Recruiting: OU’s latest targets
By Blake Jackson
The silver lining in Oklahoma losing juniors Malcolm Kelly, Curtis Lofton and Reggie Smith to the NFL Draft is that OU coaching staff now has three extra scholarships to offer this recruiting season.
With 19 verbal commitments already in the bank and Signing Day less than three weeks away, here’s a quick glance at the Sooners’ top remaining targets:
Julio Jones, WR, 6-4, 215, Foley, Ala.
Jones is an unmatched physical specimen, the nation’s No. 1 wideout and No. 4 player overall according to Rivals.com. Commitments from Jameel Owens and Josh Jarboe have eased Kelly’s loss. A commitment from Jones would help make folks forget the lanky kid from Longview.
Jones will be on an official visit in Norman this weekend. He has one other trip — Feb. 1 to Texas Tech — before Signing Day.
J.R. Bryant, LB, 6-3, 230, Garden City, Kan.
Oklahoma holds just two commitments at linebacker, one of its thinnest positions heading into next season. Adding Bryant — a junior college transfer — would allow the Sooners to plug-and-play a college-ready body alongside Ryan Reynolds.
At this point, Bryant favors OU. But he’s received increased recruiting pressure down the stretch from Oklahoma State and Texas Tech.
Victor Johnson, DB, 6-0, 170, Waco, Texas
Of Oklahoma’s three official visitors this past weekend, only Johnson opted to delay his commitment. The four-star defensive back has narrowed his list from eight down to OU and OSU.
Fans could be looking at a Signing Day decision from one of the top defensive players remaining on the board.
Lamar Harris, ATH, 6-2, 180, Gilmer, Texas
Harris has been committed to Texas A&M since March. Until December, he’d been at odds with his teammate and best friend Justin Johnson — a 2008 Sooner commit.
But Dennis Franchione’s ouster and Mike Sherman’s hiring has shaken the four-star athlete’s status. Now, Oklahoma is making its move. Harris will be in Norman on an official visit this weekend.
D’Anton Lynn, S, 6-1, 180, Celina, Texas
According to a report on SoonerScoop.com, Bob Stoops and Bobby Jack Wright visited Lynn at his house in Celina last week, signaling the Sooners’ reemergence in the race for this three-star prospect.
Lynn — a Penn State commit since November — said his outlook on Oklahoma improved when Reggie Smith declared for the NFL Draft. The late courtship could mean a shift from Nittany Lion blue to Sooner crimson come Feb. 6.
Zaviar Gooden, S, 6-2, 195, Pflugerville, Texas
Oklahoma hasn’t yet offered Gooden a scholarship. It has offered him an official visit to Norman this weekend.
Gooden just returned from a visit to Missouri and, according to Rivals.com, the Tigers are leading the pack to land him. But an offer from OU this week could make things interesting.
Freddie Smooth, OT, 6-5, 300, Baton Rouge, La.
Phil Loadholt and Duke Robinson surprised some folks when they elected to return to Oklahoma for their senior seasons rather than enter the NFL Draft. That gives the Sooners one more year of an experienced front before it’s time to reload.
Smooth doesn’t come with the fanfare of a Ben Habern or Stephen Good, but his size has drawn Oklahoma into a tight race with Auburn for Smooth’s services.
OU podcast for Monday, Jan. 21
Here’s today’s OU podcast with Jake Trotter, Blake Jackson, Scott Wright and John Helsley talking Taylor Griffin, OU’s new juco commits and the struggling women’s basketball team.
Have your questions answered in the paper
Sooner fans, I’ll be taking questions from you about OU football and answering them in the newspaper every Sunday starting this week. To ask a question, send me an email at: mailto:jtrotter@oklahoman.com.
Keep it brief and clean.
Look forward to hearing from you.
– Jake Trotter
Recruiting: It’ll be Bedlam for Waco safety
It looks like Waco safety Victor Johnson has narrowed his list of college choices to two — OU and OSU.
He says he’ll decide on signing day.
Football: OU gets two commits
Sunday, OU received committments from junior college linebacker Mike Balogun and defensive back David Sims. Balugan will be good insurance in case J.R. Bryant signs with OSU. Sims has terrific speed (rumored to be a 4.4, 4.3 guy) and could make an impact immediately in the secondary.
