Cure was laid up with a flu bug yesterday, so I didn't get the chance to jump on the phone with him until tonight. I'll reiterate what I reported last night after conversations with Switzer Center sources: I think the Sooners made a huge move over the weekend. At the very least, Oklahoma has prevented Kansas State from being the slam-dunk option. Cure has something to think about as he and his family begin weighing the factors in his eventual decision, and I am of the opinion that it will come down to the Sooners and the Wildcats. Every other contender is inhibited by distance. On that note, Cure's quote about the drive from Goodland to Norman (read on for that) ought to encourage Sooner fans that are hoping for the four-star TE's pledge.
All that said, I'll quit pontificating and simply relay what Cure told me about his experience in Norman.
On the visit as a whole...
“It was a lot of fun. We started out in the main part of the facility, had some breakfast, met everybody. It was cool — everybody knew my name and was saying what’s up. So, got to talk to everybody, got to see some of my favorite players’ stuff, [like] Baker Mayfield and Kyler Murray’s Heismans. We explored the facility and everything, the dorms, had the SOUL Mission talk. Kind of just talked with a lot of players; Michael Boganowski came up and said what’s up. So I talked a lot with him; he’s a good dude. And then we ate lunch and I talked to Jaren Kanak a little bit; he’s pretty cool too. Got his number and everything. But yeah, it was kind of a full day. Got to talk with Coach Venables in his office — I didn’t know his office was that nice, so that was pretty cool. But yeah, it was a good day and it was loaded with a lot of information. So it was really good for me… Definitely the culture stuck out to me. Just watching practice, guys are supporting each other, and it’s just a really energetic place. So that definitely stood out to me a lot.”
On whether he sees himself as a fit for Oklahoma's scheme...
“I’d kind of be walking around and Coach Finley would keep comparing me to Mark Andrews and stuff like that, so that was pretty cool. But yeah, we watched some film with him and I really like how they use their tight ends. I could definitely see how they’d use me, and yeah — it definitely does relate to Mark Andrews a lot. So yeah, I’m pretty excited to see what else they can do [with me].”
On the conversation with Brent Venables...
“I don't think I can even pinpoint it down to one thing. It was a lot of information; you know how Coach Venables is. It feels like everything he says is a really good quote. But yeah, he had a lot of good stuff to say, explained a lot to me. I was locked in, and I was bought in to what he was saying.”
On his family's opinion of Oklahoma, as well as the proximity...
“They loved it. They love Coach V. So it was definitely an exciting trip for them. I could definitely see myself doing [the drive]. It was a good drive, especially on really nice highways in Kansas, [which] makes it easy.”
On processing the decision (he had calls with USC and Texas A&M tonight)...
“Still picking up the phone for everybody right now. In my head, I’ve narrowed it down. But we’re kind of going to take this dead period to get grinding, you know, just go over some things with my family and look at pros and cons of colleges — how I see myself, how they’ll develop me. I’ll individually let coaches know [that they're out] and possibly let out a top eight, top ten, something like that. But yeah, we’ll just have to see.”
