Alright guys, I honestly can't remember if I'm proud of doing a WOKE last week or should apologize that I didn't do it. I HAVE NO MEMORY of doing it or not doing it.
Regardless, let's get moving as recruiting news is starting to pick up a bit again.
*We'll start with the most interesting possible news and that is Oklahoma starting to get back in the race for Lubbock (Texas) Cooper former long-time Rivals250 linebacker commitment Kobie McKinzie. It's wild how quickly this has all turned for the Sooners who went from McKinzie being as solid a commitment as any in the class to being a Texas commitment in the matter of a week.
That was thought to be the end of the story for McKinzie and Oklahoma but Brent Venables reached out and not surprisingly arguably the most well-respected linebackers coach in the country made a big impression.
"They made a strong impression on Kobie," his father, @WillTruby said.
It sounds as though while McKinzie is just a few days removed from a commitment to Texas that the big linebacker - who is about to play in the state semifinals for Cooper - is going to give Venables a long listen when he has an in-home visit with the family that will either take place tonight or tomorrow (things are still being finalized).
It's not an easy road for Oklahoma but it does feel like one where Venables, who has a lot in common with the man that McKinzie had so much affinity for - Brian Odom - could really resonate and remind him of all the reasons he loved Oklahoma in the first place. Because the reality is, prior to last week there was no real relationship between the Longhorns, Austin, and McKinzie while Norman, the Sooners, and some of the remaining staff know McKinzie well.
**Probably the most interesting story I've heard so far from a recruit who got to sit down with Venables was his conversation with Kaden Helms. For those who haven't followed Helms closely he's a smart kid who seems to have had some very real and incisive questions for his future head coach.
And what Venables had to say to him clearly excited Helms and will probably do so for you as well.
Let's just say that Venables has some big plans far beyond the simplicities of adding staff members and other generalities. In fact he is stealing a page from Nick Saban's book.
"(Venables) said his first priority is hiring a full time team chef, he (also) hired the best of the best facility designer/engineer who worked for coach Saban at Alabama," Helms relived.
"[There are] going to be a lot of new things coming from facility standpoint - Chirotherapy, float tubs, etc. The Main thing he said is OU football will not be lacking in any department the top SEC programs have. [He is also] going to be implementing life and career development services for players.
"And he plans on moving the dining hall into the main facility for the players so they don’t have to go back and forth to get food, especially once they have the full time chef."
That's a lot of plans relayed in one conversation, it makes one wonder what else Venables has up his sleeve. But it's clear he recognizes where Oklahoma is falling short of the programs it plans to contend with and how it can address those shortcomings.
***Alright so I know there has been a lot of buzz about long-time Clemson linebacker commitment Jaren Kanak and where he may be with the Sooners and the Tigers. But the reality is, based on my most recent conversations - albeit not with Kanak himself who has gone mostly radio silent to everyone - there hasn't been any contact between he and Venables at this point. Now maybe that changes once Venables makes his way around to all the Oklahoma commitments and tries to stabilize that situation.
I'm told that should Oklahoma pursue Kanak, there's a very real chance that flip could be made. It doesn't mean it will or it's a certainty just that, without question, Kanak's line to Clemson was his fellow former Kansan, Venables.
The question really remains whether Venables is going to be ok with recruiting him away from the school he worked so hard to get him to? We know how his predecessor in Norman feels about such things but Venables, at this point, has shown no indications of a similar feeling.
We'll see but as of yesterday there was no movement to my understanding.
****In just a short and sweet note I'm told that Venables' in-home visit with the class' highest remaining commitment, Gentry Williams, went exceedingly well. Williams is obviously being pulled in a lot of directions but from one source I spoke with I think Venables helped put the Williams family, and many others, at ease and his background with NFL cornerbacks won't hurt Williams' impression of the program.
"Yea, he had an outstanding intro presser I thought. I know a lot of guys are different but he hit on a long of things I know parents wanted to hear when it comes to their son being under his care. Thought it would well spoken. Great start (for Venables)," he said.
*****As I've mentioned in the board chat I think Venables will do a lot to reinvigorate the feelings of Oklahoma high school coaches - he's good at making a priority of the local guys and should put to bed some of the unrest that has existed over the past four or five years (and arguably longer than that) and one local coach has already noticed as much.
"From what I've heard they are already hitting the rounds pretty solid in our area," the coach said.
And as another said, it doesn't take much attention for Oklahoma high school coaches to be back on board.
"Man, most of the people here want Oklahoma to be good and want to have that relationship, it won't take a lot of water to grow some flowers."
******Finally, one of the more interesting stories to follow will be that of Oklahoma's final offensive line pieces. It's hard to imagine the Sooners coming out ahead in the dogfights that are Kam Dewberry and Devon Campbell at this point but what of Malik Agbo who it has felt like Oklahoma clearly leads for in recent months?
There is some smoke out there that Texas is starting to jump into that race with Agbo but the question for me remains, is Oklahoma even pushing here. It's pretty clear that Venables isn't going to get crazy with taking in guys who weren't already on board but the question remains how does he feel about some of his new staff and guys they had long been involved with?
We'll see but as of yesterday Oklahoma hadn't been in much contact with Dewberry as of late - though I think it's pretty clear he wasn't holding any grudges, he gets the situation.
