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4-Piece Nuggets: Oklahoma still angling for a 2024 WR flip, and emerging as an early favorite for one of 2025's best

Parker Thune

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Apr 30, 2023
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So we now know that Bryant Wesco will remain committed to Clemson, as the Tigers were able to establish some wiggle room with the elite wideout. With Wesco officially off the board, I'm told by a well-placed source that the Sooners' wide receiver recruiting in the 2024 cycle is "pretty much done... but you never know." Following up with that source, it does appear that Oklahoma is (wisely) staying in touch with Terry Bussey in case the ship officially hits the iceberg in College Station. The rumblings of unrest down at Texas A&M, combined with the high-profile decommitments of Weston Davis and Dre'lon Miller, have given the Oklahoma staff reason to believe they can coax Bussey to Norman if things continue to fall apart for the Aggies. However, what I've previously reported about Bussey remains true: this is a pretty loyal kid who will be hard to flip absent a coaching shake-up. The dismissal of Jimbo Fisher may be a prerequisite for the Sooners to come back into play. Nevertheless, just know that Oklahoma will hold the door open for Bussey if he eventually wants to reopen his recruitment and take stock of available options. I do not believe, nor have I ever, that the Sooners will launch a legitimate pursuit of TJ Moore. It's essentially Bussey or bust at this point.


Really like Oklahoma in the long run to be a top contender for the commitment of this recently offered prospect. Andrew Babalola has a soccer and basketball background, and he's still brand new to the game of football. This fall marks his first season of gridiron competition. Offensive tackles who have taken an athletic path like Babalola's often end up becoming extremely coveted football prospects, and that's because soccer and basketball help develop footwork and lateral quickness that's uncommon among linemen. Consider, for instance, another elite 2025 offensive tackle that grew up playing soccer: top Oklahoma target Michael Fasusi. For his part, Babalola is 6-foot-7 and 270 pounds, and his combination of natural size and undeniable athletic traits has helped him rise to blue-chip status with less than a full season of film under his belt. He's also the type of kid for whom the S.O.U.L. Mission will strike a resonant chord. On his first game-day visit to Oklahoma this past weekend, Babalola said the program's holistic approach to student-athlete development captured his attention.

"OU was great," Babalola told me. "I had a lot of fun meeting with coach Venables and Coach Bedenbaugh. Just learning about the program, seeing how they develop their players, and the atmosphere, it was all really cool. And then when Coach offered, it was really exciting. I want to go somewhere where I’m comfortable with the coaches, and our relationship isn’t transactional but they care about what I do off the field and stuff like that. And then just seeing how they treat their players and how they develop them is big too."


It's an OU/Nebraska battle brewing for Elkhorn (Neb.) North standout Chase Loftin, who was just in Norman this past weekend to watch the Sooners hold off UCF. It marked the three-star tight end's second game-day trip to Oklahoma. Loftin's older brother plays at Kansas State, which has given the Wildcats a leg to stand on in this recruitment, and Penn State and Alabama have begun to kick the tires. But the two schools that are standing out above the rest to Loftin are Oklahoma, which gave him his first FBS offer back at a June camp, and the hometown Huskers. The 6-foot-5, 205-pound Loftin has been a priority for the new Nebraska staff and he has clicked with them, but Joe Jon Finley has been recruiting Loftin longer than anyone and has understated connections in the Cornhusker State. I believe Loftin is a very real candidate to end up in the Sooners' 2025 class, but my only question is whether Oklahoma will make him a priority from start to finish given how many other top TE targets are warming to OU. That brings us to...


You want to see a five-star talent? Aside from the fact that his name literally translates to "Brent Venables," Linkon Cure has perhaps the most ridiculous junior film I've seen to this point. At 6-foot-6 and 220 pounds, Cure runs, cuts and jumps with all the grace and dexterity of a true wide receiver. Every single school that's pursuing him has offered at tight end, but he owns the type of unique athleticism that could make him an NFL superstar in the long term if he can remain nimble while adding weight. A farm kid from way out west in Goodland (Kan.), Cure grew up going to Kansas State games, so the familiarity factor will keep the 'Cats in the mix. However, Cure spent his childhood rooting for two out-of-state schools: Oregon and Oklahoma. He told me, "Baker Mayfield made me fall in love with Oklahoma, and Marcus Mariota and De'Anthony Thomas made me fall in love with Oregon." He has picked up offers from both schools in recent days, and has a visit to Oregon planned for Nov. 11. He does not currently have a date set for a trip to OU, but even though it's very early, I do believe the Sooners are poised to make some major noise in Cure's recruitment. That's because he and his family have come to the mutual agreement that they'd like to eventually choose a school reasonably close to home. If this is starting to sound like the Grant Brix story, rest assured that I perceived many parallels between Brix and Cure when I spoke to the latter at length on Thursday. Even before Brix really started to warm to OU, I got the sense the Sooners would be a frontrunner based solely on circumstances and cultural alignment. I'm picking up the same vibes early in the process with Cure. This is a recruitment worth monitoring closely over the next few months.

More recruiting content is on the way as Brandon and I hit the road this evening, and I've got my first mock 2025 class in the works for y'all. So stay tuned.
 
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