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A very notable coaching staff nugget (Mon 8:20am)

Here’s a tidbit that will be of interest to you members.

Multiple sources have indicated to us that DeMarco Murray isn’t the only Oklahoma assistant that’s been pursued as of late by one of college football’s blue-blood programs. We’re told that Michigan — which is making big-money moves galore right now — offered Miguel Chavis a substantial pay increase to come to Ann Arbor and coach their defensive line. The Wolverines are in search of a replacement for Greg Scruggs, who resigned last week after an OWI arrest. Chavis shares some network connections with Michigan defensive coordinator Wink Martindale, which helped solidify the Sooners’ defensive ends coach as a strong candidate for the position at UM.

You shouldn’t hear any strong public buzz about this, though, because we’re told it was addressed rather expediently. Chavis made it clear to Oklahoma that he would prefer to stay put, and the administration moved quickly to make some improvements to his contractual situation. He won’t be going anywhere.

This means that every one of OU’s on-field assistants with any sort of tenure (i.e., Seth Littrell and Zac Alley excluded) has received at least one job offer elsewhere in the P4 or NFL ranks this offseason. Some of those offers have been reported and some haven’t. But every single one of those assistants, without exception, has been pursued (and offered more money) by a viable suitor. And in every case, Oklahoma has retained the services of the coach in question. The OU administration isn’t playing patty-cake with contracts. And it certainly helps that, in the words of one source, “these guys want to be with Coach V.”

I would say it’s quite a feather in Chavis’ cap that after just two years as an on-field assistant, he had the chance to coach the defensive line for the reigning national champions. And what’s even more impressive is that his devotion to Oklahoma ultimately overrode any ambitions he had about that opportunity. The Sooners got ‘em a good one.

Justin Harrington feeling grateful after 'anxious' waiver process

“I know I’ll have some hiccups but I know my competitive nature is not going to allow me to keep losing."

Update on a four-star DE target (Mon 7:05pm)

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Caught up today with four-star edge rusher Smith Orogbo, and how about this. He told me he has nine — yes, NINE — official visits scheduled over the next two months.

Kid's not a hype beast, so don't get the wrong impression of how he's handling the recruitment. It's more about the fact that he's had nearly two dozen offers fly in since the new year, and a lot of the interested schools are very far away from home. He's doing all he can to check as many boxes as possible before he commits, and wants to make sure he's well educated on all of his options.

Schools that will receive OV's (besides Oklahoma) are Texas, Texas Tech, SMU, Washington, Oklahoma State, Arizona, Kansas and Missouri. The Sooners and Red Raiders are setting the pace in this recruitment, as they have a greater relational/familiarity factor with Orogbo than many of the other contenders. Even so, it's hard to say with any sense of certainty that it's a two-team race all the way. Those two schools are out in front for the moment, but much could change over the next couple of months. He'll be done with OV's by the end of June and says he'd like to decide relatively soon thereafter.

Between Orogbo and Max Granville, I think the Sooners should be able to bat .500 and round out an edge group that already includes Alex Shieldnight and ought to welcome CJ Nickson before long.

Players that stood out through first week of open practices

I wrote some notes on five players that stood out in open practices this week. Some of this is stuff I've already mentioned, but I wanted to expand on some of it while highlighting a few position groups I hadn't fully discussed. This is not an all-encompassing list, just some guys that I have my eye on.

Happy Easter, everybody.

DrummBeat: Sooners' practice and scrimmage notes (Thurs 9:40 pm)

*** I have talked to several people about the scrimmage, as has Parker. Here is the accumulation of information we have gathered so far from the Sooners' scrimmage today.

*** First, Jackson Arnold looked good as usual. Was told Arnold has command of things, but in the same sentence was told that the OL is still going to be good but is a 'work in progress.'

Overall, no one is too concerned with the OL come the season. Almost to a man there is a feeling like with Bill Bedenbaugh will get every ounce of talent and potential from his guys. A source put it like this: "Cohesion is the key. So many new faces and they are good players, but working together is key with the OL. That takes time. There has now been five practices. That is far from enough, but they will get right by late August. Trust Bedenbaugh."

Offensive tackle Jacob Sexton spoke about the newness of everyone on the OL and what that means this spring in a post-practice scum this past week, adding, "With transfers and freshmen coming in, sometimes that can be tough. Really, we've just been having extra meeting time and doin all we can to stick together and kind of come together as one mind."

