— This is your semi-regular reminder not to forget about Eddy PIerre-Louis. The Sooners are still pressing the issue with the four-star guard from Tampa, and they’ve got more than a puncher’s chance to reel him in as the cycle winds down. Much like Danny Okoye, Pierre-Louis is taking things at his own pace and plans to make a few early-season OV’s before finalizing his decision. But Bill Bedenbaugh and Oklahoma are willing and able to ride things out. Obviously, Grant Brix is on the top of the offensive wish list for pretty much every Sooner fan right now, and I’ll have more tomorrow on the Iowan behemoth. But I do feel as though it’s within the realm of possibility that Oklahoma closes out the cycle with not one, but two national top-100 linemen in Brix and Pierre-Louis. My big holdup in entering a FutureCast for Daniel Akinkunmi was the thought of how another big offer or two might affect his process, especially given that he’d never visited Oklahoma. Now, Miami has thrown its hat in the ring, and I don’t consider it a sure thing that Akinkunmi picks OU in the end despite his scheduled Sept. 1 official to Norman. There’s still something to be decided in that battle. Much the same can be said for Pierre-Louis, which almost evens the odds between the two to eventually join the Sooners’ class. I very much like OU for Brix right now as the Sooners try to hold off Nebraska and Kansas State, but we’ll see whether a morning out in rural Iowa tomorrow changes my mind at all.
— As for four-star safety target Michael Boganowski, I expect his recruitment to drag into the football season. I’m told the plan is for Boganowski to attend the Sooners’ season opener against Arkansas State, as he’s never been to a game day in Norman. He’s obviously taken in games at Kansas and Kansas State, but a Saturday in Oklahoma is an atmosphere that he’s yet to experience. Though the Jayhawks technically remain in the mix and USC has recently become involved, this is still primarily a battle between Oklahoma and Kansas State. Both the kid and his family have strong feelings for both the Sooners and Wildcats, which has kept this battle brewing long past the original early-July commitment ballpark. In speaking to sources close to this recruitment, I’ve gotten the sense that it’s truly a coin flip at this point between the two programs, and that Boganowski’s feelings change by the day. However, as we’ve discussed, Kansas State’s advantage increases the longer this recruitment drones on. Thus, I have a similar feeling about this situation as I do about Brix’s recruitment: there’s almost a soft deadline here. With Brix, I’ve mentioned that an announcement by the end of August bodes well for OU. In Boganowski’s case, if a decision gets made in the next 4-6 weeks, I lean Oklahoma. If October rolls around and it’s still all quiet on the Western front, that’s probably where I start to consider switching my FutureCast to Kansas State.
Also, a fun little factoid that I don't think has been relayed to this board yet: Boganowski's father is a former teammate of ex-OU defensive ends coach Jamar Cain. The two were starters on opposite sides of the defensive line at New Mexico State in the early 2000's. Obviously, that has little impact on the recruitment of the younger Boganowski, but still a cool coincidence.
— His name has been tossed around before, but I have yet to address three-star safety Landyn Cleveland in an actual note. I touched base with Cleveland after I received word that Oklahoma had been in contact with him, and he said that for the moment, he is solidly committed to Oklahoma State. Cleveland told me, “I’m locked in with OSU. I love it up there and they love me.” That said, if Boganowski’s recruitment drags on into the mid-to-late stages of the 2023 season, Cleveland is one player that Oklahoma would likely push to flip. There will naturally be other options on the table, but it’s important to understand that Cleveland has been enchanted by Oklahoma for quite some time. There was a period of time in which Cleveland would likely have committed to OU on the spot if he’d received the scholarship offer. Understandably, I don’t think that is the case any longer, as Oklahoma State has the hefty relational advantage with the kid. But I’ll put it this way: if Oklahoma actually made an effort to flip Cleveland down the stretch, I believe they’d ultimately be successful in doing so. Just something of which to be mindful as things play out with Boganowski.
— I’ll close with a couple of notes from the 2025 class. Originally, the plan was for defensive end Gus Cordova to commit before the end of the month. As of this moment, I’m told that those plans are on hold. It seems that the Sooners may want to see a bit of junior film before taking his pledge. And though we haven’t talked a ton about one of the Carl Albert standouts in four-star defensive back Trystan Haynes, I do expect him to be a regular on game days this fall in Norman. I like where Oklahoma sits in that race for now, and I think a lift from Kevin Sperry could put the Sooners on track to add him relatively early in the class. That said, Alabama, Texas A&M, TCU and several others have been in regular contact with Haynes as well. Oklahoma has also established a strong early position in the recruitment of four-star Kansan defensive end Juju Marks, who has the frame and athleticism to experience a meteoric rise like that of Williams Nwaneri this fall. Marks just added an Alabama offer yesterday, but the Sooners were early to the punch in recruiting him and have built strong bonds there. I’m planning to make a stop later this month in Lenexa to touch base with Marks and will have more at that point. 6-foot-6 and 260 pounds at the defensive end position will play in the SEC.
