To go with transfer portal stuff, spent this week talking to some of the 2022 mid-year enrollees who are making their way to Norman right about now. Couldn't get in touch with Alton Tarber, and Kaden Helms said he couldn't make the time. Sigh.
But here's news and nuggets with Kobie McKinzie, Nick Evers and Jason Llewelyn.
News/nuggets:
Roommate is Jaren Kanak. Their 'unique' family stories is one reason McKinzie believes he'll connect well with Kanak... Thought it was a joke when Riley left for USC. He texted TBOW immediately after and heard back 4 a.m. Monday morning as the coaches were getting ready to head to the airport... Texted Odom as soon as he heard. Odom responded a couple of hours later Sunday afternoon, 'I had no idea' & preached patience... Coach Jeff Choate was the link to Texas. McKinzie still likes Choate and appreciates him reaching out after McKinzie re-committed to Sooners to congratulate him... Admits the timing was so weird that night he committed to Texas was same night Brent Venables was hired. Cale texts him 'see who we got?' & Kobie responded a couple of days later and opened the lines up again... 'I want to be wanted' was something McKinzie said repeatedly... Venables stressed 'facts not feelings' when it came to the choice... In-home visit was tough to get to know Venables, but that weekend trip to OU sealed the deal. 'This place is me' was a line that really stood out... He's 6-3, 238 pounds as of Tues... If it wasn't OU, believes he would have stayed home and picked Texas Tech... Does not know his jersey number.
***
News/nuggets:
Described the time period as hectic but not panicked from when he backed away from Florida and went to OU... Family and faith got him through it, knows he ended up in the right place... Jeff Lebby offered at Ole Miss. Once they started talking again, it was like Lebby had never left. Felt natural... Gonna be leaning on Lebby for life lessons, not just football and can't wait to play in that offense... OU was the first door to open after Florida... 'Still surreal' that it happened... Only had one phone call with Brent Venables until the official visit. Said Venables' energy radiates to everyone... Parents had a lot of Qs for Lebby and Venables, felt like genuine answers and felt like they handled the hard questions... Jayden Gibson is his dude, will be roommates. Been great to go on this journey with him, from Florida to OU and being able to bounce ideas off each other and lean on each other... Not scared to get thrown into the fire as a true freshman, but not discouraged if he has to sit and learn... Wants to develop a college body. He's 6-3, 186 lbs. Hoping Schmitty can put some pounds on him b/c gaining weight has always been tough for him... Minimal contact with Riley and was shocked like everybody else. Said the lesson learned is that you never know what's gonna happen in college football... Make-A-Wish very important to him, dating back to when his parents were a sponsor for the event a few years ago... Asked for No. 3, thinks he'll get it... Loved that Lebby told Evers that Lebby was going to OU well before it was made official, let Evers know how big of a priority he was... 'OU football speaks for itself. We're gonna continue that legacy.'
***
News/nuggets:
Was eating lunch when he learned about TBOW. Super surprised after the LSU stuff went away... Said he had to take a step back b/c he knew a lot of coaching dominoes were gonna fall after that. Didn't know if Joe Jon Finley was gonna be going with... Did consider decommitting, looked at other schools but waited it out and stayed true. 'As I explored other schools, still nothing like Oklahoma' stood out... Venables gets hired Sunday night, calls Llewelyn 8 a.m. Monday to let him JJF was staying on staff. Huge... Experience and knowledge at the position combined with the relationship, huge... Mixed emotions, though, with Venables being a defensive guy. Had to know the offense was still gonna be a fit. But also hard to argue with Venables' track record and years of success... 2022 class was sketchy for a minute but stuck it out and came together. Recruited like crazy, even more than the coaches, he believes... Lebby recruited Llewelyn at Ole Miss, believes TEs will be big part of OU offense... Big for the room that Willis is staying. Experience will mean a lot to him and Helms, same with Parker... Wasn't hard to accept OU recruiting Kaden Helms at same time. They've developed a good bond and know they have to work hard no matter who is in the room. 'I was fired up, getting another animal' was mindset... Kip Lewis is gonna be his roommate. Gonna wear No. 89... Believes it would have been Texas Tech if not OU... 'Couldn't pass up what OU has to offer.'
