Almost emptying everything I've got right now... almost.
***
(2020's Davon Graham could be next commitment from #ChampUBBQ?)
2019, 2020 #ChampUBBQ stock report
Instant gratification runs rampant in recruiting, and it definitely rules the day on social media. So in that regard, everybody is going to deem the third edition of the #ChampUBBQ as a dud.
But, again, just wanna point out.
2018 signees not committed to OU that attended #ChampUBBQ:
*LB Brian Asamoah
*OT Darrell Simpson
*DB Delarrin Turner-Yell
*LB DaShaun White
*DE/OLB Jalen Redmond (committed at BBQ)
So as you examine the 2019 and 2020 visitors from last weekend, here are some early thoughts about who could be Sooners when part IV of #ChampUBBQ goes down next year.
Obviously, already have one to the list with four-star offensive tackle Stacey Wilkins making his decision known Friday afternoon. Not a bad way to start.
Others to follow?
2019
Jacoby Jones or Shammond Cooper
This is tough, real tough. It’s obviously going to be a numbers game about where the scholarships gotta be used. A third (or fourth) defensive end? A second inside linebacker? What is going to make OU better for 2019 and beyond? Pure arrogant opinion here, but OU could have both if it wanted them in #NewWave19.
Question is…. Is that what the Sooners want? And are these guys willing to wait for that answer? You could add Isaiah Rutherford in that equation, too, even though he wasn’t at the BBQ. Give Jones the edge over Cooper at this point with Jermaine Johnson off the board and pass rushing a priority for OU to fill out the rest of the class. Jones has become OU’s to lose, it feels like at this juncture.
2020 (ranked in likelihood to commit)
Broken Arrow (Okla.) High OL Andrew Raym
Keller (Texas) High WR/DB Davon Graham
Pearland (Texas) Shadow Creek DE/OLB Alec Bryant
Bowling Green (Ky.) High CB Vito Tisdale
Irving (Texas) Ranchview ATH Michael Henderson
Raym tops the list, for sure. Already a one-time #20Deep commit, just like where OU stands with him. He’s making some visits, getting it out of his system. When it’s time, he returns to Norman…
Graham should be on watch. His father’s side of the family being from the state. OU is his dream offer. He can play either spot in Norman. Justin Broiles constantly in his ear. Hard to see Graham not being a Sooner… (Full update coming to Scoop this week)
After talking to Bryant, he makes the cut. Not as a defensive end, but as the 3-4 outside linebacker. Was worried he didn’t have the size to be the end so when he said they’re looking for him to come off the edge, it was like, yes, perfect fit…
The Tisdale pick is just trying to piece things together since Vito hasn’t answered anything outside of some quick DMs. His friendship with 2019 commit Woodi Washington is going to play a big role. If Washington stays happy, pretty natural to conclude Tisdale could definitely join him in Norman a year later…
Henderson is the one where sort of trying to figure out where he fits. Already two running back commits. Already a tight end commit in Drew Sanders. Is Henderson somebody who could accept the H-Back role? If he’s all-in with that choice, then yes, he’s a Sooner. But if he wants to be any sort of quarterback or running back, then his destination won’t be Norman. Will try to track him down this week now that his OU and Texas visits are in the books.
***
Powell, Battle race up the board
Last week it felt like OU’s staff had started to accept that Dax Hill isn’t coming to Norman so that meant getting back to work.
The staff’s answer? Odessa (Texas) Permian’s Peyton Powell.
Luck of the draw? Fort Lauderdale (Fla.) St. Thomas Aquinas’ Jordan Battle.
Powell was offered Monday afternoon as it felt like Kerry Cooks and company revisited their board and pinned down a name they wanted to pursue at safety. At safety is the key phrase because OU is faring just fine at cornerback.
It was discovered after the offer that Powell is indeed the cousin of former OU receiver Sterling Shepard, and a lot of things are trending OU right now with Powell.
He delayed his planned Aug. 13 commitment date. He is being adamant about taking a trip to OU although he cannot confirm a date at this point.
And if you thought the Buckeyes were looking to be the team to beat, everything with Urban Meyer throws that up in the air.
That’s also where Battle comes in. OU freshman linebacker Nik Bonitto is from St. Thomas Aquinas. OU four-star cornerback commit Jaden Davis is from St. Thomas Aquinas. Why not another?
Ever since Wednesday when the Meyer story became national news, the OU coaches have been working on some Buckeye commits. That’s not the story. It’s a story when those commits start reciprocating things back.