Again, that seems to be the biggest hurdle for the Sooners' offense line, and in turn, the Sooners' offense as a whole -- OL cohesiveness.

*** I know that doesn't give some a very good feeling, but there were some individual standouts at OL. The two you would expect were the first said to me by multiple sources: Jacob Sexton and Febechi Nwaiwu.

On Nwaiwu: "He is a straight dawg. Just plays nasty."

On Sexton: "Pure leader. Plays so strong. Is healthy and really getting that confidence that was seen as a freshman. He looks good at that left tackle spot so far and did so again in the scrimmage."

Sexton spoke about his health earlier this week, saying, "It feels amazing. It feels great. That was the biggest thing in the offseason is I was trying to get that leg right. Finally coming around to this year when I get an offseason and truly get to train for multiple months in a row. That was definitely beneficial for me and as a team to where we can all bond as one unit.”

Lastly, on the OL, continue to hear good things about Heath Ozaeta. Several sources seemed to speak highly of Ozaeta's play today. Again, that is good news as the Sooners and Coach Bedenbaugh look to find the best OL combination heading into fall camp, in a few months.

*** More and more praise for Sooners transfer WR Deion Burks. Multiple sources told OUinsider, "That guy is different and plays at an elite level each time he is out there."

QB Jackson Arnold spoke glowingly about Burks earlier and said, "He’s a great player, man. But not only that, he’s a great person, too. He really loves the game, you can tell. He loves the game, he loves his teammates, he loves being here. He loves putting in the work. The kids naturally get it. You’ll see that on the field come the spring game and come this fall. Great person overall and a super hard worker."

As for today's scrimmage, we were told Burks made a few plays. Was also told freshman WR Zion Kearney 'turned some heads today' and caught a touchdown pass from fellow freshman QB Michael Hawkins.

*** At RB, heard RS freshman Kalib Hicks made a big run. Hicks has been turning heads from the start of the spring and that continued today. Even had two sources note, "That zero on offense is impressive looking, physically."

Would be big for the Sooners to find another strong RB, with Jovantae Barnes still trying to come back from his foot and knee problems from last season, and transfer Sam Franklin still learning the ways of big-time FBS, P4 football.

Speaking of Jovantae Barnes, was told that he continues to 'move like he did as a freshman,' but was also told he has had some issues protecting the ball at times. We all know coach Demarco Murray won't play guys that don't take care of the ball, but sources don't seem too worried about Barnes in the long term. One even added when talking about Barnes, " It takes time to get used to the physicality of it all. He was rushed back in a bit last year and it showed. Mistakes will be made, but JB is back making some big plays again, so it will all comeback to him as spring practices continue."


*** Pretty plain and simple, TE Bauer Sharp is going to be THE GUY. More and more sources gush over him. "So smooth for a guy that size and he understands things with his background at QB," a source said.


*** Oh, before I forget... Was told that Jaquaize Pettaway had a big play today.

*** Defensively, the name Jayden Jackson continues to be talked about. From one source saying, "You can't (freaking) move him." To a few other sources saying, "He might be the best interior DL already." One source followed that up, and said, "[Jayden] Jackson and [David] Stone looked really good today. They just make plays. It will be fun to watch them once they mature more physically and understand the defense more. They have a legitimate chance to be special."

*** Interior DL had a good day, with Gracen Halton and Da'Jon Terry also making some plays for the Sooners defense in the scrimmage. One that surprised me was a few sources naming Davon Sears as a player that caught some folks eyes as well.

*** Speaking of Da'Jon Terry. The senior nose tackle told the media earlier this week that he has really enjoyed the progression of Jackson and Stone, and said, "Jayden Jackson and David Stone, they're amazing players for real. They were highly rated for a reason. They're amazing players. Just the flashes and things that they're doing, it's crazy to see them doing that as freshmen. And it's only practice four and every practice they've been dominating. So it's really been amazing to see them grow the way they grow."

*** Finally, two young corners turned some heads today and was once again freshman Eli Bowen, with a new name that I had a few tell me 'has a chance to be really special when it clicks with him,' is cornerback Jacobe Johnson.

Johnson has made some big strides this spring. The hope is that he continues to do so.
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