn’t about the commitments from the weekend, it was that they’re going to get a lot of these kids back on campus and they have a clear sense of who their threats are for each of these players.
Sourced Spring Notes | Before the Pads Come On
– Charlie S – Posted on: March 10, 2025
Just wanted to pass along a few sourced team notes from spring practices (all 2 of them) before the pads come on this week.
***First…a word of caution when it comes to the takes on the offense that will be out there and may already be out there. The Sooners cornerback room is currently not among the healthiest rooms. As you know, Gentry Williams is basically a spectator when it comes to contact drills at this time so he is not one of the guys going up against the pass catchers. Eli Bowen likely will miss a few practices with a minor ding (ankle/lower leg) and I would expect him to be back after spring break. Kendel Dolby is also on the shelf for spring.
So right now, you are running Jacobe Johnson out there as your top CB along with guys like Devon Jordan and Jeremiah Newcombe along with true freshmen like Courtland Guillory and Trystan Haynes and a few other guys I have not mentioned. Bottom line, just proceed with caution when it comes to judging what you hear about the offense early in spring ball. The story will be about which guys emerge and rise up with the opportunity they have in front of them. Do not sleep on Guillory as I have mentioned previously.
***Second, the offensive line is starting to shake out in regard to how they will approach spring ball. Right now, sources tell us the guys running mostly with the 1’s from left to right are Sexton, EPL, Everett, Nwaiwu, and Simmons. Remember, Logan Howland and Heath Ozaeta are out as is freshman Darius Afalava so there will be plenty of opportunity for adjustments and competition prior to the season (Summer and Fall Camp) but for Spring, this looks like the skeleton of how the depth chart will work out. Guys like Fasusi, Fodje, Taylor and Baklenko will absolutely get plenty of work, but when the guys line up, sources say this is where things start.
***On the wide receiver group. While Javonnie Gibson has been the most talked about new addition (along with Elijah Thomas) I did have a source point to Isaiah Sategna as a guy who is making his presence felt. Source said Sategna is ‘slippery’ and his experience shows in regard to his spacing and route running. So that’s a positive note.
***Lastly, the superlatives around David Stone were once again the hot topic around my sources. Folks are still so impressed by his dedication and work ethic and now that he is realizing the rewards of some of the work he has put in with the strength and conditioning team, source said they expect him to make a noticeable jump and impact right off the rip when the season rolls around.
Sourced | WR Room
– Super K – Posted on: March 11, 2025
The wide receiver is going to be one of the primary focuses of this off-season. Last year the Sooners sustained a number of injuries and following the season they lost a lot of talent to the portal.
Here is what I’ve heard…
***First, and this may seem contradictory, but I’ve been pleasantly surprised with the more subdued and cautious takes from inside the building. Instead of like every year where there is a ton of optimism about every room, right now it’s a lot of “well, we’ve got to see. We’ve got some guys but we’ve got to see what they’re going to do on the field.”
***That’s the description I’ve heard most of the WR room.
***Was told Deion Burkes is still going to be the class of that room.
***The staff is really hopeful Gibson will be healthy as they feel like he’s a guy who can be a problem for other teams.
***In terms of transfers, still hearing Javonnie Gibson’s name the most but I will say it isn’t like “oh he’s amazing.” It’s more “he’s got a chance to be pretty good and help us.” I prefer that more cautiously optimistic view.
***Hearing the staff is cautiously optimistic about Zion Kearney taking that next step. I think that makes a ton of sense.
***The young guy I’ve heard is someone who folks are betting will be really good at some point is Emmanuel Choice. No one has told me they expect him to break out this year (perhaps he will) but he has some tools that the staff seems to like.
Let’s Talk ’26 QB
– Charlie S – Posted on: March 11, 2025
Thought it would be a good time to reset the picture for where OU is at in regard to the quarterback spot in the 2026 class.
First, you start with the facts.
Fact number one: Jaden O’Neal committed to the Sooners back on June 24th, 2024, and up until this past couple of days, he has done nothing but remain loyal to his pledge despite the rough season and the musical chairs at offensive coordinator over the last 12 month.
Fact number two: Ben Arbuckle was hired as the offensive coordinator at Oklahoma on December 2nd, 2024. Arbuckle made his way from Washington State to Norman Oklahoma with his QB in tow from the transfer portal (Mateer) and a commit in the ’25 class in Jett Niu.
Fact number three: Ben Arbuckle identified and offered a quarterback who he believed would fit his offense to a T and made him a priority target once he got settled in and ready to roll. That target is Bowe Bentley, who has already visited Norman multiple times and will officially visit visit this summer and I would imagine he will take in another practice or two. Bowe Bentley has a sincere interest in the Sooners and while it cannot be called a fact, we believe OU holds a significant lead in that recruitment. Also of note, Bentley has seen his ranking by some services skyrocket while O’Neal’s ranking has dropped a bit…all after Arbuckle identified and offered him. So, at the very least, some other folks in the industry agree with Arbuckle’s eval and our source’s opinions and I expect Bowe’s rankings to continue to rise.