Battle is one of those guys. It’s good to see Drew Hill and Chip Viney follow Battle on Twitter, but it’s a better sign for Battle to follow Hill, Viney and 2019 receiver commit Theo Wease all in the same day on social media.
Miami is in play for Battle as well, but the Sooners are right there for Battle and Powell. The doom-and-gloom period is over, and now it’s about number crunching between Battle, Powell and cornerback Isaiah Rutherford.
Talking to sources Thursday and Friday, not to sound arrogant, but it sounds like OU is the spot for Powell and that Battle would be about how the official visit goes down and what happens with the Meyer situation.
How quickly things can change.
***
Hicks: ‘Can’t wait another second to be a Sooner’
For most attendees of the #ChampUBBQ, it was their first go-round at the event. Wasn’t the case for Wichita (Kan.) Northwest defensive end Marcus Hicks.
Hicks was a major OU target at last year’s BBQ and goes to show that just because you didn’t commit to the Sooners right then and there, it can build that bond necessary for the future.
The four-star prospect committed to OU more than two months ago and is not looking back. With his second BBQ in the books, well, he knew what to expect.
“Last year, I didn’t really know what was going on,” Hicks said. “I was really going there to look at the facilities and see what was going on with the football program.
“This year knew exactly what was happening. I was really excited about meeting my future teammates. These are the guys I’ll be spending the next 4-5 years with, so it was very cool getting to meet them.”
And not getting pied in the face.
“No, not this time,” Hicks said. “I got pied in the face last year. I learned.”
Sometimes you forget that despite the #NewWave19 guys being close, it doesn’t mean they all have a strong connection. Hicks being from Kansas and quarterback commit Spencer Rattler being from Phoenix means, yea, the BBQ was the first time they’ve met.
“Spencer Rattler, for sure,” said Hicks about who he was able to get to know better. “I knew of him, you could say, but we really only started talking that day. I could definitely build a friendship and connection.”
Was also a chance to get to know his stablemate in Manvel (Texas) High defensive end Kori Roberson. Right now, they are the two commits for OU at the position, and Hicks and Roberson were seen taking a lot of pictures together last week.
“He’s a really cool guy,” Hicks said. “He was. They all were. It was great.”
Hicks made the call in late-May, but OU had been putting in the work for a solid year before that. And Hicks certainly didn’t cheat himself, making one unofficial visit after another all across the country.
But in the end, he kept coming back to Norman.
“It’s the connections I have with the coaches,” Hicks said. “It’s a brotherhood atmosphere. They made me feel like I was a part of the team already. I really liked that.”
Leading the way in that is defensive ends coach Calvin Thibodeaux. Now in his third year as an OU assistant, it’s clear Thibodeaux is rolling on the field and on the trail. He knows who he wants, and he’s building the bonds to make it happen.
“He’s just one of those guys you can talk to,” Hicks said. “I can text him, call him and just talk about anything – not just football. That’s not something you a lot in coaches. He has become like a second father figure to me.”
With the BBQ wrapped up, Hicks is moving on toward his senior season. He said his goal is to put on as much weight as possible. He weighed 250 pounds heading into his return trip to OU. Although he’s trying to put on more weight, Hicks was told the 250 pounds is solid. Any additional work can be done once Hicks arrives for good.
When will that be? Don’t expect Hicks to be a mid-year enrollee. He’s got some unfinished business next spring.
“I’m going to come next summer,” Hicks said. “I want to do track as a senior. It’ll be hard, but that’s what I want to do. I can’t wait another second to be a Sooner. It’s killing me.”
Hicks said his initial thoughts are to take his official visit the first chance he can – Florida Atlantic weekend.
***
Bridges working to become mid-year guy
So, yea, the #ChampUBBQ wasn’t littered with top targets for 2019 and 2020, but it was a chance to reconnect with 2019 commits and for #NewWave19 to start building that bond.
And also to try to figure out when official visits are going to go down and whether some of these guys can become mid-year enrollees.
Jack Bridges, father of Trejan Bridges, said Trejan is gunning for Bedlam for official visit weekend. Nothing locked down just yet, but that’s the initial thought.
As for having Bridges be a mid-year enrollee, it’s apparent the family is doing everything possible to make that occur. But it’s still a work in progress.
“Yes, the early enrollment is still possible,” Jack Bridges said. “He's taking two online classes right now trying his best. That is still the plan and the goal. He's had a very tough busy summer, but he's been busting his butt trying to get everything done that needs to be done to finish high school early. So we'll have to wait and see how it all unfolds.”
