The Happy Birthday, Mom, edition. Pearl came close to saying happy birthday when we called, all I can ask for. Mom turns 65 today 
We roll? Of course, let's roll.
Appreciating the 'old head'
We're gonna start with an ode to Mr. Caleb Kelly. My how the years have changed us all, huh?
The sixth-year senior is now 6-1 vs. Texas, but it's definitely been an odd journey. As he freely admitted, it's seven games yet he's only been healthy to play in four of them.
"Yea, 6-1, because we got to play them that one year in the Big 12. 6-1. This is my fourth one actually playing in. I mean, real important to me to go out with a bang. This rivalry is crazy. I saw a fan get kicked out today. Minding my own business, just behind coach, I see a dude getting walked up by security. These people really bleed their colors and really fight for them. It's so special. I knew it was special my freshman year and to really contribute to the game and contribute to the win is even more special this year. I did in the past but not as much as I feel like that play was today. It's awesome and I love the OU fans and how they were drowning out Texas all day long."
To really contribute because you can basically hear in his voice that he knew he had never really had that OU-Texas moment. Just like the defense, it was better late than never for Kelly.
The best play of the game is Caleb Williams-to-Marvin Mims on third-and-19. I cannot be swayed on that. But the most important play of the game was Kelly ripping the ball out on the kickoff. That scene, in front of the OU side of the Cotton Bowl, that's something gonna remember for a long time.
It was the first time OU had a realistic chance to take the lead. Sooner Magic? Eh, who knows, but definitely memorable.
So I went down the sentimental path with Kelly and asked him about soaking in that moment.
"Yea, it was weird though because everybody got to storm the field. I was like, Whoa, this is a miracle. Like, I've never had that happen at OU. It was funny. There were just a bunch of people in your face. It was cool though because my mom got to come on the field. That's her first time being on the field all six seasons, so that was really cool to get a picture and do that. I tried to beat J-Hall to the flag but he knew where the flag was. I was over there first, I'm looking around and he ran right to the flag. I was like dang, alright, you got it."
And we'll close the Kelly talk with his quote on Caleb Williams. Because as odd as it may sound, feels like perhaps Kelly knows Williams about as much as anybody through the freshman's first year on campus.
"Coming in and having that long touchdown run first, that was really cool. I mean, Caleb's ... it's funny. When he came in, he's like my freshman that I was assigned to, like under the table. Being an older guy, you can get assigned to a player. He was the one that I had. I don't know if it was just the name or because he was highly talented or whatever it was, but he came in and that was my guy. I tried to get to know him as best I could throughout the offseason.
"You can see, he's a freak athlete. He ran, I think he had 22 in the offseason doing flying 40s or whatever, flying 50s, flying 10s or whatever they call them. He's just a good athlete. He came here for a reason. It was the spark we needed, for sure. He came in and did what he needed to do. He brought us back. As a freshman, in this game, to do that, I mean, I'm so proud of him. I love the kid for real."
I don't know if Kelly and the rest of the 2016 class guys like Bryan Mead and Erik Swenson will get an eighth crack at the Horns in Arlington in two months, but pretty dang cool Kelly got that moment after everything he's gone through.
***
The IT adjustment
As much as I love this Alex Grinch quote:
"And the quick message is life’s not a Disney movie. It’s very, very hard and here we go and it’s not gonna take one play or one stop to get this thing done."
The big adjustment, IMO, was moving Isaiah Thomas to the inside. When Jalen Redmond went down, I really thought the answer was going to be Reggie Grimes, Perrion Winfrey and Isaiah Thomas as your defensive linemen.
Hadn't really been that way until Saturday. By moving IT inside, you got Grimes and Ethan Downs on the field. And right now? That feels like a positive nine times out of 10.
"Throughout this week of practice, as you saw out there, we had a couple of D-tackles down. I played d-tackle at the back half of last year. Coach Thibs came to me, he went to Coach Cain, 'Can I get something from you at d-tackle? You got some plays in you?' Yeah, yeah, for sure. At halftime, it became a final decision, like they wanted me and P on the inside. Nik on the edge, and Reg or Ethan out there. So it was a decision the coaches made and they were comfortable with. Feels good to have them be able to trust me to be able to play inside and out and do different things and be able to help out our defense."
So what did that do to snap counts? A-ha, here ya go.
Texas ran 62 plays, which is one reason OU just buried them in the second half as the Sooners had 83. DJ Graham and Pat Fields played all 62, but we're breaking down the linemen here.
Nik Bonitto - 44
Isaiah Thomas - 44
Perrion Winfrey - 41
Nice. And more:
Reggie Grimes - 30
Ethan Downs - 18
There ya go. You're keeping Thomas out there but getting meaningful snaps from Grimes and Downs. Loved it. And the rotations worked Saturday. As Texas was sucking wind all second half, OU was as fresh as could be.
You could see the strategy. If Grinch didn't start with Thomas/Bonitto/Winfrey, then he'd wait until like third down to bring them in and try to make a play. The game-tying touchdown was on second down so you had some different personnel, but overall? That rotation of keeping the starters fresh couldn't have gone better in the mid-day sun of the Cotton Bowl.