But here's news and nuggets with Kobie McKinzie, Nick Evers and Jason Llewelyn.
News/nuggets:
Roommate is Jaren Kanak. Their 'unique' family stories is one reason McKinzie believes he'll connect well with Kanak... Thought it was a joke when Riley left for USC. He texted TBOW immediately after and heard back 4 a.m. Monday morning as the coaches were getting ready to head to the airport... Texted Odom as soon as he heard. Odom responded a couple of hours later Sunday afternoon, 'I had no idea' & preached patience... Coach Jeff Choate was the link to Texas. McKinzie still likes Choate and appreciates him reaching out after McKinzie re-committed to Sooners to congratulate him... Admits the timing was so weird that night he committed to Texas was same night Brent Venables was hired. Cale texts him 'see who we got?' & Kobie responded a couple of days later and opened the lines up again... 'I want to be wanted' was something McKinzie said repeatedly... Venables stressed 'facts not feelings' when it came to the choice... In-home visit was tough to get to know Venables, but that weekend trip to OU sealed the deal. 'This place is me' was a line that really stood out... He's 6-3, 238 pounds as of Tues... If it wasn't OU, believes he would have stayed home and picked Texas Tech... Does not know his jersey number.
***
News/nuggets:
Described the time period as hectic but not panicked from when he backed away from Florida and went to OU... Family and faith got him through it, knows he ended up in the right place... Jeff Lebby offered at Ole Miss. Once they started talking again, it was like Lebby had never left. Felt natural... Gonna be leaning on Lebby for life lessons, not just football and can't wait to play in that offense... OU was the first door to open after Florida... 'Still surreal' that it happened... Only had one phone call with Brent Venables until the official visit. Said Venables' energy radiates to everyone... Parents had a lot of Qs for Lebby and Venables, felt like genuine answers and felt like they handled the hard questions... Jayden Gibson is his dude, will be roommates. Been great to go on this journey with him, from Florida to OU and being able to bounce ideas off each other and lean on each other... Not scared to get thrown into the fire as a true freshman, but not discouraged if he has to sit and learn... Wants to develop a college body. He's 6-3, 186 lbs. Hoping Schmitty can put some pounds on him b/c gaining weight has always been tough for him... Minimal contact with Riley and was shocked like everybody else. Said the lesson learned is that you never know what's gonna happen in college football... Make-A-Wish very important to him, dating back to when his parents were a sponsor for the event a few years ago... Asked for No. 3, thinks he'll get it... Loved that Lebby told Evers that Lebby was going to OU well before it was made official, let Evers know how big of a priority he was... 'OU football speaks for itself. We're gonna continue that legacy.'
***
News/nuggets:
Was eating lunch when he learned about TBOW. Super surprised after the LSU stuff went away... Said he had to take a step back b/c he knew a lot of coaching dominoes were gonna fall after that. Didn't know if Joe Jon Finley was gonna be going with... Did consider decommitting, looked at other schools but waited it out and stayed true. 'As I explored other schools, still nothing like Oklahoma' stood out... Venables gets hired Sunday night, calls Llewelyn 8 a.m. Monday to let him JJF was staying on staff. Huge... Experience and knowledge at the position combined with the relationship, huge... Mixed emotions, though, with Venables being a defensive guy. Had to know the offense was still gonna be a fit. But also hard to argue with Venables' track record and years of success... 2022 class was sketchy for a minute but stuck it out and came together. Recruited like crazy, even more than the coaches, he believes... Lebby recruited Llewelyn at Ole Miss, believes TEs will be big part of OU offense... Big for the room that Willis is staying. Experience will mean a lot to him and Helms, same with Parker... Wasn't hard to accept OU recruiting Kaden Helms at same time. They've developed a good bond and know they have to work hard no matter who is in the room. 'I was fired up, getting another animal' was mindset... Kip Lewis is gonna be his roommate. Gonna wear No. 89... Believes it would have been Texas Tech if not OU... 'Couldn't pass up what OU has to offer.'