***
Gallogly a hit at #ChampUBBQ
No, your eyes weren’t being deceiving. In watching the traditional water balloon fight at Oklahoma’s #ChampUBBQ last weekend, there was OU president Jim Gallogly right in the thick of things.
Not just a part of the festivities, but the one who essentially kicked off the water balloon event by charging into the recruits.
For a president who, thus far, had made his name on how stoic he has been and the jobs he has eliminated, it was a different side.
A fun side.
Recruits noticed as did the parents.
“As a parent to see OU President Jim Gallogly take part in the BBQ event with recruits & coaches was crazy awesome,” said Jack Bridges, father of OU commit Trejan Bridges. “Once again stuff like that just confirms the kind of program the University of Oklahoma really is. It just shows even more that my son, Trejan, made the right choice to further his education & sports career. All love from the Bridges family and can't wait to get Trejan on campus for good.”
It’s a clearly a great sign for the parents to see the president of the university attend an event if their son is going to be at OU, but even some recruits understood the significance. They may not have understood why Gallogly went charging in on some sort of kamikaze mission, but they appreciated his passion.
“What I got out of it was just how big OU is of a football school if the president takes the time to be there,” defensive end commit Marcus Hicks said. “It meant a lot to see him do that. There are so many other things he could have done, but he came to the BBQ just to have a good time.”
2020 Pearland (Texas) Shadow Creek defensive end Alec Bryant added:
“I’ve never seen that before, never seen the president being involved in something like this,” Bryant said. “I got the president in his back. He tried to rush us. He was like a Lone Wolf or something. It was crazy.”
As for how that it all came about, head coach Lincoln Riley went into detail about the situation Friday after OU’s first practice of preseason camp.
“Yea, just was an idea that we had to use the president,” said Riley when asked Friday. “We were gonna use Joe Castiglione as well, but he was out of town. He's an important figure obviously for our university. Anytime we can get him around our guys, our players love it. They've had a chance even as he lived in Headington Hall for a while before he made the move.
“Our guys have really had a chance to get to know him and our guys have appreciated that, just that openness that your president is gonna be accessible. I think he's gonna be that for all of our students. Great message. He was a lot of fun. He was a great sport. Great for the families. I think he's gonna be a tremendous leader for our university.”
***
(2020's Davon Graham could be next commitment from #ChampUBBQ?)
2019, 2020 #ChampUBBQ stock report
Instant gratification runs rampant in recruiting, and it definitely rules the day on social media. So in that regard, everybody is going to deem the third edition of the #ChampUBBQ as a dud.
But, again, just wanna point out.
2018 signees not committed to OU that attended #ChampUBBQ:
*LB Brian Asamoah
*OT Darrell Simpson
*DB Delarrin Turner-Yell
*LB DaShaun White
*DE/OLB Jalen Redmond (committed at BBQ)
So as you examine the 2019 and 2020 visitors from last weekend, here are some early thoughts about who could be Sooners when part IV of #ChampUBBQ goes down next year.
Obviously, already have one to the list with four-star offensive tackle Stacey Wilkins making his decision known Friday afternoon. Not a bad way to start.
Others to follow?
2019
Jacoby Jones or Shammond Cooper
This is tough, real tough. It’s obviously going to be a numbers game about where the scholarships gotta be used. A third (or fourth) defensive end? A second inside linebacker? What is going to make OU better for 2019 and beyond? Pure arrogant opinion here, but OU could have both if it wanted them in #NewWave19.
Question is…. Is that what the Sooners want? And are these guys willing to wait for that answer? You could add Isaiah Rutherford in that equation, too, even though he wasn’t at the BBQ. Give Jones the edge over Cooper at this point with Jermaine Johnson off the board and pass rushing a priority for OU to fill out the rest of the class. Jones has become OU’s to lose, it feels like at this juncture.