***
Ol' mo is with #ChampU22
By the time we do the next Illegitimate Son, um, will OU have added Gabe Dindy and Gentry Williams? Things can change in a hurry.
As expected, 4 p.m. CDT on Tuesday on the Watch CBS site that has been oh-so kind to OU since the summer. OU or the Aggies. Both teams did everything they could on the field to make one final impression.
But as we type here just under 26 hours from the announcement, it doesn't feel like anything has changed. Josh's prediction from way back when with Dindy still feels as strong as ever.
This is the big one, right? This is OU landing that elite defensive lineman that just didn't happen in years past and wasn't even close to happening in some cases.
Cannot stress enough the ability of the OU coaches to ride the wave with these guys in recent months. Harped on it a lot last week, too, but it bears repeating that if you don't have the stomach for it, could have written Dindy off to A&M a long time ago and Williams to USC.
See if it all goes to plan.
And then next Monday is Williams' call. It's going to be in the morning, but I'll let Gentry be the one to tell the exact time. I plan on making the drive to Booker T. to be there for everything. Side note: Illegitimate Son won't run next Monday because of it.
The way Alex Grinch and the rest of the staff closed with Gentry in the last 1-2 months is just super impressive, no other way to say it. They waited for their moment to strike, and they did and hit all the right notes.
You could argue (and put me in that category with Josh) that USC and Florida, as good as they were doing, just weren't going to be the answer. But OU had to close, and there's nothing I've seen lately to say the Sooners didn't do just that.
***
Back to Moser and co.
Fully admit it, took a week off of really focusing on Porter Moser's club with OU-Texas. Back at it. Hoping to talk in-depth with Otega Oweh later this week and still waiting on Milos Uzan to make that call.
Still down to OU, Utah, Cal and UNLV. Still believe Utah is the biggest threat for Uzan.
Practice has started with the Sooners. Um, really hoping we get a chance to talk with Moser again and the staff and the players. Last media availability? May. Yikes.
ICYMI -
Emailed the basketball SID b/c this is weird with the lack of communication. Maybe it won't be like Lon Kruger with every practice open to the public, but sorta expected a lot more at this point into the calendar.
***
OKPreps schedule
Close out with where I'm going this week.
Thursday - Deer Creek at Midwest City. OU commit Jacob Sexton.
Friday - Union at Moore. OU commit Jayden Rowe (who hopefully will get a chance to do SOMETHING this time around).
***
Bonus
Always love these glimpses and behind the scenes.
We roll? Of course, let's roll.
Appreciating the 'old head'
We're gonna start with an ode to Mr. Caleb Kelly. My how the years have changed us all, huh?
The sixth-year senior is now 6-1 vs. Texas, but it's definitely been an odd journey. As he freely admitted, it's seven games yet he's only been healthy to play in four of them.
"Yea, 6-1, because we got to play them that one year in the Big 12. 6-1. This is my fourth one actually playing in. I mean, real important to me to go out with a bang. This rivalry is crazy. I saw a fan get kicked out today. Minding my own business, just behind coach, I see a dude getting walked up by security. These people really bleed their colors and really fight for them. It's so special. I knew it was special my freshman year and to really contribute to the game and contribute to the win is even more special this year. I did in the past but not as much as I feel like that play was today. It's awesome and I love the OU fans and how they were drowning out Texas all day long."
To really contribute because you can basically hear in his voice that he knew he had never really had that OU-Texas moment. Just like the defense, it was better late than never for Kelly.
The best play of the game is Caleb Williams-to-Marvin Mims on third-and-19. I cannot be swayed on that. But the most important play of the game was Kelly ripping the ball out on the kickoff. That scene, in front of the OU side of the Cotton Bowl, that's something gonna remember for a long time.
It was the first time OU had a realistic chance to take the lead. Sooner Magic? Eh, who knows, but definitely memorable.
So I went down the sentimental path with Kelly and asked him about soaking in that moment.
"Yea, it was weird though because everybody got to storm the field. I was like, Whoa, this is a miracle. Like, I've never had that happen at OU. It was funny. There were just a bunch of people in your face. It was cool though because my mom got to come on the field. That's her first time being on the field all six seasons, so that was really cool to get a picture and do that. I tried to beat J-Hall to the flag but he knew where the flag was. I was over there first, I'm looking around and he ran right to the flag. I was like dang, alright, you got it."
And we'll close the Kelly talk with his quote on Caleb Williams. Because as odd as it may sound, feels like perhaps Kelly knows Williams about as much as anybody through the freshman's first year on campus.
"Coming in and having that long touchdown run first, that was really cool. I mean, Caleb's ... it's funny. When he came in, he's like my freshman that I was assigned to, like under the table. Being an older guy, you can get assigned to a player. He was the one that I had. I don't know if it was just the name or because he was highly talented or whatever it was, but he came in and that was my guy. I tried to get to know him as best I could throughout the offseason.
