You all asked for some notes here, but I’m waiting to talk to a few people on Monday. What I can tell you is that Florida transfer DL Chris McClellan told OU. — at their in-home on Thursday — there wouldn’t be a decision made, or a commitment to anyone, until after they had a long talk with Brent Venables and Todd Bates again early this week. That conversation could have taken place Sunday night, but I was told Monday or Tuesday.
Said conversation will be a bit different than the in-home, where Todd Bates showed the scheme to McClellan and his father.
On that note, I did get to speak to McClellan’s dad about what he thought about the Sooners’ scheme and he said, “I love how aggressive they are and how they allow the DL to go make plays.it’s tailored for the DL to eat. It’s a perfect fit for Chris [McClellan], and I know the developmental part will be there with Coach Bates and BV too,” he added. “What we have to have is all the boxes checked and we are gonna talk to them about all of that after our OV’s to Mizzou and Colorado. I told Coach Bates we wouldn’t commit to anyone this weekend or before we spoke to OU again.”
“Coach Bates is a real one. He was straight with us and that’s what we want. No games. Just transparency and that’s what we gave him too,” McClellan’s dad told OUinsider.
He also said the upcoming conversation will be much more “about getting down to dotting I’s and crossing t’s.”.
*** Obviously, McClellan took two OV’s this weekend. One to Mizzou and one to Colorado. There are pros and cons to both, but McClellan does fancy the SEC and that is something that makes Mizzou the sneaky team here (as we reported very early last week).
Colorado has the flash and they have thrown around heavy amounts of NIL money as well, but the Big 12 and the difference in exposure between the two conferences is something that is working against Deion Sanders and his ‘Go Buffs’ squad.
*** As for OU, they meet most of what McClellan is looking for, but the one thing that could hold the Sooners back is whether or not OU feels CM is worth as much as some of the other programs are going to offer him thru their NIL.
This isn’t a matter of whether OU can pay up or not — they can. It’s more about whether they feel the proverbial juice is worth the squeeze, for a lack of a better analogy.
The Sooners do want McClellan. That is obvious, but there is more to this than I’m ready to dive into just yet (even more than just meeting NIL). Why I’m waiting to hear from a few sources before I finish my write up.
To end, though, I’ll say this: If McClellan does end up announcing to either Mizzou or Colorado, I think you’ll get your answer on whether the Sooners wanted to play ball to the extent those two were willing do. Could there be other reasons for the Sooners’ lack of willingness to be aggressive with NIL? Thats another side we need clarity on and I’m not sure you or I will get that before the bowl games are over. Just me talking out loud here and me purely speculating, though.
But, if the Sooners do want to play ball and compete with Mizzou and Colorado with NIL, we all know OU has the development, winning and relationships that McClellan and his people want, according to McClellan’s father.
In the end, there is little to no surprise that there is an NIL aspect that could sway things away from Todd Bates and BV. But, if OU is willing to get near the ballpark, there are some close to McClellan that feel OU would be the choice.
Now it’s about whether or not OU wants to try and afford the proverbial ticket to get into the ballpark that the sources were speaking about.
Such is life in the world of NIL and CFB. Decisions like that have to be made to build the culture and roster BV and other coaches want.
You have to pay to have them play.
I’ll have more after I talk with some sources later today. Just wanted you aware on what I know about the situation before that. There is more to this picture I want to be able to paint for you all, but need clarity on a bit more (on all sides) before I do so.
Stay tuned.
Said conversation will be a bit different than the in-home, where Todd Bates showed the scheme to McClellan and his father.
On that note, I did get to speak to McClellan’s dad about what he thought about the Sooners’ scheme and he said, “I love how aggressive they are and how they allow the DL to go make plays.it’s tailored for the DL to eat. It’s a perfect fit for Chris [McClellan], and I know the developmental part will be there with Coach Bates and BV too,” he added. “What we have to have is all the boxes checked and we are gonna talk to them about all of that after our OV’s to Mizzou and Colorado. I told Coach Bates we wouldn’t commit to anyone this weekend or before we spoke to OU again.”
“Coach Bates is a real one. He was straight with us and that’s what we want. No games. Just transparency and that’s what we gave him too,” McClellan’s dad told OUinsider.
He also said the upcoming conversation will be much more “about getting down to dotting I’s and crossing t’s.”.
*** Obviously, McClellan took two OV’s this weekend. One to Mizzou and one to Colorado. There are pros and cons to both, but McClellan does fancy the SEC and that is something that makes Mizzou the sneaky team here (as we reported very early last week).
Colorado has the flash and they have thrown around heavy amounts of NIL money as well, but the Big 12 and the difference in exposure between the two conferences is something that is working against Deion Sanders and his ‘Go Buffs’ squad.
*** As for OU, they meet most of what McClellan is looking for, but the one thing that could hold the Sooners back is whether or not OU feels CM is worth as much as some of the other programs are going to offer him thru their NIL.
This isn’t a matter of whether OU can pay up or not — they can. It’s more about whether they feel the proverbial juice is worth the squeeze, for a lack of a better analogy.
The Sooners do want McClellan. That is obvious, but there is more to this than I’m ready to dive into just yet (even more than just meeting NIL). Why I’m waiting to hear from a few sources before I finish my write up.
To end, though, I’ll say this: If McClellan does end up announcing to either Mizzou or Colorado, I think you’ll get your answer on whether the Sooners wanted to play ball to the extent those two were willing do. Could there be other reasons for the Sooners’ lack of willingness to be aggressive with NIL? Thats another side we need clarity on and I’m not sure you or I will get that before the bowl games are over. Just me talking out loud here and me purely speculating, though.
But, if the Sooners do want to play ball and compete with Mizzou and Colorado with NIL, we all know OU has the development, winning and relationships that McClellan and his people want, according to McClellan’s father.
In the end, there is little to no surprise that there is an NIL aspect that could sway things away from Todd Bates and BV. But, if OU is willing to get near the ballpark, there are some close to McClellan that feel OU would be the choice.
Now it’s about whether or not OU wants to try and afford the proverbial ticket to get into the ballpark that the sources were speaking about.
Such is life in the world of NIL and CFB. Decisions like that have to be made to build the culture and roster BV and other coaches want.
You have to pay to have them play.
I’ll have more after I talk with some sources later today. Just wanted you aware on what I know about the situation before that. There is more to this picture I want to be able to paint for you all, but need clarity on a bit more (on all sides) before I do so.
Stay tuned.