Fact number four: Brent Venables has a policy that the program will no longer recognize you as a commit should you take additional visits. This does not mean OU is dropping your offer, but it indicates that OU will be sure to put themselves in the best position possible to fill that scholarship with the best possible option whether that be with the player who currently claims to be committed to OU, or a different player.
Now, with respect to what we believe and what we have been told by sources, both around OU and elsewhere.
First thing we were told: Back when OU offered Bentley, we were told and reported, that sources in personnel positions from programs in the region that Bentley was the real deal and they believed he not only would fit Arbuckle’s system well, they believed he was the better player when compared with O’Neal.
Second, we were told: Suddenly, when Bentley was offered, the narrative coming out of OU sources changed and the Sooners were ‘looking to take two’ with respect to quarterbacks. Now…prior to the Bentley offer, none of us, not me, K, or James had heard OU was intent on taking two quarterbacks this cycle. Things can change I suppose but…I did have a source tell me earlier today that if Bentley joins the class and O’Neal were to open things back up, they do not believe OU would necessarily go looking for a second QB in the ’26 class.
So this is where things stand:
Jaden O’Neal is currently visiting the University of Georgia, one week after enrolling at Mustang High School in Oklahoma. O’Neal still considers himself an OU commit.
Bowe Bentley is currently preparing to embark on a series of unofficial visits over the course of the spring. He is not committed anywhere at this time.
Here is the rub…with Brent Venables’s stance on commits and what happens when they visit elsewhere, is this where OU feels like they have an opportunity to stop walking on eggshells and put the full press on Bentley? It is clear that Arbuckle prefers Bentley as a prospect for his offense. That is not saying Arbuckle can’t or won’t work with O’Neal, but it kind of feels like coming off of Bowe visiting Norman last week and with a long list of visits set up in front of him, now would be a good time for OU to send it and try to bring this thing to a head. We will see.
Following Bentley’s first trip to Norman, right after he was offered, I opined that if I had to make a call on who would be in the Sooners class when all was said and done, I said I would lean toward Bentley being that guy at around 51%.
Today, if push came to shove, I would probably raise that percentage in favor of Bentley being in the class, but there is still a bit more to play out in this situation.
Staying On the Topic | Quarterbacks
– Charlie S – Posted on: March 12, 2025
Two months ago, back in the beginning of January, in an article titled “Accounting | Sooners NIL Game”, Super K dropped a note that opened some eyes within our community when it comes to the Quarterback market and what it takes to land/retain a top tier QB.
K wrote:
“***Top QB numbers were 750 to 1.5 million. Those numbers have exploded. Pretty good QBs are getting over two million. So, how much did the Sooners have to pony up for just Mateer?
***I don’t know the exact number but I was told by someone close to Mateer that it was life changing money. Asking around and getting a sense of the market, I believe it was at least between three and four million.”
Well, while out perusing the interwebs this morning, I noticed that a national outlet seemed to think today was a good day to confirm our reporting on the alleged numbers for Mateer…
So, there are a couple takeaways you can pick up on that type of NIL deal.
1* The days of ‘QB competitions’ are pretty much over. You don’t drop a minimum of 3 million on a QB and bring him in with plans of a QB competition. Once you make that decision to bring in/retain a player at that price, he is the starter you plan on going with once the season starts. Everything else is a backup plan should things go terribly wrong.
2* If your program has the ability to not only retain key players on their current roster but also bring in players at a price like that, your program’s NIL is in very good shape. Remember, the programs are also shelling out NIL to high school recruits as well, so anytime a program can add a high-profile QB, you know they are playing in the big leagues.
So with those points in mind, one would be able to bring that consideration to the table when discussing the idea of signing two high profile high school quarterbacks in the same class.
Bottom line, it’s just not a realistic venture at this time.
It is difficult enough to sell a pair of highly coveted QBs on the idea of bringing in two in a class, but when you add the NIL numbers to the equation, it only compounds the issues for the programs as they would need to double down in NIL while knowing one of those guys is likely to leave the program within a calendar year.
Kobie is Key
– Super K – Posted on: March 13, 2025
Something a source mentioned recently in passing that I didn’t really take note. Was chatting with a source about the OU defense and I was talking about it like it’s a forgone conclusion that they will be good (I still believe that) but source did say…
“Yeah as long as Kobie is what we need him to be.”
It wasn’t a statement of doubt but more so a reminder of how critical that middle linebacker position is in Brent’s defense. OU fans still have PTSD from the 08 Texas game.
I didn’t think much of it and then when I was chatting with Charlie early in the week, he talked about one of his primary concerns just being depth at the LB position and the loss of Stutsman.
Fortunately Kobie has played quite a bit and has shown himself to be a fine player but with Nagy coming in and Brent being even closer to the defense than before (if that’s possible), I do wonder if the Sooners will consider bringing in a high IQ upper class transfer this spring – for depth.
I also think based on what the source said that development of depth at all positions will be important in the SEC but at MLB it’ll likely be that much more urgent.