OU is still hoping to snag blue-chip receiver Julio Jones, set to visit Norman this weekend.
– Jake Trotter
Men’s basketball: Ebi Ere tearing up Australia
You may have heard of the hottest player in the Australian Basketball League.
Former Sooner Ebi Ere.
Ere scored 51 points in just 32 minutes for the Brisbane Bullets and is a favorite to win the league MVP title.
How ga-ga are they for Ere down under. Check what this scribe says: “Ere’s performance is further evidence that he should rank among some of the best players to have ever sported a Brisbane Bullets singlet…”
Read it all here.
Men’s basketball: NCAA Tourney for Capel’s crew?
I didn’t watch the Baylor women practice on Saturday night.
I know what you’re saying. “Scott, you’re the OU men’s basketball beat writer. Why would we expect you to watch the Baylor women practice?”
You wouldn’t. But here’s why it’s interesting.
After the OU-Texas Tech men’s game, I was working in the Lloyd Noble Center, as I always do. I have more room to work and better luck with the Internet connection courtside than in the media room. Anyway, I was hacking away on my laptop when the Lady Bears rolled in for a workout prior to their Sunday game against Sherri Coale’s OU women.
I thought nothing of it and continued cranking on my story. But soon, Baylor coach Kim Mulkey enlisted one of OU’s media reps (Jared, he’s a good guy, and I felt sorry for him that Mulke asked him to do this) to get me out of the gym.
Practice was closed.
I started to ask Jared if he was joking, but I could tell by the “Mulkey’s gonna kick me in the groin if you don’t leave” look in his eye that he wasn’t. So I packed up and finished my work in the media room.
Considering she beat Coale’s bunch on Sunday, maybe she’s on to something.
Anyway, on to more important things, namely the one question everyone wants to ask me today.
Is OU going to make the NCAA Tournament?
I’ll tell you what I’ve told everyone else who asks. Right now, I don’t think so.
I think it will take a 9-7 Big 12 Conference record to get them in. Right now, they’re 1-2. If you assume two losses each against Texas and Texas A&M, that means the Sooners can afford just one more loss in home-and-home games with Baylor and OSU, road games at Colorado, Nebraska and Texas Tech, and home games with Missouri and Iowa State. Two losses in that group is probably too much, though OU has a shot — thanks to its good RPI and strength of schedule — to get in at 8-8. But that won’t be easy.
Jerry Palm of CollegeRPI.com has OU on the outside looking in as one of his four “Close but NIT” teams in his most recent bracket. Bracketologist Joe Lunardi of ESPN has the Sooners fifth among his first teams out. Two weeks ago, OU was a No. 7 seed. Last week (before they lost Blake Griffin for up to four weeks) they were a 9 seed. Now there’s four teams ahead of them on the bubble. The Hoops Report has them in the same slot.
If Griffin comes back earlier than the projected date of Feb. 13 (it’s possible), then the Sooners’ chances of getting in the Big Dance increase. But riht now, they’re a longshot.
It’s a tall order, and it begins with a win at Baylor on Saturday, which won’t be easy.
– Scott Wright
Football: Rumor mill
Looking for the latest coaching search rumors around the college football world? This site is great…
http://footballrumormill.com/scoop.php
– Jake Trotter
Softball: OU’s season preview, Part I
The OU softball team is already practicing and is getting ready to start off the season with a bang, playing UCLA on Feb. 8-10 in Westwoord and Fullerton, Calif.
Here is OU’s season preview for the Sooner softball team.
Links: Good morning; More on OU’s new commit
* David Sims talks about his commitment. Playing air hockey with Venables must have been fun.
* Where will Julio Jones go? His coach may know.
* Does Stoops want Josh Jarboe’s teammate too?
* Good feature on ABC college announcer Keith Jackson. He thought OU was one of the strongest teams this past season.
* A rundown of teams who were hit hard by the NFL defections, which teams will be OK.
* One blogger’s bracketology has the Sooners in the tournament.
* Looks like A.D. has a new deal to promote Chili’s. No word on what he thinks about the ba-beee back ribbbbs.