"You can see, he's a freak athlete. He ran, I think he had 22 in the offseason doing flying 40s or whatever, flying 50s, flying 10s or whatever they call them. He's just a good athlete. He came here for a reason. It was the spark we needed, for sure. He came in and did what he needed to do. He brought us back. As a freshman, in this game, to do that, I mean, I'm so proud of him. I love the kid for real."
I don't know if Kelly and the rest of the 2016 class guys like Bryan Mead and Erik Swenson will get an eighth crack at the Horns in Arlington in two months, but pretty dang cool Kelly got that moment after everything he's gone through.
***
The IT adjustment
As much as I love this Alex Grinch quote:
"And the quick message is life’s not a Disney movie. It’s very, very hard and here we go and it’s not gonna take one play or one stop to get this thing done."
The big adjustment, IMO, was moving Isaiah Thomas to the inside. When Jalen Redmond went down, I really thought the answer was going to be Reggie Grimes, Perrion Winfrey and Isaiah Thomas as your defensive linemen.
Hadn't really been that way until Saturday. By moving IT inside, you got Grimes and Ethan Downs on the field. And right now? That feels like a positive nine times out of 10.
"Throughout this week of practice, as you saw out there, we had a couple of D-tackles down. I played d-tackle at the back half of last year. Coach Thibs came to me, he went to Coach Cain, 'Can I get something from you at d-tackle? You got some plays in you?' Yeah, yeah, for sure. At halftime, it became a final decision, like they wanted me and P on the inside. Nik on the edge, and Reg or Ethan out there. So it was a decision the coaches made and they were comfortable with. Feels good to have them be able to trust me to be able to play inside and out and do different things and be able to help out our defense."
So what did that do to snap counts? A-ha, here ya go.
Texas ran 62 plays, which is one reason OU just buried them in the second half as the Sooners had 83. DJ Graham and Pat Fields played all 62, but we're breaking down the linemen here.
Nik Bonitto - 44
Isaiah Thomas - 44
Perrion Winfrey - 41
Nice. And more:
Reggie Grimes - 30
Ethan Downs - 18
There ya go. You're keeping Thomas out there but getting meaningful snaps from Grimes and Downs. Loved it. And the rotations worked Saturday. As Texas was sucking wind all second half, OU was as fresh as could be.
You could see the strategy. If Grinch didn't start with Thomas/Bonitto/Winfrey, then he'd wait until like third down to bring them in and try to make a play. The game-tying touchdown was on second down so you had some different personnel, but overall? That rotation of keeping the starters fresh couldn't have gone better in the mid-day sun of the Cotton Bowl.
***
Ol' mo is with #ChampU22
By the time we do the next Illegitimate Son, um, will OU have added Gabe Dindy and Gentry Williams? Things can change in a hurry.
As expected, 4 p.m. CDT on Tuesday on the Watch CBS site that has been oh-so kind to OU since the summer. OU or the Aggies. Both teams did everything they could on the field to make one final impression.
But as we type here just under 26 hours from the announcement, it doesn't feel like anything has changed. Josh's prediction from way back when with Dindy still feels as strong as ever.
This is the big one, right? This is OU landing that elite defensive lineman that just didn't happen in years past and wasn't even close to happening in some cases.
Cannot stress enough the ability of the OU coaches to ride the wave with these guys in recent months. Harped on it a lot last week, too, but it bears repeating that if you don't have the stomach for it, could have written Dindy off to A&M a long time ago and Williams to USC.
See if it all goes to plan.
And then next Monday is Williams' call. It's going to be in the morning, but I'll let Gentry be the one to tell the exact time. I plan on making the drive to Booker T. to be there for everything. Side note: Illegitimate Son won't run next Monday because of it.
The way Alex Grinch and the rest of the staff closed with Gentry in the last 1-2 months is just super impressive, no other way to say it. They waited for their moment to strike, and they did and hit all the right notes.
You could argue (and put me in that category with Josh) that USC and Florida, as good as they were doing, just weren't going to be the answer. But OU had to close, and there's nothing I've seen lately to say the Sooners didn't do just that.
***
Back to Moser and co.
Fully admit it, took a week off of really focusing on Porter Moser's club with OU-Texas. Back at it. Hoping to talk in-depth with Otega Oweh later this week and still waiting on Milos Uzan to make that call.
Still down to OU, Utah, Cal and UNLV. Still believe Utah is the biggest threat for Uzan.
Practice has started with the Sooners. Um, really hoping we get a chance to talk with Moser again and the staff and the players. Last media availability? May. Yikes.
ICYMI -
Emailed the basketball SID b/c this is weird with the lack of communication. Maybe it won't be like Lon Kruger with every practice open to the public, but sorta expected a lot more at this point into the calendar.
***
OKPreps schedule
Close out with where I'm going this week.
Thursday - Deer Creek at Midwest City. OU commit Jacob Sexton.
Friday - Union at Moore. OU commit Jayden Rowe (who hopefully will get a chance to do SOMETHING this time around).
***
Bonus
Always love these glimpses and behind the scenes.