2020 (ranked in likelihood to commit)
Broken Arrow (Okla.) High OL Andrew Raym
Keller (Texas) High WR/DB Davon Graham
Pearland (Texas) Shadow Creek DE/OLB Alec Bryant
Bowling Green (Ky.) High CB Vito Tisdale
Irving (Texas) Ranchview ATH Michael Henderson
Raym tops the list, for sure. Already a one-time #20Deep commit, just like where OU stands with him. He’s making some visits, getting it out of his system. When it’s time, he returns to Norman…
Graham should be on watch. His father’s side of the family being from the state. OU is his dream offer. He can play either spot in Norman. Justin Broiles constantly in his ear. Hard to see Graham not being a Sooner… (Full update coming to Scoop this week)
After talking to Bryant, he makes the cut. Not as a defensive end, but as the 3-4 outside linebacker. Was worried he didn’t have the size to be the end so when he said they’re looking for him to come off the edge, it was like, yes, perfect fit…
The Tisdale pick is just trying to piece things together since Vito hasn’t answered anything outside of some quick DMs. His friendship with 2019 commit Woodi Washington is going to play a big role. If Washington stays happy, pretty natural to conclude Tisdale could definitely join him in Norman a year later…
Henderson is the one where sort of trying to figure out where he fits. Already two running back commits. Already a tight end commit in Drew Sanders. Is Henderson somebody who could accept the H-Back role? If he’s all-in with that choice, then yes, he’s a Sooner. But if he wants to be any sort of quarterback or running back, then his destination won’t be Norman. Will try to track him down this week now that his OU and Texas visits are in the books.
***
Powell, Battle race up the board
Last week it felt like OU’s staff had started to accept that Dax Hill isn’t coming to Norman so that meant getting back to work.
The staff’s answer? Odessa (Texas) Permian’s Peyton Powell.
Luck of the draw? Fort Lauderdale (Fla.) St. Thomas Aquinas’ Jordan Battle.
Powell was offered Monday afternoon as it felt like Kerry Cooks and company revisited their board and pinned down a name they wanted to pursue at safety. At safety is the key phrase because OU is faring just fine at cornerback.
It was discovered after the offer that Powell is indeed the cousin of former OU receiver Sterling Shepard, and a lot of things are trending OU right now with Powell.
He delayed his planned Aug. 13 commitment date. He is being adamant about taking a trip to OU although he cannot confirm a date at this point.
And if you thought the Buckeyes were looking to be the team to beat, everything with Urban Meyer throws that up in the air.
That’s also where Battle comes in. OU freshman linebacker Nik Bonitto is from St. Thomas Aquinas. OU four-star cornerback commit Jaden Davis is from St. Thomas Aquinas. Why not another?
Ever since Wednesday when the Meyer story became national news, the OU coaches have been working on some Buckeye commits. That’s not the story. It’s a story when those commits start reciprocating things back.
Battle is one of those guys. It’s good to see Drew Hill and Chip Viney follow Battle on Twitter, but it’s a better sign for Battle to follow Hill, Viney and 2019 receiver commit Theo Wease all in the same day on social media.
Miami is in play for Battle as well, but the Sooners are right there for Battle and Powell. The doom-and-gloom period is over, and now it’s about number crunching between Battle, Powell and cornerback Isaiah Rutherford.
Talking to sources Thursday and Friday, not to sound arrogant, but it sounds like OU is the spot for Powell and that Battle would be about how the official visit goes down and what happens with the Meyer situation.
How quickly things can change.
***
Hicks: ‘Can’t wait another second to be a Sooner’
For most attendees of the #ChampUBBQ, it was their first go-round at the event. Wasn’t the case for Wichita (Kan.) Northwest defensive end Marcus Hicks.
Hicks was a major OU target at last year’s BBQ and goes to show that just because you didn’t commit to the Sooners right then and there, it can build that bond necessary for the future.
The four-star prospect committed to OU more than two months ago and is not looking back. With his second BBQ in the books, well, he knew what to expect.
“Last year, I didn’t really know what was going on,” Hicks said. “I was really going there to look at the facilities and see what was going on with the football program.
“This year knew exactly what was happening. I was really excited about meeting my future teammates. These are the guys I’ll be spending the next 4-5 years with, so it was very cool getting to meet them.”
And not getting pied in the face.
“No, not this time,” Hicks said. “I got pied in the face last year. I learned.”
Sometimes you forget that despite the #NewWave19 guys being close, it doesn’t mean they all have a strong connection. Hicks being from Kansas and quarterback commit Spencer Rattler being from Phoenix means, yea, the BBQ was the first time they’ve met.
“Spencer Rattler, for sure,” said Hicks about who he was able to get to know better. “I knew of him, you could say, but we really only started talking that day. I could definitely build a friendship and connection.”
Was also a chance to get to know his stablemate in Manvel (Texas) High defensive end Kori Roberson. Right now, they are the two commits for OU at the position, and Hicks and Roberson were seen taking a lot of pictures together last week.
“He’s a really cool guy,” Hicks said. “He was. They all were. It was great.”
Hicks made the call in late-May, but OU had been putting in the work for a solid year before that. And Hicks certainly didn’t cheat himself, making one unofficial visit after another all across the country.