Like many things in these very early stages, let's see where it goes but offensive line is going to be interesting to follow for the next week.
Regardless, let's get moving as recruiting news is starting to pick up a bit again.
*We'll start with the most interesting possible news and that is Oklahoma starting to get back in the race for Lubbock (Texas) Cooper former long-time Rivals250 linebacker commitment Kobie McKinzie. It's wild how quickly this has all turned for the Sooners who went from McKinzie being as solid a commitment as any in the class to being a Texas commitment in the matter of a week.
That was thought to be the end of the story for McKinzie and Oklahoma but Brent Venables reached out and not surprisingly arguably the most well-respected linebackers coach in the country made a big impression.
"They made a strong impression on Kobie," his father, @WillTruby said.
It sounds as though while McKinzie is just a few days removed from a commitment to Texas that the big linebacker - who is about to play in the state semifinals for Cooper - is going to give Venables a long listen when he has an in-home visit with the family that will either take place tonight or tomorrow (things are still being finalized).
It's not an easy road for Oklahoma but it does feel like one where Venables, who has a lot in common with the man that McKinzie had so much affinity for - Brian Odom - could really resonate and remind him of all the reasons he loved Oklahoma in the first place. Because the reality is, prior to last week there was no real relationship between the Longhorns, Austin, and McKinzie while Norman, the Sooners, and some of the remaining staff know McKinzie well.
**Probably the most interesting story I've heard so far from a recruit who got to sit down with Venables was his conversation with Kaden Helms. For those who haven't followed Helms closely he's a smart kid who seems to have had some very real and incisive questions for his future head coach.
And what Venables had to say to him clearly excited Helms and will probably do so for you as well.
Let's just say that Venables has some big plans far beyond the simplicities of adding staff members and other generalities. In fact he is stealing a page from Nick Saban's book.
"(Venables) said his first priority is hiring a full time team chef, he (also) hired the best of the best facility designer/engineer who worked for coach Saban at Alabama," Helms relived.
"[There are] going to be a lot of new things coming from facility standpoint - Chirotherapy, float tubs, etc. The Main thing he said is OU football will not be lacking in any department the top SEC programs have. [He is also] going to be implementing life and career development services for players.
"And he plans on moving the dining hall into the main facility for the players so they don’t have to go back and forth to get food, especially once they have the full time chef."
That's a lot of plans relayed in one conversation, it makes one wonder what else Venables has up his sleeve. But it's clear he recognizes where Oklahoma is falling short of the programs it plans to contend with and how it can address those shortcomings.
***Alright so I know there has been a lot of buzz about long-time Clemson linebacker commitment Jaren Kanak and where he may be with the Sooners and the Tigers. But the reality is, based on my most recent conversations - albeit not with Kanak himself who has gone mostly radio silent to everyone - there hasn't been any contact between he and Venables at this point. Now maybe that changes once Venables makes his way around to all the Oklahoma commitments and tries to stabilize that situation.
I'm told that should Oklahoma pursue Kanak, there's a very real chance that flip could be made. It doesn't mean it will or it's a certainty just that, without question, Kanak's line to Clemson was his fellow former Kansan, Venables.
The question really remains whether Venables is going to be ok with recruiting him away from the school he worked so hard to get him to? We know how his predecessor in Norman feels about such things but Venables, at this point, has shown no indications of a similar feeling.
We'll see but as of yesterday there was no movement to my understanding.
****In just a short and sweet note I'm told that Venables' in-home visit with the class' highest remaining commitment, Gentry Williams, went exceedingly well. Williams is obviously being pulled in a lot of directions but from one source I spoke with I think Venables helped put the Williams family, and many others, at ease and his background with NFL cornerbacks won't hurt Williams' impression of the program.
"Yea, he had an outstanding intro presser I thought. I know a lot of guys are different but he hit on a long of things I know parents wanted to hear when it comes to their son being under his care. Thought it would well spoken. Great start (for Venables)," he said.
*****As I've mentioned in the board chat I think Venables will do a lot to reinvigorate the feelings of Oklahoma high school coaches - he's good at making a priority of the local guys and should put to bed some of the unrest that has existed over the past four or five years (and arguably longer than that) and one local coach has already noticed as much.
"From what I've heard they are already hitting the rounds pretty solid in our area," the coach said.
And as another said, it doesn't take much attention for Oklahoma high school coaches to be back on board.
"Man, most of the people here want Oklahoma to be good and want to have that relationship, it won't take a lot of water to grow some flowers."
******Finally, one of the more interesting stories to follow will be that of Oklahoma's final offensive line pieces. It's hard to imagine the Sooners coming out ahead in the dogfights that are Kam Dewberry and Devon Campbell at this point but what of Malik Agbo who it has felt like Oklahoma clearly leads for in recent months?
There is some smoke out there that Texas is starting to jump into that race with Agbo but the question for me remains, is Oklahoma even pushing here. It's pretty clear that Venables isn't going to get crazy with taking in guys who weren't already on board but the question remains how does he feel about some of his new staff and guys they had long been involved with?
We'll see but as of yesterday Oklahoma hadn't been in much contact with Dewberry as of late - though I think it's pretty clear he wasn't holding any grudges, he gets the situation.
Like many things in these very early stages, let's see where it goes but offensive line is going to be interesting to follow for the next week.
