As I mentioned on the board yesterday, I made the trek out to Wagoner (Okla.) last night to watch three-star 2025 DE Alex Shieldnight. What I can tell you off the bat is that this is not a kid who's expected to stay a three-star, and there's a reason the Sooners have made him a high priority. Wagoner defeated Grove 35-14 last night, and there was little doubt who the MVP of the evening was. Offensively, Shieldnight snagged six catches for 116 yards and was on the receiving end of a two-point conversion. Defensively, he lived in the backfield, notching four TFL's, a sack and an absurd amount of quarterback hurries. Generally, when I go and watch defensive ends on Fridays, it's a good night if they penetrate the backfield five or six times. There might have been five or six times all evening where Shieldnight wasn't in the backfield, either helping to blow up the run or putting heat on the passer. He's not very tall (I'd put him at 6-foot-2 and even that might be a bit generous), but he's mean in the trenches and his motor quite literally runs nonstop. Throughout a grueling and fast-paced first half, Shieldnight missed all of one snap while playing (and starring) on both offense and defense. By night's end, he was sucking air and completely saturated with sweat, but I hadn't seen the kid mail it in for a single play.
At the conclusion of the game, I spoke with Shieldnight, and he essentially confirmed what we've already reported: this is an Oklahoma/Arkansas battle in the race for his commitment. He wants to play in the SEC and he doesn't want to go far from home, making OU and Arkansas the two most naturally viable options. He'll be in Fayetteville today, and he'll be in Norman on Sept. 30 to watch the Sooners take on Iowa State. Given that this is a low-drama kid (a valedictorian too, I might add) who knows exactly what he wants, I wouldn't think a decision will take too long. I give OU the leg up, but I'll wait to enter a FutureCast until we see how this pair of visits goes. I'll add that Shieldnight was incredibly appreciative of Miguel Chavis' presence last night, and the hard-nosed DE certainly put on a show for the Sooners' charismatic assistant coach.