But in the end, he kept coming back to Norman.
“It’s the connections I have with the coaches,” Hicks said. “It’s a brotherhood atmosphere. They made me feel like I was a part of the team already. I really liked that.”
Leading the way in that is defensive ends coach Calvin Thibodeaux. Now in his third year as an OU assistant, it’s clear Thibodeaux is rolling on the field and on the trail. He knows who he wants, and he’s building the bonds to make it happen.
“He’s just one of those guys you can talk to,” Hicks said. “I can text him, call him and just talk about anything – not just football. That’s not something you a lot in coaches. He has become like a second father figure to me.”
With the BBQ wrapped up, Hicks is moving on toward his senior season. He said his goal is to put on as much weight as possible. He weighed 250 pounds heading into his return trip to OU. Although he’s trying to put on more weight, Hicks was told the 250 pounds is solid. Any additional work can be done once Hicks arrives for good.
When will that be? Don’t expect Hicks to be a mid-year enrollee. He’s got some unfinished business next spring.
“I’m going to come next summer,” Hicks said. “I want to do track as a senior. It’ll be hard, but that’s what I want to do. I can’t wait another second to be a Sooner. It’s killing me.”
Hicks said his initial thoughts are to take his official visit the first chance he can – Florida Atlantic weekend.
***
Bridges working to become mid-year guy
So, yea, the #ChampUBBQ wasn’t littered with top targets for 2019 and 2020, but it was a chance to reconnect with 2019 commits and for #NewWave19 to start building that bond.
And also to try to figure out when official visits are going to go down and whether some of these guys can become mid-year enrollees.
Jack Bridges, father of Trejan Bridges, said Trejan is gunning for Bedlam for official visit weekend. Nothing locked down just yet, but that’s the initial thought.
As for having Bridges be a mid-year enrollee, it’s apparent the family is doing everything possible to make that occur. But it’s still a work in progress.
“Yes, the early enrollment is still possible,” Jack Bridges said. “He's taking two online classes right now trying his best. That is still the plan and the goal. He's had a very tough busy summer, but he's been busting his butt trying to get everything done that needs to be done to finish high school early. So we'll have to wait and see how it all unfolds.”
***
Gallogly a hit at #ChampUBBQ
No, your eyes weren’t being deceiving. In watching the traditional water balloon fight at Oklahoma’s #ChampUBBQ last weekend, there was OU president Jim Gallogly right in the thick of things.
Not just a part of the festivities, but the one who essentially kicked off the water balloon event by charging into the recruits.
For a president who, thus far, had made his name on how stoic he has been and the jobs he has eliminated, it was a different side.
A fun side.
Recruits noticed as did the parents.
“As a parent to see OU President Jim Gallogly take part in the BBQ event with recruits & coaches was crazy awesome,” said Jack Bridges, father of OU commit Trejan Bridges. “Once again stuff like that just confirms the kind of program the University of Oklahoma really is. It just shows even more that my son, Trejan, made the right choice to further his education & sports career. All love from the Bridges family and can't wait to get Trejan on campus for good.”
It’s a clearly a great sign for the parents to see the president of the university attend an event if their son is going to be at OU, but even some recruits understood the significance. They may not have understood why Gallogly went charging in on some sort of kamikaze mission, but they appreciated his passion.
“What I got out of it was just how big OU is of a football school if the president takes the time to be there,” defensive end commit Marcus Hicks said. “It meant a lot to see him do that. There are so many other things he could have done, but he came to the BBQ just to have a good time.”
2020 Pearland (Texas) Shadow Creek defensive end Alec Bryant added:
“I’ve never seen that before, never seen the president being involved in something like this,” Bryant said. “I got the president in his back. He tried to rush us. He was like a Lone Wolf or something. It was crazy.”
As for how that it all came about, head coach Lincoln Riley went into detail about the situation Friday after OU’s first practice of preseason camp.
“Yea, just was an idea that we had to use the president,” said Riley when asked Friday. “We were gonna use Joe Castiglione as well, but he was out of town. He's an important figure obviously for our university. Anytime we can get him around our guys, our players love it. They've had a chance even as he lived in Headington Hall for a while before he made the move.
“Our guys have really had a chance to get to know him and our guys have appreciated that, just that openness that your president is gonna be accessible. I think he's gonna be that for all of our students. Great message. He was a lot of fun. He was a great sport. Great for the families. I think he's gonna be a tremendous leader for our university.”
