I am continuing my series on collecting data on OU recruiting and how the players actually performed. Lincoln Riley finally found gets his quarterback in the legendary Tanner Mordecai. Everyone will want to fight me on this one because Bookie is in it. I will probably only go one year further into the future on this series because a lot of these players careers are still an unknown at that point and it's getting difficult to judge.
Note: I expect these grades to change a lot following this year.
Rank: 8th
Best Player: Nik Bonitto (5.8)
Best Gems: DTY (5.5) Brian Asamoah (5.7) Brayden Willis (5.5)
Biggest Bust: Darrell Simpson (5.9)
Honorable Bust: Bookie (6.1)
Average Rivals Star Rankings: 3.77
Career Star Rankings: 3.1
My Overall Thoughts:
Note: I expect these grades to change a lot following this year.
Rank: 8th
Best Player: Nik Bonitto (5.8)
Best Gems: DTY (5.5) Brian Asamoah (5.7) Brayden Willis (5.5)
Biggest Bust: Darrell Simpson (5.9)
Honorable Bust: Bookie (6.1)
Average Rivals Star Rankings: 3.77
Career Star Rankings: 3.1
My Overall Thoughts:
- One of these classes is not like the others. And it's this one. This class took a wild swing from the norm. It is composed almost entirely of good defensive players and not really adding any talent on offense.
- Getting Ronnie Perkins and Nik Bonitto in the same class is huge and they are the two players that deserve the most credit for the way the defense played this year. Ronnie Perkins would have been rated higher if it weren't for the suspension.
- Bonitto was always the forgotten man for me when I first saw this class. I thought Ronnie Perkins, Ron Tatum, Michael Thompson, and Jalen Redmond were the big 4. I thought they would all be dudes, but Nik was maybe the biggest dude of them all.
- This is also a lesson in how important it is to get a bunch of elite players, because a lot of them will not turn out. The chances of an elite player ending up as a great player is low, but the more elite players you sign the better your odds of finding a guy. Basically don't put all your eggs in one basket.
- Let's talk about Bookie I guess. The reason Bookie became so controversial is because of all the hype and penalties. If you really look at his career and him being a "bust" as a 5 star, to me it is an almost identical story as Caleb Kelly, whom everyone loves. They have almost identical ratings for me (To be fair to Kelly, he probably had more potential but had to deal with the changing of DCs and injuries). I think Bookie might have been a slightly better player than Caleb on the field, but he definitely had worse moments when it comes to the penalties. Outside of the penalties Bookie was above average in coverage and made some game changing interceptions. Him not being able to cover tall tight ends is more of an indictment on the coaching staff for putting him in that position rather than the play of Bookie. Outside of that Bookie would consistently take away slot fades and short in and out breaking routes. The penalties were definitely frustrating, but I would rather have a defensive back who is slightly too handsy in coverage rather than one who doesn't play physical and lets guys get open. All in all I have him a little bit below Parnell Motley and Tre Brown, and about the same level as Jordan Thomas. Feel free to disagree and tell me why I am wrong.
- @Josh_M called both DTY and Willis being good players. Josh is pretty good at telling us when low ranked players make sense for OU vs. when they don't.
- Brian Asamoah and Brayden Willis are the two players with the biggest potential to "make the jump" this year in my opinion. I thought people were sleeping on Willis last year and I think they are this year too. I believe Willis will be playing in the NFL for awhile barring any serious injuries.
- Corners and Offensive Line are probably the two biggest busts in this class, but there is at least still time for the offensive linemen to turn it around. The same cannot be said about the defense.
| Player | Position | Weight | Redshirted | JUCO | Rivals Ranking | 247 Composite Ranking | Year | Career Ranking | Career Rivals Ranking | Career 247 Ranking | Drafted |
| Michael Thompson | DT | 273 | Yes | No | 5.9 | 96.38 | 2018 | 45 | 5.2 | 70 | |
| Brayden Willis | TE | 220 | No | No | 5.5 | 83.85 | 2018 | 70 | 5.8 | 88 | |
| DaShaun White | LB | 220 | No | No | 5.8 | 92 | 2018 | 72 | 5.8 | 89 | |
| Brendan Radley-Hiles | DB | 187 | No | No | 6.1 | 98.07 | 2018 | 72 | 5.8 | 89 | |
| Nikolas Bonitto | LB | 200 | Yes | No | 5.8 | 91.67 | 2018 | 92 | 6 | 97 | |
| Miguel Edwards | DB | 165 | No | No | 5.8 | 88.24 | 2018 | 49 | 5.3 | 76 | |
| Ronnie Perkins | DE | 260 | No | No | 5.9 | 96.66 | 2018 | 90 | 6 | 96 | |
| Brian Asamoah | LB | 215 | Yes | No | 5.7 | 87.63 | 2018 | 78 | 5.9 | 92 | |
| Delarrin Turner-Yell | DB | 160 | No | No | 5.5 | 85.69 | 2018 | 75 | 5.9 | 90 | |
| Darrell Simpson | OL | 310 | Yes | No | 5.9 | 90.69 | 2018 | 50 | 5.4 | 76 | |
| Jalen Redmond | DE | 235 | No | No | 5.8 | 94.42 | 2018 | 81 | 5.9 | 92 | |
| Jaquayln Crawford | ATH | 163 | Yes | No | 5.8 | 92.67 | 2018 | 45 | 5.2 | 70 | |
| Jaylon Robinson | WR | 165 | No | No | 5.8 | 88.37 | 2018 | 50 | 5.4 | 76 | |
| Kundarrius Taylor | WR | 189 | NA | NA | 5.8 | 88.91 | 2018 | NA | NA | NA | NA |
| Tramonda Moore | OL | 330 | NA | Yes | 6 | 91.28 | 2018 | NA | NA | NA | NA |
| Ron Tatum | DE | 269 | Yes | No | 5.8 | 95.41 | 2018 | 45 | 5.2 | 70 | |
| Tanner Mordecai | QB | 197 | Yes | No | 5.7 | 90.92 | 2018 | 63 | 5.6 | 86 | |
| Starrland Baldwin | DB | 170 | Yes | No | 5.8 | 87.28 | 2018 | 45 | 5.2 | 70 | |
| Jordan Kelley | DT | 290 | Yes | No | 5.6 | 88.23 | 2018 | 68 | 5.7 | 87 | |
| T.J. Pledger | RB | 175 | No | No | 6 | 95.43 | 2018 | 69 | 5.7 | 87 | |
| Patrick Fields | DB | 185 | No | No | 5.6 | 86.6 | 2018 | 70 | 5.8 | 88 | |
| Brey Walker | OL | 320 | Yes | No | 6 | 98.36 | 2018 | 63 | 5.6 | 86 | |
| David Swaby | DT | 330 | Yes | Yes | 83 | 2018 | 45 | 5.2 | 70 |
