Okay, so let’s start this update off with a MAJOR surprise — I’m talking completely out of left field — from the weekend’s festivities. First off, here’s what you have to understand about Kade Pietrzak: this kid is from North Dakota and has basically never tweeted anything except his film, his visits and his offers. There is no record of him doing an interview of any kind with anyone, ever. Moreover, it obviously takes a hike and a half to get to North Dakota if anybody wanted to visit with the kid in person. Pietrzak is easily the most inaccessible kid I’ve ever come across, and keep in min that I dealt with Grant Brix for over a year. It’s impossible to get information on his recruitment straight from the horse’s mouth, so I’ve had to get everything secondhand. That said, I’ve done so, and get this…
Multiple sources informed me that Pietrzak tried to commit to Oklahoma this past weekend.
Note that I say “tried.” It didn’t happen, and that’s why I don’t mind disclosing something that obviously would remain under wraps if it had come to fruition. Basically what happened is that the Sooners did a bang-up job with Pietrzak on the visit, he loved everything he saw, and he decided to turn in his poker chip (which, needless to say, shocked everybody in the Switzer Center). But Pietrzak didn’t understand that the Sooners have a no-visit mandate for commits. So when he was made aware of the policy, I'm told he and his dad became reticent, as they have future visits scheduled. They and the Sooner staff ultimately came to the agreement that it was in everyone’s best interest to slow things down for the time being. He will take other visits and Oklahoma will continue to recruit other prospects at his position. But this is suddenly a name that everybody ought to add to their shortlist of potential defensive line class candidates. He is a defensive end for Oklahoma, just to preemptively answer the inevitable question. And his film is well worth a watch. The kid is a hell of a football player with top-shelf instinct, elite movement skills and a killer’s mentality. Now, that said, don’t ask me any questions about what other schools are strong considerations for him, or what his timeline might be. I do not have a clue, nor does anyone. This entire recruitment is effectively closed off to the outside world. From conversations with sources on the OU side, I do know that he has not yet cemented an official visit to Oklahoma.
Spoke to Cobey Sellers earlier tonight. He’s effectively down to three schools. It’ll be Oklahoma, Texas or Texas A&M for the four-star cornerback from the Houston area. I still feel very strongly that the Sooners will be the choice in the end, and that confidence is bolstered by the presence of Sellers’ rock-solid relationships with several current members of the Oklahoma secondary. He and Woodi Washington are particularly close, and have been for a while. Sellers acknowledged to me that he’s been up to Norman enough times that there isn’t really anything new for him to experience; his visits at this point are more geared toward deepening those relationships with the players. He’s also built strong bonds with several of the Sooners’ commits and targets, most notably one Maliek Hawkins. Oklahoma will get the last official visit with Sellers, and I halfway wonder if this recruitment even lasts until OV season. There’s some distance between OU and the other two finalists, and it doesn’t help Texas’ case that they just dropped his teammate and close friend Anthony Williams from their 2025 class.
Caught up with Antoni Ogumoro as well, and he informed me that the Sooners are working to make his spring-game visit an official visit. In my time covering Oklahoma recruiting, I can’t recall an OV that fell earlier on the calendar than what would be this April 19-21 window for Ogumoro. Besides the ChampU BBQ, the Sooners don’t plan to host official visitors on any other weekend besides June 14-16, when they have a scant few showing up to town. However, given that Ogumoro is going to be back home on the island of Saipan for the entire month of June, there naturally needs to be a special accommodation made in his case. Oklahoma has been willing to do so, and they’ve impressed Ogumoro with how well they’ve catered to him and his family thus far.
His younger brother Troy has autism, and Ogumoro has mentioned in the past that he’d like to land at a school that is receptive to his brother. The Sooner staff has gone above and beyond to make the three-star OL and his family feel comfortable in Norman, and Ogumoro himself told me that he already knows pretty much everyone in the Switzer Center. There’s a feeling of comfort at Oklahoma that just doesn’t exist anywhere else for him right now. He’ll also OV with Oklahoma State, Kansas State, Tennessee, Missouri and UNC before his decision. I’d wager that he’ll take all those visits, as his May 21 commitment date is unlikely to change (it is his grandfather’s birthday, so there is significance there). But it’s Oklahoma and everybody else right now.
Before I get to my own notes on Merritt, here’s a few quotes from my conversation with him. First, on his father’s influence in the recruiting process (his dad is Kansas City Chiefs assistant coach David Merritt):
“My dad’s big on kind of falling in love with the school and not falling in love with a particular coach. So he kind of looks for everything but that. He was looking at the campus to see if he thinks it would fit me. He was looking at the weight room, the strength staff, the training staff — I mean, he looks at a lot of different things that doesn’t have anything to do with the (on-field) coaches.”
On what he thinks of the Oklahoma defensive staff, especially after watching a scrimmage:
“I feel like Coach Alley has been such a great addition. What me and my mom always joke about is that he’s pretty much just a mini-Coach Venables. They’re the same exact person. And it’s really cool getting to watch those guys in action.”
On what he’ll be looking for as he tries to decide on a school during OV season:
“I mean, honestly, that’s hard to say. That’s something I’ve definitely got to think about more. But I mean, I’m gonna go and just really enjoy each weekend and just kind of see which strengths and weaknesses I can find, and kind of pick out the pros and cons between each staff. Just feeling like I’m at home — that’s something I’m big on, for sure.”
In full transparency, I’m close to a FutureCast here. My Evil Kermit side wants to just plug the prediction and live with the outcome. But I do think entering one right now would be premature, because Merritt is very high on Alabama as well. While still at Washington, Kalen DeBoer and his staff gave him what he considers his first “big offer,” and he’s a huge believer in what DeBoer and his staff can accomplish at Alabama. I do not think Nebraska or Missouri can outpace OU in this race. I do think there is a path for Alabama to edge Oklahoma out, though, so I want to see what happens on his Bama official in a couple of weeks. It reminds me a little bit of the Casey Poe recruitment — the kid feels completely at home in Norman and has a ton of respect for the OU staff, but there’s a certain mystique about Alabama that keeps him enthralled. So let’s revisit Merritt’s recruitment in early May and see where things stand.
